Major film festivals are always a somewhat surreal experience. You spend a few days or even a week mostly in a cinema, trying to fit in as many films as possible. Then you have to sort them and choose your favorites.
It’s a fun challenge and it’s particularly difficult at the Toronto International Film Festival, which is huge. This year’s edition featured films from 70 different countries. We managed to squeeze in a few features – the two of us saw more than 30 films in total during the festival – but still didn’t get to see everything. As such, this list of our favorite TIFF films does come with some caveats, namely that there are definitely some gaps in what we saw that can’t be avoided. Also: This list does not include Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, as we reviewed it earlier this year when it premiered in Japan.
Similar to last year, TIFF 2023’s best films are diverse, not just in geography but also in genre and style. There are darkly tragic Korean dramas, stylish Saudi crime capers and a French romance that doubles as an AI dystopia. Here’s what we enjoyed most in Toronto this year.
100 yards
Directors: Xu Haofeng and Xu Junfeng
Wide Release: TBD
“100 Yards” is a beautiful, relentless action film set in 1920s Tianjin, just a few years after the first official martial arts school was founded in the region. Although the story spans many lives, it is essentially about two men vying for control of the school after the death of their master: his apprentice Qi (Andy On) and his son Shen (Jacky Heung). As in most martial arts films, disputes are resolved exclusively through fighting. As someone says early in the film, “Fighting is divine judgment.”
100 Yards spends a lot of time building up the duo’s good fighting skills, especially when it comes to Shen; As the master’s son and someone who should live outside the dangerous world of martial arts (eventually he becomes a banker), Shen must constantly prove himself. And he does this through incredibly choreographed fight sequences that are both inventive and powerful. Some martial arts films like to turn the fight into a beautiful dance, others like to emphasize the brutality of the violence. 100 Yards manages to do both at the same time, with fights that look both elegant and beautiful, but where you can still hear the powerful punches of a hard slap landing.
It’s also a film that continues to improve, moving from one impressive scene to the next, all filled with creative new interpretations of martial arts. Early on, there’s a fight where wooden weapons clink together to create music, and another where Shen has to learn to use a short sword as he fights for his life. It all culminates in a breathtaking, drawn-out battle in which an entire army of enemies is defeated using all sorts of weapons and fighting styles. It’s the kind of movie that makes you catch your own breath while watching it. —AW
A normal family
Director: Hur Jin-ho
Wide Release: TBD
Not since “Parasite” have a twist in a drama hit me this hard. In A Normal Family it’s particularly jarring because it starts almost like a comedy. It’s the story of two brothers; One is a high-priced lawyer named Jae-wan (Sol Kyung-gu), the other is Jae-gyu (Jang Dong-gun), a doctor who never turns away a patient. At first the film seems downright strange because it presents its characters in stereotypical terms. There is the good-natured brother, the shady defender, the young model woman, etc.
“A Normal Family” begins with a violent tantrum on the street that brings the two brothers, who are not exactly close, together; Jae-wan defends a rich boy who rammed into a family’s truck while the victim is a patient at his brother’s hospital. But that’s just a table setting, and eventually the family faces a second tragedy involving their children.
As the story gains momentum, all of these stereotypes are thrown out the window – as is the lighter comedic tone. What follows is a dark and tragic look at the lengths people will go to save those they love, and how even seemingly entrenched morals become malleable. I don’t want to give anything away here, but A Normal Family has an ending that I just can’t get out of my head. —AW
American fiction. Image: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
American fiction
Directed by Cord Jefferson
Wide release: select theaters November 3rd; wider on November 17th
Reading Percival Everett’s 2001 novel Erasure, one might think that it would be almost impossible to adapt into a feature film of any length. But that’s exactly what writer/director Cord Jefferson manages to do with MGM’s aptly named American Fiction. As a talented writer who rightly assumes he has control over a wide range of people, there are few things Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (Jeffrey Wright) hates more than when people automatically assume everything he writes is , is about race just because he’s black.
While other, far more famous black writers like Sintara Golden (Issa Rae) may feel comfortable being known for writing books about excessive black poverty that make Good White People™ feel good, Monk sees herself as of Naturally above something like that, better than the people who do it. But when a sudden family tragedy calls Monk home and forces him to consider what it would take to support the people he loves, he reconsiders his stance on “selling out” – in part to make a nuanced statement, but mostly because it seems to be exactly what the market will reward him for.
Jefferson’s writing and direction were so focused on the challenges black authors faced in the early days of publishing that they imbue American Fiction with a piercing dynamic clarity.
It makes American Fiction seem like a bitingly clever, depressingly timeless reflection on the different things it can mean to be pigeonholed – both by oneself and by a society that doesn’t really care about including marginalized people in it to exist in its fullness. That quality alone is sure to make some viewers more uncomfortable than they’d like to admit, but given American Fiction’s impeccable sense of humor and refusal to pull any punches, it’s undoubtedly one of the strongest projects at this year’s TIFF can be seen. —CPM
The beast
Director: Bertrand Bonello
Wide Release: TBD
AI stories in science fiction are nothing new, but given the current climate surrounding the technology, they’re sure to make more of an impact. Part of what makes The Beast so fascinating is how different – and much more subtle – it is compared to most AI fiction. It takes place in the year 2044, a time when AI has helped make the world a much less volatile place, but has done so through a process that sands off some of the rough edges of humans.
Going through this process involves revisiting past lives, a bit like The Immaculate Mind’s Eternal Sunshine, and The Beast’s story ends with two casual lovers – played by Léa Seydoux and George MacKay – follows through several time periods, including the present (the film). Essentially, the film uses its science fiction approach to explore different types of love, using the same two people but in three different times and with very different circumstances. It starts out quietly sweet and romantic before eventually turning into something darker and more disturbing, portraying the future as a kind of silent dystopia. —AW
The dead don’t hurt. Image: HanWay Films
The dead don’t hurt
Director: Viggo Mortensen
Major release: TBD
Reading “The Dead Don’t Hurt” you might think it was just an opportunity for Viggo Mortensen to show off: he’s the writer, director, star and composer. But despite a wonderfully understated performance, he still manages to be overshadowed by a great Vicky Krieps.
Set on the western frontier in the 1860s, the film begins with a seemingly senseless, bloody crime: a man dressed in black destroys an entire saloon, followed by the city representative. It is initially presented without context. What follows is a detailed explanation of exactly what happened, told through the lens of a love story between quiet Danish cowboy Holger (Mortensen) and his much more energetic French colleague Vivienne (Krieps).
In some ways, The Dead Don’t Hurt feels like a typical Western, with its dark tone and unflinching violence. But it is elevated by the tenderness of its romance and the way Krieps and Mortensen bring it to life. Yes, I wanted to watch the movie until the end to see why things ended so badly. But more than that, I wanted to spend time with these two, a rare bright light in a bleak world. —AW
Dream scenario
Director: Kristoffer Borgli
Major release: November 10th
Paul (Nicolas Cage) is a tragically dull professor who makes little to no impression when he meets someone and whose work constantly goes unrecognized. That’s why it’s so strange when Paul appears in people’s dreams – not just those he knows, like his children, but eventually, it seems, everyone.
It starts out as fun and is a chance for Paul to maybe, just maybe, get his foot in the door with the book he wanted to write. Eventually, he quickly becomes the most famous person in the world and the first to experience a new kind of viral fame. But the dreams begin to transform into something else and with them the world’s feelings towards Paul. “Dream Scenario” might initially be described as a comedy based on awkward, existential jokes (and even a rare good fart gag), but in the end it’s a pure horror nightmare.
And it’s all backed up by a strong performance from Cage, who manages to embody the meek, tearful Paul in a way that’s equal parts hilarious and terrifying. —AW
Humanist vampire seeks consenting suicide bombers
Director: Ariane Louis Seize
Major release: TBD
With every generation, a number of vampire films are born, drawing from the rich canon of bloodsucking tales and seeking new ways to thrill and terrify theatergoers. But rather than attempt to fundamentally reinvent the wheel or give the genre’s classic characters a fresh feel, Quebec director Ariane Louis-Seize’s Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person instead tells the darkly comedic story of Sasha (Sara Montpetit), an ordinary “teenager” (read: 68 year old) vampire who wants nothing more than to enjoy her undead life without actually hurting people.
As the youngest member of a nuclear family of vampires, Sasha knows that her people’s job is to exploit the living to preserve their immortality. Her mother (Micheline Bernard) and her cousin Denise (Noémie O’Farrell) repeatedly try to make it clear to Sasha that she will starve if she doesn’t get anything to eat. However, as a vampire born with an unusual aversion to violence, killing humans is one of the last things Sasha would ever dream of, and when she decides to fight back, she finds herself left in the cold and seeks solace in a self-help group full of clueless, suicidal people like high school student Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard). – CPM
Mandoob
Director: Ali Kalthami
Major release: TBD
Of all the films screened at this year’s TIFF, Mandoob, co-writer and director Ali Kalthami’s debut film, particularly spoke to our ongoing struggle with the gig economy and disruptive platforms like Uber that are causing problems for workers around the world. to earn something ends come.
Like all call center workers who spend their days sitting at a desk dealing with customers they don’t see as people, Fahad Nassir (Mohammed Aldokhi) has so much more to offer than his ability to read scripts over the phone. He hopes for romance and dreams of becoming a person his ailing father and entrepreneur sister can rely on when they need help. But when Farhad is fired from his dead-end job, his only option is to make money by becoming one of the countless underpaid delivery drivers who ply the streets of Riyadh for Mandoob, a fictional delivery service popular throughout Saudi Arabia drive.
Although “Mandoob” quickly becomes a gripping story about Farhad stumbling into the world of smuggling alcohol for Riyadh’s rule-breaking elites, Kalthami’s desire to tell a story about Saudi Arabia’s often invisible working class is palpable from the start. This focus creates an immediate kind of familiarity with Farhad’s world and sets the stage for Aldokhi to deliver an astonishingly nuanced portrayal of a well-intentioned pathological liar who really just wants to support those he loves.
What really sets the film apart, however, is the way cinematographer Ahmed Tahoun, with his flair for crafting small moments of human intimacy, makes Kalthami’s view of Saudi Arabia seem much more grand, imposing, and exactly like a place that swallows a human being can fight for survival no matter how hard. —CPM
Monster
Directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu
Major release: TBD
Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda has been particularly prolific lately – his Korean film Broker played at TIFF just last year – but he shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, “Monster” might be his most subtle and heartbreaking story yet. It begins with a seemingly straightforward film about bullying at school. All the signs are there: Minato (Sōya Kurokawa) is a little boy who comes home from school with no shoes, or with a water bottle full of dirt, or cuts his hair as soon as he returns. But even though “Monster” may seem obvious at first glance, it is actually more of a complex mystery.
We see the story from three different perspectives. First it’s the turn of Minato’s mother (Sakura Andō), who is convinced that something terrible is happening at school (and for good reason), before we see things from the perspective of his teacher (Eita Nagayama) and then Minato himself . Nothing is quite as it first seems, but the film provides clues that can initially be misleading – and even confusing – before cleverly revealing what is going on. What seems like a tragic story becomes a story about love and acceptance, and it’s all the more satisfying how it all comes together. —AW
Smugglers
Director: Ryoo Seung-wan
Major release: TBD
“Smugglers” is a lot like what would happen if you crossed an “Ocean’s 11”-style heist with an Oldboy-style revenge story, and then threw in a shark for good measure.
Set in 1970s Korea, the film revolves around a diving team called Haenyo whose livelihood is destroyed by pollution from a new factory that is killing local marine life. To make ends meet, they end up getting involved in the smuggling business: cargo ships drop packages at sea to avoid customs, and the women go underground to bring them back to land. It’s a good racket until they inevitably get caught.
A few years later comes the last job a heist film needs. And while it’s an elaborate adventure that, surprisingly, takes place mostly underwater, “Smugglers” also becomes a violent revenge story in which the women seize their chance to take revenge on those who have wronged them. There is a very complex web of betrayal here that keeps you guessing the entire time. In short: Smugglers is an absolute blast. —AW
The working class is going to hell
Director: Mladen Đorđević
Major release: TBD
For the poor, religious workers at the center of director Mladen Đorđević’s horror comedy Working Class Goes to Hell, it feels as if God has abandoned their small, rural Balkan town after a local factory fire leaves several people dead and many more suddenly left unemployed . Although company executives and local politicians insist they have plans to get the city back on its feet, union organizer Ceca (Tamara Krcunovic) knows that what they really want is to drive out the working class in the name of capitalist progress.
No matter how focused Ceca and her colleagues are on protesting and spreading the word about how they are being driven deeper and deeper into poverty, however bleak their situation is, it makes them cling to their Christian faith much quicker. But when a mysterious pagan man named Mija (Leon Lucev) joins their cause and begins introducing them to an unorthodox, seemingly satanic faith, Ceca and the others can’t help but consider switching teams as Mija begins to to perform strange, dark miracles very much to answer their prayers for retribution.
Although Đorđević paints a bleak picture of life in the modern age of rampant corporate greed, “Working Class Goes to Hell” leads with dry humor, smoothly alternating between truly gritty horror and pointed social commentary. By making you aware of how real its supernatural elements are, the film places even greater emphasis on the fact that its story is truly about the power of collective action and trust in other people. —CPM
Woman of the hour. Image: Netflix
Woman of the hour
Director: Anna Kendrick
Wider release: TBD
Although Anna Kendrick both directs and stars in Woman of the Hour on Netflix, the true crime thriller places a uniquely chilling focus on the numerous women serial killer Rodney Alcala (Daniel Zovatto) befriended in the years leading up to his appearance “The Dating Game” murdered. As an aspiring actress struggling to land steady gigs, Cheryl Bradshaw (Kendrick) knows an unexpected offer to guest star on The Dating Game could be her big break. For Cheryl, the TV appearance, which is mostly scripted, is an opportunity to show her face and maybe meet a nice guy with whom she then goes on an unscripted date. But for Rodney – bachelor number three – his chance, the televised encounter with Cheryl, is an invitation to kill again.
With its frightening moments of brutality, “Woman of the Hour” highlights the many ways in which women are forced to move through the world defensively, fearful of men like Alcala and the culture that enables their monstrosity. —CPM