The 49th edition of the 海角社区官网International Film Festival boasts the fest鈥檚 best lineup in years as it returns to the relative normalcy of life without a pandemic or Hollywood strikes to contend with.
The selections are so strong for the show, which runs Thursday to Sept. 15, the task of assembling a top 10 list is harder than ever. Please forgive me for overlooking any masterpieces.
I could have filled my list with movies imported from the Cannes Film Festival, which also had a really good year in 2024.
A sex-work comedy, an Ontario Place documentary and war-time family drama are among the Canadian titles premiering at the 49th annual 海角社区官网International Film Festival. 鈥淧aying For It鈥 director Sook-Yin Lee, 鈥淏efore They Joined Us鈥 director Arshile Egoyan and 鈥淵our Tomorrow鈥 director Ali Weinstein talk about their films bound for the annual cinematic extravaganza. (Sept. 2, 2024 / The Canadian Press)
(Besides 鈥淎nora,鈥 鈥淏ird鈥 and 鈥淭he Substance鈥 below, also check out 鈥淭he Shrouds,鈥 鈥淓milia P茅rez,鈥 鈥淩umours,鈥 鈥淯niversal Language,鈥 鈥淎ll We Imagine as Light,鈥 鈥淐aught by the Tides,鈥 鈥淭he Seed of the Sacred Fig鈥 and, if you want to see what all the fuss is about, Francis Ford Coppola鈥檚 鈥淢egalopolis.鈥)
Listed alphabetically, the films on my must-watch list are a combination of seen-it recommendations and hunches based on reputation and word-of-mouth:
1. Anora
Mikey Madison stars as a sex worker聽who marries the son of a Russian oligarch (Mark聽Eydelshteyn, left) with聽results both serious and screwball in Sean Baker’s “Anora.”聽
NeonMikey Madison鈥檚 stellar title firecracker, Ani for short, is of course the main draw for Sean Baker鈥檚 Palme d鈥橭r winner from Cannes 2024. Madison plays a Brooklyn sex worker who impulsively marries Vanya (Mark Eydelshteyn), the spoiled son of a disapproving Russian oligarch (Aleksey Serebryakov), with results both serious and screwball. Adding zest to the nyet are the oligarch鈥檚 hapless enforcers: Vanya鈥檚 godfather Toros (Karren Karagulian) who just wants to arrange a quickie divorce (fat chance); and his stumbling stooges Igor (Yura Borisov) and Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan), who are refreshingly unlike Russian thugs of cinema stereotype. 鈥淎nora鈥 hits like a vodka shot downed in one gulp.
2. Babygirl
Nicole Kidman plays a married top-level executive who falls into an intense sexual and role-playing relationship with an intern (Harris Dickinson) in聽Halina Reijn’s “Babygirl.”
Courtesy of TIFFNicole Kidman has never been one to shy away from realistic scenes of sex, nudity and violence if the work merits it. Witness her no-holds-barred performances in Stanley Kubrick鈥檚 鈥淓yes Wide Shut鈥 and TV鈥檚 鈥淏ig Little Lies.鈥 Kidman goes to artistic extremes again in this erotic drama from Halina Reijn (鈥淏odies Bodies Bodies鈥), in which she plays a top-level executive and married woman who falls into an intense sexual and role-playing relationship with an intern (Harris Dickinson from 鈥淭riangle of Sadness鈥). It鈥檚 a provocative flip of the usual C-suite gender dynamics. Antonio Banderas plays the cheated-upon spouse, upping the emotional and carnal ante.
3. Bird
Nykiya Adams stars as Bailey, the centre of every social hurricane in Andrea Arnold鈥檚 film 鈥淏ird.鈥澛
Courtesy of TIFFNykiya Adams astounds as 12-year-old Bailey, the centre of every social hurricane, in this brilliantly barmy dramedy from Andrea Arnold (鈥淎merican Honey鈥). Living in a no-hope neighbourhood in England鈥檚 North Kent region, Bailey is the dispirited daughter of Barry Keoghan鈥檚 man-child Bug, who plans to make it big in the illegal drug biz by harvesting psychedelic slime from his pet toad. Bailey鈥檚 problems have her in need of a divine assist and it鈥檚 duly supplied when Franz Rogowski鈥檚 avian character Bird drops in, just like the guardian angel who helped a troubled George Bailey in Frank Capra鈥檚 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Wonderful Life.鈥 Heartfelt and harrowing by turns, the film is vintage Arnold.
4. The Brutalist
A scene from Brady Corbet鈥檚 鈥淭he Brutalist,鈥 an epic drama about a Jewish Hungarian architect seeking to build a new life and satisfy a ruthless tycoon鈥檚 design challenges in post-Second World War Philadelphia.
Courtesy of TIFFA 12-minute ovation at the Venice Film Festival and comparisons to Paul Thomas Anderson鈥檚 dystopian capitalist epic 鈥淭here Will Be Blood鈥 have me pumped to engage with Brady Corbet鈥檚 latest provocation. Adrien Brody stars as a Jewish Hungarian architect seeking to build a new life 鈥 and satisfy a ruthless tycoon鈥檚 design challenges 鈥 in post-Second World War Philadelphia. This film is so ambitious, it was filmed in high-res VistaVision (screening in 70 mm at TIFF) and it has a 215-minute run time (with a built-in intermission). Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn and Alessandro Nivola join actor-director Corbet鈥檚 deep dive into the dark side of the American Dream.
5. Conclave
Ralph Fiennes, centre, plays a Vatican cardinal caught up in papal intrigue in Edward Berger’s “Conclave.”聽
Focus FeaturesArriving at TIFF with raves from Telluride, this Vatican thriller is also in line for potential Oscar blessings, among them best picture, director and actor (Ralph Fiennes). The film from Edward Berger (鈥淎ll Quiet on the Western Front鈥) is based on the rigorously researched novel of the same name from Robert Harris, who specializes in backstage intrigue. There鈥檚 plenty of that in the struggles of the Fiennes character, Cardinal Lawrence, who must navigate warring progressive and conservative forces as he summons his scarlet-hatted brethren to replace a recently departed pope. Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow, Isabella Rossellini and Lucian Msamati help round out an awards-beckoning cast.
6. Nightbitch
Marielle Heller鈥檚 鈥淣ightbitch鈥 stars Amy Adams as a stressed-out mom who thinks she鈥檚 turning into a dog.
Courtesy of TiFFFans of Rachel Yoder鈥檚 acclaimed first novel, about a frustrated suburban mom who believes she鈥檚 turning into a dog, are wondering if this film by Marielle Heller (鈥淭he Diary of a Teenage Girl鈥), world premiering at TIFF, will have as much bite as the book. Is Heller brave to enough to go there with a certain fur-raising scene? (You鈥檒l know it when you see it.) Amy Adams plays the eponymous cur and Scoot McNairy is her easily distracted husband. If Adams can pull off the physical and emotional demands of her title role, a seventh Oscar nomination will be hers to chew on. And if she can鈥檛, well, life鈥檚 a bitch.
7. Paying for It
Emily L锚 portrays Sonny, a television VJ who wants to date other men, while Dan Beirne stars as her ex-lover Chester, an introverted cartoonist who opts to hire sex workers in “Paying for It.”
Courtesy of TIFFBased on Chester Brown鈥檚 graphic novel of the same name, and on the real-life uncoupling of Brown and filmmaker Sook-Yin Lee, this sexually charged dramedy explores the complicated aftermath of a relationship meltdown. Emily L锚 (鈥淩iceboy Sleeps鈥) portrays Sonny, a television VJ who wants to date other men, while Dan Beirne (鈥淭he Twentieth Century鈥) stars as her ex-lover Chester, an introverted cartoonist who opts to hire sex workers. Set near the end of the 1990s in Toronto鈥檚 Kensington Market, the film blends freewheeling love with documentary-style storytelling, asking what it means to be not only a couple but a family in the modern world. Bonus: a really cute pet dog named Mo.
8. Saturday Night
Jason Reitman’s “Saturday Night” tells the believe-it-or-not tale of the wild Oct. 11, 1975 launch of groundbreaking TV comedy show 鈥淪aturday Night Live.鈥澛
Sony PicturesThis could qualify as the most stealthy of Canadian stories at TIFF 鈥24, even though it鈥檚 an American movie. In telling the believe-it-or-not tale of the wild Oct. 11, 1975 launch of groundbreaking TV comedy show 鈥淪aturday Night Live,鈥 Montreal-born Jason Reitman (鈥淛uno鈥) focuses on the perspective of Toronto-born Lorne Michaels, the show鈥檚 creator and producer. Michaels, natch, is played by a Canadian, the Vancouver-born Gabriel LaBelle. The film won huzzahs at its Telluride premiere, for these canny Canucks and for the rest of a very funny cast that also includes Finn Wolfhard, Willem Dafoe, Ella Hunt, Rachel Sennott, Lamorne Morris and J.K. Simmons.
9. The Substance
Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley go to extremes (and screams) to share a perfect Hollywood body in Coralie Fargeat鈥檚 horror film 鈥淭he Substance.鈥澛
Courtesy of Cannes Film FestivalThis year鈥檚 Midnight Madness opener also doubles as a potential Oscars contender, with Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley both in line for golden attention as two sides of a contentious body. In Coralie Fargeat鈥檚 chilling tale for the Ozempic era, Moore plays an aging star battling corporate chauvinism 鈥 Dennis Quaid supplies the oinks 鈥 who uses a mysterious new drug to birth a younger clone (Qualley). The two women must adhere to a strict body-sharing regimen, leading to unforeseen 鈥 and extreme 鈥 complications as each vies for corporeal control. A screenplay winner at Cannes 鈥24, the film tramples boundaries while making a grotesque commentary on Hollywood鈥檚 youth obsession.
10. The Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal
From left, Johnny Fay, Gord Downie, Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair and Paul Langlois, the subjects of 鈥淭he Tragically Hip: No Dress Rehearsal.鈥澛
Courtesy of TIFFThe Tragically Hip are truly Canada鈥檚 band. Who else could rock so hard to songs about Tom Thomson, Millhaven Penitentiary escapees and hockey heroes? If not for a last-minute name change, music legends Gord Downie, Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair, Johnny Fay and Paul Langlois might have collectively debuted in their Kingston, Ont., hometown under the name the Bedspring Symphony Orchestra. That鈥檚 one of many revelations in this affectionate four-part doc by Mike Downie, brother of late frontman Gord, who tracks the group鈥檚 evolution from childhood pals to national institution. Gord鈥檚 tragic 2017 passing anchors the series, but the mood is otherwise celebratory, with first-person testimonials from Hip members past and present, and from ardent fans ranging from Dan Aykroyd to Justin Trudeau.
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