Crash Warner Bros
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SCREENING
Starring Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, Brendan Fraser, Ludacris, Ryan Phillipe, and Tony Danza (!)
Written & Directed by Paul Haggis
Rated: R
Theatrical release: early 2005
Reviewed by Aaron Licht
Crash describes itself as a deeply-felt meditation on hope and redemption in the wake of tragedy and loss of faith. However true, this seems both vague and overwhelming. But the film does boldly ask many difficult questions: are stereotypes useful? How do you respond to a racist police force? When does political correctness itself become a problem?
As I fear building up my favourite Toronto Film Festival feature to a ridiculous level, I will put my screening of Crash into context. After a late night party, I attended the Toronto Festival press and industry screening at 8 AM. I was required to introduce the movie and inform the audience about the Industry filmmaker discussion panel with director Paul Haggis the following morning. I hadn’t seen the film and only knew that it starred Sandra Bullock. I took a seat and expected to struggle staying awake as Sandra crashed her car, or some such nonsense. I never expected a deeply moving and hilarious emotional journey. And I was able to hound Mr. Haggis, my new hero, throughout the week. So take this all into consideration when examining my near-perfect rating.
Following multiple lead characters with intersecting stories creates the danger that no single plot line reaches its full dramatic potential. The viewer may expect a gimmicky story arc resulting in all characters coming together at the single climax. Not the case in Crash. Each of the five lead characters have a fully developed story with their own dramatic climax. Grand coincidences of character intersection are easily overlooked for their thematic strength. It’s a moving drama with a razor sharp sense of humour.
The less the viewer knows about the plot, the better. But I will lay out a key scene early in the film, serving as a catalyst of racial issues. Anthony (Ludacris) and Peter (Larenz Tate), both young black men, leave an upscale restaurant. Anthony blames their bad service on blatant racial discrimination. Peter reminds him that not only were they served by a black waitress, but that they didn’t need any more coffee. Anthony insists that the waitress has been influenced by the stereotype that black men are poor tippers. Peter says that their tip was horrible and Anthony says he’d never tip any more for such horrible service. He’s offended that Peter thinks the situation is so funny.
Soon Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Jean (Sandra Bullock) approach the two black men, and Jean reacts by pulling closer to her husband. Anthony is shocked: they’re scared by “big black men,” but he and Peter are the ones who should really be afraid - two minorities surrounded by caffeine- fuelled white yuppies. Peter wonders why they aren’t scared. Anthony’s response is simple: because he and Peter have guns. They commence to hijack the yuppie couple’s SUV.
We’ve been drawn into their intelligent discussion for a surprising reversal, commenting on the absurdity of stereotypes by playing right into them. The scene foreshadows both the unexpected twists and complex questions the film raises. Contemporary L.A. race relations are boiled down to something the audience can begin to understand.
Canadian Paul Haggis, creator of the TV series Due South, has almost thirty years of television experience. Now at the age of fifty he makes his feature diretorial debut. It shows that his long screenwriting career has paid off. He truly understands his characters and is in full control of his story world.
Don Cheadle was the first actor to read the script, and was so impressed that he immediately signed on (as both an actor, and as a first time producer). Despite the low budget, Cheadle’s early involvement helped sign on the other major headliners: Matt Dillon, Ryan Phillippe and, yes, even the dependable Tony Danza. Don’t let Sandra Bullock’s top billing turn you off. She’s cast as an annoying harpy who learns her lesson, with a total of four minutes of screen time.
Lions Gate acquired the North American distribution rights at the Toronto Film Festival. The following is their official statement about the film: “Crash could not be timelier in this period of heightened race relations sensitivity and post 9/11 angst," Look for it to make a big impact in the early months of 2005.
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The Motorcycle Diaries Focus Features
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SCREENING
Starring Gael Garcia Bernal and Rodrigo De la Serna
Screenplay by Jose Rivera (based on the writings of Ernesto “Ché” Guevara and Alberto Granado
Directed by Walter Salles
Rating: R
Theatrical Release: Now playing
Reviewed by Adam D. Miller
The face of Cuban guerrilla leader Ché Guevara has graced hundreds of t-shirts worn by 17-year old rebels and fans of Rage Against The Machine, but it is doubtful that most of these youths have any idea as to who he was and what he stood for. The Motorcycle Diaries tells the story of the remarkable journey that Guevara took with his friend Alberto Granado, long before he had ever stepped on Cuban soil. Under the direction of Walter Salles, it does so in a stunningly beautiful and emotionally stimulating way.
The film begins with medical student Guevara (played by the perfectly casted Bernal) preparing to leave on a trip with his older biochemist friend Alberto Granado (De la Serna). The two had set out to see South America, a continent that they had mostly only read about. Like most Argentineans in the 1950s, neither had left their native country before. The two men hop on a motorcycle that they can barely ride (both due to their poor driving skills and the fact that the motorcycle itself is falling apart) and so begins a long adventure that matures the two men, as they travel into Chile, Venezuela, and Peru. They are forced to use their limited resources to survive the journey that they are both committed to completing.
The most interesting thing about the film is its transition in tone. The film begins lightheartedly, almost silly. The dialogue is straight out of films like The Big Lebowski, with Guevara and Granado’s hilarious arguments every time they are thrown off the motorcycle. The two men have a sense of humour and despite the hardships of their travels, are able to share it. As the film progresses, the tone shifts to much more serious and emotionally driven. Guevara begins to grow disillusioned by the suffering he sees around him, particularly in rural areas inhabited by the indigenous peoples of South America. It is here that we are given a hint of what is to come in his later life.
The visuals in the film are beautiful. American audiences are rarely given a picture of a South America so raw and so natural. We are given access to parts of South America that are hard to reach, even today. The scenes in Peru among the Inca ruins are particularly awe-inspiring.
The film ends without any mention of Cuba, and we are left to wonder what will happen to Guevara. Will he complete his doctorate? Will he return home to Buenos Aries? At least it gives us something to read about after seeing the film, one that can’t help but leave us with a big effect, regardless of any preconceived notions we might have about Cuba or Che Guevara.
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Oldboy
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SCREENING
Starring Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yu, Hye-jeong Kang
Directed by Chan-wook Park
Rating: 18 (UK). Not Yet Rated in North America.
Reviewed by Grant McNair
If you only see one South Korean ultra-violent revenge film this year, make it Oldboy!
Oldboy, the latest from director Chan-wook Park (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance), tells an incredibly brutal tale of double-revenge, spanning years in the lives of the film’s obsessive characters. Adapted from a Japanese comic book of the same name, Oldboy won the Grand Prix at Cannes and created tons of buzz at international festivals, including Toronto, with good reason. It’s fast paced, comes from a solid script, employs great acting, is truly innovative in terms of cinematography and direction, and it’s fuckin’ disturbing! Oldboy includes such disgusting highlights as torture scenes (think dentistry with a claw-hammer), the eating of live animals, and even self-mutilation. But believe it or not, this extreme violence is actually justified though plot and character, and due to the films super-cool visuals and soundtrack, the violence is strangely enjoyable to watch. After just a few minutes in, one could imagine Quentin Tarantino, who headed this year’s Cannes jury, blowing his load over this film.
Beyond its innovative style, what sets Oldboy apart from most revenge movies, such as Tarantino’s own Kill Bill, is that it isn’t just about the vengeance. Vengeful and gory, it is also an intelligent puzzle film about discovering a terrible truth and understanding the depths of the human psyche.
After being released from an evening in jail for public drunkenness, Oh Dae-Su (played masterfully by Min-sik Choi) is mysteriously kidnapped. We next see him with his head poking out of a steel doggy door begging a man (who slides him in his food) to tell him why he is locked up, and for how long. No one ever does.
Over the next fifteen years he is inexplicably held captive in a seedy motel-style room, with a TV as his only “human” contact. During his imprisonment he discovers that his wife has been murdered, he almost goes insane (several times), attempts suicide (several times) and teaches himself to fight, so that if he ever gets out he can destroy the person who has taken his life away.
Fifteen years later when he is unexpectedly released, Oh Dae-Su is ready to whoop some ass – which he does – at one point taking on about thirty guys single handedly in a hallway all in a single long take, shot from the side a la Double Dragon or Bad Dudes. Because he is the prime suspect of his wife’s death, Oh Dae-Su can’t return home, and no matter, because all he wants now is vengeance. Well, almost… after fifteen years he is also horny, and meets a young seemingly innocent girl named Mido (Hye-jeong Kang) who fulfills his needs, and whom he ends up falling in love with.
Surprisingly, Oh Dae-Su (with some help from Mido), tracks down the man responsible for his imprisonment quite quickly. Even more surprisingly, Oh Dae-Su doesn’t kill him. Instead the man makes him an offer – if Oh Dae-Su can discover the reason why he imprisoned him within five days, he will kill himself; if not, he will kill Mido. The curious Oh Dae-Su accepts this strange offer. Big mistake. As the truth is slowly uncovered, we discover that there is a lot more going on than Oh Dae-Su (or the audience up to this point) realizes, as the mystery shifts focus from the reason why the main character was imprisoned to the reason why he was released. The result is more disturbing than you would ever guess, and way more shocking than anything you will see produced in North America.
I loved Oldboy, and believe that anyone who appreciates progressive cinema, (and doesn’t mind a little harmless ultra-violence) will thoroughly enjoy it too. It is available for rental at the better video stores in Toronto (Queen, Suspect). And for those of you who can’t read, an American, subtitle-free remake is already in the works and due out for 2006. Expect watered-down crap.
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The Raspberry Reich Strand Releasing
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SCREENING
Starring Susanne Sachsse, Daniel Bätscher, and Andreas Rupprecht
Written and Directed by Bruce LaBruce
Rating: 18 (UK) – Not Yet Rated in North America
Theatrical Release: TBD
Reviewed by Aaron Licht
The Raspberry Reich is Bruce LaBruce’s second in a trilogy of “legitimate” porn movies about gangs who are not identified as gay, but have homosexual sex. Back in the early 1990s, revenge motivated LaBruce to start a career of Gay Punk Porno. He wanted to get back at the hypocrisy he experienced in Toronto’s punk scene: supposedly radical punks acting embarrassingly homophobic. So he dressed his friends up as punks and skinheads and started making controversial ‘art porn’.
Now he has taken a more aggressively political stance. The Raspberry Reich is a satire of an extreme group of German terrorists who believe that everyone should realize their bisexual potential so an explosion of orgasmic energy will spread joy around the world. *Embrace your bisexual potential.* LaBruce assaults us with hard core sex and gunshot blasts of such revolutionary propaganda: *The revolution is my boyfriend.*
The film ‘sucks’ you in with its ode to experimental art cinema. The name of each main character is blasted on screen followed by a montage of their everyday life. Experimental techniques dominate the film: assaulting the audience with shocking images and long static shots with nothing but politicized voiceover and messages flying across the screen.
If the revolutionary ‘terrorist’ politics don’t upset, then it might be the licking of shotguns and the explicit gay sex that does. Love it or hate it, LaBruce has accomplished his goal. *Heterosexuality is the opiate of the masses.* The Raspberry Reich uses agit-porn to make a political point. The onscreen sex adds weight to the politics and helps avoid pretension. Bruce LaBruce, true to his name, admits that he can be pretentious and boring. But the director himself has sex in his early films. The extreme left-wing politics carry more weight when accompanied by real sex.
An audience might not expect to learn anything from a revolutionary porn comedy. But at the very least they will acquire more ammunition for their beliefs, such as the evils of aspartame, genetic modification *cornflakes are counter-revolutionary* and eating meat.
In one of the few scenes of heterosexual sex, Gundrun and Holger attempt to move their sex out of their bedroom and onto the street. *Make (revolutionary) love not (imperalistic) war.* While a screaming Gundrun rides Holger, an elderly couple enters the elevator. Absolutely horrified, they plan to call the cops - until they too fall into each others arms. Sexual energy spreads. Mission accomplished.
Sometimes the narrative plays too heavy. The plot has an odd structure and the main kidnapping plot, although somewhat engaging, falls flat. But this is no matter. It’s comical to watch European male porn stars try to stay in character. Apparently their thick accents were dubbed over, adding a further degree of absurdity. Despite the overload of sex, especially when the men become more interested in each other than their revolution, the movie avoids eroticism. The light-hearted porn would be good background for a party, with a great soundtrack by Toronto’s The Hidden Cameras *Madonna is counter-revolutionary* and Khan’s sexualized electronica.
The film’s Canadian premiere was at Toronto’s Midnight Madness screening. Look for a tiny theatrical run at art theatres, on campus or pick up the international DVD.
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Shark Tale Dreamworks SKG
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SCREENING
Voices by Robert De Niro, Will Smith, Angelina Jolie, Renee Zellweger, Martin Scorsese, Jack Black, etc.
Written by Rob Letterman, Damian Shannon, Mark Swift, and Michael J. Wilson
Directed by Bibo Bergeron, Vicky Jenson, and Rob Letterman
Rating: PG
Theatrical Release: Now Playing
Reviewed by Shel Desormeaux
I love cartoons. I think animation is the only genre in which I’ll try to watch absolutely anything. My taste is not discriminating, although maybe it should be. Either way, while everyone else pans this poor little movie, I just can’t do that.
The story goes like this: the son of a shark mob boss (De Niro, bien sur) is found dead, and his son (a simpering Jack Black) goes missing. A young and somewhat ambitious fish named Oscar (Will Smith) is found at the scene and is dubbed ‘The Sharkslayer.’ Oscar sees his opportunity to finally become Somebody, steps up, and takes ownership of the title. Well, mayhem ensues.
Now yes, the script is filled with jokes and one liners that weren’t funny ten years ago, and I can always do without Katie Couric (she voices Katie Current, a reporter), but you know, it was still cute. Renee Zellweger’s little fish Angie looked like Renee Zellweger, Angelina Jolie’s man-hungry Lola looked like Angelina Jolie. Martin Scorsese was excellent as the sometimes hypertensive puffer fish Sykes, and the supporting fish and slimy things voiced by Michael Imperioli, Vincent Pastore, and Peter Falk, among others, made me all nostalgic for The Sopranos.
And then, lest we forget, before we skin Shark Tale and hang it to dry: it’s a cartoon. Cartoons are traditionally made for children, and in spite of all the innuendos and old references, children are the targeted viewers for these films. I had two of those very types with me, and both enjoyed it very much. One chuckled cynically (around a lollipop) at some of the jokes, the other picked out the different types of aquatic thingies, and both dug the Jamaican jellyfish. It was all good, mon.
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Shaun Of The Dead Focus Features (US)/United International Pictures (UK)
Starring Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Nick Frost, Lucy Davis, and Bill Nighy
Written by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright
Directed by Edgar Wright
Rating: 15 (UK) – R (US)
Theatrical Release: Now playing in North America.
Available on DVD in UK.
Reviewed by Jamie Rutherford
What is a rom-zom, as Shaun of the Dead was billed during its success at the UK box office? A romantic comedy: with zombies! Anyone expecting to see Hugh Grant fumbling around zombies in a frightfully English way will be disappointed though, as fortunately romance has very little to play in this apocalyptic comedy by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright.
Anyone aware of the late-90s cult comedy Spaced will know what to expect from this film. For those blissfully unaware (shame on you), be prepared for their characteristic black comedy littered with references to film, television and music. But you don’t have to be a geek to enjoy Shaun of the Dead!
The basic premise is simple: man wakes up, realizes everyone has turned into zombies; man fights zombies, trying to protect himself and the ones he loves. Although the effects in the film are great and occasionally very gory, the strength of this film is the comedy in the relationships that Shaun (Simon Pegg) has with his oafish friend Ed (Nick Frost), disillusioned girlfriend (Kate Ashfield), over-bearing stepdad (Bill Nighy) and others, as they struggle their way to the security of the local pub, The Winchester, to hide away from the ever-worsening zombie problem.
The plot of course is, like the best zombie films, simplicity itself, and George Romero’s Dawn of the Dead films are a major influence in more ways than just the title of the film. It is not however, a pastiche or parody of a zombie movie, but a comedy which happens to feature the plotline of a zombie invasion. The danger with that of course is that the plotline becomes too complicated and draws from the comedy. However, Pegg and Wright have managed to create a film that is not only genuinely funny, but has the thrilling edge that a horror film does as well. The two compliment each other beautifully.
And for UK audiences, this DVD is a real treat. Not only for the film itself, but for the additional material included with the disc – now a integral part of a DVD’s worth. It sets a high-standard in this department too - not only are there 4 commentary tracks, there are also missing scenes, video diaries, a ‘making of’ featurette, and a great self-parody featuring Coldplay working for the ‘zombie rights’ charity ZombAid.
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Sideways Fox Searchlight
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SCREENING
Starring Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, and Sandra Oh
Written & Directed by Alexander Payne (based on the novel by Rex Pickett)
Rating: R
Theatrical Release: October 20, 2004 (limited)
Reviewed by Adam D. Miller
“Are you chewing gum?”
Whether you’re a wine snob or not, Sideways makes for a great ‘buddy’ movie, with Paul Giamatti (American Splendor) and Thomas Haden Church (best known as Lowell on NBC’s Wings) displaying a great sense of chemistry onscreen. The two comic actors lead us through Sideways, the fourth film by Alexander Payne (Election, About Schmidt), and like the director’s previous films, they are well equipped with witty dialogue and bizarre scenarios.
The premise itself is unique enough. Miles Raymond (Giamatti), a failed writer, takes his best friend Jack (Church), a once-famous television actor, on a road trip to the wine regions of California. Jack is soon to be married, and the trip is his last opportunity to have a good time with Miles. Unfortunately, Miles is kind of a miserable guy to be around. He is recently divorced, lonely, and desperately attempting to have his book published. Yet he’s clearly excited to be on this trip, as he is quite the wine connoisseur. Jack, who seems to enjoy whatever wine he is served (regardless of Miles’ fussy palette), is clearly more interested in partying before he settles down with fiancée Christine, and sees this trip as his opportunity to do so.
On their trip, Miles and Jack meet Maya (Virginia Madsen) and Stephanie (Sandra Oh), two attractive and friendly women who share an interest in wine. Jack sees this as his opportunity to party, and proceeds to put the moves on Stephanie, a free-spirit who rides a motorcycle. Meanwhile, Miles, who had met Maya on his previous trips to the area, is sincerely in love with her but feels unable to express himself. His depression leads him to embarrass himself, and while Jack is happily dealing in infidelity, the perfectly single Miles is alone in a motel room. Tables soon turn as word of Jack’s forthcoming marriage comes to light, just as things are looking promising with Miles and Maya. Miles and Jack do their best to remedy the situation and attempt to find their way home without a scar to show for it.
Much of what makes the film work is the chemistry between the two main characters. The relationship between Miles and Jack is so convincing and hilarious that the characters’ more heinous traits (lying and dishonesty) are forgivable, and almost welcome. We laugh and feel sorry for them at the same time, because we understand their sorrow and realize their sheer stupidity in making decisions. And yet, we also identify with Maya and Stephanie, two very different women who are appealing in their own, different ways.
For those who found Election too sugary and About Schmidt too depressing, Sideways should prove to be Payne’s best film yet. He has delivered a film that is both a love song to wine, as well as to friendships and the bizarre circumstances that test them, complete with a unique group of characters that we fall in love with and loathe simultaneously.
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Trauma Warner Bros
TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SCREENING
Starring Colin Firth and Mena Suvari
Written by Richard Smith
Directed by Marc Evans
Rating: 15 (UK) – Not Yet Rated in North America
Theatrical Release: Now playing in UK. US theatrical release is unlikely.
Reviewed by Cari Crosby
All of the elements of a good thriller were found neatly packaged in Trauma. An incessantly confused and anxious protagonist convinced of foul play, eerie settings with lots of morbid references, close-ups on unnerving insects, hallucinations with allusions to mental problems, and a few steamy moments with a beautiful blonde tossed in for sex appeal. However, even with all of these elements that would seem to be a recipe for success, this film completely bombed.
The plot is the main culprit of the utter letdown of this film. It seemed to have potential - a man (Colin Firth) wakes up from a coma to discover that his wife was killed in a car accident. He has major problems adjusting to her death, begins to question reality, and seems to slip into paranoid schizophrenic episodes, with the cinematography echoing his scattered mind. However, not one of the characters was developed enough for you to feel any sort of empathy for them. Try as you might, but it is difficult to really care about what is happening to poor Ben. The first twenty minutes left the audience thoroughly confused - and I don’t mean the good sort of confused where you are intrigued to know what sort of plot will develop around the bizarre initial scenes and where everything feels like a puzzle that you can figure out if you’re clever enough. I mean the sort of confused where you find yourself wondering, ‘Did I pass out at some point and miss an important explicative for this?’
The acting wasn’t half bad - Firth did his best to carry the film along, but the story was far too fragmented and the characters weren’t developed enough for you to really care why it was that Firth was so panicked all of the time. He did get that panicked look down, and there was one scene in which his grief over his wife actually made me feel for him. His relationship with Charlotte (Mena Suvari), a young woman who lives in his building, is juvenile and predictable. Her character is somehow even less developed than Ben. The only bits of information we know about her are her insect phobia and apparent crush on Ben. Suvari does her best to make her character believable, but there is so little for her to work with that even the most seasoned actress couldn’t do it.
The cinematography wasn’t bad. Unfortunately without the clever lighting tricks and spooky film elements, it might have been hard to even know you were watching a thriller.
In the end, Trauma was pretty traumatic to sit through.
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