tenny talks.

last minute.

was driving by the royal just now and noticed that philippe falardeau's 'it's not me, i swear!' ('c'est pas moi, je le jure!') was playing. was sad i missed a chance to let you know about it, but i checked and it's playing again tomorrow at 7.

the tale of a dysfunctional family in 1968 quebec is told through protagonist léon, a suicidal out for attention ten year old. he gets up to no good while his family is falling apart, and wins your heart in the process. it's plenty quirky, but at the core, the film evokes a sadness that is hard to shake. due in part to the fact that it's based on a true story, it's also owed in equal measure to falardeau's tender delivery and antoine lécuyer's winning performance. i know it's last minute, but if you get a chance- see this one.

• 'it's not me, i swear!' is playing at the the royal cinema (608 college st.), thursday march 12th at 7 pm.
   

jerichow.

i just noticed a listing in the cinemathèque guide for a film i really enjoyed at tiff in september. considering almost everything i saw at the festival this year was lackluster, my liking this one says something on its own.

jerichow is a german film that tells the tale of thomas, a man who is back from the war and trying to get his life together when a chance encounter brings him into the world of ali and his beautiful wife laura. with that, thomas steps into a dangerous love triangle and a future that we can only estimate to be disastrous.

writer/director christian petzold brings a gnawing sense of tension and couples it with the unexpected, as this story of choices unfolds. in so doing, he skillfully plays with the audience's judgments and ideas as to the three strong willed protagonists. while this could be a film that makes you think, you likely will find yourself too invested to do so. and i can promise you'll be that absorbed until the very last second.

• jerichow screens at jackman hall friday february 20th at 7 pm, and sunday february 22nd at 5 pm. tickets are available at the TIFFG box office at 2 carlton st. in toronto, or can be purchased online.

the edge of heaven.

 

in my wanting to talk more about film, i have to mention one i saw at TIFF back in 2007 that has stayed with me ever since. the edge of heaven is a german/turkish film which weaves the tale of connections between characters in turkey and germany. in so doing it bravely sheds light upon the struggle for human rights in turkey, but more than that, it explores the manner in which humans can behave toward one another. writer/director fatih akin draws excellent performances from his actors, but it is his approach to one scene and hanna schygulla's heartbreaking delivery within it, that will surely haunt you.

this is unequivocally a must see.

• the edge of heaven is available on DVD.

films. films. films.

happy 2009, my dears! in closing out the year i couldn't help but notice that most of my 2008 posts were about television. so i'm making a pledge to write more about film this year. to start things off, a quick roundup of what i've seen and liked recently:

slumdog millionaire - everyone and their mother will tell you to see this, and with good reason. i thought i knew the gist of the plot, but the story that unfolded before my eyes was captivating beyond expectations. go see it.

il ya longtemps que je t'aime (i've loved you so long) - i'm a fan of films that explore the psychology of characters, and french films tend to satisfy in that regard. this one tells the tale of a woman (played by an ever solid kristin scott thomas) who reconnects with her family after spending 15 years in prison. i found it to be slightly predictable at times, completely unpredictable at others, and intriguing overall. it's playing at such few theatres that i recommend keeping it in mind and waiting out the DVD release.

rachel getting married - anne hathaway's turn as kym, an addict in recovery who returns home for her sister's wedding, has garnered much praise. so much so that i was a little apprehensive seeing this one, for fear of her not delivering on the hype. but in the midst of the film's complex characters and their familial bond/stress, hathaway managed to pull me in. add to that a wedding that will forever change how you think about weddings (in a good way) and debra winger as hathaway's mother, and i'd say this is worth seeing at a rep theatre or waiting for the DVD.

the wrestler - i actually haven't seen this. (i'm waiting for a wider release since i really don't enjoy the cumberland theatre, and that's the only screen it's playing on currently.) but seeing a glimpse of mickey rourke's performance in the trailer was enough to have me in tears. so no official recommedation on this one, just a prediction.

happy filming!

happy holidays.

as you may have noted, i've been a little lax in posting of late. i won't tire you with excuses, as i can't even think of any that suffice. instead, i want to take a minute and wish you all the best during the holiday season. on that theme, i thought to share the story of how my favourite holiday movie, a christmas story, came to be just that.

while i have two other holiday movie staples i adore watching (home alone and elf), they won me over pretty easily. a christmas story holds a special place because it took years to find its way into my heart. as a kid i'd watch it and feel so terrible for little ralphie parker and all the sour luck he had, that the whole movie made me too upset to ever finish watching. not once did i make it past when ralphie got kicked down that santa slide at the department store. (i mean, look at that face up there! who could do such a thing?) one year, in the not so distant past, i finally decided to sit a christmas story through to the very end. and there, nearly 20 years after it first aired, i discovered just how charming it was, in all its bumbling glory. a favourite in the making, for far too long.

so...here's hoping you spend the holidays indulging in your favourite films, television and music...but most of all, your very favourite people. happiest of holidays to you all.

the world better left unseen.

on three separate occasions people have asked if i'm excited to see the new lisa ray flick 'the world unseen.' and on three separate occasions i've had to look these eager people in the eye and break the harsh news: i've already seen it and it wasn't very good. it wasn't very good at all.

i was (un)lucky enough to have caught 'the world unseen' at tiff two years ago. the story of two women from different worlds who fall in love in 1952 apartheid south africa sounds like it could have been dramatic. touching. inspiring, even. and yet, all i remember was trying to surpress my laughter for two hours. well, that and the tasty yogen früz i consumed.

the killer combination of hokey writing, over earnest acting and substandard picture quality made for some terribly funny moments that were meant to be anything but. i'm sure being in the company of three like minded folk made the giggling fits worse than they should have been, but still. most of the film was borderline farcical.

in the interest of being fair, i will say that the rest of the audience didn't seem to find the film nearly as funny as the three muskequeers and i did. but said audience was made up of lifetime movie of the week type folk. trust me, you'd have to be to fall for this kind of schlock. i don't mean offense to writer, director and author shamim sarif's vision. it certainly had merit. but there are countless better told love in the wrong time/place/between the wrong people stories to enjoy. why settle for this one?

so. before anyone else asks me about 'the world unseen', or worse, actually pays money to see it, i am officially letting you know: i give it two big lesbian thumbs down.

just don't say i didn't warn you.

retro recommendation.

just watching mask and it made me think to tell you to do the same. a heartbreaking film of the best kind, it's based on a true story of a teenager with a skull deformity and the mother who loves him. eric stoltz's earnest performance is only outdone by a pre plastic surgery crazy cher, who put together manage to kill me no matter how many times i watch this film. combined with anna hamilton phelan's honest script and peter bogdanovich at the helm, this film completely avoids the sappy sentimentality it could have easily gotten as a tv movie of the week- which makes it more than worth a viewing. bonus: watch for a young laura dern in a shining performance and the chance to see estelle getty out of her sophia getup as stolz's grandmother. *note- you may want to avoid watching this if you're pms-ing like i am (tmi is my forte), because it will surely crush your heart into teeny tiny little bits.

• mask is airing on mpix all this month, and is also available on dvd.