The Best of the Venice & Toronto Film Festivals
August 31st, 2010 by MayThe Venice and Toronto film festivals are approaching. Once again we’re wondering: Which will be the best, stand-out films of the two festivals? We enlisted the help of the Movie Genome to choose the best titles of all time and predict the best titles for this year:
Venice Film Festival (September 1-11, 2010)
1.
In the Past: The Dancer Upstairs, a 2002 Venice entry by John Malkovich.
Upcoming: Black Swan, by Darren Aronofsky
John Malkovich’s first feature as a director was a tense, atmospheric, political, indie thriller, in which the main female lead was a ballet dancer. And what do you know, Aronofsky’s new entry is an atmospheric, tense, psychological thriller about ballerinas!!! Well, nothing is too strange when it comes to Aronofsky.
The impressive cast includes Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel and Winona Ryder, and the trailer reveals a world very different from the one we imagine when we think about ballet.
2.
In the Past: Lost in Translation, a 2003 Venice & Toronto entry by Sofia Coppola.
Upcoming: Somewhere, by Sofia Coppola
It’s not a big deal to recommend a new entry from a beloved director, but Sofia is also back in dealing with the themes of actors’ life and introspection. The trailer for Somewhere also tries to deliver an Lost in Translation-type atmospheric mood.
It seems you either love Sofia Coppola’s films or you highly dislike them. Personally, I really love them. But this time Sofia may have crafted a consensual movie (and not in a bad sense)… Somewhere tells the story of a typical womanizer – Hollywood actor, (Stephen Dorff) receiving an unexpected visit from his 11-year-old daughter, played by Elle Fanning (yes, the sister). (Will the Dakota siblings create a more quality dynasty then the Baldwins and the Culkins…?)
3.
In the past: Paradise Now, a 2005 Toronto entry, by Hany Abu-Assad.
Upcoming: Miral, by Julian Schnabel
Paradise now was a very controversial take on the Arab-Israeli conflict, made by a Palestinian director. Miral seems to be the same, only by a Jewish director.
After the exemplary The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, the expectations for Schnabel’s next feature sky-rocketed. He chose to create a film that will no doubt arouse controversy, about a Palestinian girl in an orphanage at the beginning of the first Arab-Israeli uprising in the 80s. The fact that the Palestinian girl is played by Indian actress Freida Pinto also raised some brows… It will be interesting to see what comes of this sensitive subject.
4.
In the past: The Brothers Grimm, a 2005 Venice Entry, by Terry Gilliam
Upcoming: The Tempest, by Julie Taymor
The Brothers Grimm was a disappointing fantastic, stylized, offbeat tale involving wizards and myths. But since I like this combination of themes, one of the films I’ve personally waited the longest for was chosen as Venice’s closing film – Julie Taymor’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s play The Tempest.
Taymor has created amazingly stylized and rich-looking films in past years (for example Titus and Frida). Although a trailer has not yet been released, the few images combined with the rich imagination of Shakespeare’s play assure us this film won’t lower the standards.
5.
In the past: Walk the Line, a 2005 Toronto entry, by James Mangold
Upcoming: I’m still Here, by Casey Affleck
In October 2008, acclaimed actor Joaquin Phoenix gave a captivating performance as singer Jonny Cash in Walk the Line – then announced he was quitting acting to become a hip-hop artist. The film industry was puzzled: Was it an elaborate joke, or a mental breakdown? Or was it really his wish to explore different artistic directions?
Casey Affleck followed Phoenix for a year after this announcement and his new documentary (or maybe mockumentary?) promises to reveal the truth behind this intriguing actor.
Toronto Film Festival (September 9-19 2010):
1.
In the past: 3 Extremes, a 2004 Venice entry, by Fruit Chan, Park Chan-Wook and Takashi Miike
Upcoming: Hereafter, by Clint Eastwood
3 Extremes was a supernatural thriller-horror flick that contained 3 different segments, directed by some of Asia’s most acclaimed directors. Now we have a new movie by one of USA’s most acclaimed directors, Clint Eastwood. While this is always a source of interest, Hereafter is not the usual Eastwood material. It contains supernatural elements (of afterlife and spirituality) and is also a multiple stories thriller. Although in Eastwood’s case, the stories eventually connect and the mood will probably be much more atmospheric and less scary…
2.
In the past: Encounters at the End of the World, a 2007 Toronto entry, by Werner Herzog
Upcoming: 127 Hours, by Danny Boyle
Survival, isolation and forces of nature? Werner Herzog and Danny Boyle include plenty of these in the films mentioned, although Herzog’s film is a documentary and Boyle’s film is fictional (though based on a true story). 127 Hours tells the true story of a mountain climber trapped in an isolated canyon and his efforts to survive.
This is Danny Boyle’s first project after his amazing and unexpected success with Slumdog Millionaire – the big winner of the 2008 award season that picked up no less than 8 Academy Awards.
3.
In the past: The Son’s Room, a 2001 Toronto entry, by Nanni Moretti
Upcoming: Rabbit Hole, by John Cameron Mitchell
Moretti’s acclaimed film tells the story of a family learning to deal with the death of their son. Now an almost identical story comes to the screen, this time at the hands of a very different director. In 2001, John Cameron Mitchell directed what has become one of the greatest cult films of the 21st century – Hedwig and the Angry Inch. He gained many fans who have been waiting anxiously to see what he would create next… This was another small-scale indie production called Shortbus. Now for the first time Mitchell is undertaking a major feature with stars like Nicole Kidman (who passed up a role in the new Woody Allen film for this) and Aaron Eckhart. It will be interesting to see if, despite the big names, the low-budget, controversial spirit remains.
4.
In the past: North Country, a 2005 Toronto entry, by Niki Caro
Upcoming: Conviction, by Tony Goldwyn
Every year needs its story of lower-class people who decide to fight against the system and right wrongs: we had North Country, Erin Brockovich, Silkwood and so on. Here’s this year’s version (a rare case in which I find a film interesting not because of the director, but rather because of the cast): it includes Juliette Lewis, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver and above all Hilary Swank in a leading role that simply screams Oscar. The movie is based on the true story of Betty Anne Waters, an unemployed single mother who goes to law school in order to represent her brother, who is wrongfully accused of murder.
5.
In the past: Walk on Water, a 2004 Toronto entry by Eytan Fox
Upcoming: The Debt, by John Madden
The Debt is actually a remake of an Israeli movie from 2007 of the same name. This “upgraded” remake stars big names like Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington and Tom Wilkinson, and the trailer seems appropriately suspenseful and intriguing. It tells the story of 3 Mossad (secret service) agents on a mission to capture and kill a notorious Nazi war criminal - much like another successful Israeli feature of recent years, Walk on Water, which deals with the exact same issue albeit in a different tone.
If you have any other recommendations for these festivals, comment and let us know!
Technorati Tags: Toronto Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, Black Swan, The Debt, Conviction, Rabbit Hole, Hereafter, The Tempest, Somewhere, Miral, Clint Eastwood, John Madden, Tony Goldwyn, John Cameron Mitchell
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