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My fave from Toronto: Persepolis (Sony Pictures Classics) But you don't want to know about my drool (seek help if you do). You want to know what I saw and what I liked. So here's my Fave Five (out of about 30 films viewed), including dates (if available) when you might be able to see this stuff in Dallas. 1. Persepolis - Sharp humor and wistful remembrance make a profoundly moving combination in this animated film about a girl growing up in Tehran during scary times. Adapted by Marjane Satrapi from her own graphic novels, it strikes the perfect tone in exploring the meaning of home. It should open here by the end of the year or the beginning of 2008. 2. My Kid Could Paint That - Amir Bar-Lev's doc does a remarkable thing in exploring the media sensation and controversy surrounding a four-year-old modern art prodigy. It also explores the documentary filmmaker's culpability in abetting said sensation and controversy. Beguiling and troubling. Scheduled to open Oct. 19. 3. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - Not a revisionist Western so much as an interrogation of the very genre, Assassination is a long, lyrical and proudly eccentric story of looming doom, bruised ego and the process of legend on the frontier. Wash it down with a couple of Deadwood episodes. Scheduled to open Oct. 5. 4. (Tie) Margot at the Wedding and The Savages - Two scathingly dark comedies about families mired in resentment. Margot rides the ruthless wit of writer/director Noah Baumbach; Savages features Laura Linney's best work to date. Both will make you feel better about you own screwed-up families. Margot is scheduled to open Nov. 16; The Savages Dec. 26. 5. I'm Not There - Todd Haynes does a fiendishly logical thing with the shape-shifting Bob Dylan: He splits the mercurial one into multiple characters, including a folkie played by Christian Bale, a frontiersman played by Richard Gere, and, most spectacularly, a tired superstar played by Cate Blanchett. It's consistently weird and it gets better with each passing day. Scheduled to open Nov. 21. And some other favorites: In the Valley of Elah (Sept. 21), Control (Nov. 2), Into the Wild (Sept. 28), Lust, Caution (Oct. 5), Rendition (Oct. 19) and Alexandra (TBA). And if you have any questions about these or other Toronto fare, don't be shy. |
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Comments
Posted by Sarah @ 4:29 PM Fri, Sep 14, 2007
Is your date for I'm Not There a wide release date or only for the DFW area?
Posted by Chris Vognar @ 4:32 PM Fri, Sep 14, 2007
It's actually a wide release date and subject to change (i.e., it could trickle down here after New York and L.A.).
Posted by stephen becker @ 6:01 PM Fri, Sep 14, 2007
Chris -- I did not see Persepolis or My Kid Could Paint that up there, but now I am fired up to see them. My number one was actually a movie that you didn't see -- Elizabeth: The Golden Age. It's every bit as good as the first one, and Cate Blanchett tops her previous performance as the monarch. I totally agree on Margot at the Wedding, and I'm now officially sorry that I wasn't able to catch The Savages, as my plane was late coming in. One more from Toronto that we should keep our eyes on: Starting Out in the Evening. It's sort of a reverse Venus story about a young woman infatuated with an older man (Frank Langella). Langella may be in the Oscar mix.
Posted by Chris Vognar @ 6:30 PM Fri, Sep 14, 2007
Iwant to see Starting Out and Elizabeth, and I'm glad you could make it to both since I couldn't make it to either. Stephen, I'm curious as to your impressions of the fest as a first-timer. After 10 visits I feel like I take a lot of it for granted, and I think a lot of people who haven't been would be curious about your maiden voyage.
Posted by stephen becker @ 3:45 PM Sun, Sep 16, 2007
Chris -- The thought I kept coming back to was that as a movie fan I almost felt like a kid on Halloween. I had all this candy in front of me, and by consuming one movie right after another, I didn't feel like I really had time to appreciate each one on its own. For example, I saw Elizabeth: The Golden Age at 8:45 Sunday morning, and I'm pretty sure it was the best thing I saw all week. Normally when I see a movie like that, I have a few days to sort of think about it and take it all in. In this case, I was already seeing another movie at 11:45 a.m. the same morning. So I guess my only complaint (and I suppose you could argue that this is a good problem to have) is that I wish I had more time to savor each of the movies like I do when I see one at home.
Still, I am very glad that I went, and I'm already working on how I can get there again in '08.