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Today is the last day of the 45th Toronto International Festival. The 2020 version of the country's biggest annual movie event was special and unique in many ways, most notably because while it was socially distant, it was also accessible to more audiences than ever before.
With the assistance of Bell Digital Cinema, thousands of locals in Toronto, Oakville, the GTA and across Canada had access to world premieres of exciting new films from around the world in the safety of their homes. While there were also in-person events at four drive-in theatres, an open-air cinema and the TIFF Bell Lightbox, the wide majority of audiences for this year's event did so from the comfort of the living rooms.
Oakville News has been regularly reporting events from TIFF the last 10 days, including reviewing some of the biggest movies and helping Oakvillians get tickets to see movies for themselves. But early last week, I began a challenge for myself to watch all 57 movies at this year's festival.
Nearly 100 hours of movie watching and nine days later, I'm pleased to say I've done it. I saw every new feature film at TIFF 2020.
Every - single - one.
It's been both exhausting and an incredible amount of fun immersing myself in the movies, watching stories from 37 countries and in 27 different languages. This has been the longest and most in-depth research assignment in both my personal career and in the history of Oakville News.
What this also means is I've become something of an expert in the offerings of this year's festival. And I'd like to share with you some of the best, the worst and the most memorable things I've seen at this year's festival.
It should be noted: these preferences are solely my opinions. Some are based on the thoughts and likability of films that were also seen in my own living room with those inside my social bubble. But more than half of these were seen by myself, alone. It is possible you can have a powerful, connected experience watching a movie I had a full distaste for, as is the reverse true as well.
When navigating 57 movies to choose from, however, you need to start somewhere. And best of all, the festival isn't over yet!
80% of the titles in this year's festival still have tickets and digital access available. As today is the last day, you can still buy tickets to rent a movie in your own living room with TIFF. All Digital Access movies are available for 12 hours once you begin playing them, and all films must be started and finished before 6 p.m. EST tomorrow, Sunday September 20, 2020.
It's been a challenge to watch literally every movie at TIFF this year. But in watching every film, it feels pretty remarkable to have completed a movie-goers dream that might not be technically possible again...in the hopes that we can have a normal festival in a subsided pandemic by next September.
Here are the best, worst, and most unforgettable films of the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. You can also read a full online catalogue of my reviews for all 57 movies in order by clicking here.
THE BEST FILMS
Each of these eight films are my personal highlights from the festival, listed alphabetically.
DAVID BYRNE'S AMERICAN UTOPIA
This was a great choice for the opening night film - it’s a call for connection, patience and joy. These are the qualities that define a world of inclusion and prosperity, with love for all people. If that’s not the message we need to broadcast to the whole world, I don’t know what is. But Byrne says it much better than I do. “Us and You - that’s what the show is.”
Read the full review of this film here.
THE FATHER
I've never seen a story in any medium do as effective and realistic a job at replicating the experience of dementia or memory less first hand as our perspective from the man's eyes. When people, settings, conversations and small details change for him, so do they inexplicably for us, the audience. What finally brings it together is Anthony Hopkins' fast moving, adaptable performance that works as a frightening vehicle for the audience to go on the confusing journey with him.
INCONVEINIENT INDIAN
The beautiful shot vistas and Michelle Latimer’s deft work in weaving the stories of the past and present make it easy to get sucked into the film. This is a bold call to action - and a great documentary that actively tells us a story, event though its equally about past events.
King, who authored the 2012 the film is based on, makes for an excellent subject and narrator. And his words describe that mix best: “History isn’t the past - it’s the stories we tell about the past. That’s all it is…stories.” Here, at last, we see how cruel indigenous racism is and how we can fix it.
THE NEW CORPORATION: THE UNFORTUNATELY NECESSARY SEQUEL
This isn’t the basic “democracy is dying” argument - this is the mathematical and legal evidence that companies want to dismantle democracy - including in Canada and the US - and they don’t care how many people die in the process. The directors and masterful editor carefully explain the playbook corporations use to win through dozens of interviews clearly connecting the cause and effect relationships of how corporations willfully destroy life to make money.
NEW ORDER
Don't let this deceptively simple premise of a glamorous wedding fool you. Once protestors arrive on the scene, all hell breaks loose as the servants fight back. It's fast, suspenseful and incredibly engaging. When the people fight back, the abuse of power by divided classes will have its reckoning at last. If that's not crazy enough, wait until you see what the police do. By the end, who really holds the power?
NOMADLAND
This is why we go to the cinema. Nomadland will help people of the world, for the first time, understand how America (a falsely prosperous country) stays patriotic and purposeful even when they have every reason not to be. That’s a tall order in rundown America, especially “in these hard economic times.” But these people, Fern most of all, know and understand all times are hard. It’s not getting easier, so you better get used to it.
Read the full review of this film here.
PIECES OF A WOMAN
Pieces of a Woman was the saddest and most emotionally demanding film of the whole festival. But it's also among the most satisfying. This is a tragedy about two new parents going through something horrible, and every day it only gets worse. The extended labour scene near the beginning lasts nearly twenty minutes - it appears to be a single continuous shot, and it's a remarkable feat of actor rehearsal and camerawork.
Read the full review of this film here.
QUO VADIS, AIDA?
Jasmila Žbanic might be the most talented director and screenwriter I've never heard of. This is her fifth feature film, and it keeps audiences at the edge of their seat for the worst reasons. Based on true events of the 1995 Bosnian genocide, the desperate escape and oppression against the UN base trying to save 30,000 people keeps you hooked until the end to see who makes it out alive.
Some honourable mentions include Another Round, The Disciple, The Inheritance, Notturno, Violation and Wolfwalkers.
THE WORST FILMS
Listed alphabetically, these are the four films that really didn't live up to snuff, nor the great work they were presented beside. Photos are left to right based on the films below.
NIGHT OF THE KINGS
Movies are supposed to be about critical, important moments. The Red Moon appears to be important, but while it's important for Roman’s survival, we never learn why it matters to everyone else. The vignettes of Roman’s stories don’t teach us anything, and they’re only occasionally interesting. As Night of the Kings shows us the healing power storytelling can have, it also doesn’t have much to say itself. It also features the worst CGI animals I've ever seen.
PREPARATIONS TO BE TOGETHER FOR AN UNKNOWN PERIOD OF TIME
Márta's story, frankly, is boring. The mystery of why her old flame from a medical conference doesn't recognize is barely the focus of what's happening, yet it's her only motivation to do anything. Making matters worse is that, although Viktor Bodó tries his best to make the character of Dr. Janós Drexler worthy of Márta's intrigue, but he's only a surgeon who wrote a book. The mystery is thin, and the journey isn't worth the small payoff at the end.
SUMMER OF 85
It's melodramatic, quietly angsty, and Benjamin Voisin's narration would put most people to sleep. Worst of all, it's full of teen 80s movie tropes without any of the fun or energy. How does the carnival scene, makeover scene, virginity scene, and even the pseudo-mystery reveal all turn out so boring?
Summer of 85 is like Call Me By Your Name gone wrong - the same premise with two exceptions: it's in France instead of Italy, and all of the romance has been sucked out of this romance with shallow tactics and relationships in its place.
WILDFIRE
Everyone else seemed to rave about this, but to me it was muddled and unclear. Worst of all, the two main characters had no goals or tactics. After an uneventful 80 minutes, what is Wildfire about? Aside from an argument in a bar, there's no conflict other than whether or not the relatives get along. What is the point? What do we learn? What does the unspecific title mean? I couldn't enjoy the film because I couldn't find the answers to any of these questions.
Some dishonourable mentions include three disappointments: I Am Greta, Memory House and Penguin Bloom.
THE MEMORABLE MOVIES AND MOMENTS
Aside from the best and the worst, there was also a wide array of unforgettable films and moments from movies that have remained stuck in my brain even after the marathon of 57 movies is done.
From left to right, the longest movie (more than twice as long as any other!) was Frederick Wiseman's documentary City Hall, a 4 hour and 35 minute epic chronically six months in the life of Boston mayor Marty Walsh. It was satisfying to watch both the detail in the film as it was to finally be finished watching it; I gave myself a pat on the back for watching it in one sitting.
The two most fun movies at the festival was the crime comedy I Care a Lot starring Rosamund Pike and Peter Dinklage and the funeral comedy Shiva Baby - the directorial debut of Canada's Emma Seligman. Both of these made me laugh more than the others, but both were memorable for their terrific, unexpected plot twists.
What really got my attention was seeing Chloë Grace Moretz fight a rodent/bat monster in a WWII fighter plane in Shadow in the Cloud and learning about the systemic misogyny in electronic music in Stacey Lee's entertaining documentary Underplayed. Between the violent monster fights and music statistics, I don't know which one is more disappointing.
And finally, I will never forget the endless effort it took to get a ticket for Francis Lee's Ammonite. Only at TIFF would you convince me to stand outside the theatre with a sign for three hours in hopes of getting in the show.
FINAL SUMMARY
Two other final notes: one, as much as I loved watching all new feature films, I didn't watch all the official selections of the festival. I didn't see the three television screenings in the Primetime program or any of the Short Cuts' short films. They all looked terrific in their own right, but I simply didn't have enough hours on the clock to physically watch them all. (I pulled five straight 18 hour work days to finish just the movies. That's all I could take without sacrificing much-needed sleep.)
Second, the film festival fun doesn't have to end today with TIFF's official wrap-up! OFFA is hosting a special screening of the new film Misbehaviour this Wednesday, September 23, 2020 at Film.Ca Cinemas. You can learn more about this local event for film lovers here.
There's one last review for the final Gala film coming tomorrow morning. This story is also part of Oakville News' 12-part series covering TIFF 2020. Thanks for reading and watching along - make sure to rent a film with TIFF Bell Digital Cinema today!
