Toronto International Film Festival

[Canuck 36]

It was the industry screening I went to, so I doubt many people went to the film without first recognizing how long it was.

Seats were vacated throughout the film, and the march out started quite early in the screening.

There are some VERY strong scenes in the film (aborted fetuses, witnessing two women having an abortion, and emotionally strong scene as a woman goes through the steps of the orientation and explains her reasons for being there), so I wouldn't be surprised if some left because of that.

I enjoyed the film, and was glad I went. It was a drastically different movie than the Borat film I attended a few hours earlier - a fact which may have exasperated its intensity for me.

 

[andreapalladio]

Yesterday: Bonneville (Jessica Lange, Joan Allen & Kathy Bates go on a roadtrip - very good), Quelques jours en Septembre (Julliette Binoche is a spy who is drawn into the geopolitical machinations in the days prior to September 11, 2001) and Radiant City (was supposed to be a doc about suburbia - I should have known when it was programmed by Jesse Wente - the worst movie I've seen this year).

Star sightings: Jullliette Binoche, stunning even if she looks a bit of a tart with golden blonde hair.

 

[cdl42]

"Radiant City (was supposed to be a doc about suburbia - I should have known when it was programmed by Jesse Wente - the worst movie I've seen this year)."

Since urban-themed movies hold a special interest to people on this forum, and there's a good chance this movie will be discussed in here the future, would you mind telling more? If it really is terrible, I'd certainly hope to avoid it but would love to know why. Is it cliche, dull, or something else?

 

[BrianHawkins1]

Rescue Dawn

AP:

How was "Rescue Dawn"? Are you big on Herzog?

 

[andreapalladio]

Re: Rescue Dawn

Radiant City started off well - good expert talking heads intercut with great footage of suburban families talking about their experience, what they like and don't like, etc. The families were really compelling, and really underscored what the experts were saying. Then, about 3/4 of the way through, they disclosed that the families were really actors working from a script. The movie isn't a doc at all, it's fiction. Not a mocumentary in the Christopher Guest vein, but just steaming pile of intellectually dishonest crap.

Brian, I saw a lot of Herzog docs at this years Hot Docs festival, but sadly, not Little Deiter Needs To Fly, on which he based Rescue Dawn, which is very very good.

 

[BrianHawkins1]

Herzog

^ Did you see Herzog in person at the doc fest? As I recall, he was receiving some kind of award, yeah?

You've probably seen them, but if you've not seen 'Fata Morgana' & 'Lessons of Darkness', they're both terrific, especially 'Lessons', which I personally find just incredible, maybe even his best film. It also has one of the most jaw-dropping and memorable endings in cinema history, imo. Conveniently, it and 'Fata' are packaged together in a single DVD release.

allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p...:146633~T1

Perhaps needless to say, I think Herzog is a genius.

Oh! - and if you've not seen it, then you simply *must* watch 'My Best Fiend', about his relationship with Kinski. Klaus was genuinely one-of-a-kind: brilliant, and utterly mad, no doubt.

Herzog is hilarious in Korine's 'julien donkey-boy', too:

"I think I HATED his poem! I think I HATED it!"

 

[andreapalladio]

Re: Herzog

They did a Herzog retrospective at Hot Docs this year. Last year it was Errol Morris.

Yesterday: Dixie Chicks: Shut Up & Sing (fantastic doc about the Dixie Chicks and their post 2003 notoriety in particular, and the music business in general - the best movie I've seen at this festival), Fay Grimm (Hal Hartley's sequel to Henry Fool - uneven, but Parker Posey at her manic best is well worth seeing) and The Hottest State (Written & directed by, and featuring Ethan Hawke, adapted from his own novel - a completely self indugent & tedious movie - the only part that engaged the audience were the three scenes in which Laura Linney appears - even worse than Raidant City).

Sightings: Barbara Koppel, Ethan Hawke.

 

[Canuck 36]

Re: Herzog

It wasn't mentioned to me till later, but while I was out on the bar patio today, "Cancer Man" from the X-Files was inside talking show business.

Saw Penelope (Fantasy Love Tale) and Fido (Zombies in 50's America) today. You can guess which I picked to see and which one the g/f wanted to go to.

 

[andreapalladio]

Toronto Film Festival

I adored Penelope when I saw it Saturday. Such a good fairy tale for grown ups.

Yesterday: The Fountain (quite good, though sadly Darren Aronofsky wasn't there for a Q&A, and this movie could have benefited from at least a Q&A, if not a master class on comparative religion - I'll want to see this one again to try to figure it out) and So Goes The Nation ( a good political doc analyzing the Republican and Democratic strategies in the 2004 election, with particular attention to Ohio.

Star sightings: none. It being the Thursday of the festival, most of the stars have left.