Tag Archive for ‘uk’ at Toronto Screen Shots

Tag Archive for 'uk'

TIFF 2008: Preliminaries, Part 1

Published

on August 6, 2008

. 0 Comments

Though the full list of films for this year’s Toronto International Film Festival will not be announced until August 19th, I’m already having a tough time narrowing my list down to just ten films. So just like last year, I’m going to preview a bunch of the contenders in the hope that it helps me choose:

Of Time and the City (Director: Terence Davies): With just five features and three short films to his name in a career that’s spanned three decades, Terence Davies is not exactly a prolific filmmaker, but that makes each new film a genuine occasion to take notice. Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) and The Long Day Closes (1992) are a pair of acclaimed semi-autobiographical films about his childhood in Liverpool. His latest film, his first in 8 years, is a documentary about this seemingly unlovable city. I’ve heard it described as meditative, and I’m eager to see how it compares with the earlier films, both of which are on their way to me courtesy of the wonderful British Film Institute. Look for reviews of those before TIFF.

Trailer
Official Site

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Hunger (Director: Steve McQueen): Growing up Irish in the 70s and 80s, it was hard not to hear about “The Troubles,” even all the way over here in Canada. The hunger strike by Bobby Sands and other IRA prisoners in Belfast’s Maze prison was big news back in 1981, but to be honest, I never really knew what it was all about. Visual artist Steve McQueen’s debut film won the Camera d’Or at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and has been called unsettling and uncompromising. Sounds unmissable.

Trailer

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Happy-Go-Lucky (Director: Mike Leigh): A new comedy from Mike Leigh is always an occasion to celebrate. This film has been out so long in Europe that it’s being released on DVD on August 18th already, but I’d still like to have a look at it on a large screen. Sally Hawkins plays Poppy, a relentlessly optimistic Londoner who meets her match in bitter misanthrope/driving instructor Scott (the always interesting Eddie Marsan).

Trailer
Official Site

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Always Crashing In The Same Car

Published

James McNally

on October 23, 2007

in Web Sites

. Closed

Oh, happy day! Paul McGann and Richard E. Grant are reunited in a short, called “Always Crashing In The Same Car.” If the Bowie song title and the reunited Withnail and I stars appeal to you, it’s freely downloadable from The Times web site.

Sunshine

Published

James McNally

on July 18, 2007

in Theatrical Release

. 4 Comments

Sunshine (Director: Danny Boyle, UK, 2007): Last night, courtesy of the good folks at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, I was able to catch the preview screening of Danny Boyle’s latest film, a sci-fi epic in the old-fashioned sense. Drawing inspiration from classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Solaris, and Alien, Sunshine doesn’t really chart any new ground, but it was a blast, and unlike most American sci-fi of recent years, it didn’t insult the viewer’s intelligence. We were fortunate to have the director present for a q&a after the screening (although he arrived from Chicago just in time for the end of the film) and he was refreshingly candid about the difficulties involved in making the film, as well as the very narrow thematic scope of films like this. As he put it, there is always a ship, a crew, and some sort of distress signal. Of course, it would make more sense for the crew to ignore the distress call, but they never do, and thank goodness, or else we’d be watching a pretty dull film.

As it goes, the eight-person crew of the Icarus II, en route to deliver a bomb into the heart of a dying Sun, pick up signals from the Icarus I, lost seven years before. The film functions as an effective thriller and even enters the horror realm as the crew members meet various unexpected ends. We know at the beginning that their chances of returning to Earth are slim, but it’s still affecting to watch as they send messages home. And although the character development is minimal, there is still a strong sense of caring about these people, since they represent humanity’s last hope against the unfeeling machinery of the universe.

In summary, this is not a classic in the mold of the three films it references, but it’s a great synthesis of their themes and shares the same atmosphere, which for me is a huge achievement. This is the sort of summer blockbuster I’d recommend to my own friends.

Here is the Q&A with director Danny Boyle from after the screening (apologies for the low volume, I’m trying to edit these a bit, but let me know if it’s still too low):

Duration: 18:44

The film opens in Toronto on July 20.

Official site for the film
Production blog for the film

7/10 (7/10)

Groundhoppers

Published

James McNally

on June 21, 2007

in DVD and Documentaries

. Closed

Groundhoppers (Director: Eivind Tolås, Norway, 2005): Thank goodness for the internet. While reading about obsessive football (soccer) fans who attempt to visit as many football grounds as possible, I came across the title of this Norwegian documentary. I was able to get in touch with the filmmaker and convince him to send me a copy to review. As far as I know, this film was broadcast on Norwegian television, and played a few film festivals in Europe, but has never been seen in North America. But that’s ok, for the phenomenon of “groundhopping” probably wouldn’t make as much sense here.

Kjell Morten and Bjarte are two middle-aged brothers who spend all of their vacations in England, attending football matches. Their goal is to visit all 92 grounds of the teams that comprise the Football League. This includes the Premiership (20 teams), the Championship (24 teams) and Leagues One and Two (24 teams each), which together comprise the top four tiers of English football. As you can imagine, “groundhoppers” are usually men, usually single, and have a certain amount of time and disposable income at their command.

The two Norwegians have been at it for more than ten years, and are up to sixty-odd stadia visited. Perhaps stadia is too grand a term, for some of the lower league clubs play in some very modest circumstances indeed. Basing themselves in Rotherham, “one of Britain’s poorest cities” according to the film, they’ve adopted the local team, Rotherham United, nicknamed the Millers as their home team away from home.

At home in Bergen, though, it’s all about SK Brann, and one of the film’s most charming moments comes watching the brothers as they witness their team’s triumph in Norway’s own Cup Final.

All in all, this is a light-hearted look at a harmless (if inexplicable to most) obsession. I think if I had the advantages of living in Europe (generous vacation allowances, short distances, cheap transportation, and a wealth of football clubs), I’d be joining the boys in the stands.

I have attended football matches in three different countries, though: Canada, Uruguay, and Slovenia. Just a few hundred more to go…

More on Rotherham United FC (the Millers)
More on SK Brann
Groundtastic, a magazine devoted to football grounds
Football Grounds In Focus, The No.1 Groundhopping website ‘made for travellers by travellers’
Done The Lot - Fans who have visited all 92 English Football League grounds

7/10 (7/10)

WWSFF: Opening Night Gala Programme

Published

James McNally

on June 12, 2007

in Film Festivals

. Closed

The Danish Poet

Tonight’s programme consisted of award-winning shorts released in 2006, and just watching them one after another led me to a few conclusions about short films in general. To compare them to written works, they’re a bit like poems to a feature film’s novel. And to compare to spoken word, they’re like jokes as opposed to sagas. With such a short amount of time, they need to make their points quickly, so there is often a high “cleverness” factor and the endings often feel like the punch line of a joke. This can work well, but a film that stands out is one that doesn’t make these tropes so obvious. Here, in my order of enjoyment, are tonight’s selections:

The Danish Poet (Canada/Norway, 2006): With lovely narration from Liv Ullmann, this story felt the most organic and the least gimmicky. Even though there is a sort of punchline “payoff” at the end, it’s telegraphed early enough to set us down gently. The whimsical animation style and always-great use of animated (but non-speaking) animals made this a worthy Oscar-winner this year. Check out the film’s web site. (9/10)
Dreams and Desires - Family Ties (UK, 2006): Another animated short, this one cleverly used animated sketches to simulate a wedding video filmed by the oddly cinephilic Beryl, a large woman of grandmotherly vintage. Her attempts to film the disastrous occasion in the styles of famous directors from Eistenstein to Riefenstahl, all the while keeping up a steady stream-of-consciousness narration, keeps this one rollicking along, despite the nearly impenetrable accents. (9/10)
Tanghi Argentini (Belgium, 2006): This is a charming tale of an office drone who just might be an angel. André needs to learn to tango in two weeks so he can meet his Internet crush, so he turns to his colleague Frans to help teach him to dance. Will love bloom? (8/10)
Contact (Raak) (Netherlands, 2006): Three characters paths cross again and again in this cleverly-edited short. There’s that word “clever” again. (7/10)
The Substitute (Il Supplente) (Italy, 2006): A class of high-school students is terrorized by a Scott Thompson (ex-Kids in the Hall) lookalike, who then gets his comeuppance. Funny in an odd sort of way. (7/10)
Make A Wish (Atmenah) (USA, 2006): A straightforward, almost documentary-like tale of a young girl who will go to any lengths to get a special birthday cake. Only it’s set in the West Bank. The filmmaking is pretty rudimentary and there’s a bit of a (tragic) punchline at the end. (6/10)
Imagine This (Australia/Ireland, 2006): Sometimes a short should also be a “small.” Using found internet footage to make George W. Bush “sing” John Lennon’s “Imagine” was a pretty funny idea. But it really shouldn’t have made it off the YouTube site. (5/10)

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