Alright, here are the films I’ve included in my Advance Order, sorted by programme. My top picks are shown with a *. As posted below, I’m not sitting in a great spot in the draw so I fully expect there to be changes, particularly for higher profile selections.
You can see the actual schedule of these films by clicking here.
Canada First!
- *Borderline: stars Quebec actress Isabelle Blais who’s been in some great movies: Sur la trace d’Igor Rizzi (TIFF 06), Saints-Martyrs-des-Damnés (TIFF 05), The Barbarian Invasions, Québec-Montréal; this one is “an erotic drama about a woman facing her 30th birthday who looks back at her life growing-up with her grandmother, crazy mother and her over-indulgence with men, sex and alcohol.”
- Control Alt Delete: a guy addicted to online porn takes his relationship with his computer to the next level; plot sounds about right for a Canadian film, although this looks more silly rather than disturbing.
- Cooper’s Camera: a Christmas comedy about a dysfunctional family (is there any other kind?) set in the 80s; co-written by Jason Jones (of The Daily Show), and starring him and his wife Samantha Bee (also of The Daily Show).
- *Edison & Leo: the country’s first stop-motion feature film opens the Canada First! programme (as did the enjoyable Fido [2006] and Young People Fucking [2007]); fantasy/fairy-tale set in an alternate 19th century; co-written by George Toles, who co-wrote Guy Maddin’s My Winnipeg and Brand Upon the Brain!, which rank high on my list of TIFF favorites from the past two years.
Contemporary World Cinema
- *Revanche: an errand boy and a prostitute attempt to escape their life in a brothel; looks like an engaging drama.
- Un été sans point ni coup sûr: a coming-of-age story in the Montreal suburbs back when the Expos were new to town and kids were trying to play their way onto neighborhood teams; Roy Dupuis (The Rocket, Shake Hands with the Devil) is the ‘evil’ local coach.
- Wendy and Lucy: said to have a great performance by Michelle Williams, whose struggling character is the focus of the entire movie.
- *White Night Wedding: from the director of 101 Reykjavík and Jar City (an impressive film from last year’s TIFF). The plot seems less offbeat than those, but IMDB rating is quite good so far.
Discovery
- Gigantic: a mattress salesman hoping to adopt a Chinese baby falls for a rich-girl he meets at the store; a romantic comedy starring Paul Dano (Little Miss Sunshine, There Will be Blood) and Zooey Deschanel.
- *Hunger: rave reviews from Cannes where first-time director Steve McQueen was awarded the Camera d’Or; in brutal detail, tells the story of IRA prisoners and their hunger strike in the early 80s.
- *Medicine for Melancholy: stellar reviews from SXSW; after a one-night stand, two African-Americans explore their place in San Francisco and the city itself.
- *Zift: a Bulgarian film-noir; cinematography looks great.
Gala Presentations
- One Week: from the writer-director of Saint Ralph; a very Canadian road trip, starring Joshua Jackson (Dawson’s Creek); will see the regular screening, rather than the gala; also features Emm Gryner, who I’ve seen playing as part of Danny Michel’s band.
Masters
- *24 City: a huge factory makes way for luxury apartments in this examination of changes taking place in China; highly anticipated by many in the doc circuit (see TIFF blogs), although technically only half the interviews in this are real — others are provided by actors (including star Joan Chen); intriguing mash-up of reality and fiction.
- *Tokyo Sonata: about Japanese family that’s dysfunctional and slowly getting worse; the director, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, is highly regarded and early reviews for the film have been very good.
Midnight Madness
- Deadgirl: in an abandoned boiler room, two sketchy teens come across the body of a bound and naked women … and let’s say the intentions of one of the guys aren’t exactly pure; controversial premise, to say the least.
- JCVD: it stands for Jean-Claude Van Damme! Plays himself, but shows it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, especially when he’s implicated in a robbery; currently my only MM selection scheduled to be watched at midnight.
- *Martyrs: the controversial, disturbing, graphically blood-soaked thriller-horror from Cannes; sure to polarize, but will likely be a huge crowd-pleaser for the MM set; said to be even more of a shock to the system than last year’s gory À l’intérieur (which was a lot of fun).
Short Cuts Canada
- *Programme 3
- Bedroom: a long-married couple discuss their issues while in bed.
- Forty Men for the Yukon: doc about two guys who reminisce about what brought them to live in the Yukon.
- *Green Door: stars Canadian favs Tracy Wright and Don McKellar;
- Midi: “a couple dealing with immigration, language and love.”
- Passage: “four friends on a road trip discover the complicated arena of unforeseen desire”.
- Pat’s First Kiss: shot on cell phone; “true story of the filmmaker’s first kiss with an undesirable stranger he meets overseas.”
- Sunday: “The final days of a relationship’s collapse are seen from a suspicious ex-boyfriend’s perspective.”
Special Presentations
- Adoration: directed by Atom Egoyan; I’ve missed his last few movies, and even though they haven’t received great reviews (including this one), there’s usually at least something thought-provoking from this Canadian director; cast includes Scott Speedman and Rachel Blanchard.
- Ashes of Time Redux: new cut of 94’s Ashes of Time, from the director of In the Mood for Love and 2046; cast incudes Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung.
- C’est pas moi, je le jure!: the clincher summary: “Set in 1968, the film focuses on ten-year-old Léon (Antoine L’Écuyer, in an amazing debut), an inveterate hellion whose favourite hobbies include failed suicide attempts, vandalism, theft, running away and breaking and entering.” Canadian, of course.
- Gomorrah: interconnected stories set in modern-day Italian crime families; epic and violent, it is receiving very good reviews.
- Inju, la bête dans l’ombre: a good-looking thriller/drama; a French author in Japan is set against a colleague known for his own violent and disturbing novels.
- *New York, I Love You: same deal as Paris, je t’aime: a silly-long list of talented directors (and Brett Ratner) and actors bring us a bunch of short (& sometimes interconnected) stories set in one of the world’s great cities; apparently only an in-progress cut (release isn’t until next February).
- *Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist: Michael Cera comedy? I’m there. Also with with Kat Dennings (40 Year Old Virgin, Charlie Bartlett). Two showings at the Ryerson — hopefully this signal of buzz is well-earned and not just being manufactured.
- Religulous: directed by Larry Charles (Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Borat); Bill Maher interviews people all over the world about religion; how could they edit all the hilarity that must ensue into a mere 101 minutes?
- RocknRolla: it’s a Guy Ritchie film, so I think we know just what kind of mayhem we can expect; cast includes Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson and Thandie Newton.
- *Synecdoche, New York: first directing effort from Charlie Kaufman, who wrote some of my favorite films (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Adaptation, Being John Malkovich); you just know it will be twisted, and weird, and wonderful … a man tries to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse; check out the cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener, Emily Watson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Dianne Wiest, Hope Davis.
- *Waltz with Bashir: an Israeli veteran digs into his repressed memories of the Lebanon War; distinctive animation style; said to be this year’s Persepolis.
- *The Wrestler: director Darren Aronofsky (Pi, Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain) tackles the world of professional wrestling? Sure, ok, I’ll give it a whirl.
- *Zack and Miri Make a Porno: by Kevin Smith, with Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks. Need to say more? Was initially hit with NC-17 rating, so that’s a good sign.
Vanguard
- Afterwards: a thriller featuring the always great John Malkovich as a mysterious doctor who can apparently tell when people are about to die; also has Evangeline Lilly (Lost).
- *Pontypool: from Canadian director Bruce McDonald (TIFF 07’s The Tracey Fragments, Highway 61, Hard Core Logo), taking on the thriller/horror genre for the first time.
Visions
- The Sky Crawlers: impressive-looking Japanese animated film; set in a reality where never-aging young pilots fight in a war that continues endlessly for the benefit of TV viewers; from the director famous for Ghost in the Shell (not that I’ve seen it).
- Uncertainty: I’ll give just about any Joseph Gordon-Levitt film a chance; alternate & parallel stories of the consequences of a young couple’s decision; also has Olivia Thirbly (Juno).
- Vinyan: the mystery of a tourist couple’s child washed away by the 2004 tsunami looks like it takes a creepy turn.
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