October 25, 2024

Welcome to TFCA Friday, a weekly round-up of film reviews and articles by TFCA members.

In Release this Week

Anora (dir. Sean Baker)

“Anora is a subversive Cinderella story. It’s a tale about class divides and the hired help, particularly the hired help expected to move seamlessly between disparate worlds — sex workers, bodyguards, limo drivers,” writes Liz Braun at Original Cin. “This is an observant, energetic tale from writer-director Sean Baker, and like his other projects (Tangerine, Red Rocket, The Florida Project), it’s populated by a ragtag crowd of the dispossessed and disenfranchised. Anora is frenetic and entertaining and sometimes very funny, but it will break your heart.”

“Baker’s film creates a breakthrough opportunity for Mikey Madison,” says Rachel Ho at Exclaim! who also speaks with director Sean Baker and star Mikey Madison to learn how Toronto-based former escort and exotic dancer Andrea Werhun informed the film. “I fell in love with her voice as a writer, and her stories were so honest and interesting,” Madison says of Werhun’s memoir. “I’m really grateful that I was able to discover her work and also meet her and pick her brain. She added so many incredible, realistic little details to what it’s like to be a sex worker and a stripper. It added a lot of important nuance to my performance and to the film.”

“The screwball genre (Lubitsch’s Ninotchka comes to mind) is typified by a strong female protagonist in unexpected circumstances that often involve a road trip,” says Peter Howell at the Toronto Star. “This describes Anora to a tee, as the film zigzags between New York and Vegas. But it’s more than just cinematic homage Baker is pursuing, aided by the colour-saturated and fleet-footed camerawork of cinematographer Drew Daniels.” Howell also chats with Baker and Madison about how the film evolved in reverse with the writing following the casting. “I had not started writing Anora when we cast Mikey,” explains Baker. “I already had a beginning, middle and end in my mind, so we pitched it to her and as soon as Mikey agreed to do it, I had my marching orders to go off and write a screenplay.”

“Although Baker is more than willing to let things play out naturally and in their own time (with a lengthy section where Ani is left alone with the parents’ Armenian helpers emerging as the best, most calculated scene in any film so far this year), Anora escalates quickly in both comedic and dramatic ways,” notes Andrew Parker at The Gate. “It’s a testament to Madison’s talents as a performer and the writing of the character that the audience is able to keep up with everything and remain invested. It hurts to laugh at some of the more outlandish situations in Anora, because they are both hilarious and the sort of thing that would leave someone devastated if it were to happen to them.”

Born Hungry (dir. Barry Avrich 🇨🇦)

“Born Hungry is an engaging film, despite somewhat disjointed storytelling and a couple of lugubrious music choices. Fortunately, Simpson’s magnetic personality makes up for all that — and he is not alone in this film for larger-than-life characteristics,” notes Liz Braun at Original Cin. “Let’s hope someone wants to make a film about his adoptive mother, Sandra Simpson. Many viewers will be left wondering about the woman who had enough patience to establish a couple of orphanages and raise dozens of children. And make it look easy.”

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band (dir. Thom Zimny)

“What follows are fly-on-the-wall rehearsal scenes, with each member of the E Street Band readying himself or herself to leap once more into the fray. It’s actually endearing to watch these guys shake off the cobwebs and get back into the touring groove; each of the musicians gets a ‘solo’ here,” says Liz Braun at Original Cin. “The band that goes on the road for the 2023-24 tour also includes some new horn players and another percussionist, and a viewer gets to see it all come together.”

Collette and Justine (dir. Alain Kassada)

“The doc plays like a history lesson, but a history lesson of a foreign land, which in this case is the Congo,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “Though one might argue that life at present and in the past has nothing of interest to the present in North America, it can be argued that many keen observations can be studied, for example in the root of racism and prejudice.  Besides, the doc is also a very interesting one, as there is much that can be learnt and observed from the past of the Congo.”

Conclave (dir. Edward Berger)

“Fiennes, with his wearisome furrowed brow and shoulders hunched by the burden of the task at hand, is mesmerizing. Quietly conflicted, he struggles between his devotion to the Church and his doubts. The actor delivers one of the finest performances of his career, and certainly his best in years, and is a sure-fire Oscar contender,” raves Rachel West at That Shelf. “The church is a world of men, where nuns take on caretaker roles during the conclave, tirelessly feeding the gathered cardinals. In a scene-stealing role as Sister Agnes, Isabella Rossellini reminds the cardinals that though the Church prefers women to remain on the sidelines, she has eyes, ears, and a devotion to God.”

“[T]he film’s stealth weapon, its silent dagger, is Rossellini,” agrees Brian D. Johnson at Zoomer. Johnson chats with Rossellini about her memorable turn. “Nowadays…when women grow old they sometimes complain of becoming invisible. Women feel they have to be attractive,” Rossellini tells Johnson. “Then at a certain age you accept who you are. It’s a fact of life that you can’t do much more than this. And that is what I loved about Sister Agnes. She takes a vow and profoundly pays respect to silence and obedience as a reminder that human beings are faulted. I saw that in the nuns I went to school with. They didn’t have that giggly, seductive thing with men. And I saw that in mama [Ingrid Bergman] too.”

“Drawn from Robert Harris’ bestselling novel of the same name and filmed in Rome on stages matching church edifices, it’s as meticulous as it is authoritative, with multiple secrets and plot twists, including a final reveal that shocks and provokes. The film boasts a cast worthy of its surroundings — and also serious Oscars consideration,” observes Peter Howell at the Toronto Star.

“Conclave isn’t designed for too deep of a look. It’s more like a slick, finely buffed White House Down (Vatican’s version) than anything else — alongside a few cinematic explosions to boot. It is, as other critics have called it, a perfect five-star three-star movie: fun, over-the-top ridiculousness that works better the less you try to question it,” writes Jackson Weaver at CBC. “And really, what more do you want from the theatre?”

“Isabella Rossellini is the sole Sister heard from in the film. Vatican nuns are considered lower than the priests, are to remain silent, and make the food and pray for the community in separation.  And she knows a secret that could change everything,” notes Anne Brodie at What She Said. “High drama every which way, a mass of moving black umbrellas carried by figures in black robes, angles and lighting to stir the senses and the intellect, the music – striking single notes in eerie repetition, sudden violin screeches, sombre, serious business.  What makes this film so beguiling is the art of its conversation; the script is outstanding whatever it reveals, making this one of the year’s most satisfying and awards worthy films.”

“The terrifically acted, taut and engrossing mystery thriller Conclave, adapted from the Robert Harris novel, sets a cinematic bar and (at least to this former altar boy) one of believability. Not that anyone without a clerical collar really knows what goes on before the white smoke issues publicly from the chimney. But it seems reasonable to assume robust politics, and possibly dirty campaigning,” writes Jim Slotek at Original Cin. “The real-life, practically unheard-of resignation of the conservative Pope Benedict XVI in favour of the liberal humanist Francis speaks to the hard politics that must have preceded it.”

“Berger imagines the conclave – a very real event for which there’s no definitive, publicly disclosed rundown – as duelling political conventions running concurrently with an election, a perfect reflection of the current global landscape where voting cycles never appear to stop,” says Andrew Parker at The Gate. “There’s always a whisper campaign going on in the background, and staunch supporters of current candidates dig their heels in for a real fight. But those fights also have to be rooted in faith, meaning the attacks against peoples’ characters are just as personal as the ones everyday voters throughout the world see on the campaign trail.”

“As the self-imposed neutral party in this endeavour, Lawrence is at the centre of this drama but stands still as everyone and everything moves around him,” writes Rachel Ho at Exclaim!. “As a result, Fiennes turns in a restrained performance that feels magnanimous, even more so when topped off with a stirring monologue.” Ho also chats with director Edward Berger about the role of tradition. “I think tradition is very important. It is our sense of history,” Berger says. “If you forget history, then you have nothing. It’s what culture comes from, where manners come from, the way we deal with each other. You certainly have to learn from tradition and move on, but you can never forget it. Pass it on, and then the next generation can decide how to modernize it.”

“Adapted by Peter Straughan (Goldfinch) from the Robert Harris much-acclaimed novel, and shot by cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine (the Vatican is displayed in all its grandeur and unwelcomeness), the film is a masterwork of drama and irrelevance,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “The ultimate choice of the new Pope comes as an unexpected twist at the end.  Performances are top-notch all the way around. The musical score by Volker Bertlemann is necessarily intense, to the point of almost overdoing it.”

“The Vatican-set drama hits the sweet spot between popcorn movie and prestige picture,” says Pat Mullen at That Shelf. Mullen also speaks with director Edward Berger, who considers the film’s theme of doubt: “I think in our current climate, it is really important to embrace doubt, and I’ve always embraced it,” says Berger. “I found at some point I was a little bit insecure about my doubts. I thought, why am I so doubtful? Why can’t I be certain about things? Until at some point I realized maybe it’s a strength. Maybe I just embrace it and say, doubt gives me energy [and] pushes me forward because I evaluate the pros and cons, and then I eventually make a decision.”

Family Pack (dir. Francois Ozan)

“The film suffers from being quite bland which is expected for a family movie,” admits Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “The special effects are satisfactory at best, though the costumes and set pieces are well done.”

Handdog (dir. Matt Cascella)

“Handdog is a charming bittersweet relationship comedy about two imperfect beings who work at what they have to make things work,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

Hijack ’93 (dir. Robert O. Peters)

“Hijack ’93 is an entertaining enough film, mixing true crime with some thrills, and tongue-in-cheek humour, in a Nigerian setting,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

The Line (dir. Ethan Berger)

At Bloody Disgusting, Joe Lipsett calls it “a scathing indictment of frat culture.”

Seeds (dir. Kaniehtiio Horn 🇨🇦)

“Kaniehtiio Horn wrote, directed, and stars in the thriller Seeds concerning an online influencer who returns to her reservation to look after her Aunty’s home while she’s vacationing. Ziggy has just signed a lucrative contract with Nature’s Oath, a seed and fertiliser company that she failed to research,” writes Anne Brodie at What She Said. “What happens is primal, ancient and her ex can’t save her.  She puts in strong debut double duty in this provocative tale.”

“Overall, Seeds works better as a comedy than a revenge thriller, though seeing Ziggy fight back against white colonial oppression is cathartic and empowering. In that capacity, Seeds offers something unique and completely accessible to audiences who are less familiar with (particularly contemporary) Indigenous narratives,” says Joe Lipsett at Bloody Disgusting. “At its core, Seeds is a mostly fun, slightly inconsistent comedy revenge thriller with a truly great lead performance by Horn.”

“Longtime actor Kaniehtiio Horn (The Man in the High Castle, Letterkenny) is now a first-time feature writer-director with Seeds, a First Nations morality tale that doesn’t pull any punches,” writes Chris Knight at Original Cin. “The tone of the film is a little ziggy itself, with odd moments of humour that don’t quite pair with the dark final act. But if not all the pieces fit together perfectly, they are individually compelling. Seeds tackles topics as diverse as agri-business, colonialism, intergenerational trauma and personal grief — not to mention the enduring and often overlooked heroism of house cats. Its drama will grow on you.

“There could be more to this, but Seeds still gets the job done effectively, and proves that Horn has a promising future behind the camera, as well as in front of it,” notes Andrew Parker at The Gate. “And any film that builds to a killer reference to the criminally underrated genre masterpiece Clear Cut deserves a considerable amount of props.”

Venom: The Last Dance (dir. Kelly Marcel)

“As for the finale — can you spoil a film where nothing much happens? — it’s an alien smackdown best visualized by imagining two rival seafood restaurants who decide to battle for supremacy by letting their all-you-can-eat buffets duke it out with one another,” sighs Chris Knight at Original Cin. “Is it worth the wait? I mean, if you’ve already sat through The Last Dance — and I can’t advise that you do — then you might at well see it through to the bitter end. And I do mean bitter. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating, that Venom is that rare franchise whose name is literally box-office poison. And in that respect, at least, The Last Dance doesn’t disappoint.”

“The super action hero flick suffers from a weak narrative, leading the film towards relying on special effects and action set pieces, though not too bad while tending to get boring after a while,” notes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “Tom Hardy as Brock with his wisecracking humour is the best thing of the film which thankfully lasts less than 2 hours.”

“There are some laughs along the way and flashes of what made Hardy so special as the lead, but mostly the feelings that pervade are numbness and resignation,” admits Andrew Parker at The Gate. “Venom: The Last Dance aimlessly shuffles around under the weight of franchise driving edicts and contractual obligation. It’s the type of movie where it would likely be more entertaining to watch a documentary about everything that went into the making of it than sitting down to view the final product. When Hardy is on screen, Venom: The Last Dance is a bad movie, but at least a palatable one. Whenever he’s not, it’s positively unbearable.”

“As a popcorn flick where you park your brain for an hour and forty minutes, it’s dumb fun,” writes Joe Lipsett at Queer Horror Movies.

Your Monster (dir. Caroline Lindy)

“The power of Lindy’s show-stopping climax and Barrera’s all-out performance during it helps to send things out on a high note, but the quieter moments of Your Monster hold a lot more weight in hindsight than I initially expected,” writes Andrew Parker at The Gate. “There’s nothing to really compare Your Monster to, but it’s also not what you think it’s going to be based on the premise. It’s a truly exciting movie.”

A Festival of Festival Coverage: “Festober” Heats Up

At Original Cin, Liam Lacey covers four of the many festival happening in Toronto the next few weeks, including Rendezvous with Madness: “The unique Toronto arts and film festival dealing with mental health and started in 1987 by former psychiatric nurse Lisa Brown has become a fixture on the fall festival scene,” writes Lacey. “This year’s edition includes 10 features and three shorts programs and a group textile art show, “The Looms We Resemble,” which will open at the conclusion of the festival and run through Dec. 3. The festival opens with Cree filmmaker Jules Koostachi’s WaaPaKe (Tomorrow), which examines intergenerational trauma of the residential school system, focusing on her own family.”

At POV Magazine, Pat Mullen highlights 20 docs to see at the 20^th anniversary of the Windsor International Film Festival, including the controversial Russians at War, which is screening in competition: “The mob’s take is hardly accurate, though. This film is a portrait of the Russian army that Putin wouldn’t want you to see,” writes Mullen. “Russian-Canadian director Anastasia Trofimova goes to the front lines of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine to capture her home country’s offensive moves through the eyes of soldiers enacting them. She observes an army in disarray and a sense of growing disenchantment among the soldiers. She also learns the range of motivations for why the soldiers fight, from patriotism, loyalty, or economic necessity—with all reasons riddled with various filters of misinformation. Kudos to WIFF for letting audiences see the film and decide for themselves.”

And at the TFCA blog, José Teodoro reports from Montreal’s Festival du Nouveau Cinema where Cu Li Never Cries won the FIPRESCI prize: “Gorgeously photographed in black and white, the film begins with a woman’s return to her home in Vietnam following the death of her long-estranged husband, who left their country years ago to work abroad, and from whom she inherits a pygmy slow loris, an absurdly charismatic animal whose bulbous eyes seem to observe and absorb everything,” writes Teodoro. “The film’s behavioural humour and universal themes of familial conflict and rites of passage place it broadly within the tradition of Yazujirō Ozu, yet its movement between urban, natural, and monumental spaces, its willingness to cede certain passages to secondary characters, and above all its way of infusing the present with the shadows of Vietnam’s fraught past upend its quotidian foundation and lend it an almost dreamlike energy.”