Yeah, so it’s been a little crazy here in Toronto and I haven’t been as up-to-date as I would like on my reportage – ok, not up-to-date at all. However, I’ll try to remedy that over the next few days as I crunch and process all of the films that I’ve seen. Ivy and I are planning on heading back to Boston tomorrow after an early morning screening of the Drew Barrymore directed roller derby flick WHIP IT. Since we last spoke I’ve taken in 23 films (plus a little) and seen work by some of my favorite directors in the world. And let me make this clear… I didn’t see George Clooney once – on screen or off.

But I digress; let’s go back in time a moment and revisit Friday, Sept 11, 2009…

Friday was my highest volume day of the festival getting 5 films under my belt, including two of my favorites: L’ENFER DE HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT and VALHALLA RISING. I also saw Reg Harkema’s LESLIE, MY NAME IS EVIL, the brutal fantasy film SOLOMON KANE, and an onstage conversation with Isabella Rossellini about her series of GREEN PORNO shorts. Additionally, I popped in for a bit of the HUGH HEFNER documentary that many have cited as being a major missed-opportunity and I have to agree. At times, it comes close to being as fascinating and charming as the man himself, but it lacks depth (and a certain amount of objectivity) in a very serious way.

L’ENFER DE HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT is a terrific treasure for any film buff. A chance encounter with the widow of legendary French director Henri-Georges Clouzot (Wages Of Fear, Diaboliques) lead director Serge Bromberg to a cache of previously unseen footage by this master. What he uncovered contains some of the most gorgeous shots that I honestly have ever seen. In 1964, for one of his last projects, Clouzot was given carte blanche by Hollywood and set out to shoot a game-changing film – his goal was nothing less than revolutionizing cinema. Sadly, the resulting movie was never completed and the general public has seen none of it since it was originally shot. Taking Clouzot’s original footage and combining contemporary interviews with many of the surviving crew-members, Bromberg and his co-director Ruxandra Medrea masterfully interweave the story of the making of the film with a recreation of what Clouzot might have intended as the final project. Romy Schneider, at the time the darling of international cinema, stars as the young wife of a hotel owner whose husband is driven beyond the brink of madness by all-consuming jealousy. Much of what survives from Clouzot’s shoot is test footage for visual effects that were to be incorporated in the finished film as the jealous visions of the husband. The most remarkable thing about this footage is Clouzot’s inventiveness and his drive to create images that had never been seen before. Working with purely physical effects – covering his actors in olive oil and glitter, commissioning pop-art objects, and manipulating props – Clouzot crafts visions that it would be difficult to achieve even with every digital tool now available. A must see for anyone interested in the inner workings of filmmaking or the apparent mania that often accompanies genius. I can’t imagine that this film will go unseen in the Boston-area, keep your eyes open for it.

Romy Schneider in L'Enfer De Henri-Georges Clouzot

VALHALLA RISING is a completely different beast. Directed by Denmark’s Nicolas Winding Refn (Bronson), it weaves a mythic story about a silent Viking warrior named One Eye (because, well, he only has one eye) who is the prisoner of a bunch of Scotsmen. The Scots use One Eye as basically a gladiator – pitting him against the best warriors from neighboring clans – and he has been the undefeated champion for years. Eventually, One Eye and his only real companion, a young boy, fall in with a group of Christian warriors who are bound, or so they think, for the Holy Land. Where they actually end up is a harsh, desolate, and unforgiving place where One Eye faces the destiny that he has been having visions of. As played by the astounding Mads Mikkelsen in a wordless but riveting performance, One Eye evokes the Viking king of the gods, Odin, and Refn seems to be adding a whole new story to the cycle of Norse mythology. Like a Viking epic as envisioned by Andrei Tarkovsky (yes! second Tarkovsky reference of the fest!), VALHALLA RISING is as gorgeous and occasionally brutal as the wilderness in which it was shot. The film has been picked up for distribution by IFC Films and I urge you to see it on screen when you have the opportunity.

I listed LESLIE, MY NAME IS EVIL one of the “unknown” films that I was excited to see and I wasn’t disappointed. I don’t think it comes off as well as Harkema’s Monkey Warfare but it’s inventive and fun. Basically a whacked-out vision of the Manson cult and murder trials, LESLIE is seen through the eyes of two idealistic and naïve souls. One is Perry, a nerdy guy who gets placed on the jury for the trial and subsequently becomes fascinated with the most innocent-seeming Manson girl, Leslie. Leslie’s story serves as out parallel viewpoint on the whole mess. Absurdist, deliberately stagey, and exaggerated, LESLIE is an interesting addition to the already healthy collection of Manson films that have been made over the years – and probably the only outright comedy of the bunch. And, as anyone who saw Monkey Warfare can imagine, it has a great soundtrack that Harkema was proudly distributing vinyl copies of from his Independent Film Festival Boston bag. Thanks to Brian from IFFB for snagging a copy for me!

SOLOMON KANE was my first of many films that I saw that were selected by the esteemed programmer of the Midnight Madness section of the fest, Colin Geddes. Let me state up front that Colin is a prince among men – truly one of the nicest people I have met in my time as a film programmer. And now, the bad news… SOLOMON KANE just didn’t live up to my expectations, which were, I admit, perhaps a bit too high. You see, the film is based on a character created by Robert E. Howard – the man behind Conan. When I heard that Colin had chosen this film for the festival, I immediately started reading some of Howard’s original stories and they are great fun – filled with total politically incorrect hocus-pocus and noble savages. In fact, SOLOMON KANE is a lot like Conan (a brutal and efficient warrior with a unique moral code who roams the world fighting demons and dictators) except that he’s a puritan. That’s right, he’s a frickin’ sword-and-pistol-wielding-pilgrim – he’s got the hat and everything! Unfortunately, the film suffers from the fact that it’s an origin story. It tells the story of how Kane became a warrior for good (and God) and, in doing so, looses some of the over-the-top pulp fiction charm of the character. Sure there are demons to be fought, and some excellent swashbuckling to be had, but it just didn’t quite get there for me. That being said, it’s a well-done action/fantasy film that is way better than if it had been directed by McG or Brett Ratner or any number of Hollywood hacks. British director Michael J. Bassett deserves a lot of credit for taking on this project and, just because it didn’t live up to my expectations, I would still recommend it to anyone who loves gritty, gory sword-and-sorcery. As I write this, the public screening of the film is just beginning and I’m sure that, in front of the Midnight Madness crowd – one of the most enthusiastic film audiences in the world – the film will be a lot more exciting.

I rounded out Friday by going to check out a bona-fide legend: the lovely and intelligent model/actress/director Isabella Rossellini. Hopefully you have seen some of her GREEN PORNO shorts (if you haven’t, get ye to YouTube!) and I can report that she is as charming in person as you would imagine from her playful and informative films. For this event, a handful of her newest GREEN PORNOS were screened – for those not in the know, each film gives a brief rundown on the peculiar sexual habits of different animals and insects using whimsical paper sculptures and Ms. Rossellini as central character/narrator. I have to admit that I felt TIFF programmer Noah Cowan’s bemused pain as he experienced a Q&A somewhat hijacked by a group of spirited scientists who had constructed their own homemade costumes – each depicting a different kind of animal, insect or alien penis! Nonetheless, the event was a great success and I hope that Ms. Rossellini continues to work on her amazing series – and that some TV producer was listening when she said she wanted to develop them into a longer format!

Isabella Rossellini and the wacky scientists at TIFF '09

Unfortunately, I was too wiped out after 5 screenings to go and check out the Willem Dafoe/Ethan Hawke vampire flick DAYBREAKERS at its midnight premiere but I’ve heard it’s a lot of fun and I look forward to seeing it soon. The Spierig Brothers, who brought us the awesome Aussie zombie-comedy Undead, directed it so its bound to be a bloody good time.

Here ends my round-up of Friday’s films. I will follow up with more tales of the Toronto International Film Festival ’09 very soon!

- Ned Hinkle