TIFF Toronto International Film Festival 2011 Matilda Davidson
Though the end of summer is, to most Canadians,
the beginning of the long, grey void known as winter, there is one thing that
keeps the wheels of our city turning in those exhausting first weeks of
September.
The
Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF,
rounds up some of the most prominent new films from around the world and
screens them over a ten-day-period at cinemas all across Toronto’s downtown
core. It’s been said that TIFF remains Toronto’s sole, true claim to cinema
fame, which may be true, but ranking in the top three film festivals around the
world (contending with France’s Festival de Cannes and Utah’s Sundance Film
Festival), we’ve certainly landed ourselves a well-deserved spot on the map. To
some, it may go unnoticed (besides the occasional rumor of celebrity sightings
outside the Royal York), but it’s been known for film aficionados near and far
to flock to the box office as soon as they can for their first choice of
tickets. And this year was certainly no different.
While
the big titles; Moneyball, The Ides of
March, A Dangerous Method and 50/50
have been receiving gallons of recognition, as well as the expected talk of
Oscar nominations, some smaller names have emerged from this year’s playbill
generating Oscar buzz of their own.
Quebecois
director Philippe Falardeau’s film Monsieur
Lazhar is about an Algerian immigrant seeking political refuge in Quebec
who accepts an offer to fill the position of a recently deceased elementary
school teacher. It is also being called Canada’s Oscar contender for 2012 in
the foreign film category. Moreover, though it remains unconfirmed, many
believe that the People’s choice winner at TIFF this year, Where Do We Go Now? by Nadine Labaki, will have its
much-anticipated best picture nomination at the 2012 Oscars. The reason for
this assumption? Just take a look at some of the past People’s Choice winners: American Beauty (1999), Slumdog
Millionaire (2008), The King’s Speech
(2010). Get the idea? It’s no breaking news that TIFF has been the middleman
between the Oscars and the independent film industry for quite some time now,
putting us Torontonians just a few steps ahead of the game.
This
year, 336 films from 65 countries were chosen to be screened from over 3,000
submissions to an audience of about 500,000 people over the course of ten days.
These numbers have only grown over the past years, suggesting that TIFF is not
yet at its peak of success, but rather on it’s way up. It’s safe to say that
with stats like that, TIFF won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
50/50 (Jonathan Levine)
50/50 has a simple plotline. A slightly jaded 27-year-old,
recently diagnosed with cancer dabbles in patient-doctor relationships and
medicinal marijuana – hilarity manages to ensue. Throw in a few big names like
Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and, you have yourself an offbeat comedy
with a heartfelt message.
But for the film’s screenwriter, Will Reiser, the formula
wasn’t quite as obvious when his own life took a similar turn. You guessed
right, 50/50 is not only one of the season’s most adored films but also the
semi-autobiographical rehash of Reiser’s experience with cancer. Spoiler alert:
he lives.
Funny enough, Reiser and the film’s supporting actor Seth
Rogen have been best friends since before the ordeal began. In interviews they
often describe that period in their lives as almost comical in nature due to
their lack of savoir-faire in the matter. This is something that the audience
picks up on quickly as they witness various antics between the two leads.
Sometime before the part where he destroys an ex-girlfriend’s painted
masterpiece and after the part when he shaves his head, you begin to buckle
with laughter. But ask anyone who’s seen it, by the end of the film you’ll have
done your fair share of crying too.
50/50 is a prime example of a well-balanced film. The comedy
is effective but not excessive and the serious subject matter, though sometimes
forgotten, is never lost. In an almost constant sea of poorly written comedies,
this one proves to be not only an exception yet rather a moving powerhouse of a
movie with great performances and an undeniably uplifting conclusion.
Matilda Davidson, 16
