My film viewing for the festival started with Lars Von Trier’s much-anticipated ANTICHRIST, a two-hander starring Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg as a married couple (simply referred to as “He” and “She”) who suffer the loss of a child and descend into a miasmic pit of grief and despair. Things really get going when Dafoe’s therapist character decides he should treat his own wife and the pair goes on an ill-advised retreat to their isolated cabin, nicknamed “Eden.” Von Trier calls it his ‘horror movie’ and, in some real ways, it’s pretty scary – but, of course, it’s so much more than that.
Tag Archives: toronto 09
Ivy’s report: Day 1
Today was short, but it felt long. I only saw three movies: Antichrist, Backyard, and Nymph. The themes for the day were misogyny and the danger of the woods.
More details on these films after the jump.
Toronto Film Fest ’09: Prelude
After the first pass through the list of the 300(+ or -) features in the Toronto Int’l Film Festival line-up I know I’ve already got a problem… I’ve selected over 40 films to see in the just under 10 days that I’ll be at the festival – and that’s after only marking the films that I’ve A) heard of and B) know that I want to see. OK, deep breath… Now it’s time to start flipping through each page of the website to look at each individual film. I’m about halfway through the process when I realize my list of films has almost reached 90 and is sure to top 125 by the time I’m done.
- Lee Hey-jun’s Castaway On The Moon
We are here and we are ready!
Ned and I arrived late last night after an uneventful 10 hour drive to Toronto (thank god for audiobooks!)
Right now I am looking out our room’s window at the Rogers Centre as well as a crazy nest of electric transformers.
Ned and I are hurriedly trying to get through all of the movies slated for screenings so we can set up our plan of attack.
I am excited to see the new Haneke, Magarethe Von Trotta, and Pen-Ek Ratanaruang. There is also a documentary about an unfinished film by Henri-Georges Clouzot as well as a new film by Gaspar Noe that have me intrigued. And I have only gotten through two days of screenings!
I normally average seeing around 20-25 films in the 8 days we are here. It’s a delicate balance to cram as many movies in as possible while still keeping your sanity.
Ok, I should go pick up my badge and catalog so I can really come up with a game plan. Movies start at noon and I have to be ready. Especially since it appears I will be starting with Lars Von Trier’s newest Antichrist. (Starring our gala guest from last year, Willem Dafoe.) Why start off easy, right?
I will post again later on today about what I have seen.
ivy