In addition to my previously posted list of 35 Toronto Film Festival must-sees (26 features, 9 documentaries) I’m today adding nine more films, selected from a new batch that TIFF announced this morning, which brings the total to 44. At best I’ll get to see maybe 25 of these. (My usual festival tally is between 20 and 25.) At least there’s the comfort of knowing that many if not most of the 2011 Telluride selections will overlap and therefore dent.
Rachel Weisz in Terrence Davies’ The Deep Blue Sea.
This morning’s add-ons:
Guy Lodge‘s…I meant to say Terrence Davies‘ The Deep Blue Sea. (Lodge urged me to catch it on 8.7.) A 1950s-era tale about an affair between a married socialite (Rachel Weisz) and an ex-RAF pilot (Tom Hiddleston). Eventually and quite naturally Weisz’s older husband (Simon Russell Beale), a judge, finds out and the shit hits the fan. Based on the play of the same name by Terence Rattigan. “A career-best performance from Weisz, according to trusted sources who have seen it,” says Lodge.
Contemporary World Cinema (2):
Always Brando, d: Ridha Behi. About a young Tunisian actor named Anis Raache “who bears a stunning resemblance to young Marlon Brando,” and Behi having gone to the real Brando eight or nine years ago to pitch a young-old movie focusing on Raache and the real McCoy, or something like that. Brando died in before shooting began.
Miss Bala, d: Gerardo Naranjo. A Mexican beauty queen and a drug gang. This was a mid-level sensation at last May’s Cannes Film Festival. I missed it then, but not this time.
Galas (6):
Page Eight, d: David Hare. Contemporary espionage & moral dilemmas. Bill Nighy, Rachel Weisz, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes and Judy Davis.
The Awakening, d: Nick Murphy. Allegedly “a sophisticated psychological/supernatural thriller in the tradition of The Others and The Orphanage.” W/ Rebecca Hall, Dominic West and Imelda Staunton.
Killer Elite, d: Gary McKendry. Scenic global thriller about special ops & assassins, blah blah. Jason Statham, Robert De Niro, Clive Owen, blah, blah.
That Summer, d: Philippe Garrel. “A couple living together in Paris – he’s a painter, she’s a film actress – befriend a couple of film extras who fall in love with each other. All four go to Rome where their relationships undergo profound changes as emotions shift and change.” Perfect!
Violet & Daisy, d: Geoffrey Fletcher. W/ Saoirse Ronan, Alexis Bledel and James Gandolfini.
Wuthering Heights, d: Andrea Arnold. W/ James Howson, Kaya Scodelario. Do I have to see this? Is it really necessary? What will it actually add?
