Caffeinated Clint
The new stuff at the ‘do’ this year
TORONTO ANNOUNCES SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
By Paul Fischer.
The Toronto International Film Festival unspools in early September and has already announced some of the films set to premiere under its Special Presentations, from the North American debut of the Coen Brothers’ latest film, to the world debut of the feature directorial debut of actress Helen Hunt. Titles recently announced that will be screened in the most prestigious of North American festivals include the following films all of which represent the diversity and richness of Toronto. THE GIRL IN THE PARK from Pulitzer Prize winner David Auburn (Proof) makes his feature directorial debut with a film about the fluidity of family and the unique and diverse ways in which we cope with loss. Fifteen years after the disappearance of her three-year-old daughter in New York City’s Central Park, Julia (Sigourney Weaver) encounters a troubled young girl named Louise (Kate Bosworth) and quickly takes her under her wing. Also starring Alessandro Nivola, David Rasche, Elias Koteas, and Kerri Russell.
HONEYDRIPPER welcomes esteemed Indie favourite John Sayles back to Toronto in this story of a down-on-his-luck owner of an Alabama juke joint (Danny Glover) who recruits a guitar playing drifter (newcomer Gary Clark Jr.) to help save his club, the place and its patrons who are turned upside down and inside out by an ‘electric’ new form of music.
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL is directed by newcomer Craig Gillespie. The film tells of the socially inept Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling) who lives a nondescript life in a small, equally nondescript Midwestern town, working a generic job in an office cubicle and living a bland existence in a garage apartment. But all that’s about to change when Lars meets the girl of his dreams: a stunning Danish-Brazilian missionary from the tropics named Bianca – who also happens to be a made-to-order, life-size doll. From writer Nancy Oliver (“Six Feet Under”) and emerging filmmaker Craig Gillespie, the film also stars Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider, Kelli Garner and Patricia Clarkson.
Recently premiering in Australia, ROMULUS, MY FATHER marks an auspicious directorial debut by Aussie Richard Roxburgh.
Based on Raimond Gaita’s critically acclaimed memoir, the film tells the story of Romulus (Eric Bana), his beautiful wife Christina (Franka Potente), and their struggle in the face of great adversity to bring up their son Raimond. Tragic yet simultaneously uplifting, it is a story of impossible love that ultimately celebrates the unbreakable bond between father and son. Developed with Roxburgh over seven years, the film has been adapted to the screen by poet and playwright, Nick Drake.
THEN SHE FOUND ME, Helen Hunt’s feature directorial debut, is based on the eponymous first novel by writer Elinor Lipman, and tells the funny and moving story of one woman’s very unlikely path towards personal fulfilment. Nearing 40, April (Hunt) is a schoolteacher in New York. Adopted at birth, April wants to have a baby of her own, a desire made that much stronger by the fact that she never knew her biological mother. A snag in her plans presents itself when her sweet but immature husband Ben (Matthew Broderick) announces one night that their marriage was a mistake, leaving April devastated and bewildered. With her life in disarray, one more surprising bolt is thrown April’s way in the form of Bernice (Bette Midler), an eccentric local talk show host, who declares herself to be April’s birth mother. Despite the influence of her newfound mother and a relationship with Frank (Colin Firth), the father of one of her students, April’s once simple life begins to spiral out of control. Add to that the Coen Brothers’ NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, and these special presentations are special indeed.
Also announced is ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE which will be screening as a Gala Premiere in Toronto. The star-studded epic starring Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush finds Queen Elizabeth I facing bloodlust for her throne and familial betrayal. Growing keenly aware of the changing religious and political tides of late 16th century Europe, Elizabeth finds her rule openly challenged by the Spanish King Philip II (Jordi Molla) – with his powerful army and sea-dominating armada –determined to restore England to Catholicism.
Preparing to go to war to defend her empire, Elizabeth struggles to balance ancient royal duties with an unexpected vulnerability in her love for Raleigh. But he remains forbidden for a queen who has sworn body and soul to her country. Unable and unwilling to pursue her love, Elizabeth encourages her favorite lady-in-waiting, Bess (Abbie Cornish), to befriend Raleigh to keep him near. But this strategy forces Elizabeth to observe their growing intimacy.
As she charts her course abroad, her trusted advisor, Sir Francis Walsingham (Academy Award(TM)-winner Geoffrey Rush), continues his masterful puppetry of Elizabeth’s court at home – and her campaign to solidify absolute power. Through an intricate spy network, Walsingham uncovers an assassination plot that could topple the throne. But as he unmasks traitors that may include Elizabeth’s own cousin Mary Stuart (Samantha Morton), he unknowingly sets England up for destruction. The film is a predicted Oscar contender which Universal will release commercially later this uear.
Eight new films have been added to the lineup for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, joining two previously announced Gala Presentations and six previously announced Special Presentations, it was announced by the Festival this week These titles profile works by both renowned and up-and-coming filmmakers and feature performances by some of cinema’s most celebrated performers, including Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Peter Sarsgaard, Alan Arkin, George Clooney, Sydney Pollack, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Linus Roache, Nandita Das, Rahul Bose, Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Martin Freeman, Maria Bello, Aaron Eckhart, Toni Collette, Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Connelly, Mira Sorvino, Mathieu Amalric and Marie-Josée Croze. The 32nd Toronto International Film Festival runs September 6 – 15, 2007. Follwing isd the mouth-watering addition to what is already shaping as an amazing Festival.
First in the Gala Presentations there are some wonderfully diverse and anticipated films beginning with Tony Gilroy’s MICHAEL CLAYTON.
Gilroy (screenwriter, THE BOURNE IDENTITY, THE BOURNE SUPREMACY) wrote and makes his feature directorial debut with this gripping legal drama about an in-house “fixer” at one of the largest corporate law firms in New York. Michael Clayton (George Clooney) takes care of Kenner, Bach & Ledeen’s dirtiest work at the behest of the firm’s co-founder Marty Bach (Sydney Pollack). Though burned out and hardly content with his job, Michael Clayton faces a divorce, a failed business venture and mounting debt, all of which have left him inextricably tied to the firm. At U/North, meanwhile, the career of litigator Karen Crowder (Tilda Swinton) rests on the multi-million dollar settlement that Clayton’s firm is leading to a seemingly successful conclusion. But when Kenner Bach’s brilliant and guilt-ridden attorney Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) sabotages the U/North case, Clayton faces the biggest challenge of his career and his life.
Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, Meryl Streep, Peter Sarsgaard and Alan Arkin head an all-star ensemble cast in RENDITION, a compelling thriller from Gavin Hood, director of the Academy Award-winning TSOTSI (winner of the TIFF 2005 People’s Choice Award). Witherspoon plays Isabella El-Ibrahimi, the American wife of Egyptian-born chemical engineer Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) who disappears on a flight from South Africa to Washington. Isabella desperately tries to track her husband down, while a CIA analyst (Gyllenhaal) at a secret detention facility outside the U.S. is forced to question his assignment as he becomes party to the man’s unorthodox interrogationNew Line will release the film post-Toronto.
Some more Special Presentations added are BEFORE THE RAINS, which is the English language debut of acclaimed Indian director Santosh Sivan (THE TERRORIST, ASOKA), set in 1930s India. When a married British colonialist (Linus Roache) is caught having an affair with his beautiful housemaid (Nandita Das), he convinces his trusted farmhand (Rahul Bose) – a member of the housemaid’s tribe – to help find a solution to the potentially deadly situation.
Two-time Academy Award winner Jodie Foster stars in THE BRAVE ONE, a thriller from filmmaker Neil Jordan. New York radio host Erica Bain (Foster) has a life that she loves and a fiancé she adores – and it all is taken away when a brutal attack leaves Erica badly wounded and her fiancé dead. Unable to move past the tragedy, Erica begins prowling the city streets at night to track down the men she holds responsible. Her dark pursuit of justice catches the public’s attention, and New York is riveted by her anonymous exploits. But with the NYPD desperate to find the culprit and a dogged police detective (Terrence Howard) hot on her trail, she must decide whether her quest for revenge is truly the right path, or if she is indeed becoming the very thing she is trying to stop. The film also stars Naveen Andrews, Nicky Katt and Mary Steenburgen.
Idiosyncratic British director Peter Greenaway returns to Toronto with NIGHTWATCHING. The year 1642 marks the turning point in the life of the famous Dutch painter, Rembrandt, transforming him from a wealthy respected celebrity into a discredited pauper. At the insistence of his pregnant wife Saskia, Rembrandt (Martin Freeman) has reluctantly agreed to paint the Amsterdam Musketeer Militia in a group portrait, a portrait that would become his most celebrated painting – The Nightwatch. Going about his work, Rembrandt discovers that there is conspiracy afoot after a man is shot dead during routine musket practice. Determined to bring these conspiracies to light, the artist builds his accusation meticulously in the form of the commissioned painting itself, simultaneously uncovering a seamy and hypocritical side to Dutch Society in the Golden Age.
Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello and Academy Award nominee Toni Collette star in the feature directorial debut from Alan Ball (Writer, AMERICAN BEAUTY; Creator, TV’s “Six Feet Under”), NOTHING IS PRIVATE. Based on the acclaimed book Towelhead, Ball’s film deals with the powerful issues of female sexuality, politics and racial bigotry, challenging preconceived notions of what is political and what is personal. America prepares for the first Gulf War. Thirteen-year-old Jasira (newcomer Summer Bishil) unwittingly enters into a dangerous flirtation with her mother’s boyfriend, and is sent to live with her father Rifat (Peter Macdissi of “Six Feet Under”) in the suburbs of Houston. An over-bearing and traditional man, Rifat is ill-equipped to deal with the rapid sexual awakening of his teenage daughter. Jasira’s interactions with Rifat, her classmates and the neighbours on either side of her new home – liberal newlyweds and a conservative Army reservist – yield startling consequences, as Jasira comes to realize that she and only she should be in control of her body and her life.
Terry George’s RESERVATION ROAD is a compelling tale about the lure of revenge and the power of redemption, revolving around two fathers whose families and lives tragically converge with the death of a child. In the aftermath, Ethan (Joaquin Phoenix) and Dwight (Mark Ruffalo) each react in unexpected ways as their families struggle to cope and an emotional reckoning looms. The film also stars Academy Award winners Jennifer Connelly and Mira Sorvino.
Julian Schnabel’s LE SCAPHANDRE ET LE PAPILLON (THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY) is the the remarkable true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric),a successful and charismatic editor-in-chief of French Elle, who believes he is living his life to its absolute fullest when a sudden stroke leaves him in a life-altered state. While the physical challenges of Bauby’s fate first leave him with little hope for the future, he begins to discover how his life’s passions, his rich memories and his newfound imagination can help him achieve a life without boundaries. Winner of Best Director at the Cannes Film Festival and based on Bauby’s internationally acclaimed memoir, the film also stars Marie-Josée Croze (ARARAT, LES INVASIONS BARBARES) and Max Von Sydow.
More on Toronto as films are announced.
