Toronto International Film Festival Begins

By Larry Anklewicz

Thursday, September 7, 2006

Well, the 31st edition of the Toronto International Film Festival is under way and it is time to take a look at some of the better films I've seen so far. If you haven't booked your films yet you might want to take a look at these suggestions.

The Wind That Shakes The Barley

This film is set in Ireland around 1920 and looks at the growing resentment against British rule and the decision to accept England's terms for a separate Irish state.

This film won a major prize at Cannes and is certain to be released in local cinemas in the near future.

Shortbus

This is a film that is certain to raise a few eyebrows. Directed by John Cameron Mitchell, who helmed the cult favourite, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus looks at the lives of several characters in present day New York. The emphasis here is on their sexual tastes and problems and includes several perspectives--male, female, straight and gay.

All the characters eventually find their way to an underground club called Shortbus, which sanctions all kinds of sexual activity.

Mitchell puts it all on screen and all very graphically.

Volver

Excellent film by Pedro Almodovar that looks at the lives of three generations of women living in Madrid. There is Raimunda, who is living with an unemployed labourer and her teenage daughter. Raimunda's sister, Sole, is a hairdresser, and then we have their mother, who died in a fire several years ago but who keeps turning up in the story.

This is a wonderful film with some brilliant performances, including the one by Penelope Cruz.

Sweet Mud

A terrific little film about Dvir, a 12-year old boy living on a kibbutz in the 1970s. His mother suffers from mental illness and his older brother is happy to get out of the kibbutz and join the army.

Dvir is left with the responsibility of looking after his mother and trying to protect her from the rigid rules of the kibbutz.

In some ways, this film can be compared to the outstanding Israeli film, The Summer of Aviya.

Fido

A film about zombies? That's right! and it's Canadian, and it's funny!

This satirical comedy is sure to become one of the hits of this year's Festival.

The story is a bit bizzare, but its execution on screen is excellent.

After the earth passed through a cloud of space dust, causing the dead to rise with an insatiable appetite for human flesh, a collar was invented to domesticate the zombies and make them docile. Now, zombies do all the menial work and everyone seems happy--until the collar on one zombie, named Fido, goes on the fritz.

A Sunday In Kigali

This is a love story set against the background of the genocidal rage that swept Rwanda's capital, Kigali, in the spring of 1994.

Canadian documentary maker Bernard Valcourt visits Kigali in order to make a film about AIDS. He falls in love with Gentille, a beautiful waitress in the hotel. The two of them, despite many differences, get married and Valcourt tries to get Gentille out of the country, but the couple is separated. After the fighting has subsided, Valcourt returns to Kigali to try to find his beloved.

Those are only a few of the films I have seen so far. I expect to see some 40-50 films during the next little while and I will keep you updated with some of the gems I hope to find.