I have a quirky policy about writing of films from a film festival. In the early years, I tried to avoid an actual "review," especially negative, because I believed a film deserved a chance to open before I laid into it. This was grandiose--as if the world was awaiting my opinion. Then I began suggesting my thinking, without going into detail. Then, being human, I allowed that approach to enlarge into specific descriptions of films I really loved, or hated.
Alex Vo, editor of Rotten Tomatoes: No Meter when he needs it most.
That's now the strategy I use, with amendments. I can only review a film for the first time once, and if I've used all my energy in rehearsal, what have I saved for opening night? I'll reflect the general reception of certain films, however, if only in the spirit of providing news coverage. The first year I was here, I was one of four members of the American press. These days, with half the audience members filing daily blogs and twittering immediately after a film is over, it's simply all part of the festival process.
So that brings me around to my latest approach. Yes, I will write about specific films when my response is particularly strong (after the world premiere of "Juno," for example). Yes, I will write about festival scandals and controversy. But when anyone with a compute can read dozens of instant reviews of many entries for readers who haven't yet seen the films, I enjoy writing also about the experience--the people, the screenings, the legends, the anecdotes, the rituals, the whole unreal world of a time and place that consists only of seeing films and discussing them, and somebody thinks every single film is worth seeing. That's particularly true at Toronto, where a seasoned and expert group of programmers take personal responsibility for every section, and introduce most of the films themselves.
Alain Resnais
That said, there are several films here that I saw at Cannes in May. As I write this on Wednesday night, I haven't attended my first Toronto screening this year. That will be the press screening of "Creation," the Charles Darwin bio, which opens the festival in the vast Roy Thomson Hall on Thursday night. Until then, I thought I'd reprise some of my opinions from Cannes.
¶ "The Wild Grass" (Les Herbes Folles) is by Alain Resnais, whose "Last Year at Marienbad" (1961) was one of the founding films of the New Wave. Now 86, looking fit and youthful on the red carpet, he has made one of those films perhaps only conceivable in old age. It is about an unlikely and fateful chain of events that to a young person might seem like coincidence, but to an old one illustrates the likelihood that most of what happens in our lives comes about by sheer accident. To realize this is to become more philosophical; the best-laid plans of mice and men are irrelevant to the cosmos.To explain how this could all possibly happens would be not wild (folles) but a folly (une folie). Here is how it begins: The heroine Josepha (Sabine Azéma) decides one day to buy a pair of shoes. That leads to her purse being snatched. That leads to Georges (Andre Dussollier) finding her wallet. That leads to everything else. Resnais uses an omniscient narrator, as he must, because only from an all-knowing point of view can the labyrinth of connections be seen. He films in a colorful, leisurely style; not taking even the most serious things too very seriously, because, after all, they need never have happened.
"The Father of My Children"
¶ "The Father of My Children" (Le pere des mes enfants) belongs to the genre of the country house movie, French division. British country house movies are a mix of Jane Austen, Agatha Christie and Evelyn Waugh, with Wodehouse as the mixologist. French country house movies tend to tell bourgeois family stories, including children of all ages, and they tilt toward the pastoral. This film, the third by Mia Hansen-Løve, only 28 and a rising star of French cinema, stars Louis-Do de Lencquesaing as a movie producer who is willing to take chances on serious auteurs and is currently deep in debt, not least because of his backing of a temperamental perfectionist not a million miles separated from Lars von Trier. The story is said to be inspired by the real-life producer Humbert Balsan, who took in the thankless task of von Trier's "Manderlay" (2005)
The producer is a nice man. Too nice. Too loving, too loyal, too driven. We begin by following him through desperate attempts to keep his company afloat, and then watch as his wife (Chiara Caselli) and children try to deal with the impossibilities he has created. Some of this happens in Paris, much of it happens in his country house, and the focus is not on film production but on family. I was reminded of two other recent French films: the current "Summer Hours," about an old lady leaving a legacy for her family to deal with, and last year's "A Christmas Tale," with Catherine Deneuve in an affecting performance as a mother less worried about her death than her children are.
Embracing: Penelope Cruz and Pedro Almodovar
¶ "Broken Embraces" (Los Abrazos Rotos) is the much-awaited new Pedro Almodóvar collaboration with his recent muse, Penelope Cruz. It's about an old man remembering a woman he loved. Lluis Homar ("Bad Education") plays a director who went blind in an auto accident that killed his love (Cruz), who was his secretary, and who he met as a call girl. Now he works as a successful screenwriter, using touch-typing. One day he's approached by an ambitious young filmmaker named Ray X (Ruben Ochandiano), who he suspects is the son of the evil millionaire he holds responsible for the woman's death.
As always with Almodóvar, it isn't nearly as simple as that. Using interlocking flashbacks, the film reconstructs what actually happened in a combination of overwrought Sirkian melodrama and Hitchcock. The music, indeed, pays homage to Bernard Hermann's work, particularly his score for Hitchcock's "Vertigo," and the film's romantic entanglements pay homage to Almodóvar's own pansexual stories. Cruz is a life force, but Homar's work is the film's engine.
¶ "The Time That Remains," is one of the more unexpected successes at Cannes, is a deadpan Palestinian comedy written by, directed, and starring Elia Suleiman. Read that again: a deadpan Palestinian comedy. And not especially political, although almost all stories set in Israel must be political to one degree or another. The film, dedicated to the memory of Suleiman's parents, shows his father as a firebrand gun-maker, gradually aging into an old guy who sits outside a cafe with his pals, smokes, smokes, smokes, and drinks coffee as if he has kidneys of steel. 
Elia Suleiman in his own "The Time that Remains"
This family lives in a small but pleasant flat with a nice view of Nazareth; they're part of a friendly community. The film consists of fairly self-contained vignettes of human nature, reminding me curiously of the Czech New Wave comedies. The character played by Suleiman, satire linked with autobiography, a solemn, silent figure with dark shadows under his eyes, is poker-faced and never speaks. He simply stands and regards all that happens for 60 years. I don't know what that makes it sound like to you. I was surprised by how it grew on me. The karaoke scene is unreasonably funny.¶ "Enter the Void," by Gasper Noe of France is a nearly unendurable in-depth investigation of a very shallow idea. The camera positions itself close behind the head of a callow youth, jug-eared and crew-cut, as he films with his video camera and then becomes the camera as the remainder of the film is seen from his POV. The hero, an orphaned American, lives with his sister in Tokyo, where she is a nude dancer and possibly a booker, and he is a druggie and possibly a dealer. If they don't practice incest, you could have fooled me.
Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe as "Precious"
After he dies in a shooting at a nightclub named the Void, we live through subjective scenes intended as what he sees after death. They involve flashbacks, replays of what has already happened, and hovering above what's happening now. In Noe's view, the soul does survive the body, which for much of this time has been cremated. These scenes are spaced out with sound and light abstractions resembling 1960s underground films past their shelf life. If Noe's camera plunges into a vortex once, it does so a hundred times: Into white holes, black holes, psychedelic kaleidoscopic holes, over and over and over again, representing the delightful diversity of the Void. The visuals might have been juicier if he had known abut fractals. The film includes obligatory genitals of both genders, and one of the voids the POV plunges into is the mess in a stainless steel pan after an abortion.¶ "Precious," one of the best films of the autumn, is Lee Daniels' the story of a physically and mentally abused poor black girl from the ghetto, who summons the inner strength to fight back for her future. It contains two great performances, by Gabourey "Gabby" Sidibe, in the title role, and Mo'Nique as her pathetic mother. Sidibe is the life force personified. Mo'Nique has a closing monologue that reduced some of us to tears. "Precious" will open nationally in less than six weeks, and I will write about it much more when it does. I think it's a plausible winner of the Audience Award--which is sort of like the grand prize at a festival without any juries or any prizes.
¶Trailer for "Broken Embraces"
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Trailer for "The Wild Grass"
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Trailer for "Precious"
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Trailer for "The Time That Remains (French subtitles)
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I look forward to seeing the Suleiman film. I haven't seen any of his features but I saw his short in "Chacun Son Cinema" and have wanted to seek out his work ever since. He not only looks a bit like Buster Keaton but has his understated comedic rythm and physicality. That three minute short alone was funnier and more intriguing than most of the American comedies I've seen this year.
Ebert: It's funny, and a little sad, and funny, and a little sad.
Glad to hear you enjoyed the performances in Precious. Have you read the novel by Sapphire? I read it this summer and loved it, and when I saw the film's trailer I could immediately tell the film had potential. I can't wait to see this movie.
The Broken Embraces score is Bernard Herrmann-esque?! As if I couldn't be anticipating the movie any more.
Of course, can't wait for Precious.
Rensais's Wild Grass sounds intriguing, but will probably have to wait for dvd to see that one.
Pedro Almodóvar's movies are wonderful, but Penelope Cruz adds something--oh, right: Penelope Cruz. Is there another face in cinema so irresistible? I want to say she reminds me of Sophia Loren, but that's just the strength of her nose and cheeks, her almond eyes. There's also a little Gloria Grahame in there, the quickest study in the room. And maybe a touch of Anna Magnani, ready to put up her dukes.
Fortunately, my wife understands why I'm in love with Penelope Cruz: I'm half Cuban, half Sicilian; it's very tiring. But even if she didn't, Almodóvar certainly does. I'm looking forward to Broken Embraces.
For some reason, your responses to the Almodovar and Noe films re-triggered a question that I've often wondered about. Are there filmmakers whose previous work you (or anyone, for that matter) admires or loathes so deeply that it makes it virtually impossible to assess their current work fairly? For instance, I often wonder if I overpraise the current mediocre work of a favorite filmmaker because I somehow feel they can do no wrong...or judge a misstep too harshly because it doesn't measure up to their past work. On the other hand, can one have such a negative reaction to someone's past work that you absolutely refuse to admit to yourself that a current film is more to your liking?
Some interesting choices here that I should definitely look out for; for some reasons "The Time that Remains" and "Father of my Children" stand out in particular. I've never heard of Suleiman but it sounds like he's the kind of filmmaker I like.
"Precious" is the film I want to see when it eventually plays here in Vancouver. I've been curious to ever since you'd first mentioned it, and especially after watching the trailer.
There's a scene where she gets shoved from behind by a boy and falls down onto the sidewalk, to the amusement of his friends.
I want to see her get back up.
I can already sense that fall 2009 is going to be a thrilling season in cinema. Are you as disappointed as I am, though, that Terrence Malick's "Tree of Life" won't be making its debut in any of the remaining festivals?
Roger,
I saw the trailers of "Precious" may be a few months ago, my sister, nineteen or twenty at the time, was looking at the trailer on her phone and I just happen to be standing there. She was saying ooh this looks like it's going to be good. She said Monique looks like she is going to be good in this role. So I took a look-see and lo and behold there it was on screen. A dramatization of a novel I had read a couple of years ago. I said to myself ooh my goodness how could they possibly make a film based on that book.
Roger I love books but that is one book that after I finished reading it I wanted to throw it away, did I mention that throwing away books for me is the equivalent of throwing away a kidney (everyone knows you can survive and still lead a meaningful life with only one kidney but I'd rather not if at all possible). The explicit detail of the life of a child that had survived the most worst of human behavior, the images that are provoked by this book prints itself indelibly on one's mind. The horror of that child's life was entirely too much for me. I just was wondering how could they (the moving making folks) have possibly handled that material and then lo and behold I read an interview with the author of "Push"(the book on which the film is based) and she was posed such a question and basically she said she worked with everyone involved and apparantly she thought the material was handled correctly. I am a Black woman and I guess the book may have had a much stronger effect on me because I am a member of a culture that finds it particularly difficult to talk about sexual and phsyical abuse of our children at the hands of their so called loved ones.
It is the most shocking and honest portayal of the devastation that extreme sexual and physical abuse has on a child. Roger all I want to know is this, did the film do the book any justice? And get this Roger I don't even know what I mean by asking you "did the film do the book any justice" because the truth is, if that film is anything like the book I will not be going. It is very difficult for me to this day to shake the imagery in my psyche regarding the detailed abuse of Precious. I think I will finally throw that book away.
Roger, your dispatches from TIFF are delightful to read. Looking forward to your thoughts on A Serious Man and I hope The Time that Remains comes to a theater to me before too long.
On another note, it's autumn, and we sure miss your appearances at the Virginia Film Festival; meeting you, and learning from you there, were unforgettable experiences. Any chance you will make it down to Charlottesville again one of these years?
Wait, a Gasper Noe film and a Lars Von Trier film at the same festival? Better get ready for some wild audiences and some wild receptions. Those passionate festival viewers that come with their bottle of water and bags of trail mix may need a barf bag to go along with their meal.
I can see the pickle you are in when it comes to film festivals. Obviously if your feelings are strong about a film you want to share them, but it does many of us little good when you say 'run out and see' or 'avoid at all costs' a movie that we will not have in our area for months. Plus, haven't many a good movie (or bad) been changed between the festival screening and true opening day to the point where your initial insights may well be inaccurate?
BTW I am home with what is at worst the swine flu at best the people flu and I will be watching the Big Lebowski. Screw you 'Antichrist'.
Ebert: You don't want to see "Antichrist" with swine flu.
I’m looking forward to the Suleiman and the Almodóvar, I’m a big fan of Almodóvar and Penélope Cruz. Since Vicky Christina Barcelona came out it’s become a cliché to say that people who’ve only seen Cruz in American movies didn’t really know how good she could be, but it’s equally true that you don’t even know how hot she is if you haven’t seen her in Jamón Jamón, an insane, very sexy dark comedy heavily influenced by Spanish soap operas.
I’m sad to hear that the new Gaspar Noé is such a dog. I thought that his first two features were the good kind of nearly unendurable.
Strangely enough, I will be attending Wild Grass and Enter the Void back to back in Toronto next week. Judging on what you wrote, it probably would have been better to see them in the other order, so I can cheer myself up after Enter the Void.
Mr Ebert,
I was wondering. What makes a movie belong in one of the following caterogies?
1) Audiences like it but it's not really a piece of art. (Night at the Museum)
2) It's a good movie but people don't bother watching it. (Tulpan)
3) It's art and audiences love it. (Inglourious Basterds)
Why would someone find an art film great and someone else boring? I think it's kind of like classical music. Most pieces are only for some people and some others appeal to everyone (Canon in D). But why is that?
I hope you'll enjoy the festival.
Ebert: Imponderables.
Thanks for the update Roger. I love reading your writings.
I look forward to seeing these movies when they get a wider release later in the year. Quite an interesting group above.
Question for you:
How often do you get to see the movies you review in the theater? Do you watch some via a DVD or an On Demand service and then review? Do you feel this diminishes any effect for the movie? How do you feel about Day and date releases for movies on Demand/Theatrical? I suspect a few of these will go this route perhaps.
Ebert: I see them any way I can. Such releasing methods as Video on Demand may be the salvation of some films. I'm now listing them separately in the "Two Thumbs Up" section.
I'm looking forward to seeing "Precious" when it comes out nationwide. I'm also looking forward to reading your thoughts about the fesitval and the films you see, so start cranking out those updates! I'm not the patient sort.
Is "Shutter Island" showing at the festival? I was disappointed when studio execs bumped it to next year and am eagerly awaiting some word on Scorsese's latest. (Like I said, I'm not the patient sort...)
The 'problem' with festivals: For every movie you see, there is one you miss and at least a couple the festival itself didn't bring in.
The Father of my Children is now on me 'To See' list.
Ah, I read this post too late. I just picked up my ticket selection an hour ago. This is my first time at TIFF (it's been a dream of mine for several years now) and somebody really needs to write up a primer for the festival. I'm going to be affixed at the computer every morning now to try to snatch up new tickets to the sold-out shows.
In your last post, you advised readers to check out Tim Horton's. If caffeinated swill is what you're looking for, chug away. There have only been two cafes serving drinkable coffee that I've found so far: B Espresso inside the RCM on Bloor St. and Dark Horse on Spadina.
Ebert: You may be hearing from some other Canadians.
i'm suddenly quite annoyed with myself for choosing Enter the Void instead of the new Jason Reitman film (i figured i could see that one in theatres eventually, but not Void, and the description in the TIFF book sounded good...). that's most unfortunate, because if there's one thing i have very little patience for, it's pretentious art house experiments. but hopefully it's not that bad.
I thought you were gonna say that Broken Embraces would be the best, because of how famous almadovar and penelope cruz are, but after i read this, i just want to see precious. i know that tyler perry always makes movies about women who are sad in their lives and oprah winfrey make sure to make films that are very positive in their mesages, so i think Precious is going to be the one to see. i am really glad you liked it.
plum
Don't Be a Plum
Please Roger, will you try and see one of 17 australian films playing at TIFF. I'd be fascinated as to your opinion on some recent Australian films which are making thier Nth American debut at Toronto.
In your last post, you advised readers to check out Tim Horton's. If caffeinated swill is what you're looking for, chug away. There have only been two cafes serving drinkable coffee that I've found so far: B Espresso inside the RCM on Bloor St. and Dark Horse on Spadina.
ooooooook, hold on there just a second. You're damn right you'll be hearing from some Canadians, probably imploring you about calling Timmy coffee "swill". I'm not going to do that (others will do so sufficiently). It's not the best coffee in the world, but it's Canadian, it's not pretentious, and it never will be, in price, service and atmosphere. Majority of us buy it more out of sentimentality and loyalty and familiarity than for the best coffee taste. If you never grew up with it it's easy to feel differently.
On the other hand, coffee shops with great coffee? in TORONTO? You've gotta be kidding me when you say you've only found two (I'll assume you've been lacking in time to look). There's a bunch in the annex: Aroma near Bathurst/Spadina (500 Bloor St. west), great food on top great coffee; The Green Beanary nearby (http://www.greenbeanery.ca/bean/); Lettieri across the street from the Bean on bathurst/bloor. If you are at Varsity just go a little south on Bay and you'll find Urbana (1033 Bay st), organic fair trade coffee all the way with tasty paninis. Go a bit east into Cabbagetown and there's Jet Fuel - BEST ESPRESSO IN TOWN (http://jetfuelcoffee.com/). Then there are the endless endless places on College street (Bar Italia, manic coffee) and Queen street (Tan Coffee a must try, http://www.tancoffeetoronto.com/). The Lettieri scattered across the city are always dependable too (http://www.lettiericafe.com/)
p.s. Roger I got a last minute ticket this morning for The Education tonight at Ryerson! Perseverance does pay off :)
Ebert: Let me know what you think. That can be a very warm house for a movie.
What do people think about The Second Cup?
Ebert: You don't want to see "Antichrist" with swine flu.
LOL - the imagery of this had me laughing out loud, literally. That could be a movie in and of itself. Comedy? Drama? Both?
To Alice:
I live in Toronto and I agree Tim Horton's is swill. Kind of the equivalent of Dunkin Donuts. Your best bet is to go to a local coffee shop, not a chain.
Good luck!
Speaking of Tim Horton's. A Time Horton's here in Ohio just added on a Cold Stone Cremery, AND its open 24/7. Now, I really need to stay away, or else my clothes won't fit!! Any dualies up in T-town?
Miles Blanton
The cut of Enter The Void playing at Toronto is ten minutes shorter than the cut that played at Cannes. And then, the final (definitive) cut of the film is going to be twenty minutes shorter than the Toronto cut, according to an interview with the director in a French magazine. Why he isn't just presenting the definitive cut at Toronto, I do not know. But I've heard criticism from Cannes reviews that the film dragged on too long with its psychedelic imagery.
So, if thirty minutes are cut out, will that possibly make it a more endurable experience?
Ebert: Quite possibly.
Roger,
I love the way you speak of a film festival as a kind of dream world. That is exactly what it feels like to someone who appreciates film and filmmaking: it is the delicious answer to the question What would happen if all of the extraneous material were excised from my life and I got to do exactly what I love to do?
I really enjoyed your take on Alain Resnais' film. Resnais' take on life, steeped as it is in sheer experience of the world as it is and as it can be, reminds me of the way you've been writing in your blog these past several months, allowing yourself to stop and take a look at the world not through the filter of hustle and bustle, but with an eye toward what your life has taught you about the human experience.
I treasure your unique viewpoint on all things filmic and otherwise, and I wish you a happy Toronto festival.
Have you had an opportunity to see In the Loop yet? It is easily my favorite movie of the year thus far, and the most brilliant political satire since Wag the Dog, a film it actually tops in laughs. I've been eager to read your take on it.
Roger asked: "What do people think about The Second Cup?"
It's like Starbucks.
And Tim Horton's isn't great coffee, no. It's appeal lies in its familiarity - it's comforting, like a pair of warm slippers. And when you drink a cup of Tim's while eating a donut, that's Canada. :)
And so go ahead and call it swill. It won't change the fact we still beat you in the War of 1812.
Ebert: And curse you, you're still feasting on the fruits of victory. I say we should demand reparations.
The Second Cup is Canada's answer to Starbucks.
Timothy's is Canada's other answer to Starbucks.
Aroma is Israel's answer to Starbucks.
Lettieri is Toronto's answer to Aroma.
Tim Hortons is Canada.
I didn't mean to imply that Timothy's and Second Cup were both Starbucks knockoffs. When The Second Cup and Timothy's both started in the mid-1970s, Starbucks had only the one location in Seattle. They were well established Canadian chains by the time Starbucks showed up in Canada in the mid-1990s.
Grace: Timmy Ho's Canadian? Then how do you explain that it was not too long ago purchased by Wendy's? My tastebuds know no national boundaries. I am partial to the beans from 49th Parallel and Illy.
Believe me, the first thing I sought in Toronto was a decent latte. I have been to Aroma, Jet Fuel (blargh) and the Green Beanery. They offered varying degrees of moderately successful espresso. I will try the other places you mentioned. I must admit that I am spoiled by growing up on Vancouver coffee (and sushi, but that is another discussion for another time).
Roger, I'd say Second Cup is on par with Starbucks. It'll save you a few pennies, though it depends if you prefer things a touch stale instead of "burnt".
Ebert: What do people think about The Second Cup?
Roger, I'm delighted you've discovered The Second Cup.
I live down in the Niagara region, where there's a Tim's on nearly every street corner. Sadly, outside of the GTA, Tim's has driven out all other competition. A true coffee aficionado can recognize the quality brew that The Second Cup provides. I often take a drive into the city for that very reason.
Cheers.
Ebert: You never know what will get started here. We seem to have engendered a Coffee War, with Canadians on both sides. As yet no other nationalities have clocked in.
I am a heretic in that I never particularly cared all that much about taste, but was more concerned with view and ambiance while reading a book or newspaper. There are a couple of nice local non-chain places on Queen, but I can't remember their names.
Alice says: Ah, I read this post too late. I just picked up my ticket selection an hour ago. This is my first time at TIFF (it's been a dream of mine for several years now) and somebody really needs to write up a primer for the festival. I'm going to be affixed at the computer every morning now to try to snatch up new tickets to the sold-out shows.
Primer Rule No. 1: The festival has not truly begun until you have seen a movie that you absolutely hated.
So, how about those Canadian film...oh wait, I forgot, no one gives a rats ass about Canadian films. The only thing people seem to care about in Toronto right now is where to get a good cup of coffee. Face it, the Canadian film industry right now is worse than one in a third world country. I'm really sad to say that about my home country.
Grace: Timmy Ho's Canadian? Then how do you explain that it was not too long ago purchased by Wendy's?
Alice - you grew up in Vancouver but never knew that Tim Hortons is Canadian? How did THAT happen? I didn't know it was purchased by Wendy's - I did hear that there are Timmies in the states now which led me to presume that they cut some sort of a deal with an American company. After all it's a business and I wouldn't be surprised if it is owned by an American company now. But that's just a technicality - it was started by a Canadian, in Canada (Hamilton, to be precise), and spread from there. My first cup of coffee was from there. I remember used to drinking their English Toffee flavoured cappuccinos - times before caffeine progressed from a novelty to a necessity...ahh, those are the memories that I taste in every cup, swill or not.
Oh and if you didn't like Jet Fuel, I can't be of much more help. Your palate is obviously much more selective than mine because I think those cappuccinos are off the hook amazing.
Roger - I too go for the atmosphere as much as the coffee. Reading or writing is just not the same in a cafe as anywhere else. The great thing about Toronto is that there are a million different independent coffee shops and thus a million different ambiances to choose from on any given day, whatever the mood you are in.
On another note, just came back from "An Education" - great show. Carey Mulligan is adorable in person...she was beautiful in these sky high red stilletos and ended up taking them off on stage during the Q&A because she confessed it was killing her to stand in them any longer. Lone Scherfig was so gracious. Nick Hornby was so interesting. Peter Sarsgaard surprised me with his presence, both on screen and in person. You just couldn't take your eyes off him - I've seen him in many films before but never like this. I feel like this could be his big break.
Oh, and Alfred Molina kinda stole the film. I think most of the roaring audience moments happened during his screen time.
The actual film itself...it's still settling in. I'll write more later. In short - I really , really liked it, but I didn't love it. It wasn't a Slumdog or Departure or Hurt Locker film for me. You are completely right about those Paris moments - Audrey Hepburn reincarnated. I loved everything up until the key reveal scene. Then Sarsgaard's character just kind of vanished without any explanation (except a mildly implied one, which I found too shallow after the first half of the film). I just wanted more...than the ending provided, I guess. The conclusion felt cliche after the first 2/3, which was so refreshing.
Anyway, Sarsgaard answered an audience question in a way that may provide some insight. Asked what he thinks about the reasons behind his character's actions, he replied that it's probably more an attempt to be a 16 year old again than dating a 16 year old. That's a fair explanation, I guess. Is it adequate? I leave that up to you.
I drink coffee maybe 3 or 4 times a year, but what about A.L. Van Houtte? Do you guys have it in T.O.? According to the Wikipedia entry they only have chains in Quebec but supply coffee on a national level to offices, grocery stores, etc.
p.s. I love how this thread has turned into a Canadian coffee discussion.
Magnificent review of Barry Lyndon for your Great Movies article Roger. After the recent passing of Ryan O'Neal's wife, Farrah Fawcett, he still retained that hidden emotion, not quite able to succumb to catharsis. It is this same numbness and relinquishing of superfluous emotion that somehow projects a sense of functioning or break down of the ability to function in times of tragedy. Although emotion isn't superfluous, but necessary, the lack of it allows the views into the true human condition to be less distorted by unnecessary bodily movement, especially blinking or crying. So many scenes from Kubrick involve stillness, analyzation, heightened awareness of sound, light; a character's unblinking focus off of or into the camera. It is as if the character's in a Stanley Kubrick film are waiting for an external force to pull the puppet's strings to cause a reaction.
I agree with Roger, it's more about the ambience than the taste of the coffee. For me, it's also about WiFi access although downtown Toronto is pretty much all internet enabled so if you can get a seat next to a window you can get a connection even if the establishment doesn't have any WiFi. Starbucks and Second Cup have WiFi although each one uses a different ISP.
If you have the luxury of a time gap between movies, scouting out strategically located places to rest is a logistical necessity when festival fatigue sets in. For me, that's when there is constant droning in your head from a lack of sleep, too much caffeine and sugar and too much bad food. And you have forgotten what movies you have already seen.
Luckily, the festival has a way of reviving one's spirit when you see that special movie which stirs the spirit and emotions. More often than not, they are enhanced by memorable Q&A sessions with the directors and performers of said movies.
Coffee war, eh? Well, I drink burnt Foldgers.
I re-read your description of "Enter the Void" and it reminded me of an alternate-reality version of one of my favorite films, "Mindgame" by Masaaki Yuasa, except that "Enter the Void" seems horrible and "Mindgame" uses some of the same tropes to be uplifting, fun, and thoughtful. Have you seen it?
Here are my thoughts following the 9PM screening of “Antichrist” at the Toronto Ryerson Theater:
After months of post-Cannes chatter hinting at the shock quotient delivered in Lars von Trier’s, “Antichrist”, I often found myself thinking, “could this film actually surpass the grotesqueries seen in such films as Gaspar Noe’s, “Irreversible”, Pascal Laugier’s, “Martyrs”, or even “Salo: 100 Days of Sodom”, the 30 year old film by Pier Paolo Pasolini”. Well the answer is, decidedly, no. This is not to say that “Antichrist” does not have it’s moments (it does). What is evident, however, is that the droning chorus of expressed horror by the peanut crunching throngs has, alas, been mostly dubious hyperbole, much like the arrogant psycho-babble of the psychiatrist/husband, the other half of the male/female equation, here, played by Willem Dafoe. I’m sure most of you know the plot: a couple (while having, to say the least, florid sex) lose a child to accidental death. Their guilt and grief
force them to look for some kind of solace, which leads them to their lush, ethereal country getaway (Eden) where they will excorcise their demons, each with his and her agendas, which include the ‘nasty’ and some violent nastiness. What could have been just an exploitation film is often bouyed by Von Trier’s direction, and Anthony Dod Mantle’s (Slumdog Millionaire) eerily, off-kilter cinematography (you often get the feeling that some omniscient being–-antichrist?-–is viewing surrepitiously with adolescent glee the goings-on from a cosmic/underworld telescope). Also, it must be said that Charlotte Gainsbourg (playing a variation on the madonna/whore theme prevalent in Von Trier’s films) gives a pungent and torturous performance, the likes not seen since Ingmar Bergman’s unhinged women of the 60’s and 70’s. But ultimately, it was not the violence/S&M that shocked me (perhaps it should have). What jolted me most was the sudden vision of Willem Dafoe’s erect penis, and perhaps this response is what von Trier intended, knowing that much of the audience for the film would be, like most provincial westerners, people who were raised in bourgeois judeo-christian homes (where violence is more acceptable then sex, pornography is more objectional than war, and the male sex organs are more consciously hidden than the females’, especially in film). One must remember that Von Trier’s most loathed and least successful film, “The Idiots”, a film about catharsis and fakery, was loaded with sexually explicit imagery, which ultimately doomed the film. Von Trier, I am assuming, must have surmised, at one point, that said film would have done better had it included some blood with it’s debauchery. These hypocrisies, I am convinced, are what Von Trier wanted to expose with this new film. In other words, much like the omniscient viewer who’s lens we are forced to see through and, thus, identify with, we, the collective audience, with our manufactured, jaundiced, and
skewed opinions on morality, are the true antichrists. In fact, our moral compass, with all of its exaggerated, self-righteous indignation, is more in league with the devils’, and to Von Trier, we are legion.
I've posted an essay on Antichrist on my blog...darwingoestothemovies.blogspot.com. I appreciate your looking at my stuff and your kind comments. This was a tough one, though. And, BTW, I'm taking the 5th on how I managed to view a copy of this film...!
I have it on unpeachable authority that the best expressos/cappuccinos made in Toronto, at least during the 90's, were at the restaurants "Windows" and/or at "The Old House on Church Street", where I worked simutaneously for years (but not during TIFF). However, Second Cup, on the corner of Church and Wellsley was much loved (at least in the televised "cruising" skits by Kids In the Hall). What else can I say...Toronto loves coffee! (oddly, I have never had a glass/cup...reminds of grade-school teachers with coffe breathe mixed with the scent of tobacco....yukk!)
Roger, I'm half your age, and have half your energy. How in the world do you keep up with all this stuff!? After you get back from TIFF, you should make a post about that.
Hope you're having a wonderful time. I know I am reading your entries.
Sir Ebert,
It is a sincere and humble request from one of your fans to point out that you may have missed a masterstroke of an Indian film based on the Bombay Blasts that shook India in 1993. The movie is called "Black Friday" and has been directed by Anurag Kashyap. It is a depiction of what happened next (the police procedures, the arrests) after the blasts. It is a hard hitting film, gritty and real. Not flashy at all. I strongly recommend you get a DVD and watch it. I promise you won't be able to get it out your head after that. Please, it is a sincere request. Do respond what you think.
Of course I know Tim Horton's long Canadian history. I was implying exactly how Canadian it still is--a quick search on Wikipedia reveals that they merged with Wendy's in 1995 (I was wrong, they weren't bought out) and appear at the moment to be owned by the Cold Stone Creamery parent company (the Kahala Group is definitely American).
I was being a bit provocative in attacking Tim Hortons, but thanks for the recommendations, everyone. I passed by Lettieri yesterday, I won't today without going in.
I try to avoid WiFi cafes myself. For me, it's pointless to drag my computer out to a good place, just to sit there for hours getting distracted by the internet to enjoy the coffee, food or ambience.
Ebert: O Horton's!
Ah, when will I have chance to see these interesting movies? I do not know, but I am sure I will get chances from 'Dark territory'. It is far easier these days later. I found Somebody got "O'Horton" and has already provided it with Korean subtitle. I think I can get "Tulpan" someday.
I am also looking forward to your writings on TIFF. What kind of things will happen this year? When people gather around, something to talk about always happens. There is some order, and then there is some disorder.
P.S.
I usually drink tea, green tea, and herb tea. Sometime I drink coffee with no sugar or cream whatsoever(same to tea). I tried 500-ml ice espresso last December before I was supposed to watch "The Fall". It was quite stimulating. They could not show us the movie because of film damage, but I was very, very optimistic even if I had to have a 1-hr trip again on the next day(think "Happy-Go-Lucky"). Depression followed, but I managed to watch the movie on the next day.
Ebert: Lapsang Souchong is my choice of tea.
This post came at the perfect time. I recall when you were writing from Cannes, and wrote that you saw "Up," would describe the atmosphere, but would save writing much about the movie itself for your review.
Just within the last day or two I was wondering if at this stage in your life you see yourself more as a reviewer than as a reporter, and where you believe the line falls delineating those two roles. Now with the blog, it must become even more complex.
So I appreciated your explication at the start of this post, although I suspect that there is more that could be said about how you view your professional role these days.
Lastly, about the coffee. Well, one of the many things that makes me glad to be a Chicagoan is the number of Lavazza cafes that are opening. Simply the best dark roast anywhere. The chocolate undertones are overwhleming. At the risk of starting a war, I will say that when they open their first Canadian franchise it will either be in Montreal or Vancouver (probably the former).
Ebert: And who would be fighting?
Roger, I admire your dedication in moderating both a Canadian coffee chain debate and a natural selection debate at the same time (while also travelling and attending a film festival...)
In any case, the ownership of Tim Horton's has so many people confused it's the first FAQ on their web site -- their answer:
"Tim Hortons is no longer owned by Wendy's and is a stand-alone public company trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. Tim Hortons corporate head office is in Oakville, Ontario, Canada."
Sorry to interrupt the coffee debate, but I just got out of the documentary "Google Baby" and can't remember the last time I left the theater quite so dazed. What the hell did I just see? It's a movie about the burgeoning industry of surrogate mothers in developing nations. There are women in India whose job is to be pregnant all the time until the baby can finally be cut out of them and handed over to awaiting parent, assuming they haven't changed their minds over the last nine months. A gay Israeli couple pays to have their sperm flown to the States to fertilize an American egg so it can be flown to India and implanted in two Indian women under the hopes that at least one of them will take.
The Q&A afterwards revealed that couples who are having trouble conceiving see the film as a ray of hope, that technology and globalization have advanced so far that anyone can buy a baby at a reasonable price and this is cause for celebration. A lot of other people seem shocked and dismayed at the ethical questions that hardly anyone involved in the process seems to be stopping to consider. I am in the latter camp. I don't know that I can explain my objections to some of the things I saw in the film beyond "that just seems wrong", but that's how I felt. Maybe it's just natural to fear what's new and once everything is explained and normal I'll see that it's all okay, but as for right now I just can't get over the gut reaction that something is not right. If you enjoy debating the ethical issues of the day see this movie.
P.S Tim Horton's is cheaper, they win. It's just coffee.
Roger¡¡¡
Don't you think that Michelle Pffeifer performance in Cheri it's terrific??
Please, give more support to Pffeifer to push her at the best actress race
I found her performance absolutely breathtaking¡
Alex
Thought I might get some flak for thinking that Lavazza would prefer to open in Montreal first.
Lavazza's awful ritzy for a province that eats pork and beans for breakfast.
Heck, they're even opening stores in India now.
Ebert: One of my favorite breakfasts is beans on toast, with a banger on the side.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sausage
Marie: "And so go ahead and call it swill. It won't change the fact we still beat you in the War of 1812."
Ebert: "And curse you, you're still feasting on the fruits of victory. I say we should demand reparations."
Nah, nah. Nah, nah, nah, nah. Hey hey hey, goodbye! :)
And now a word about coffee...
ALL large coffee chains "pump" it out, so to speak. That's why it can vary so much from cup to cup. There's a right way to do it, and a wrong way. And according to Venetians at the Gran Caffe Chioggia in Venice - a great cup of coffee requires good quality beans properly roasted and brewed s-l-o-w-l-y.
Quality isn't cheap though and so my java varies these days. Currently, I'm drinking "PELLINI: LA CREMA DEL CAFFE - FORTE" (it's 100% Arabica, however Pellini is one of Italy's main coffee and spice producers and "la crema" is one of their cheaper brands.) On sale, I paid $1.99 per bag ground, 250g or 1/2 pound.
It kinda tastes like southern Italy, like Napoli; there's some dirt to it. Actually - it tastes the way I imagine "The Old Town Ale House" in Chicago looks from the outside at 2:00 am after several pints; but hey, I'm no snob, it's Italian, good enough. :)
Darwinima wrote on September 10, 2009 11:01 PM –
Re: Antichrist - "I'm taking the 5th on how I managed to view a copy of this film...!"
Oh hey! I downloaded that advance screener file, too. :)
Note: I'll rent the DVD once it comes out - they'll get my money, have no fears, you lurking corporate lawyers. I pay studios back for my curiousity! Even if takes a while (I paid Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker" once it hit theaters etc.)
And as soon as a studio finally releases "Brewster McCloud" on DVD, I'll rent that too.
Because I am a very nice Canadian and don't hold any grudges against Americans for them having tried once in the past, to take over my country. If anything, you have my empathy. As I can imagine how awful the defeat must have tasted for you. Really, I can. I've had some of your beer. :)
"You're damn right you'll be hearing from some Canadians, probably imploring you about calling Timmy coffee "swill". I'm not going to do that (others will do so sufficiently). It's not the best coffee in the world, but it's Canadian, it's not pretentious, and it never will be, in price, service and atmosphere. Majority of us buy it more out of sentimentality and loyalty and familiarity than for the best coffee taste. If you never grew up with it it's easy to feel differently."
Actually Tim Horton's is American and has been for several years and yes it sucks!
Ebert: Actually, Tim's was bought back from Wendy's and is Canadian again.
I'm weeping to think of all the site visits I've lost by not starting a Canadian coffee flame war. We had a little skirmish going for awhile when I unwisely suggested that Canadians subsist primarily on bran muffins. I find it is donuts.
I met an ex- Chicago woman at the fest today who said she had become a Canadian citizen because of the health care.
Your newspapers seem to be surviving in a healthier condition than ours.
Thanks to the festival, I now realize I've lived in Toronto between seven and eight months, a week or nine days at a time. I've gotten around. I once had a great day taking the trolley east all the way to the beach, and found a book store and a great coffee shop with a sofa in the window.'
Friday was the anniversary of 9/11. No transport. I had to drive a rental back to Chicago. I left at 3 p.m., having picked up an audiobook at Pages of Stach Keach reading Hemingway's short stories. Eight bours later I was at our summer place on lake Michigan, and drove the other 90 minutes the next morning.
Mark W. wrote on September 11, 2009 8:12 AM -
"Lastly, about the coffee. Well, one of the many things that makes me glad to be a Chicagoan is the number of Lavazza cafes that are opening. Simply the best dark roast anywhere. The chocolate undertones are overwhelming. At the risk of starting a war, I will say that when they open their first Canadian franchise it will either be in Montreal or Vancouver (probably the former)."
I've been buying Lavazza for years where I live. :)
Ahem, drum roll; Italian brands that come to mind...
illy cafe (best coffee on the planet, period.)
Segafredo Zanetti (discovered this one in Venezia!)
Lavazza
Caffe Kimbo
Miscela D'oro
La Crema
Vancouver is a coffee town!
Ebert wrote: One of my favorite breakfasts is beans on toast, with a banger on the side.
What kind of baked beans? Yes, it makes a difference.
Me? My favorite breakfast is as follows:
1. Cappuccino
2. Gourmet muffin with local raspberries
3. Newspaper
4. table and chair on the balcony
5. no rain, blue skies and it's quiet outside.
It's a package deal. :)
Ebert: Just your ordinary canned beans. No pork.
Ebert: I'm weeping to think of all the site visits I've lost by not starting a Canadian coffee flame war. We had a little skirmish going for awhile when I unwisely suggested that Canadians subsist primarily on bran muffins. I find it is donuts.
Is it possible to launch a flame war among Canadians? Those people are too nice. And, I'm speaking as someone from Chicago: hands down, the nicest city in the universe (more or less).
Or, maybe they're not nice. Maybe they're just normal? I suppose that while we watch Jerry Springer's show, they just watch us.
Omer M
Omer M. Mozaffar wrote on September 12, 2009 2:08 PM
"Is it possible to launch a flame war among Canadians? Those people are too nice. And, I'm speaking as someone from Chicago: hands down, the nicest city in the universe (more or less). Or, maybe they're not nice. Maybe they're just normal? I suppose that while we watch Jerry Springer's show, they just watch us."
I'm actually looking forward to the day Roger reviews a movie ostensibly about a couple getting married but in truth, it's about the relationship between Canada and the U.S.
The bride is Canadian. The groom American. Smile.
I don't know if anyone's ever thought to make that movie, but I wish they would; then we could have a giant water balloon fight in here about it! :)
Note: and the actors are to be played by a Canadian and an American. Just to make it extra fun.
Plot: she goes down to meet his family, then he comes up here to do the same. Along the way, we all get to know one another a little better.
And I think Jason Reitman should direct it, as an American would probably just f*ck it up. :)
Ebert replied: Just your ordinary canned beans. No pork.
Ever try Toad in the Hole? How to make it, from the girls at the Blacksmith Cafe in Hastings - to ensure folks don't mess it up and get frog in a bog...
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-toad-in-the-hole
Ebert: My X-rated menu: Cockaleekie soup, Toad in the Hole, banger and mash, Spotted Dick.
Hi Marie Haws,
Any thoughts on any movie couples that seem to capture that American-Canadian-Marriage?
I suspect that in this intra-continental water balloon fight, every time a Canadian would hit someone, we'd hear a round of apologies. The American water balloons -- especially in light of this thread -- would, however, be filled not with water, but with scalding hot coffee.
Omer M
Hey Roger - can you check your spam folder? I linked to some recipes using the words you'd typed and yup; wouldn't let it through! As I don't see that post.
Ebert: Nada.
Omer M. Mozaffar wrote on September 13, 2009 11:13 AM -
"Any thoughts on any movie couples that seem to capture that American-Canadian-Marriage?"
I was actually pondering that last night after posting!
Sandra Bullock (American) plays a Canadian in "The Proposal" who marries Ryan Reynolds - a Canadian who plays an American. The film has nothing to say about the differences between us, though. Moreover there's nothing really Canadian about her character. That's why I said "an American" director would likely f*ck it up. :)
I think the "Canada/America" dynamic is somewhat akin to these:
England vs America (we're more informed about the world around us)
Australia vs England (we're more laid back)
France vs America (our sensibilities are more European)
Or - and this will start a war (smile) but Canadians are cats and Americans are dogs. Canada's gender is female and America is male.
I say female, because we've got a nationalized health-care system, which strikes me as more compassionate and empathy-minded. Whereas "I'm not paying for you!" is more selfish. And all things being equal, girls tend to share resources more, so etc.
Cats are more independent (cultural mosaic)
Dogs prefer a pack (melting pot)
Exception: Pride of Lions - but this is expressed in our fierce devotion to Hockey and Tim Hortons. Otherwise, we give ourselves space to breathe.
And so those being our respective generalized qualities...
"You've Got Mail"
Canada is Meg Ryan - with a nice little bookstore
America is Tom Hanks - with a big corporate box store
Ta-da!
"I suspect that in this intra-continental water balloon fight, every time a Canadian would hit someone, we'd hear a round of apologies. The American water balloons -- especially in light of this thread -- would, however, be filled not with water, but with scalding hot coffee."
Chuckle; yeah, but that's only because Americans would be REALLY frustrated. We know more about you guys! Unfair advantage. :)
Not quite an apology but... yeah, we are nice. Smug basterds too.
You know what the real difference is?
This was the best you could come up with; chuckle!
"Weird Al" Yankovic - Canadian Idiot "Green Day" parody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_TfBbR6L0M&feature=related
Hi Marie,
"Chuckle; yeah, but that's only because Americans would be REALLY frustrated. We know more about you guys! Unfair advantage. :)"
True. The other day I was commenting to a friend from Winnipeg that Columbus discovered America, but does anyone know who discovered Canadia? Has anyone even discovered Canadia yet?
Omer M
Actually Tim Horton's is American and has been for several years and yes it sucks!
Ebert: Actually, Tim's was bought back from Wendy's and is Canadian again.
Aha! :)
I'm weeping to think of all the site visits I've lost by not starting a Canadian coffee flame war. We had a little skirmish going for awhile when I unwisely suggested that Canadians subsist primarily on bran muffins. I find it is donuts.
That may be a different generation - I find that most people I know prefer bagels with cream cheese (which, btw, Tim Horton has the best value on, under $2 gets you a toasted 12 grain bagel oozing with thick herb & garlic cream cheese on the go, that's better than some of the fast food recession deals).
p.s. To the person who said "It's just coffee" - that's like saying pasta is "just food." You can say that about almost anything in life...for example, this could be "just a blog." Yeah. I thought so.
Thanks to the festival, I now realize I've lived in Toronto between seven and eight months, a week or nine days at a time. I've gotten around. I once had a great day taking the trolley east all the way to the beach, and found a book store and a great coffee shop with a sofa in the window.'
At first I thought this was just a seasonal love affair, Roger, between you and Ms. TDot. Could I be wrong? Could this affection run deeper with every passing year? Could it become...permanent?
Omer M wrote -
"True. The other day I was commenting to a friend from Winnipeg that Columbus discovered America, but does anyone know who discovered Canadia? Has anyone even discovered Canadia yet?"
Yes of course - the Vikings found us! :)
Drum roll....
ERIKSSON, LEIF the lucky
Leif Ericsson (also spelled Eriksson) the Lucky (980?-1020?) was a Viking (Norse) explorer who was possibly the first European to sail to North America. Leif sailed north from the southern tip of Greenland, then went south along the coast of Baffin Island down to Labrador, and then landed in what is now called Newfoundland (which he called Vinland). Ericsson sailed around the year 1000.
So America was reportedly discovered by this guy sent by the Spanish Queen in the hopes of filling the royal coffers back home with more booty and gold while giving everybody smallpox.... meanwhile "we" were discovered up here 400 years earlier by dudes who make MEAD!
P.S. More recent evidence has appeared showing that in fact it was the Chinese Admiral Cheng Ho who discovered America in 1421.
Enough said. :)
What is the Tree of Life. There is a lot of Interest in the Sefirot or Kabalah interpretation. What does Islam and many ancient sufi mystics have ot say about the Tree of Life.
See Saleem Siddiqui in the New movie TREE oF LIFE with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn.
http://www.hotconflict.com/blog/2008/06/mystical-connection-between-sufi-islam-and-jewish-kabalah---tree-of-life.html
Ebert: One of my favorite breakfasts is beans on toast, with a banger on the side.
What a great word banger is. I am reminded of two, admittedly infantile and hence, by definition, great, gags from two of my favourite sitcoms.
In Frasier, the titular character realises that his father Martin got lucky, and spent the night with his date. Obviously this makes Frasier very uncomfortable, and when Daphne brings a huge plate of sausages, Frasier offers one to his father: "Banger, dad?" Cue lots of coffee being spit out, etc. (I also like Frasier's last line to Daphne: "Couldn't have served bacon?)
And in an episode of Arrested Development, inspired by Mrs. Doubtfire, the bi-curious Tobias has disguised himself --badly-- as Mrs Featherbottom, an English nanny, to infiltrate the Blooth household in order to be close to his estranged wife and daughter. "Okay," he says, "who'd like a banger in the mouth," before adding "Oh, I forgot, in the States you call it a sausage in the mouth." Michael Blooth's deadpan delivery kills: "We just call it a sausage."
But I digress...
Hi Marie,
Isn't it true that Columbus actually landed around 1485?
By the way, I wonder what will happen when a particular commenter discovers the religious outlook that Cheng Ho (Zheng He) carried through some or all of his life. In any case, I'm assuming you're quoting Gavin Menzies. Have you read his more recent book (i.e. 1434)?
Omer M
Omer M. Mozaffar wrote on September 15, 2009 8:39 PM -
"Isn't it true that Columbus actually landed around 1485?"
Historians I gather, say that Christopher Columbus first set foot in
the Americas in 1492 (San Salivador, that area.)
"By the way, I wonder what will happen when a particular commenter discovers the religious outlook that Cheng Ho (Zheng He) carried through some or all of his life. In any case, I'm assuming you're quoting Gavin Menzies. Have you read his more recent book (i.e. 1434)?"
Menzies? Nope. Mr. Google. :)