TIFF 2009 Preview (part I) page 2

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2009 PREVIEW: PART I

page 2

christopher funderburg & john cribbs

christopher:

Well, for me, I think the theme of this year's festival is "Don't Get your Hopes Up." Really the only three films for which I am excited without reservation are White Ribbon, Wild Grass and The Hole. The first real seeming film in years from the incomparable Joe Dante is basically the main attraction of the week for me as well – but, like you, I kinda know better than to go out of my mind in advance for a film that runs a real chance of being another one of the half-formed or excessively kiddie-ish movies that Dante has been putting out for almost a decade. Haunted Lighthouse 3-D, indeed. But still, I hope he can regain some kind of relevancy, since there are few filmmakers who so admirably mix big budgets with big ideas and big laughs – he's the rare type of subversive genius completely comfortable in Hollywood. While I still hope he produces another Gremlins or Innerspace or The 'Burbs or Gremlins 2 in my lifetime, I'm not going to get my hopes up, especially for a film that I hadn't even heard of before I saw the TIFF schedule. But there's a real shot he at least delivers on the level with Explorers and Small Soldier, right? I think WWII is my favorite war. Which brings us to Haneke.

How come every filmmaker decides to make a WWII movie as their vanity project?* That excellent Phil Hartman quote aside, the subject has yielded mixed results when some of my favorites tackle it. The Miracle at. St. Anna, The Pianist, Letters from Iwo Jima / Flags of our Fathers, and Black Book – those are some of their best and some of their worst and some real mediocrity from the respective filmmakers behind only the most recent spat of WWII prestige projects. Hopefully, Haneke will triumph – and in an inimitably Haneke-esque fashion: meaning I hope he's made a truly disturbing, aesthetically rigorous, morally ironic thriller. I think you can disregard whatever bad buzz is floating around White Ribbon – Haneke's just one of those filmmakers who rubs some people the wrong way and a certain segment of the critical population will bristle and whine even if he delivers another film as fantastic as The Piano Teacher and Cache. For God's sake, there are people out there who don't like Cache. Cache! And I'm sure they were ready to once again register their disgust with the "cold, condescending, almost inhuman" filmmaker before White Ribbon even began unspooling. That said, I've tried to avoid hearing anything about it, so I have to go on is that WWII films are a dubious proposition and th buzz has been mixed - I'll temper my hopes. I was similarly subdued about the Funny Games remake and I actually ended up kinda really liking that

I'd be excited for White Material more than even Dante's or Haneke's latest, but since I already got us tickets for it in the New York Film Festival in October, there's a good chance I'll skip it altogether – especially if there's any kind of scheduling toss-up. But who know? Claire Denis has slowly developed into one of my absolute favorite filmmakers (last year's treat of Happy-Go-Lucky, Christmas Tale and 35 Rhums was the best possible festival experience I can think of) and I can't imagine passing over her Lambert/Huppert team-up in favor of, like, a Scott Hicks movie or a documentary about goddamn marching band in Baltimore or some shit. The pickings are slim this year, so there's less chance that I'll have the option of seeing something I really, really care about instead – and I've seen almost all of her other films at least twice, why not go for the big screen double-shot this with White Material?

Wild Grass is one film for which the buzz has gotten me excited – Mike D'Angelo at the A.V. Club had a blurb about it from Cannes that made it seem like there's no way I could miss it. Plus, I continue to seek out and ingest Resnais films at every opportunity, despite our experience with Smoking/No Smoking. So what if I absolutely loathed Not on the Lips, The Sam Old Song and Private Fears in Public Places? I've adored movies by the old French bastard at every turn, like the essential Night and Fog (although, adored is not the right word) to lesser known early films like La Guerre Est Finie to his slicker work like Stavisky and Muriel to his genuinely weird experiments like Mon Oncle D'Amerique. I don't even necessarily hate trying misfires like Je T'Aime, Je T'Aime and Last Year at Marienbad. It's been almost two decades since Resnais has done anything I like, but Wild Grass just feels like it could be something special. Plus: Amalric & Devos! I wish I didn't know anything about the strange politics that led to it being selected the opening night of the NYFF because then I'd really be excited for it – even still, the fact that it can end up in that opening night slot at all means something interesting is going on with it.

The same can't be said for the closing night NYFF film, which will also be at Toronto: Broken Embraces reeks of placeholder status as the NYFF closing night pick – eh, we can’t get anything good, let's go with another Almodovar. There's a whole role-call of uninspiring efforts by long-established directors at TIFF this year. I wouldn't want to dismiss any of them, but on the surface of things they're not exactly blue-chip prospects. Along with the buzz-maligned Broken Embraces, there's Jane Campion's Bright Star, Lars von Trier's Antichrist, Todd Solondz' Life During Wartime, Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story. These films all seem to have a ceiling on their potential of "just fine – pretty much what you’d expect." I guess the promise of Antichrist being notably idiotic makes it the most appealing of the bunch, but is anybody at this point still upset by Von Trier's puerile provocations? He's the cinematic Marilyn Manson – is anybody really shocked by someone who's so pathetically insistent on trying to shock you? He's over-played his hand too many times and genital mutilation isn't going to be enough to overcome the chorus of sighs that will most likely greet this new one. All of these directors have made at least of couple great films, but this time out they seem to be spinning their wheels. I'll see all of these films at some point, but they'll mainly be festival filler for me. As a side note, I've already seen Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus (which would be in this category) and it. is. awful.

The flip side of that coin is this: films from less-established directors who would have to do something radically different than what they've done so far in order to win me over. A Prophet from the director of The Beat My Heart Skipped (additional demerits for an excessive running time); The Time that Remains from the director Divine Intervention (2002- Palestinian, in case you are confusing with the hundreds of other books and movies with this title); Mother from the director of The Host (the vying with The Descent for the title of the most over-rated horror film of the decade); Like You Know it All from the director of Woman on the Beach (Korea's official conferee of the "Woody Allen of x country/ethnicity" title); Into the Void from the director of Irreversible (a fellow who is the personification of style over substance). These are all films by directors that have never made anything I've liked: their new films would have to be significant departures to bring me into the fold and, as it stands, none of them seem like they’re going to surprise me. A Prophet was the talk of Cannes, but The Beat My Heart Skipped was just as tepid and forgettable as Toback's original, so I just don't have any confidence that Audiard can do anything special with his new Muslims in prison drama.

I suppose Into the Void looks to be amusingly terrible and the must-see shitty film of the year. I'm sure it will have a whole load of defenders who obviously know what they're defending is stupid and do so anyway – file it away with Antichrist and Harmony Korine's Trash Humpers. Also, Bruno Dumot has a new movie – has any director ever had a sharper credibility arc? He went from Next Legendary Master after L'Humanite to Living Joke after Twentynine Palms into what seemed like 5 minutes. Will Hadewijch be better than Flandres? Will literally anyone at the festival care? I guess Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call, New Orleans is in this same kind of "so crazy, so awful" category. But, really, isn't the "entertainment" aspect of "entertainingly awful" invariably over-stated? So bad they are good movies are rarely actually very enjoyable to endure. I'm sure that this is just a bunch of bad, boring movies that aren't nearly as crazy and transgressive and strange as they think they are. Let's move on because it's just making me angry to think about all of these affected and "weird" movies that people are going to "enjoy" because they are "crazy" – it's all such a load of horseshit.

Vincere is supposed to awesome, but I've never actually seen anything by Bellochio, so what do I know? Police Adjective is by a director who made one pretty good film (Corneliu Porumboiu, 12:08 East of Bucharest), but everybody is treating him like he's some kind of a genius. Maybe Bellochio deserves it (for what, Fists in the Pocket? The Nanny?), but along with Porumboiu, there's a couple arty-art-art directors where the hype just seems to suddenly take off on their new film for no real reason. This happened with Manuel de Oleveira a couple years ago (when he was finally really old and that was supposed to be impressive) and now Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl keeps coming up in TIFF previews that I read and I can’t figure out where the excitement is coming from – truly, Porumboiu and Oleveira's are only mildly interesting filmmakers so far in their career (you've got to imagine Oleveira's won't be too much longer). There's just a ball of Stature and Respect that gets rolling and can't be stopped despite genuine indifference on the part of all by the most specialized audiences. Come to think of it, that's what happened with Andrew Bujalski and Joe Swanberg, too (although, fortunately, only SxSW bothers to acknowledge their shit). Hey, look – Ming Tsai-Ling has a new film in Toronto this year! He's great! I'm so excited to see it!

Also, you mentioned actors turned directors and carefully avoided mentioning the behind-the-camera debut of Samantha Morton. Are you trying to hide your GIGANTIC CRUSH ON SAMATHA MORTON - BECAUSE, YOU, JOHN CRIBBS ARE IN LOVE WITH SAMANTHA MORTON?! Also, I'm sure you were disappointed to find out that director of All Fall Down is just some dude named Phillip Hoffman, not Phillip Seymour Hoffman dropping his middle name in a John Mellencamp-style bid for serious artistic credibility. But seriously, should I care that Koji Yakusho (and, what was that, Rachel Ward?!) directed a film? What interesting actors-turned-interesting directors set the precedent here? I love Bobcat Goldwaithe as much as the next guy, but I'm not sure that's a lot of evidence to go on

Air Doll and The Men who Stare at Goats are on my radar, but who knows what will come of it? I loved Kore-Eda's Still Walking and Nobody Knows, but the plot of Air Doll is just one of those ideas that I'm not sure any filmmaker could overcome. I'm sure it won't be as unconscionable as Lars and the Real Girl, but "not as bad as awful" isn't much of a standard to meet. I think I'll let you test the waters on that one and then take the plunge only after you give me the go-ahead. The Men Who Stare at Goats is in the same boat: comparisons to Dr. Strangelove and the inclusion of Kevin Spacey don't exactly fill me with hope. Plus, what did Grant Heslov do that I'm supposed to care about – write Good Night and Goodluck and produce Leatherheads? Being friends with George Clooney is nice and all, but that's not exactly a killer resume. Again, let me know what's up and I'll give it a shot - otherwise, I'll be outside buying a hot sausage from that cart between the Varisty and the Cumberland.

As with every year, there's a nice collection of films that I really feel like could go in any direction for me – they could be great, mediocre, interesting failures, boring successes, horrible flops, total genius. The exemplar in this category is Soul Kitchen by Fatih Akin. Akin, of course, made two of my personal favorites, The Edge of Heaven and Head On, but the description (and title!) of Soul Kitchen make it seem like there's no way it couldn't be awful – a comedy about the quirky characters who gather in a local urban restaurant? Wasn't that the idea behind John Laroquette's last sitcom? Ondine is another key film in this category: when I like Neil Jordan, I fucking love Neil Jordan, but other than The Butcher Boy, In the Company of Wolves and The Miracle, he's made of bunch of middling films. There are frequently truly amazing parts in his weak films (Stephen Rea in Breakfast on Pluto, for example), so I'm confident that Odine will have something to recommend it, even if it's a The Good Thief or In Dreams-style mess.

My question for you is: which film do you most dread getting sucked into by scheduling quirks? Each year, there's one or two movies that obviously stink that I know I'm going to hate seeing, but get forced into by some confluence of the industry schedule, my daily eating habits and professional obligation. Last year, it was my least favorite film of the year, I've Loved You So Long – it didn't helped that I rushed into it directly from a screening of my unquestioned favorite film of the year, A Christmas Tale. This year, I'm really hoping I don’t end up in that fruity looking Bad Lieutenant remake – it reeks of calculated, winking craziness, like Werner Herzog in throwing fake weirdness on the actor in "crazy Nic Cage" mode, which just sucks. It just does. There's nothing fun about it and the same people who are excited for that one are the same jackasses who cared about Snakes on a Plane. Fuck it, Herzog is obviously great, but there's many examples of him willing to be a hack and doling out embarrassing sell-out variations on his "crazy German dude" persona. I can't get my hopes up for this one, not living in a world in which Scream of Stone, Incident at Loch Ness, Julien Donkey-Boy and Rescue Dawn exist. There's no doubt that they guy is willing to put on a minstrel show when called upon and Port of Call looks like he's in full Herzog-face.

What's your pick for the most anticipated film that disappoints the most people? I've been consistently shocked by how many folks have been won over by A Serious Man's gimmicky trailer. It seems clear as day that it's another one of the Coens' drab, unfunny, smug "comedies" in the Burn After Reading, Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers mold. I have a feeling that people are going to walk out of it remembering just how truly shitty the Coens brothers' films are capable of being. Plus, they're never less tolerated as filmmakers than when their films carry a strong whiff of anti-Semitism – to me, this one has "backlash" and "disappointment" blazoned across the side of it, clear as day. (Incidentally, if Martin Scorsese's latest DiCaprio collaboration, Shutter Island, was at the festival, I would be placing all bets on that one).

Also, what's the biggest long-shot you're hoping delivers? I really want to believe that Romero can make a good movie again. Martin is still one of my favorite films and the man made Night of the Living Dead, for the love of Pete! However, his constant repackaging of the zombie formula (that he created!) has resulted in a couple of attractively-attired turds. I didn't hate Land of the Dead (even, though, it ultimately has almost nothing to recommend it), but I just felt sorry for Diary of the Dead – Romero as a horror filmmaker just feels like a dog that should be put out of its misery. Still what if Survival of the Dead turned out to be worthy of the first two Dead films? Can you imagine how freakin' awesome that would be? As with everything else, I don't have my hopes up – but wouldn't be amazing if the long-shot paid off? Gah – you know Jack Burton always says in times like these? He always says, "Fuck it." Half of the fun of a festival is having unrealistic expectations: I’m going out on a limb and saying, "I gotta give Romero one, totally unearned more chance – dammit, Romero, you Ewok-looking bastard, hit this one out of the park!"

Anyway, I guess I'll end by saying the festival for me this year is embodied by Atom Egoyan's Chloe. A director I like ok, who has made some very good films (The Sweet Hereafter, Citadel) and some very bad films (Adoration), a uninspiring plot in an oft-tread milieu, starring an actress (Julianne Moore) who has been in some great films (Safe) and some inexcusably awful ones (The Myth of Fingerprints), an over-hyped ingénue (Amanda Seyfried), a questionable co-star in an artistic cred comeback bid (Liam Neeson), a film with some elements to vaguely recommend it and some warning signs of shittiness, a chance it could be good, a real chance it could be terrible. I want to believe Atom Egoyan has made his first great narrative in ten years, that Alain Resnais' film deserves its unexpected spotlight, that Joe Dante has bucked the odds and recovered from a shaky decade to make a great kid-oriented adventure film, that Air Doll's hopeless premise is overcome by a talented director, that Fatih Akin continues his hot-streak with a quirky dramady, that I see as many films that I love this year as I did last year. The films this year appear to be outgunned and undermanned. But you know something? Some are gonna be winners. You know why? Superior attitude. Superior state of mind. I'm getting my hopes up.

* In Part II of this TIFF 2009 preview, John points out to me that TheWhite Ribbon is, in fact, a WWI movie (and I respond to him). So, don't lose your shit about the error, my friends.

Part II of this TIFF 2009 preview will go up next Tuesday, 9/8.

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