TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Diary 6: Sept. 12, 2000

PACINO AND SOME CGX GUYS IN THE WAY

Had my first real interview today - sat down for a good hour with George Washington director David Gordon Green. An intelligent and fun to chat with young filmmaker, we talked about everything from the state of independent cinema in America to A Very Brady Sequel and The Bad News Bears. Very cool guy, and I wish him all the best with his film.

Followed that with a press conference with Al Pacino. He was both affable and loquacious, giving long but not rambling responses to the questions posed. He's in town for Chinese Coffee, a film that for reasons never really explained got bumped to an 8am screening this morning. Sounds like a great project, and I'd love to see it, but I had to break my rule for this years fest - no press conferences without having seen the film. Ah, well, he didn't seem to mind.

Spent much of the afternoon in a daze following the Aronofsky film - what a strange, haunting film.

"Only" saw three films tonight - left to have a lovely dinner with an festival companion I met two years ago. We spent three hours talking films, eating steak at Morton's, and generally having an extremely pleasant evening. Much thanks to Jean-François for feeding a poor, starving film critic.



REQUIEM FOR A DREAM
Directed by: Darron Aronofsky

Seldom has a film so powerfully affected me as Requiem for a Dream has -- affected, in this case, as if my eyes and psyche have been bludgeoned. It is a film you feel violated seeing, a blur of images and ideas that are repulsive and brutal. This is not a popcorn movie, not a film for those who think that Julia Roberts just hasn't played enough happy hookers, or that it's really too bad that the Dukes of Hazard reunion film hasn't happened yet. This baby won't be playing well in Topeka, I'm pretty sure of that.

I'd hate to butcher my Plato, but somewhere in the Republic he goes on about the Big Lie, and how some stories have to be kept from the masses for political reasons. In that sense, I'm pretty convinced that you should have to do a test before you see this film. Questions might include: Have you seen any Passonlini movies? Are you certain you never, ever had the urge to slaughter all your fellow moviegoers during a screening? Do you never listen to Yanni? If you answer in the yes, then, after a suitable psychological examination and aesthetic criteria test ("Somebody comes up to you and tells you they really liked that last Pauly Shore film. What do you do?") you may be granted a certificate that grants permission into the screening room.

It is worth all the hassle? Well, if you really are a film geek, then, yeah, you should see this film.

Unlike a big chunk of you out there, I've still never seen Aronofsky's first film, Pi. That film hit it big at Sundance, and resulted in him getting money to make this one. Not sure they're going to make that judgement again. Kudos to him for obviously making an absolutely uncompromising film, filled with tension and remarkable imagery. The music is haunting, performed in part by the Kronos Quartet. The sound design and quick-edit style are simply astounding in their viscerality - each frame kicks you in the end, each element becomes quicker and quicker, like some vomitous ride that you want to end. Drugs and speed, editing as a fix, sound design as a rape, visual images as muderous intent, this is cinema of the extreme.

Of course, these elements are the entire point of the film.

Somewhere between work of genius and a work of a madman recruiting fellow maniacs to join in the burbling fun of insanity, Requiem for a Dream may indeed be the funeral dirge for all pleasant and happy dreams, dreams to be replaced by nightmares.

See the film if you're qualified. Hide it from those who are not.

This is certainly not a film that can be given a simple lettergrade.

Grade: Unknown




Code Inconnu
Directed by: Michael Haneke

I found that Haneke's Forbidden Games was a challenging and twisted film. With his latest, the director toys with the entire idea of unlocking the code of violence, the small and individually insignificant elements that add up to tales of either joy or horror. Rather than unlocking the code, Haneke shows the viewer its complexity, how not only is the key to the code unknown, but the extent of the code itself is masked by its complexity and changing nature. An intelligent and insightful film from a filmmaker with an original vision.

Grade: B



We All Fall Down
Directed by: Martin Cummins

No need really to delve too deeply into this one, it stands out as my first fail. As the Davinci Inquest guy blathers new-age aphorisms ("Everything you need is inside you!"), the plot drools out the side of the mouths of the performers. An after-school special about a druggie who gets his instant Kharma - this one might not even make video.

Grade: FAIL



What about Me: The Rise of the Nihilist Spasm Band
Directed by: Zev Asher

A quirky, comic yet compassionate look at a bunch of nutters from London, Ontario who are the grandfathers of "noise" music. Creating their own instruments and unique brand of cacophony, the documentary captured a sense of their dedication and musical integrity. The band comes across as an Oktoberfest polka band playing by the Satanic majesties request

Grade: A-/B+



Seance
Directed by: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

A mix of crime drama and psychic mysticism, the film plays like a thriller without many thrills. Psychics and sound designers play with their shared interest in creating mood and setting. In the end, Seance is without insight or spirit, a forgettable film.

Grade: C-