Author Archive for Jay Kerr

Let’s All Hate Toronto

Published
by
Jay Kerr
on April 20, 2007
in Documentaries, Film Festivals and Hot Docs
. 3 Comments

Let's All Hate Toronto

Let’s All Hate Toronto (Directors: Albert Nerenberg, Rob Spence, Canada, 2006): Let’s All Hate Toronto premiered tonight to a sold out audience at the Bloor Cinema in, well, Toronto. There was quite a buzz around this film. I was eager to see what people around the country had to say about Toronto and why they disliked it so much.

The film follows Mr. Toronto who travels across Canada to find out why everyone hates Toronto. To encourage feedback, Toronto Appreciation Days are ’staged’ in public places which lead to some funny situations.

By far, the funniest scene occurs in Edmonton last year, when the Edmonton Oilers made a run for the Stanley Cup. A drunken fan is waving a Toronto Appreciation Day banner. When he realizes what he has in his hands, he drops the banner as if it were on fire.

The film tries too hard to be funny and it failed to keep my interest throughout. Maybe I was turned off by the staged events and some of the phoniness. The Mr. Toronto schtick gets tired halfway through and a lot of the footage is shown again and again.

The best line in the film is “Toronto is like New York on dial-up“. Having been to New York I couldn’t agree more. Toronto is like a village compared to New York.

As a Torontonian I had a very strong interest in seeing this film but when it comes to filmmaking, it’s a pretty average documentary. If I could have changed the channel, I would have flipped to something else.

I hate to be negative about a local film because I know how much work and effort goes into making one but Let’s All Hate Toronto just didn’t do it for me. It raised a lot of interesting things about Toronto but overall it wasn’t compelling enough for this viewer.

UPDATE: The film is having its official “premiere” at 9:30pm on Thursday June 28 at Toronto’s own Bloor Cinema (Bloor and Bathurst) and will play there through July 3.

Official site for the film

Mr. Toronto’s blog for the Toronto Appreciation Days tour

4/10(4/10)

The Fallen Idol

Published
by
Jay Kerr
on April 19, 2007
in DVD
. Closed

The Fallen Idol

The Fallen Idol (Director: Carol Reed, UK, 1948): The Fallen Idol was released a few months ago by The Criterion Collection. Having never seen the film, I purchased a copy from CriterionDVD.com.

The Fallen Idol was directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene — the same team that created one of my favourite films, The Third Man (1949).

In The Fallen Idol, Baines the butler (Ralph Richardson) is suspected of killing his wife. The only witness to her death is a little boy named Phillipe (Bobby Henrey) with an active imagination.

The film is a good thriller that leaves you guessing right up until the end when everything gets resolved. Innocence, faith and betrayal are a few of the themes that are examined in this suspenseful drama.

Richardson is perfectly cast as “the fallen idol” and the performance by Phillipe is incredible considering he was an untrained actor and dealing with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A documentary on the DVD explains how Reed patiently worked with the child actor to keep him focused and deliver his lines. The resulting performance is brilliant.

There is a night scene where young Phillipe is running through the streets of London that will remind you of Orson Welles running through the streets of Vienna in The Third Man. Rent (or buy) this film if you enjoyed The Third Man.

The audio and video quality of this new, restored version of the film is what you’d expect from The Criterion Collection. Excellent!

Children of Men

Published
by
Jay Kerr
on April 11, 2007
in DVD
. Closed

Children of Men

Children of Men (Director: Alfonso Cuarón, UK/USA, 2006): I really wanted to watch this film last Saturday but the 200 copies at the local Blockbuster were gone. What’s a guy to do when he has company over and has to make a good film pick? I paid full price for the DVD and I feel it was worth it.

Children of Men was on a lot of Top Ten lists last year and a lot of critics considered it to be the best film of the year. Was it better than Pan’s Labyrinth or The Departed? Hard to say. My favourite is still Pan’s Labyrinth.

Children of Men is dark, beautiful and definitely not a mainstream popcorn flick. It’s the type of film that stays with you long after it ends and will have some people wondering why they spent 109 minutes watching it. I enjoyed it and need to watch it again.

Set in the future, Children of Men presents a world where humankind is on the brink of extinction. A killer virus wiped out all the world’s children and left the adults infertile. Amidst all the anarchy and chaos, a pregnant woman appears with a miracle child, a saviour for the world.

Like The Matrix before it, Children of Men will surely inspire a number of university courses along the lines of “The Christology of Children of Men“. The biblical references run deep and will make this a popular film to analyze and discuss.

There were many incredible scenes in this film but the one that stuck with me the most involves the crying baby. The presence of this miracle child and its crying voice is louder than the deafening crackle of automatic gunfire. It’s one of those cinematic moments that you’ll remember for years—think Schindler’s List and the scene with the child in the red coat.

In the last few days there’s been quite a buzz about the incredible cinematography in this film—the long takes and the magnificent camera work will have you scratching your head. There is a lot to enjoy about this film if you’re willing to participate in it while you watch it.

Souvenirs

Published
by
Jay Kerr
on April 5, 2007
in Doc Soup and Documentaries
. Closed
Souvenirs

Souvenirs (Directors: Shahar Cohen and Halil Efrat, Israel, 2006): This documentary had its Canadian premiere at the Bloor Cinema in Toronto tonight. Souvenirs received a Best Documentary Award at the 2006 Doc Aviv Festival.

37 year-old Shahar Cohen went to film school for five years. Two years ago, he was unemployed, living in Jerusalem and wanted to make a film. The subject? His 82-year-old father, Sleiman, who had served in World War II with the Jewish Brigade.

The angle? His father had a few girlfriends in Holland and it’s possible that he might have left behind some “souvenirs” — children by two Dutch women.

So, father and son go on a road trip through Europe in search of lost lovers and siblings. What transpires is a charming and funny adventure where Sleiman and Sharar get to know each other better. The film also explores the role of the Jewish Brigade in the British army during the war.

I enjoyed Souvenirs a lot. Sleiman and his son aren’t very close but by the end of the film they make a connection that strengthens their relationship. You also gain some insight into life during the war through Sleiman’s many stories. And of course there are a few surprises along the way as Sharar tries to find out if he has any brothers or sisters from his father’s Dutch girlfriends.

Shahar Cohen was on-hand for a Q&A after the film. I was surprised to find out that he had written a script for his documentary film! The script was completed before filming but only used as an outline for how Shahar wanted the film to unfold.

At times Shahar and his co-director Halil Efrat “manipulated” Sleiman by getting him worked up to make a few scenes more dramatic. They also filmed a lot of interviews of Jewish Brigade members to trick Sleiman into thinking that the film was about the Brigade and not focusing solely on him.

I’m sure that their are some documentary purists who would frown upon these Michael Moore-like tactics, but it does make for a more interesting film.

More information on the film

The Bridge will be on the Documentary Channel

Published
by
Jay Kerr
on March 28, 2007
in Documentaries
. Closed

From April 6-8, The Bridge will air on The Documentary Channel in Canada at 8 pm ET. If you were looking for a reason to add this channel to your cable or satellite subscription then this is it.

The Bridge (2006) was one of the best films I screened at Doc Soup in the last year. Don’t miss it.