Last day at TIFF (Day 8)

First, I would like to say that yes, it is true that Joaquin Phoenix from I'M STILL HERE was acting and that it is not a real documentary. Funny how this is all of a sudden leaked. Well, I will be the first to admit that they had me fooled. Even the "home video" footage in the beginning and end of the film is fabricated. Of course, this all happens to come out now, a few days before the next scheduled David Letterman appearance by Phoenix. Casey Affleck also has been holding off on this piece of information until today, saying that he never meant it to be a hoax. Bullshit.

There are two things wrong with this. 1) Why release this now? Why not hold off a little bit longer so that all audiences can experience the film the way the I did- with an uneasy sense of reality and doubt? 2) What are the critics going to say? We have all been duped and when you sit back to think about why would they even need to do something like this and your thoughts don't go that deep; because this is all a gimmick.

Read the full article in the NY Times HERE.


And for my last day of screening, I saw 4 films and I am packed up and ready to leave early tomorrow morning. It has been such a dream this week. I could not have asked for anything better. I hope to be back at Toronto next year.

NEDS (Peter Mullan) UK: NEDS stands for non-educated delinquents and these young boys that become hedonistic gang-members in their small town really are delinquents. The film builds nicely around a young, promising boy who is extremely smart and his brother is a well known and respected leader of one of the local gangs. Sometime in the span of a summer all the boys turn to fighting and even killing. The film begins with a lot of potential but loses its pacing and ultimately the point by the end of the film. This writer/director should have stuck to just one job and not both.

C

L'AMOUR FOU (Pierre Thoretton) France: This is a wonderful documentary on Yves St Laurent and his emipre of fashion that he built but ultimately the art collection and houses that he lived in. Mainly told from the prospective of his lover of 50 years, it showcases the auction where all of his major art was sold. The film was good but could have been great if more time was spent on discussing the art that he owned and more of the fashion trends that made him an icon.

B-

!WOMEN ART REVOLUTION- A SECRET HISTORY (Lynn Hershman Leeson) US : Although slightly amateur, this documentary about feminist art was compelling and inspiring. There are so many interesting interviews, clips and photos of artwork from the late 60s through the 90s. We don't often think about the lack of female artists in galleries, media or schooling and this film is trying to give a voice back to the female artist.

B+

I SAW THE DEVIL (Kim Jee-Woon) South Korea: This film is simply about revenge. Revenge in the craziest, bloodiest and most consuming way. It is bloody, gruesome and at times I was holding onto the seat next to me. The movie begins with a brutal murder of a young woman. Her husband then sets off to find and slowly torture the serial killer that did this. Done is ways that Quentin Tarantino would be proud, this film never gives the viewer a break and what is so fun about it, is that you don't want one.

A-