The Adventures of Tintin is the film that Steven Spielberg has always aspired to make. Combining 3-D and motion capture technology, the director actions action scenes which defy physical and leap from the screen in the realm of absurdity. The film cannot capture the audience’s imagination because it goes well beyond that; Tintin is action for the sake of action, innovative because it showcases scenes few had conceived before. Though many current films may follow the same mantra of “watch now, think later”, they cannot replicate Spielberg’s panache. For better or worse, the film entertains consistently throughout its concise 144 …
Monsieur Lazhar
After an elementary school teacher hangs herself in the classroom, a school is left shaken. The principal cannot find a substitute teacher to take over the assignment and the students are coping with their grief over the death of their popular teacher. Monsieur Lazhar, claiming to be a teacher from Algeria who is a permanent resident in Canada but cannot obtain a permanent job, arrives and is tasked with restoring some order to the class.
The Artist
An ode to silent films and the Golden Age of the Silver Screen, The Artist could easily become camp yet manages to rise above the novelty of black and white scenes, dialogue replaced by caption cards and a 4:3 aspect ratio. The film succeeds because it preserves the magic of Hollywood, not the techniques of 1920s filmmaking. Ultimately, the purpose of films is to entertain; silent films became obsolete when viewers wanted to see “talkies” and black and white films were replaced when colour was demanded. The Artist aspires to entertain the audience with a simple and charming story and …
T.I.F.F. 2011, Part IV: Carré Blanc
A dystopian vision of office life in the future, Carré blanc is combination of George Orwell’s 1984 and Delicatessen. Jean-Baptiste Léonetti spent nearly five years putting together his stark film that combines ubiquitous corporations, sycophant co-workers and greed. The planet resources have been consumed and world is controlled by a single-minded company which seems to be a combination of Apple and Starbucks. Humanity faces a paradox: the population is plummeting but people are most valued as food. Philippe is a mid-level manager who is charged with performance evaluation, delivering tests which vary from sadistic to absurd to his colleagues. Earlier …
T.I.F.F. 2011, Part III: The Kid with a Bike
The Kid with a Bike (Le Gamin au vélo) tells the story of Cyril, a child who is struggling with the realization that his father does not want to take care of him. Directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, the film focuses more on the young protagonist rather than a storyline. Cyril experiences some difficult times but the film progresses based on how he reacts to the events rather than the events itself. At first he is angry, in a state of denial about his father’s abandonment, later struggling to fit in and find a father figure and later accepting …
T.I.F.F. 2011, Part II: J’aime regarder les filles
Set in 1981 against the backdrop of the election of François Mitterand to the presidency, J’aime regarder les filles profiles the life Primo, a student trying to achieve his Baccalauréat diploma and become accepted by a group of rich friends. The film proves charming, albeit incomplete. Pierre Niney, who plays Primo, the unfortunate protagonist, engenders the audience’s sympathy despite behaviour which ranges from naïve to deplorable. Primo wishes to fit in but seems unable to take any responsibility for his actions which hurt himself, his friends and his family. Primo lives in Paris, working at a variety of poor jobs …
T.I.F.F. 2011, Part I: The First Man
Based on Albert Camus’ unfinished last work, The First Man is an semi-autobiography, balancing tales of the author’s upbringing in a fatherless home with scenes from 1957 Algeria. The film’s twin timelines succeed in profiling author Jacques Coméry and his time in Algeria during two separate times, the 1920s and the 1950s. Scenes from his childhood and the path that led him to become a writer and make a career for himself are juxtaposed with a recent trip to the country to visit his family and speak on the subject of the independence movement. As Coméry speaks to integral figures …
Mesrine: Public Enemy #1
After a long delay, I was finally able to view the conclusion of the two-part series about French gangster Jacques Mesrine, thanks to Bay Street Video. Mesrine: Public Enemy #1 follows the criminal as he moves in and out of custody and the police move ever closer. The true crime drama captures the last two years of Mesrine’s career, culminating in a violent shootout in the Parisian suburbs. Unlike the prequel, the tone of this work more like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid or Public Enemies. Like Mesrine: Public Enemy, the film is excellent and shares many of the …
T.I.F.F. 2010, Part V: Jaloux
The final film that I screened at this year’s festival was Jaloux, directed by Patrick Demers. The low-budget work was filmed over sixteen days in Northern Quebec without a script; the director began with a storyboard that outlined the action and the small cast refined each scene by reviewing each day’s rushes every evening. Consequently, the cast was invested in the product as much as the financial backers and everyone cared deeply about the final product. It is unusual for the cast to review their own work during production. Sophie Cadieux, Maxime Denommée, and Benoît Gouin were able to get …
T.I.F.F. 2010, Part III: The Big Picture
Also known as L’Homme qui voulait vivre sa vie, The Big Picture proved to be another excellent film. “Thank you for choosing this f—— film,” director Eric Lartigau told the capacity crowd at the Toronto International Film Festival. The f—— film focuses on Paul Exben, played by Roman Duris. Early in the film, his learns that his marriage has collapsed. Paul confronts Grégoire, his wife’s lover, and accidentally kills the man. He realizes that he must disappear so he assumes Grégoire’s identity and moves to the Balkans. The film is a dark character study of a tragic hero. Lartigau often …
T.I.F.F. 2010, Part II: Film Socialism
It was an odd sight to see a quarter to a third of the audience walk out of the Ryerson Theatre throughout the opening night screening of Film Socialisme at the Toronto International Film Festival. Many spectators struggled to make sense of the film that was purposefully obfuscated. This version of the film did not include subtitles; the premiere at Cannes included Navajo subtitles. Whether it is difficult to understand because of the language barrier or difficult to understand because of the subject matter is irrelevant to Jean-Luc Godard. The film must be difficult to understand because it seeks to …
Mesrine: Killer Instinct
The first installment of a two-part series, Killer Instinct chronicles the first part of Jacques Mesrine’s life of crime. when the gangster operated in France and Canada in the 1960s. Many aspects of the film are taken from other pictures; the film seems to be part Goodfellas, part Bonnie and Clyde, there is even a scene taken exactly from Thelma and Louise. Though the derivations – camera angles, plot elements, even a couple of nearly identical scenes – are obvious, the way that everything is deftly combined does not cheapen the film. Ultimately, there is no shame stealing from master directors …
Un prophète
Most reviews of Un prophète are either very positive or quite negative. There seems to be no middle ground. I don’t know what to make of it. I would ask any view of Avatar or The Hurt Locker whether each film would have the same impact if it were the fourth or fifth version of that style of film. Unfortunately for Un prophète, it seems like it is one neo-realist film too many. After films like Gomorrah, Sin Nombre, and The Disappearance of Alice Creed have broken down all taboos and shown the gritty omnipresent nature of crime. Relative to …
T.I.F.F. 2009, Part IV: Face
Face (also known as Visage for the French translation) would have significantly benefited from a Q & A session, which was cancelled because the director could not make it to Toronto. Speaking to him would have answered the two meaningful questions in the minds of audience members: “What just happened?” and “Did they ever recapture that escaped stag?” This film should not have been selected for the festival and should not have been green lit by a studio for numerous reasons. Firstly, the film wastes excellent cinematography. Close shots where characters were reflected in mirrors or windows, long fixed shots …
T.I.F.F. 2009, Part III: La Donation
Bernard Émond’s final film in his trilogy about the three theological virtues, La Donation, attempts to find a secular meaning for the philosophy. Even if one is a non-believer, like M. Émond, he would like them to use nearly two thousand years of teachings in order to do well for themselves and others. La Donation follows Jeanne Dion as she first moves to the small town of Normétal in Abitibi in order to replace an old doctor named Yves Rainville for a month and later documents her decision about whether or not to stay after he suddenly dies. Since the …
T.I.F.F. 2009, Part I: Les Herbes Folles
Les Herbes Folles is an odd film. The first part of the film is replete with deadpan humour and bizarre situations. The second half of the film channels a bit of Pierrot le Fou and tries to leave the audience guessing. Director Alain Resnais leaves the audience guessing, providing a Hollywood ending followed by the “real” ending five minutes later. Two random strangers are connected by a lost wallet and become infatuated with each other. There is a sense that Georges, who found the wallet, is hiding something but it is never totally revealed, only suggested. Marguerite initially wants nothing …
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