THE PRESTIGE

Starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlet Johanssen.

Are you watching closely? How closely? If you watched closely, you'll have half the ending figured out by the 30 minute mark. And if you decided to leave then, you would've missed the other half. If you watched really closely, you probably figured out the whole thing and perhaps this wasn't the right movie for you. Magician films have been surfacing lately, with "The Illusionist", and who knows what's on the horizon. One thing's for sure, the best illusions/tricks are those that you figure out which still amaze you.
The prestige, for those for you who aren't familiar with magic tricks, is the third part to the trip, there's also the pledge and the turn, but as you learn in the film, it's the prestige that makes you applause because "nobody cares about the man who went into the box, only the one who came out".
This is a good film example of how obsessed and competitive two men can be, and obsession can be a dangerous game, so dangerous that there is no limit to the sacrifices they'll have to make. As to what sacrifices, you'll have to find out for yourself - if I tell you, it might ruin it.
Overall it was decently written, moreso when you begin to uncover all the layers to the story, some more blatently obvious than other parts, but nevertheless, good casting and acting, good directing. It's worth a watch if you have 2.5 hours to spare. I say 2.5 hours because of the 20 minutes of commercials and trailers before hand. On the bright side, I did see trailers for films I've decided might be worth seeing. If you're looking for a much simpler magician story, check out "The Illusionist" with Edward Norton instead.
2.5/4 or 3/5

BABEL

The first film seen and first film reviewed since VIFF, I happened to catch Babel on an advanced screening. Having heard good reviews from a friend who had seen it at the Toronto International Film Festival, it was definitely something on the to see list. First off, the debate goes over the pronunciation of the film, is it bah-bo or bay-bo? You decide. I'm not sure if the meaning I've interpreted is right, but for me, this was a film more about personal situations and how one's world can fall apart, and yet while other events are happening to other people in other countries, it almost seems non-existent. Time comes to a stand still as each character seeks to find something for themselves in a world where they are looking to connect with someone else. Babel is interwoven between three stories on three different continents, however they are all linked in too each other. Amelia, a Mexican nanny is caring for children whose parents are in Morocco, the victims of a gunshot in which the gun originally belonged to a Japanese girl's father. While an interesting idea to tie them all together, one is better off watching "Three Needles" if you're looking for a real reason why all the stories are linked. As you're watching one story, you almost forget about the existence of what else is going on, but perhaps this is what the filmmaker was going for, after all, we hear about events happening on around the world on the news, but when it's not on the news, its status dwindles almost to nonexistence until it is brought to our attention again.
The story of Amelia is the one most interesting, her decision to take the children across the American-Mexican border with her so that she can attend her son's wedding is one that will affect the rest of her life forever. Her joy and later plight is a story not too often told. Chieko, a deaf-mute girl in Japan is out to find someone or rather something - attention that decipated after the suicide of her mother. The most intuitive and internal storyline, the use of sign language and sound design that involved brought a deeper level of understanding into the life of a type of character otherwise unknown. And then of course, there's Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in Morrocco. Not much happens with them except for coming to an acceptance that one of their child's death was not their fault, and then the happy ending where she's released from the hospital. A different role for Brad, and a different look too, think Tom Cruise in Collateral.
At a running time of about 2.5 hours, it's definitely a tad long, and could have served as 2 or 3 individual films, but sit and ponder about your own life, what you're thinking about, what you want, and what could possibly happen, it is when you least expect it that your own world will come crashing down.
2/4

VIFF closing

While VIFF ended almost two weeks ago, time has just been taken up by other things, work, other films etc. I'm not sure if I'll be able to ever really go back and catch up on the rest of my film reviews, seeing as how my last posting was on the 7th and there was still a week left. Instead, listed below are the films and saw and the order in which I liked or didn't like them, starting with favorite and ending with least...if one of them does come back out I'll be sure to repost a review for that then, but for now...here's my wrap up for VIFF 2006.

Milarepa, A New Day in Old Sana'a, Expiration Date, No Mercy For the Rude, Volver, Little Children, Away From Her, Longing, Un Dimanche a Kigali, Run Robot Run, Don't Tell, The Fountain, White Planet, Change of Address, The Valet, The Page Turner, The King and The Clown, The Host, My Scary Girl, The Post Modern Life of My Aunt, Color Me Kubrick, Antonio Vivaldi, Red Road, Candy, EXIT the Right To Die, Renaissance, The Root of All Evil?, Rain In a Dry Land, Pervert's Guide to Cinema, Comeback Season, Mount Pleasant, Love For Share, The Riddle, Wide Awake, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros, Big Bang Love Juvenile A, Blessed by Fire, Cheech, Offside, Elementary Particles, Sound of the Soul, When the Road Bends, A Soap, So Much So Fast, Jonestown: The Rise and Fall of the People's Temple, Close To Home, Letter of Fire, Men at Work, Hana, Buddha's Lost Children, Beauty in Trouble, 1st Bite, Requiem, The Trials of Darryl Hunt, Shadows Choose Their Horrors, Obaba, Smell of Paradise, Acts of Imagination, Dans Paris, Son of Man, The Lost Hum, Loop, Opera Jawa, Unrequited Love, Fantasma, Lights in the Dusk, Climates, Withered in a Blooming Season, I Don't Want To Sleep Alone.

Of course there are films I would've liked to see if I could have slotted them in, and then again, there are also those above, that I wish I hadn't seen, been disappointed, or should have left and didn't.

RED ROAD

An interesting take and lesson in forgiveness as Jackie observes Glasgow on surveillance cameras and takes part on camera when she pursues a man she spies on the streets. It's not extremely clear who this man is, although we know there's a connection between them, and as the film unfolds, one really learns, echoing themes of other films (see PAGE TURNER and VOLVER) that hell hath no fury than a woman scorned. The difference in this case, it was an accident, and perhaps more than forgiving him, is the need to forgive herself and accept her last words.

RAIN IN A DRY LAND

In Somalia, Africa, were people who came refugees of civil war and had to flee for their lives in Kenya. In Kenya, these refugees would be given another start to life, in America. While it all looks like a promising life, the harsh reality is that there is lots the refugees have to learn. Everything is new, not just the language, but technology and urban living. When Aden and Madina arrive at the airport with their children, the sight of an escalator was in puzzlement. While there are support groups to help the families adjust and financial assistance available, this is a touching documentary to remind us all how different of backgrounds we come from and that we need to keep helping and supporting each other.

THE LOST HUM

What happens when strangers are called forth to judge someone for a crime - not in a court, but privately? It doesn't work. While the concept is intriguing and seemingly to stem from Lady Vengeance, a South Korean film, the latter is much better down, and it involves judging and sentencing not from strangers but family members of the victims. There is not enough tension, not enough to keep to the film sailing.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS

A French film that once again presents the theme, that what you're searching for (love) is right in front of you. Change of Address is a charming film that we needed in the middle of the festival when everything else has been dark and dreary. David and Anne are sharing an apartment, confidences, and yes, some sex as well. They drink together, they sleep together, they talk about their love interests together (she teaches him how to land a girl, his student Julia, with whom he has fallen in love with). Thing is, they only just met. The dialogue is witty and Anne sometimes commits (without being too stereotypical) the blonde jokes when there's miscommunication between them, but the dynamic between them is evident, and touching, warm and funny. Scene worth mentioning, the heart to heart they have while she's sitting in the tub, in the bathing area, and he's sitting on the floor next to the tub.

COLOR ME KUBRICK

A strong performance by John Malkovich yet is the anchor around the film is built, outrageously funny in his imposting of Stanley Kubrick, it's amazing how many people fell for the con, and how few would testify against him. He truly believes he is Stanley Kubrick and all his antics are funny. The film will keep you laughing, especially when the imposter hasn't done his homework on Kubrick's work, and mistakes a Stanley Kramer film as his.

1st BITE

A mix of drama, comedy, zen, and magic realism, this is an interesting story about food and romance (it gave me a craving for thai food). Somewhere along the way though, the story does lose focus, and one is not sure why the little boy keeps appearing and telling Gus to "go home". Glimpses of film noir in shadows and dabbling into magic and curses, 1st Bite doesn't quite succeed on the first viewing, but shows some promise.

THE POST MODERN LIFE OF MY AUNT

Well written, with lots of laughs and good acting from the cast, including Hong Kong superstar Chow Yun Fat and China superstar Zhao Wei, director Ann Hui has succeeded in an open faced and both light hearted and serious film about a woman, Mrs. Ye, living in the urban zone during Communism times. A self proclaimed righteous woman with scholastic schools, she finds a slow downfall in her aging years. But as the large rising moon might symbolize, there is hope, and there is her estranged daughter to whom the downfalls leads her back home with family.

THE BLOSSOMING OF MAXIMO OLIVEROS

A sweet story about brotherly love and school crushes from the Philippines. Nathan Lopez is superb in the leading role of Maxi, a boy who dresses and acts like a girl, caring for his macho brothers and father. An affectionate story and relations between them, they've all accepted who Maxi is and seem like loving and caring family another would want to have. Their lives are relatively peaceful until the arrival of Kuya Victor develops into a strong friendship (and crush) between Maxi and him, creating havoc for the family.

LIGHTS IN THE DUSK

Forget the man with the past, this man has no past, no present, and not really a future. Koistenin, a security guard finds himself duped by a woman sent to seduce him and obtain security codes for thieves. A classic example of appreciating what's true and before your eyes, like his friend who runs the grill stand on the beach, as opposed to the blond who walks up to you in an empty restaurant. Not much happens, but one can follow the story and scream at him to be smarter. Does he really smarten up? Maybe, the end is a bit open ended, but his hand is on his friend's (the grill stand lady) who seems to care about him. Maybe he's learned and maybe there will be a future.

CANDY

Heath Ledger returns to his bad boy days stemming back to 10 Things I Hate About You and his long locks in this film about drug addiction and curing yourself. Sharing a similar theme to Away from Her, his character too realizes that he has to sacrifice himself for a better life for his love.
A good film, tad long, and had one thinking somebody was going to kill themself or OD, creating a wake up call for the other - which sort of happens, but not as one might expect. Lesson to the kids, don't do drugs.

CLOSE TO HOME

A take on friendship between female soldiers in Israel where security tensions rage, Arabs must be registered, and a car bombing that brings two young women together. Polar opposites, Mirit is the good one, obedient to her duties while Smadar prefers to do a sloppy job, eat and get her hair done on their shift. A chance meeting to a good looking samiritan at the bombing leads to a big crush by Mirit, and it is this that also becomes a stepping stone to repairing their friendship later, as Mirit wants a new shift buddy.

MY SCARY GIRL

The Chinese have a saying (and even a song), When we meet next, we'll still be friends. This South Korean offering is a comedy about a man who's never had a girlfriend, until he meets Mina, seemingly the girl of his dreams. There's only one problem, she's a murderer, and has hidden one corpse in her deep freeze. It's a secret she can't tell him as he jokes that he doesn't mind her past, so long as she didn't kill anyone. Oopsies. But fear not, when he finds out, he's prepared to forgive her - for one murder, not two, not three. He questions whether they can remain together and while true love doesn't prevail, that doesn't mean they can't be friends, because she gave him the gift of love.

UN DIMANCHE A KIGALI

Hotel Rwanda but from a love story point of view. One of the best and complex Canadian films of the year and will leave tears in the eyes. Bernard is a journalist who returns to Rwanda to search for his wife Gentille (who actually is Hutu, and not Tutsi as her fellow countrymen believe). The film interweaves between their happy and their horrifying lives in the past tense leading up to the genocide and Bernard in present day in his search. It is still hard to imagine the horror of the genocide and does get a bit violent for the quesy and extremely emotional. When he finally does find her, has he really found her? Past promises, past vows, what would you do to keep them.

OPERA JAWA

Chinese opera is known for costumes and drums and cymbals. Italian opera is known for the singing. Japanese opera is, I know have learned, rooted in art, costume, dance and loooooooong words and lyrics. Too long for two hours, but that's what you get when there are many syllables and notes. While the main story is interesting, the backstory about fighting back for the peasants becomes hidden and perhaps should have more focus on the love triangle at hand instead.

WIDE AWAKE

5 venti dark roasts is not a cause for insomnia, sometimes people are just naturally programmed to be night owls as is our narrator and filmmaker of Wide Awake. In his quest to cure himself, we hear from sleep experts and how sometimes the night can be extremely productive and maybe make a person either superorganized or anal about collecting and organizing. This is probably the first filmmaker I've heard of who's never touched coffee until his first cup of coffee onscreen. An interesting take on insomnia and how it can be a good thing. It also explains that when people fall asleep in a movie or a lecture, it's not because it's boring, but rather because they're tired. To quote, if a film is boring, your audience will be bored, but they won't be asleep.

WITHERED IN A BLOOMING SEASON

A fine example, or not, that a director's filmography doesn't mean much if you haven't seen his previous work or if he's won awards in the past if the film on screen isn't great. The first 10 seconds reminded of a badly done student film, maybe this is called experimental, but nothing works, not acting, not camera work, not sound, not lighting. The concept is interesting, but aside from that, let's just say one can learn a lot about what not to do when making a movie.

DANS PARIS

Two hot French stars who plays brothers in this film about fraternal and paternal relationships, it's more eye candy than anything really happening.

FANTASMA

Don't be too disappointed as not much happens in Fantasma, the writeup seemed to have more to offer. With long takes and little dialogue, just image Waydowntown but in a movie theatre. On the bright side, it's only 63 minutes long.

THE PERVERT'S GUIDE TO CINEMA

You can take the blue pill or the red pill. But I don't want either, there should be a third pill. For all you film buffs and film students and philosophers out there, don't be taken aback by the title, and come watch this philosophical analogy of desire and fantasy that people look for in cinema in an escape from their everyday lives. A funny and enlightening take, Slavoj Zizek takes you on a whirlwind tour of films you will recognize, and garnering laughs when he addresses the audience from the same locations that the films in discussion are shot. Beginning with an introduction to psychoanalysis, Zizek paves the road to unveiling how movies influence in, and why we indulge in them.

AWAY FROM HER

Sarah Polley's hugely anticipated directorial debut is a beautiful and touching love story between an elderly couple, of whom the wife is diagnosed with Alzeimer's. Reminiscent of Nick Cassavettes' The Notebook in 2004 where Noah is trying to reach Allie, so too is Grant (Gordon Pinsent) trying to reach out to Fiona (Julie Christie). The audience continually guesses at first whether Fiona is really diagnosed with Alzeimer's, or whether it's one of her ploys to get back at Grant for a past affair or if somehow she wanted to reunite with an old love at the Old Folks' Home. As the days go by, Fiona forgets Grant, instead pining for Aubrey who has been removed from the home by his wife. Her sadness cripples her further as the nurses decide she needs to be moved upstairs (where the more serious patients are). Grant's heart aches and knows perhaps only one thing, or one person, will be able to stabilize Fiona, and he must make a decision that could be his biggest sacrifice of all, his happiness for hers.

THE ROOT OF ALL EVIL

They say religion is the root of all evil because of some of the teachings and understandings that are derived from the holy books and word of mouth traditions. This is a hilarious take on religion being the root of all evil as our narrator is extremely unreligious and his interviewees (from various religions) are extremely religious. Their comments are almost ridiculous at times in terms of logic, from both sides of the argument, and in between laughing, one does learn something about the different religions and may be inspired to do some self research.

WHERE THE ROAD BENDS

Another take on music, this time, the nonfiction series takes audiences on tour with several gypsy bands. Like Sound of The Soul, this is a well done musical film that'll have your foot tapping along as you learn about the different gypsy groups. The gypsies may the most well-known as being from Romania, but they also come from India and Turkey as well. The performers are confronted with some stereotypes, such as gypsies always steal, but this is not true and they shrug it away, putting all the heart and soul into their music and forming friendships with each other.

VOLVER

One of the most anticipated films of this year's festival, Almodovar's latest offering brings us no disappoint. A beautiful and strong film returning to his previous focuses on women and maternal relationships. Three generations of women, one fate. One more chance to try to come together and learn that the best thing in life is each other. Strong acting from Penelope Cruz and the rest of the female cast (they collectively won the best acting award at Cannes, I believe) and warm cinematography draws us happily once more to this renowned Spanish director. There does come a point though in the film where it gets a wee bit predictable due to the subtleness Almodovar hints at in the dialogue and the action, but not all may be able to detect it. While justice does not come completely in all circumstances, you will leave satisfied and in wonder.

LONGING

A German film about love and desire with endless layers and layers of themes. On the surface, this film is about a man who is torn between loving his wife and a woman he met while away on a firefighting training camp. Beneath the surface is the story of a man caught in a fairy tale with references to Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Dares he choose a love, and at what cost? Did he push her, did she fall accidentally, or did she fall on her own purpose? Why does he choose to die? Is this merely a story a young teenager is telling her friends, or did it really happen? The film does leave you guessing, but the discussions and interpretations that one can derive from it are endless and continuing conversations unravel more layers. A version of Mystic River of numerous layers of internal thoughts and emotions stemming from reality - but more about love and desire.

SOUND OF THE SOUL

This documentary on world sacred music broadens horizons on what is sacred music and a beautiful presentation on how music can bring people together, no matter where they are. Both secular from the Western hemisphere and traditional from the East, various musicians and singers come together once a year in Fez.