TIFF08 - Day 8
During the last three days of the festival this year I must have had a friend at nearly every screening. That’s great fun of course, but it means that I didn’t get a lot of writing done then. If I wasn’t with a friend between screenings I was normally able to find a few minutes to write away, but mostly it came down to typing away on the laptop on the way downtown on the subway in the mornings, or homeward-bound again in the evenings. Some of what you’ll read below was typed up on the subway at about 1:40 AM on the Sunday morning after it all ended. After the festival was over I have to admit to having not been less motivated to finish it all, but I’ll give it a shot now. Here’s day 8 at the festival:
THE BROTHERS BLOOM had the highest wattage star power of any festival film that I got tickets for: Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo. So yeah, high, but not that high. Because of that, I was concerned that I might be in for something too Hollywood (dreaded H-word)… but in the end, BLOOM went swimmingly. From its opening scene where a handicapped cat moves across the screen with a crutch and in a roller skate, you know you are in for a rather crazy ride. BLOOM’s first hour is propelled by the whimsy and craftiness of AMELIE with a good dollop of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS thrown in, with exotic locales and quirky characters aplenty. Brody and Ruffalo play the eponymous brothers, orphans since - well, since the beginning of the film - who have perfected the art of the con since childhood foster-home experiences compelled them to act rather independently.
After our introduction to the brothers’ world, the plot kicks into gear with the classic con cliché - the sworn last grift - only one more poor little heiress to bilk and it’ll be time for the pair to retire. We forgive this tired old saw though as the scheme is deftly hilarious, with another surprise around every corner, and our heiress, the glowing Ms. Weisz, turns out to be more than they bargained for naturally. Could she be a con artist herself? BLOOM couldn’t be that DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELSy could it? In what direction will this elaborate plot twist?
Well, it twists all right, and the film that begins with the genial mischief of AMELIE’s Montmartre, ends in somewhat murkier terrain along the Gulf of Finland. Director-writer Rian Johnston (of the Generation-Y film noir BRICK) ends an hour and a half of fun with a quarter hour of darker stuff. Maybe that’s the trick of the con though; maybe the audience should share the sucker punch. I still remember the film fondly despite my misgivings about its ending, so I say “see this film” like the critics do on tv.
Not had your fill of self-serving double-speak from faceless corporations lately? Well, UNDER RICH EARTH, which details the lengths to which Canadian mining firm Copper Mesa (formerly Ascendant Copper) will go to strip mine an Ecuadorian village, will certainly get your back up as high as you could ever want. EARTH was assembled by Winnipeg-born documentary filmmaker and lawyer Malcolm Rogge from videos and stills shot by the villagers of Junin in Ecudor’s remote Intag valley. Rogge adds interviews he filmed in the aftermath of armed incursions by paramilitary units hired by Copper Mesa into the farming village. EARTH also thoroughly exposes Copper Mesa’s propaganda campaign in regard to its planned Intag mine as so many lies.
It’s great to know that there’s a Canadian mining company romping around Ecuador threatening and traumatizing the local farmers to establish a strip mine on their land. Thank goodness a Canadian documentary filmmaker is taking them on. You’ll never have been so disgusted to be a Canuck if you get to see this, and you’ll be checking your mutual finds afterwards to make sure that Copper Mesa has none of your money.
On Thursday afternoon I scheduled the one programme of Canadian shot films I see each year.
Ever watch Bravo? Sometimes these things show up on that channel when a feature ends before the hour is up. You never know when a short is going to play though, so there’s just about no way to get to see these. So, what can I tell you anyway? Well, any shorts programme is a mixed bag of funny, clever, touching, and disappointing. You don’t remember the disappointing ones too long, like A SMALL THING - something about a girl trying to remember a birthday that scarred her for life: luckily her birthday hasn’t scarred me for life. Then there was the line drawn animated piece called PIERCE, CRUSH, ESCAPE; NOTES ON THE BOREAL, that displayed squiggly lines dancing across the screen for 10 minutes depicting forest-like scenes. It could have been 7 minutes shorter. UNIFORM MATERIAL looks at the fine line that divides those with means and those without by following the methodical actions of a man preparing for a new job. 15 minutes was a bit long for this, but the short’s point is well made. In MON NOM EST VICTOR GAZON a young boy tallies the pros and cons of life after he is told that a relative committed suicide because more things made him sad than made him happy. Sounds depressing, but it was actually funny and charming. WHITMORE PARK, named after the Regina suburb where the filmmaker grew up, recalls with nostalgic humour the school teacher who changed his life. That was an excellent use of 9 minutes. MACHINE WITH WISHBONE documents the workings of a number of Rube Goldberg type inventions. Beautifully shot, and very engrossing: 8 delightful minutes. 106 tells the story of Edna Berry, the oldest woman in Canada, and the attempts to off her by the second oldest woman in Canada: a sprightly 6 minutes. Finally, to close it off was the inexplicably programmed LA BATTUE: 20 minutes of misery detailing a daughter who wants to get away from her mother, set during a hunting party in a Quebec forest in winter time, with plenty of shotguns, none of which were used soon enough.
Didja see SON OF RAMBOW earlier this year? The kid from that - Bill Milner* - our hero - stars in IS THERE ANYBODY THERE? along with Michael Caine, who is reason enough to go to a film. Bill stars as Edward, who lives in a home his parents run as a seniors’ lodge. Ten-year-old Edward is fascinated by what comes after death, and has recently turned to leaving a cassette recorder running under the beds of elderly residents who aren’t expected to make it through the night: Edward is hoping to catch evidence of paranormal activity on tape. Caine plays Clarence, a rather reluctant new resident in the home, and a bitter ex-magician for whom the magic in life has been revealed as mere trickery. This pair get off to a bad start (natch), but then predictably learn to get along famously, with a few unpredictable turns as the story unfolds: both have a lot to learn about life.
ANYBODY THERE, it turns out, is quite a fun pic. With a supporting menagerie of schoolyard bullies, preoccupied parents, and batty house guests the film glides from one amusing setup to the next, reminding the audience of what a trip it was to grow up, and how you can mess with kids heads when you get older. Very charming.
Craig James White
Toronto - see you in the dark!
*Who would name a kid Bill Milner these days? At least, why would a 10 year old be using that as a stage name? Why not Billy? Why not Will? Both are cooler for a kid. I hear Bill Milner and I think ’silent film star’? Rethink Bill Milner.