By Anne Brodie
Canadian author and filmmaker Durga Chew-Bose’s feature film debut, a remake of the 1958 film Bonjour Tristesse based on Françoise Sagan’s novel is extraordinarily seductive. Widower Raymond (Claes Bang) is spending a relaxed summer on the French coast with his daughter Cécile (Lily McInerny) and his partner Elsa (Nailia Harzoune) who appears to be about the same age. It’s a luxurious life; the estate’s relaxed elegance and rock cliffs provide a private haven for endless sunbathing and idle living. Still, there are undercurrents. Suddenly Anne (Chloë Sevigny), appears and the tone changes. She begins important conversations and cooks, but why is she here? Polite tensions arise as Anne’s motives become clear. Sevigny is magnificent and Chew-Bose’s debut confirms her talent and ability to create evocative, TIFF will honour her with its Emerging Talent Award at the TIFF Tribute Awards. If you didn’t get to the south of France this summer, this will do. TIFF Sept 5 and Sept 6. www.tiff.net
An arrestting TIFF entry, Village Keeper from Karen Chapman makes its World Premiere Sept 7. Actor dancer Olunike Adeliyi as Beverly-Jean, an anxious widow and mother of two who lives in Grandma’s Scarborough community housing project apartment they’ve had for decades. Beverly-Jean’s terrified of violence but can’t leave. Beverly-Jean manages her fear by yelling at the kids to be safe. They don’t. She obsessively cleans blood in the complex; its always there. Little by little we learn about her experiences in an abusive marriage and her concerns about her young son who acts out in violence at school. Grandma (Maxine Simpson) takes a softer, more optimistic approach with the kids, keeps smiling and encouraging. The film’s delicacy is intriguing, its subtlety is telling and it offers a myriad of sensations and stirred memories for them that we absorb immediately. A gem of a film, not to be missed. www.tiff.net
Immigrant life in another Scarbrough community housing unit. Amar Wala’s provocative TIFF offering, family portrait Shook set amongst the faceless high-rise towers concerns Ash (Saamer Usmani), the eldest son of a family in a bit of a mess. Parents Nisha (Pamela Mala Sinha) and Vijay (global actor Bernard White) recently split and Ashish and his brother Hari (Sharjil Rasool) have cut their father off entirely, upsetting their fair-minded mother. Then he has a cute meet with a white barista who set the trap; he’s flattered. His father now sick with Parkinson’s and jobless after a bus crash needs him; he helps despite his lack of respect. Ash is an aspiring writer, but his agent says no more immigrant diaspora porn. What else does he know? He’s rarely been out of Scarborough. The people, situations and dialogue are universally relatable. Wala’s admirable film satisfies and brings a warm glow despite the characters hurdles. Shook’s World Premiere at TIFF on Sept. 11 and 12. www.tiff.net
Maybe Elephants, an ambitious and effective NFB animated short tackling marriage, family, wanderlust and depression from Torill Kove. A suburban family of a mother prone to darkness, her concerned husband and their three headstrong teen daughters are at an impasse. Dad can’t concentrate, asking every night how many potatoes to peel. The girls are in full-on rebellion, symbolized by smoking, and the mother is overwhelmed by “dark clouds”. She jumps up one day and demands they move to Africa; Nairobi and they instantly agree. Our narrator, one of the girls, says these are her memories of a “happy childhood” and we don’t know if she is being sincere. Off they go. Mother perks up, Dad peels the right amount of potatoes without help and the girls are doing teen things like meeting boys. Elephants appear in their yard. Mother jumps up one day and demands they move back home. They do. And this isn’t the end of this story! Interesting that our narrator may not be reliable and that’s one of the things I like best. TIFF Sept. 5 and 12. www.tiff.net
Dennis Quaid takes on the persona of U.S. President Ronald Reagan in a biopic that deals exhaustively with the actor-turned-politician’s life from boyhood to Hollywood, the US presidency and his final days with emphasis on his relentless crusade against Communism. Reagan from Director Sean McNamara and based on Paul Kengor’s biography “The Crusader”. Reagan was a star in Tinseltown when the Red Scare took hold; many famous folks were accused of being Communist sympathisers, and agitators including Lucille Ball! Soviet spies had infiltrated the film world with an eye to Reagan whose movie image they admired. They wanted him to join them and feed information about potential converts. The Soviet Union was looking to expand globally and what was more attractive than the US and its leading industry – Hollywood!? Reagan, a God-fearing small-town Midwesterner was allergic to the godless Soviet ideal. It’s 1941 and he and then his wife Jane Wyman (Mena Suvari) argue over dinner at the Cocoanut Grove with screenwriter and Communist Dalton Trumbo. “The American Dream doesn’t apply to all of us equally,” he says. “We’re doing something about it. Pick a side Reagan!” Trumbo was later imprisoned for “spreading subversive ideas through his films”. Reagan made fighting Communism his life’s work and became an FBI informant. While President, Reagan’s “work” friendship with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was useful, leading to a lowering of the threat of nuclear attack during the Cold War. They had a good relationship despite opposing ideologies and the harms under the Cold War. So much fascinating information emerges about Reagan’s character, actions, and political savvy sometimes disguised as upbeat, wonky optimism. The larger-than-life, outlandish but true story of Reagan and the Reds is nothing short of astounding – and entertaining. And then there’s the love story between Ron and Nancy (Penelope Ann Miller). In theatres Aug 30.
A groundbreaking sitcom series English Teacher looks at Gen Z high schoolers, and their teachers as they navigate the idea of what school could be. Written, directed by and starring Brian Jordan Alvarez it’s a radical new take on the closed society of a high school in conservative Austin, Texas where new ideas are starting to seep in. Alvarez’ English teacher Evan is openly gay and while paying strict attention to education and following school rules, he revolutionises the lives of his charges. The Powder Puff, in which the girls play football and the boys cheerlead is going to look different this year. Against advice and orders, the boys insist on taking up the challenge levied by Evan for the men to go drag for the annual event. Initial resistance turns into open celebration as Shazam, a local drag queen prepares them for game day; they look spectacular and they have a blast! Austin Texas! The joy of experimentation is massive and even Principal Moretti (Enrico Colantoni) who wants nothing more than peace and the path of least resistance, is impressed. The entire faculty is frightened of a powerful and wealthy parent who seeks to bring them down to fit into her extreme right views of what school should be. Her efforts are crafty and undermine the modernisation of school society. Evan’s scared too but fights for freedom of thought and expression for his students and the faculty. Meanwhile, he’s dealing with troublesome ex Malcolm (Jordan Firstman) and struggling with the arrival of Harry (Langston Kerman), a new teacher he’s taken a shine to. Faculty dating is a no-no. He and his faculty bestie Gwen (Stephanie Koenig) get into a shouting match on a class field day (nine minutes from the school!) while rope climbing through huge trees with the kids. The series is refreshingly modern and inclusive, it’s well-written and funny – check the mother looking for the kids she believes are playing Stoneface – and a breath of fresh air in the tired sitcom universe. Premieres Sept 2 on FX, and streams the next day on Disney+ Canada.
Stay tuned for next week’s TIFF entries – watch this space!