{"id":2448929,"date":"2019-09-19T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-09-19T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/?p=313127"},"modified":"2019-09-19T16:00:00","modified_gmt":"2019-09-19T22:00:00","slug":"from-toronto-to-aspen-fall-film-preview-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/from-toronto-to-aspen-fall-film-preview-part-one\/","title":{"rendered":"From Toronto to Aspen: Fall Film Preview (Part One)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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First still from the set of WW2 satire, JOJO RABIT. (From L-R): Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) has dinner with his imaginary friend Adolf (Writer\/Director Taika Waititi), and his mother, Rosie (Scarlet Johansson). Photo by Kimberley French. \u00a9 2018 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved<\/strong>
Courtesy photo<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

For 10 days every September, Toronto plays host to one of the world\u2019s largest festivals. Fondly known as TIFF, the Toronto International Film Festival is North America\u2019s premiere film event. From early morning until late at night, moviegoers hoping to score tickets to sold-out screenings (which most are) queue rush lines that wind around the block. Observing the daily sea of attendees (tens of thousands) surge from one venue to the next, one can\u2019t help but wonder: how many pounds of popcorn and coffee beans does it take to fuel these committed movie-goers?<\/p>\n

TIFF\u2019s battalion of programmers spends a year ferreting out features, documentaries and shorts from six continents. They then funnel their 300-plus eclectic choices into 14 loosely themed sections that range from red-carpet galas featuring A-list talent to experimental Wavelength\u2019s more artist-driven projects. Even armed with advance research and guideposts\u2014Discovery, Contemporary World Cinema, Docs, Midnight Madness \u2014 navigating TIFF is daunting.<\/p>\n

Like the blind men\u2019s assessment of the elephant, it\u2019s impossible for even the most dedicated cineaste to fully wrap his or her arms around this massive beast. Chat with any line partner or volunteer (a legion of 3,000) and one quickly discovers TIFF is not one festival, but a panorama of unique, divergent experiences, each individually curated by a moviegoer\u2019s tastes and curiosity. Like our voraciously enthusiastic cohorts, we plunged in, seeing 70 screenings of 58 titles from 25 countries. Here are some initial impressions of our festival elephant:<\/p>\n

\u2018JOJO,\u2019 \u2018JUDY\u2019 and ASPEN-BOUND FEATURES<\/p>\n

While independent and international productions struggle at the box office (\u201cspecialty\u201d film weathered an especially disheartening summer), directors new and old continue finding ways to translate their idiosyncratic visions to the screen. Whether it\u2019s a poetic Sudanese drama (Amjad Abu Alala\u2019s \u201cYou Will Die at Twenty\u201d) or toe-tapping crowd pleaser (\u201cMilitary Wives\u201d by \u201cThe Full Monty\u2019s\u201d Peter Cattaneo), filmmakers never tire of asking: How do we live with ourselves and in the world?<\/p>\n

Fortunately for movie lovers, most TIFF films will travel the festival circuit, get a theatrical release and\/or stream in the coming months. Next week, fresh from Toronto, Steven Soderbergh\u2019s \u201cThe Laundromat,\u201d Terrence Malick\u2019s \u201cA Hidden Life,\u201d Bong Joon-ho\u2019s \u201cParasite,\u201d \u201cHoney Boy\u201d with Shia LaBeouf, C\u00e9line Sciamma\u2019s \u201cPortrait of a Lady on Fire,\u201d \u201cSeberg\u201d starring Kristen Stewart and Scott Z. Burns\u2019 \u201cThe Report\u201d will be among several stopping at Aspen Filmfest.<\/p>\n

The risk-taking \u201cJojo Rabbit\u201d and Rupert Goold\u2019s biopic \u201cJudy\u201d also are bound for Filmfest.<\/p>\n

Taika Waititi\u2019s (\u201cThor: Ragnarok\u201d) highly anticipated \u201cJoJo Rabbit\u201d proved to be one of most provocative premieres, contentiously dividing critics while winning the audience award. Filtering his quirky vision through a child\u2019s eyes (as in \u201cTwo Cars, One Night\u201d and \u201cHunt for the Wilderpeople\u201d), Waititi\u2019s sharp black comedy sets out to skewer the insanity of tribalism. Ten-year-old Jojo is a Nazi Youth group member with Adolf Hitler as an imaginary friend (Waititi) and a secret in the closet. From this audacious, high-wire premise Waititi concocts a unique cocktail of biting caricature, absurdist buffoonery and trenchant humor, all threaded with a touch of whimsical sweetness. Filmgoers will soon have the chance to determine for themselves whether \u201cJoJo\u201d succeeds in packing its intended punch.<\/p>\n

As the title character in \u201cJudy,\u201d a mesmerizing Ren\u00e9e Zellweger flings herself into an emotionally complex portrayal of the late-in-life Judy Garland. Transcending mere impersonation and jettisoning the \u201cTragic Judy\u201d legend, Zellweger infuses her role \u2014 and hits her own notes \u2014 with the fierce intensity of a scrappy down-but-not-out welterweight: frail, faltering, bruised by the abuse of others (and herself), but still capable of igniting the stage with moments of electrifying brilliance.<\/p>\n

STELLAR PERFORMANCES<\/p>\n

Especially with Oscar night moving up to early February, TIFF is considered an essential awards platform for high-profile hopefuls. Some, most notably \u201cThe Goldfinch,\u201d John Crowley\u2019s pedigree adaptation of Donna Tartt\u2019s bestseller, took an Icarian tumble. Others like Noah Baumbach\u2019s superb \u201cMarriage Story\u201d soared. Good people unwittingly at their worst is the premise of this funny, sad autopsy of an unraveling marriage, based, in part, on the writer-director\u2019s own experience. Despite best intentions to part amicably, Charlie and Nicole (Adam Driver and Scarlet Johansen in career-defining performances) chart messy terra incognita. Through an accretion of resonant moments, including an incendiary fight (the kind partners hope never to have) and a wistful musical coda (all the more poignant for its timing), Baumbach brings compassion and grace to the complicated truths of letting go.<\/p>\n

Great performance, while it can\u2019t save a truly bad movie, often elevates films whose less artful script, direction or edit falls short of expectations. Watching actors dig deep to bring their characters vibrantly alive reminds us why we love going to the movies. Whenever Kasi Lemmons\u2019 \u201cHarriet\u201d \u2014 about abolitionist Harriet Tubman \u2014 sags under tired tropes of \u201chistoric epic,\u201d Tony-winner Cynthia Erivo bursts through, bringing agency and urgency to this story of uncommon courage, fortitude and faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cSound of Metal,\u201d the odyssey of a punk-metal drummer who suddenly goes deaf, is tethered by a ferociously raw and tatted Riz Ahmed (\u201cGirls,\u201d \u201cThe Night Of\u201d). Floundering in fury and bewilderment, Ahmed\u2019s vulnerable Ruben captivates, even when Darius Marder\u2019s unwieldy story meanders. Following his sublime \u201cShoplifters,\u201d Hirokazu Kore-eda\u2019s \u201cThe Truth\u201d plays in a more minor key, to be sure. But it\u2019s hard to resist the pleasure of watching the incomparably deft Catherine Deneuve, now 76, play an aging actress who\u2019s self-absorbed and emotionally tone-deaf in equal measure.<\/p>\n

TRUE STORIES; WOMEN BEHIND THE CAMERA<\/p>\n

While TIFF focuses primarily on narrative features, it also showcases a consistently strong documentary strand.<\/p>\n

Nonfiction masters Alex Gibney and Barbara Kopple premiered their latest, \u201cCitizen K\u201d and \u201cDesert One.\u201d There were profiles of the creative process (Ebs Burnough\u2019s \u201cThe Capote Tapes,\u201d Daniel Roher\u2019s \u201cOnce Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band,\u201d Pat Collins\u2019 \u201cHenry Glassie: Field Work\u201d). Several compelling works grappled with serious global issues, such as ethnic discrimination (Daniel Gordon\u2019s \u201cThe Australian Dream\u201d), environmental degradation (Ellen Page\u2019s \u201cThere\u2019s Something in the Water\u201d), and the treatment of the U.S.\u2019s non-citizen military veterans (Andrew Renzi\u2019s \u201cReady for War\u201d).<\/p>\n

Among the most powerful, critically lauded documentaries was \u201cCollective,\u201d Alexander Nanau\u2019s chilling examination of systemic corruption in Romania\u2019s medical industry. In 2015, a fire in a Bucharest nightclub tragically took 27 lives. In ensuing weeks, another 37 survivors with severe burns died due to preventable infections and inadequate hospital care. Edited like a fast-paced police whodunnit, \u201cCollective\u201d follows journalist Catalin Tolontan as he and his investigative team pry behind the government\u2019s wall of denials and lies, eventually uncovering an appallingly pervasive web of professional and governmental self-dealing, avarice, and callous indifference to the welfare of patients. As public outrage builds, reform efforts are forced on the government, but politicians push back. A moving example of a free press\u2019s crucial role in combating wrongdoing, the film\u2019s final developments ominously echo other ongoing struggles to change entrenched injustice.<\/p>\n

Since 2017, TIFF has spearheaded \u201cShare Her Journey,\u201d an initiative to advance women in the film industry. The festival line-up reflected that commitment with 35% of the program directed, co-directed or created by women, the highest representation of gender parity in the world\u2019s top-tiered festivals. Not always, but often, stories told by women feel new and different. French director Alice Winocour (writer of \u201cMustang\u201d) refreshes familiar family-versus-work territory by raising the stakes in the absorbing \u201cProxima.\u201d Sarah (a wonderful Eva Green) is a single mom and astronaut. Training for a long mission, she strives to balance the responsibilities of conflicting devotions: parenting and profession. Both are demanding, both involve risk. This nuanced drama, beautifully researched and shot at actual training facilities, launches an intimate voyage into the human heart.<\/p>\n

HANKS AS MR. ROGERS<\/p>\n

Director Marielle Heller has a fondness for broken people finding redemption, especially when they don\u2019t realize how much they need it. Like her \u201cCan You Ever Forgive Me?,\u201d \u201cA Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood\u201d is inspired by a writer and actual events. In this case, the writer is an embittered journalist assigned a story that will shake his very being. What better agent of transformation than television folk hero Mr. Rogers? And who better to embody his soul-mending message than Tom Hanks? With quiet stealth, Hanks creates a Fred Rogers who draws from a deeply private, fully human place to meet people exactly where they are. This cleverly crafted tale of genuine goodness is a welcome fall antidote to the creeps, villains and ne\u2019er-do-wells that crowd our worldview, onscreen \u2026 and off.<\/p>\n

Film critics George Eldred and Laura Thielen, based in Carbondale, are the former directors of Aspen Film.<\/p>\n

via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First still from the set of WW2 satire, JOJO RABIT. (From L-R): Jojo (Roman Griffin Davis) has dinner with his imaginary friend Adolf (Writer\/Director Taika Waititi), and his mother, Rosie (Scarlet Johansson). Photo by Kimberley French. \u00a9 2018 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights ReservedCourtesy photo For 10 days every September, Toronto plays host […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2448929","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 00:06:39","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley's Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2448929","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2448929"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2448929\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2448929"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2448929"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2448929"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}