The Toronto International Film Festival ended this Sunday as it began, without a parade of stars on the red carpet: lonely, the crimson path that Hollywood’s elite usually tread, this year on strike. On the other hand, many leading filmmakers came to support their films, which were often of remarkable quality. The Quebec vintage was particularly strong, including Sophie Dupuis’ Solo, which was named best Canadian film. However, despite the quality programming, 2023 will have been a difficult year for TIFF, as many of those cruelly absent stars castigated the event by demanding that the Royal Bank (RBC) be removed from sponsorship because of its support of fossil fuels.
It would be wrong to downplay the impact of the petition, which was signed by Joaquin Phoenix, Julianne Moore and Leonardo DiCaprio, among others. This is a real snub to TIFF. In fact, the Canadian festival usually relies heavily on the presence of big names in American cinema.
Although we continued to thank all sponsors, including RBC, before each screening, the unease was palpable.
Disaster never comes naturally, and even before the festivities began, Bell announced that it was ending its relationship with TIFF as a sponsor. Not to mention the stakeholder demonstrations that took place near the festival in front of the Apple and Amazon campuses.
In short: between two world premieres and press screenings, journalists from all over the world had something to talk about. However, without neglecting the importance of environmental and financial issues, it is the seventh art that remains at the center of exchanges between professionals. In this case there was something.
Unsurprisingly, certain films that have been preceded by laudatory reactions have garnered consensus, and rightly so. The Palme d’Or winner, “Anatomy of a Fall” by Justine Triet, turned out to be just as remarkable as hoped. Sandra Hülser shines as the author who is (wrongfully, isn’t it?) accused of murdering her husband. The same applies to the new film “Perfect Days” by Wim Wenders: a return to fiction in delicacy and beauty, with a great performance (awarded at Cannes) by Kōji Yakusho as a public toilet cleaner.
Directed by the unpredictable, rare and talented Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest follows a dismayed but enthusiastic director of a Nazi concentration camp, again starring Sandra Hülser. Favorite for Strange Way of Life, a short film by Pedro Almodóvar that tells the story of the thwarted love affairs of two cowboys.
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Queer Palme-winning film “Monster,” about a child who is “maybe” bullied at school or “maybe” mistreated by a teacher, brings surprises and upheavals. Building on the Grand Jury Prize in Venice, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist (Drive My Car/Conduis mon char) unfolded its hypnotic suspense about the residents of a small mountain town worried about the impending arrival of a tourist development.
Without forgetting the opening film: “The Boy and the Heron”, Hayao Miyazaki’s swansong, in which the director of the masterpieces “Princess Mononoke” and “Spirited Away” once again surpasses himself.
The wheat and the chaff
As for Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, it wouldn’t be surprising if its lead actor, Paul Giamatti, was nominated for an Oscar as a misanthropic professor. Speaking of Oscars: We also wish nominations for Annette Bening and Jodie Foster, memorable in Nyad, a biographical drama about the swimmer Diana Nyad.
In the “feel-good movie based on a true story” department, Taika Waititi got more laughs with his presentation (where he punched his microphone until it broke) than his film “Next Goal Wins,” which features a fallen coach (Michael Fassbender tries to transform a losing team into a winning team: a sympathetic, well-intentioned but conventional production.
Likewise, “The Burial” by Maggie Betts proved to be a little spicier. Tommy Lee Jones and Jamie Foxx make a beautifully mismatched duo, the first as a deceived funeral home owner, the second as a flamboyant lawyer. Predictable but delicious. Still on the side of real stories, Craig Gillespie’s Dumb Money (Stupidly Rich), an entertaining satire that tells how an outrageous analyst sent Wall Street reeling, gained support.
However, there are certain titles whose presence will leave you speechless. Actor Chris Pine’s first directorial effort, the police comedy “Poolman,” sparked devastating reviews. Another first production full of clichés and poorly negotiated dramatic twists, North Star by Kristin Scott Thomas disappointed with Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller and Emily Beecham, who weren’t very believable as a trio of angry sisters.
Although the festival didn’t benefit from the same visibility, some hidden gems were still revealed. Such is the case with the Audience Award winner, Cord Jefferson’s “American Fiction,” where Jeffrey Wright plays a black professor and writer who, fed up with not being published, writes a novel under a pseudonym that contains all the literary clichés harmonizes that are reserved for African-American culture. A resounding but annoying success followed.
We also think of “Before the Flames go out” (screened at TIFF under the title “After the Fire”) by Mehdi Fikri, in which a French suburban family calls for transparency and justice after the death of one of their sons at the hands of police officers. Or even “The Movie Teller” by Lone Scherfig, where a young woman boosts the morale of her Chilean mining village by recounting the films she sees every week: a bittersweet tribute to cinema.
And what about Kristoffer Borgli’s crazy but brilliant dream scenario? This A24 production (Everything Everywhere All at Once) tells the story of how the life of a professor played by Nicolas Cage is (well) turned upside down when he appears in the dreams of strangers.
A look back at local films
Finally, we must highlight the exceptional quality of the many Quebec films presented, most of which were directed by women: “Solo” by Sophie Dupuis (on screen and a must-see), “Happy Days” by Chloé Robichaud and “Humanist Vampire Seeks”. “ with approval Suicide, by Ariane Louis-Seize (Winner in Venice), Simple comme Sylvain, by Monia Chokri, Irenas Vow, by Louise Archambault, Mademoiselle Kenopsia, by Denis Côté, Kanaval, by Henri Pardo (Amplify Voice Prize and special Mentioned at Best Canadian Film Award) and Ru by Charles-Olivier Michaud, based on the autobiographical novel by Kim Thúy.
In this case, increasing it is not chauvinistic. As proof of this, the American publication Variety, the industry bible, dedicated a long article to the Quebec contingent during TIFF.
In short, this means we are in for an extraordinary return to cinema. We will have another opportunity to talk about it.
Thanks to the support of Telefilm Canada, François Lévesque was in Toronto.