FRIDAY SEPT 7, 2007
cue Joy Division These Days
These are rather quick yet thought out comments at the moment [ more rewrite later ] - just came back from The Visitor and it is after midnight now. Every festival, one always looks for the next Amelie or Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon - and once in a while you find the next Crash. The Visitor is in that territory.
Les Amours d'Astree et de Celadon
9:00 A.M.
Scotiabank 1
Love and other disasters in fifth century Gaul - the Romans have left the scene leaving behind a host of Gods to be worshipped along the lines of Jupiter, Mars - but
in place of the Romans are the Druids and Nymphs who lord over the commoners and shepherds and shepherdesses. Two in particular are the shepherd Celadon whose father was a mighty soldier who fought the Visigoths and could live on the name and standing of his father but chooses to earn his own living as a shepherd - and the shepherdess Astree deeply in love with Astree but feels betrayed when she sees her beau at the feast with another woman [ a contrivance meant to satisfy Celadon's parents that the two are not actually seeing each other - but the other woman goes too far in her unfeigned affections ] and so Astree spurns Celadon and Celadon unable to woo her back and obeying her command to never see each other again jumps into the river.
This story of the two star-crossed lovers abounds in nymphlike ladies adorned in gauzy togas and tops whose lovely legs are seen in the afternoon sun. It is a simple story wrapped up in a deeply yet silly religious story and paean to love that harkens the early days of Rohmer and David Hamilton.
Live! Live! are her final commands.
THE MOURNING FOREST
12:00 P.M.
Scotiabank 1
The type of story the Japanese seem to do best - a traditional yet modern take on the older generation questioning "Am I alive?"
Young ladies who seem barely out of high school take care of a generation of old folks at a retirement house. Two of the opposite generations manage to connect, connected by a similary of name; she is Mi-chi-ko, his wife was Mi-ko. Michiko is a young woman who has apparently just lost a son, and the elderly gentleman, seemingly simple and catatonic at times in deep mourning for his wife over the course of 33 years, a number of years of mourning religious significance in the Buddhist when the spirit of his wife can cross over to the next world.
The Mourning Forest is brimming with lush verdant garden and forest and during a day out the two go through a profound experience that shows his true strengths and devotion after their car runs off the road and answer the question "Am I alive?"
JOY DIVISION
World Premiere
2:45 P.M.
Scotiabank 3 [ detecting a pattern here? ]
Years at at the Rivoli a representative from Factory Records in Manchester U.K. brought over footage - tv and raw live footage - that showed Joy Division in performance as well as New Order and the other Factory labelmates. 24 Hour Party People brought the Manchester scene
that started foremost with the advent of the Sex Pistols and that memorable performance in Manchester in 1976 - and Warsaw was born out of the belief that if the Sex Pistols could do it, so could anybody else. Of course 24 Hour Party People was more the story of television personality Tony Wilson and the rise and fall of the Factory scene and the rebirth of Manchester from industrial to modern to the the rave scene cut by the Happy Mondays.
On the other hand, this world premiere documentary is about Manchester and Joy Division itself - which is a good thing and of course we are watching this with the eye of Joy Division being our favourite band of all time. The author of the movie set out to achieve that for at least 50 minutes that suicide of Ian Curtis would not be mentioned. And once again the footage is revived, the stark 8 mm concert footage, the Granada tv performances, the two videos,
and the music never sounded better over the speakers. All the right names connected with Joy Division look back at Joy Division and Ian Curtis, the three members of New Order, Paul Morley the Melody Maker journalist and fan; Peter Saville, the influential designer of their record covers Unknown Pleasures and Closer, Ian Curtis's Belgian girlfriend Annik Honore, photographer Anton Corbijn, P.Orridge from Throbbing Gristle, and others including their early managers, and Tony Wilson who came into the lives of Joy Division.
Shown singly on screen, the Joy Division mates recount the early stories, where the name came from, the various concert venues and shows, and you cannot talk about Joy Division without the producer Martin Hannett, the smash effect of Unknown Pleasures, the literary influences upon Closer including JG Ballard's Atrocity Exhibition, what sweet Ian was like in the beginning, the epileptic fits that later came on, and those days in May 16th through 18th, just on the eve of the tour of America in 1980 that would have brought Joy Division to The Edge in Toronto on the 25th of May ... and the influence of Joy Division lives on.
Debbie Curtis, Ian's wife is only quoted during the movie because her movie is Closer based upon her book Touching From A Distance, and Joy Division's documenter feels that Debbie did not know Joy Division at all.
THE MAN FROM LONDON
6:00 P.M.
Cannes selection
Scotiabank 4
Bela Tarr. Master director. The Man From London based on George Simenon's story is a black and white masterpiece of the one-take long shot, and we are talking about mesmerizing static and panned long shots that leave Brian De Palma in the dust; cinematography with astounding depth of field and focus and awe-inspiring light and lensing from shadow to brilliant light and lit scenes in the darkness that begins with a simple light bulb as the sole source, closeups of hands, the back of heads, eating soup, no dissolves, just very long cuts, and a disturbing music score that shakes the soul.
9:15 P.M.
THE VISITOR
World Premiere
Ryerson
Sometimes fate conspires with you. All efforts to see Closer at 9:45 p.m. or The Orphanage at 10 p.m. at Scotiabank were rebuffed.
Which led to slotting in The Visitor into the schedule, and what a fortuitous decision it was. [ But first we had to defeat the crowds down there at Queen St West and John Street - the corner of the MuchMusic building which was hosting the E! Canada Schmoozefest which used to be CITY-TV's domain until they sold out to CTV - and this is the best party in Toronto because the stars in full glitter and movie types in suits come down in limos to eat some of the best food, drink the free drink and be seen on camera on the red camera or inside a special land behind the fences where they celebrate and dress nicely. And all the fans outside - many ladies dressed in skimpy stuff in the sweltering Toronto heat - line against the railings on the other side of the street waiting to get a glimpse of the arriving movie stars. ]
Thomas McCarthy first made his mark upon TIFF with The Station Agent at the lamented Uptown, theatre 2 with actors Patricia Clarkson, Peter Dinklage, and Bobby Carnavale in attendance along with the director. The standing ovation afterwards cemented our impression of him as a masterful storyteller with a deft ear and eye for comedy that draws us into the heart of the characters.
McCarthy has done it again with The Visitor and it is not too early to see Oscar worthy considerations going to members of the cast - and we will not draw too much out of the story in deference to those who still are going to see The Visitor at TIFF.
Yet The Visitor reminds us again why we keep going back to the Toronto International Film Festival - the magic.
And we have to wake up in 4 hours for Day Three. Hopefully.
Up first:
Control 9 a.m. Scotiabank
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