In terms of high-profile films generating online buzz, The Whale has garnered a lot of attention - the new Aronofsky, with Brendan Fraser, in a comeback role, playing a fat man. I am happy that Fraser has revitalized his career, having gotten used to seeing him as the butt of various clickbaity, cruel "where are they now" sponsored posts on Facebook about people whose careers had tanked; I've seen him at least as often as I've seen posts that for no reason at all try to trick you into thinking David Suzuki has died - but I am not really interested in Aronofsky - I mean, Noah? Give me a break - and fat men hold no mystery for me.
In fact, having gotten very close to 400lbs in my life - I've lost about 100lbs since - I hereby decree that I am allowed to crack a fat joke: If I want a fat Brendan, I'll take Brendan Gleeson over Brendan Fraser any day, which is to say that I'm much more excited to see that Martin McDonagh - the Irish fella who brought us In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths, and Three Billboards in Ebbing, Missouri has a new film. The Banshees of Inisherin reunites Gleeson with Colin Farrell. I still remember having to re-file Farrell from "annoying, smug pretty boy" to "actor to watch" with In Bruges. He's done his best work with McDonagh, so count this one as a must-see. Tom Charity, btw, picks it as a top-ten TIFF must-see, so there's that, too.
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People who like their cinema dark and surreal - fans of Rubber and Mandibles, for instance - will want to see the new Quentin Dupieux, Smoking Causes Coughing. I'm enough of an auteurist that I read his name and go no further - ooh, a new Dupieux!
Fans of The Endless will want to see the new Benson/Moorehead, Something in the Dirt, from the Altered States catalogue. Again, names I recognize, and a great title, too, so I read no further.
That section, Altered States, also houses a curious-looking multiple-universe film, Quantum Cowboys, which I had audio problems trying to preview, but which, based on a few minutes' viewing seemed very visually ambitious and philosophically dense, with some of the animation evoking Linklater's A Scanner Darkly. And while they are not the stars, having Gary Farmer and John Doe in the cast cannot be bad things! Doe even sings, apparently.
Fans of Belgian Catholic auteurs the Dardennes (L'Enfant is probably their best known work?) should know that they have a new film called Tori and Lokita, which is themed around the struggles of immigrants, as are Nanny and Know Your Place. I'll be trying to write about those, especially the last one, which views Seattle through the eyes of two African immigrants; the description reminds me a bit of one of my favourite VIFF experiences ever, the Devor/ Mudede collaboration Police Beat.
Maybe it's because I'm a blogger, but it's interesting to trace through lines - films united by themes. So speaking of the immigrant experience, there is also a more locally-themed immigrant-themed film Riceboy Sleeps, about Korean immigrants to Vancouver. I'd previously enjoyed In-Between Days at a VIFF - about Korean immigrants to Toronto. But let's go back to a "name"-centered approach for a few more films...
French auteur Claire Denis also has touched on themes of immigration in her work; she has a new film in the VIFF, Stars at Noon. We once had a brief, somewhat awkward interview where I did learn that Trouble Every Day was inspired by former U-J3RK5 member turned photographer Jeff Wall, and that the truck-driver/ hitchhiker sequence in that film was not a homage to Cronenberg, as I'd assumed. One of two interviews that went so weird I was glad to escape, to be honest (the other was Blowfly).
Also in terms of international heavy-hitters, fans of Korean cinema might want to know that Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy) has a new film, Decision to Leave.
Mumblecore star Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha, Mutual Appreciation) has a new film called There There...
...while admirers of the recently departed Jean-Luc Godard - did he go to the same end-of-life clinic Elizabeth Fischer did? - might want to check out See You Friday, Robinson, about Godard's correspondence with Iranian filmmaker Ebrahim Golestan. Mostly, to be honest, I found Godard's cinema painful to watch, though I did enjoy the humour and transgressive pointedness of Weekend. Having a film about him in the VIFF certainly is timely, though - it will be a must see for some folks, but not me.
Old school European arthouse followers might be interested in EO, the new Jerzy Skolimowski, the description of which immediately evokes Au Hazard Baltasar. I am really glad that Skolimowski is working again; you've probably seen him acting in Cronenberg's Eastern Promises, as the cranky, racist uncle, but he also directed a couple of very well-liked films back in the day, Deep End (which Can's "Mother Sky" is an important piece of) and Moonlighting, with Jeremy Irons in a tale of Polish migrants working in London (never actually caught up with that one). I wasn't crazy about his attempt to be minimalist and topical, a few years ago, Essential Killing, starring Vincent Gallo as a jihadi fleeing through a hostile landscape, which reminded me of Losey's Figures in a Landscape. But I'm glad he's still making films (he's 84).
Also, Ruben Ostlund, who directed Force Majeure, also has a new film, Triangle of Sadness. But while I am aware he is well-regarded, I have not gotten to his cinema, so can help not at all there.
Of course, the "auteurist sieve" is not the only filter you can shake the catalogue through: the VIFF catalogue has plenty of films of topical relevance, but in particular re: aboriginal experience in Canada, including residential schools, Bones of Crows sounds like a must-see. It's the opening film.
I had already mentioned Sarah Polley's Women Talking, which looks at rape and other issues within the Mennonite community; people wanting to follow that thread might be interested in You Can Live Forever, set amongst Jehovah's Witnesses, who do attract some dissent, mostly from former members (look up the "vast apostate army"). I don't know the film, but I liked Liane Balaban, years ago, in a Nova Scotian coming-of-age comedy directed by Alan Moyle called New Waterford Girl, and the film has been picked up by Mongrel Media, who generally only handle quality cinema. So if the topic is of interest, it's probably a safe bet.
Another distributor whose films generally have value here in Canada is Filmswelike, and I was pleased to see their name attached to Riotsville USA, which captures some of the turbulence of the 1960's using archival footage. I was born in 1968, so I do feel like my life is rooted in that decade, even if my parents were both pretty straight, far removed from the hippies and Yippies and such....
As for locally-made films with feminist content, while I only know Sophie Jarvis from the short, "Zeb's Spider" (also playing the fest, previously written about here), I am keen to see Until Branches Bend, about a fruit-packing Okanagan whistlebower who discovers a potentially invasive insect in a peach and, if I'm reading the festival guide right, sets of some sort of apocalypse (??!). The bug in the peach could also be a metaphor for her unwanted pregnancy!
Oh, yes, another recommendation from Tom Charity, seconded by some of his Facebook friends, is The Mountain. I'm intrigued, but since Tom has taken pains to not spoil any of the films surprises, I won't read about it before seeing it...
There is lots else (including that 100th anniversary, live-scored Nosferatu event at a church - yowza!). There is now a physical program guide, or you can access the full VIFF catalogue online. I have a few features in the works, and lots of films I WILL be seeing and writing about - kind of a last stand of major blogging projects before I return to work...
More to come!
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