New Additions to Several Programs (2007)
TIFF has announced a whole slew of titles, with new additions to Gala Presentations, Special Presentations, Masters, Contemporary World Cinema, Visions, and Vanguard. (I've updated all of those posts to reflect the announcement.) At this point, the only films I'm really eager to see added are the new ones from Jia Zhang-ke, Abel Ferrara, and Valeria Bruni-Tedeshi.
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I'm excited to see Son of Rambow, Persepolis, and even 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days added. And although you can get it on DVD from Europe already, I'm tempted to see the Cannes omnibus film Chacun son Cinema on the big screen.
I fear the Ferrara is likely to be a no-show at TIFF. It's playing in a Competition slot at the Montreal fest, and there's usually no overlap between those line-ups.
Here's what I know about the new films:
The Last Lear: I like Ghosh's Chokher Bali and The Lady of the House, but his last movie Raincoat made me worry that he is losing something in the process of going Bollywood. I want to see this anyway.
Love Comes Lately: I didn't care for Schutte's SuperTex.
Shadows: I disliked Manchevski's Before the Rain - missed Dust, which I believe got US distribution.
The Sun Also Rises: Jiang Wen's Devils on the Doorstep was interesting. A lot of people I know loved it and are really waiting for this one.
Four Women: I saw Gopalakrishnan's Face to Face years ago and wasn't wild about it, but he has a small rep (I believe there was a mini-retro of his work somewhere in NYC recently), and I'd like to give him another shot.
The Voyeurs: I walked out on Dasgupta's Tale of a Naughty Girl, but some people seem to like him.
Avant Que J'Oublie: Nolot is a Cahiers favorite, and Porn Theater has admirers. I want to see this.
Barcelona (A Map): I found Pons' To Die (or Not) kind of stiff.
Brick Lane: I'm still sorry I couldn't squeeze in Gavron's This Little Life at TIFF a few years back, and want to see this to atone. But I don't know anything about it, really.
Chop Shop: I didn't like Bahrani's Man Push Cart, but some people did, including, I believe, writers for both Film Comment and Cahiers.
The Counterfeiters: I didn't care for Ruzowitzky's The Inheritors, but I remember that Hoberman did.
Dans la Vie: I saw Faucon's Samia, didn't care much about it, though it wasn't bad.
Forever Never Anywhere: I liked Svoboda's You Bet Your Life, and I am so there if I make it to TIFF.
A Gentle Breeze in the Village: I didn't care much for Yamashita's The Ramblers and Linda Linda Linda, but lots of people liked the last one especially.
Happiness: Hur Jin-Ho is talented (I like Christmas in August the best), but I don't have a great feeling about the way his career has been heading.
Jellyfish: I'm pretty sure Cahiers got behind this film.
Just Like Home: I disliked Scherfig's Italian for Beginners.
L'Ora di Punta: Marra seems to be liked by the right people, but I didn't have a good reaction to Vento di Terra.
Philippine Science: I didn't care for The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveras, but many liked it.
To Love Someone: I rather liked Sandgren's Truly Human - not a great film, but I thought the direction was good.
Wolfsbergen: I liked Leopold's Guernsey. Olaf Muller liked this film at Berlin. I want to see it.
Son of Rambow is a charming little film about two boys -- one a miscreant and one from a sheltered family -- who are profoundly affected by Stallone's First Blood. It's the kind of thing I can recommend to my non-cinephile friends in a heartbeat, but it also has some interesting juxtapositions of character types -- you have Huck-and-Tom adventurism and boys' school hijinx on one hand blended with 80s new wave on the other. It's a nice celebration of creativity and friendship.
And it's a lot better than First Blood. :-)
Let me follow Dan's lead and lay down a few thoughts:
I liked Chokher Bali (good, not great) and will try to see the new Rituparno Ghosh, The Last Lear.
I loved Adoor's Shadow Kill and definitely want to see Four Women.
I enjoyed Dasgupta's The Wrestlers and Tale of a Naughty Girl okay but disliked the last one I saw, Chased By Dreams. Steve Gravestock at TIFF is a huge fan of his and always slots his films in the Masters program.
I've always been a bit curious about Jacques Nolot and want to see Avant Que J'Oublie. (He has a nice presence as Nenette and Boni's dad in the Claire Denis film.)
I liked Philippe Faucon's Samia and will want to see Dans La Vie. James Quandt loved his last film, La Trahison, and put it on his Artforum year-end ten-best list. I missed it at TIFF.
Like Dan, I didn't care for Ventura Pons's To Die (or Not) and will pass on the new one, Barcelona: A Map.
I also disliked Mancehvski's Before the Rain and won't be seeing Shadows.
I'm a fan of Linda Linda Linda and the teen film is among the genres I find most interesting, so I'll be trying to catch Yamashita's A Gentle Breeze in the Village.
I know lots of people liked the Dogme romantic comedy Italian for Beginners but I wasn't among them. I'll pass on Scherfig's Just Like Home.
And there are several big names whose films might get picked up but I will be trying hard to see their films at TIFF anyway: Oliveira, Chabrol, Rohmer, Chahine, Kitano, Medem, To.
Thanks so much, everyone, for the tips. I had just about finished investigating the list of announced titles and thought I was beginning to get a good sense of what I wanted to see. But this latest batch is impressive. It's now official: even being there for the entire fest with a Festival Pass, I'm still going to miss a lot of great films.
There are some amazing additions there! Only a few more days until all will be known.
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