So many films, so little time
Directed by Vivien Qu, Starring Vicky Chen, Zhou Meijun, Le Geng, Mengan Li and Weiwei Liu Somewhere by the seaside, a young girl works (and lives) at a motel where she sees things she shouldn’t. While the desk clerk is detained, she checks in a man who arrives at the motel with two young teenage […]
MoreDirected by Haifa Al-Mansour, Starring Elle Fanning, Douglas Booth, Bel Powley, Stephen Dillane, Joanne Froggatt, Maise Williams, Ben Hardy and Tom Sturridge That Saudi Arabia’s first female director brings us a film depicting a woman battling societal norms to carve a place for herself to develop her craft is no coincidence. Haifaa Al-Mansour can relate […]
MoreI am not sure how Iannuci came up with Steve Buscemi as Russian leader Khrushchev but fantastically it works in this satirical re-enactment of Stalin’s death and what follows to establish the new rule for Russia. It’s a comedy, it’s silly, pokes fun at Russian politics, Stalin, his family and his cabinet. This could be […]
MoreDirected by Greta Gerwig, starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lois Smith and Beanie Feldstein Greta’s directorial debut is excellent. It is a fresh take on the coming of age teen drama, and a personal story. The protagonist, Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson is played by Saoirse Ronan in a solid performance as this precocious, […]
MoreDirected by Susanna White, Starring Jessica Chastain and Michael Greyeyes I selected this film because I wanted to see more films directed by women, and the subject seemed to be a different perspective of indigenous peoples. Catherine Weldon, a portrait painter and Native American rights activist, travels from New York by train to Standing Rock […]
MoreThis was my last TIFF film so at this point I’d seen 29 other films, was tired and in need of something gripping to keep my interest, so perhaps this reflection is not entirely objective. The story is a very important one, and so vital that people understand the plight of refugees. This is a […]
MoreDirected by Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano, starring Jean-Pierre Bacri, Gilles Lellouche and Suzanne Clément This was my second last TIFF film, a 9am showing after a late night, and it was worth waking up early for. The programmers really picked a good one to end the festival on a positive note. I love films […]
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