TIFF 2019 Day Eight: Kickoff to an Indonesian Superhero Cinematic Universe

No.7 Cherry Lane [HK, Yonfan, 4] In 1967 Hong Kong, a student courts a woman (Sylvia Chang) who has hired him to tutor his daughter by taking her to Simone Signoret films. Metatextual cel-animated melodrama explores the role heterosexual romance plays in gay aestheticism.

So Long, My Son [China, Wang Xiaoshuai. 4.5] A cruel decision made under the One Child policy compounds a family tragedy, reverberating through the decades for a working couple and their circle. Saga of the effect of the political on the personal in fragmented time from the 80s to the present.

Gundala [Indonesia, Joko Anwar, 3.5] Orphaned urchin grows up to discover his lightning-based fighting and healing powers, putting them to use against a sinister counterpart. Kicks off a cinematic universe adapted from an Indonesian comic continuity with labored exposition, wild overplotting, competing structural elements, inexplicable teaser sequences for future installments—you know, just like a Marvel movie.

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Capsule review boilerplate: Ratings are out of 5. I’ll be collecting these reviews in order of preference in a master post the Monday after the fest. Films shown on the festival circuit will appear in theaters, streaming platforms and perhaps even good old physical media over the next year plus. If you’ve heard of a film showing at TIFF, I’m probably waiting to see it during its upcoming conventional release.Unless you mean The Color Out of Space, which I’m seeing on the 14th.

TIFF 2019 Day Seven: Converging Timelines & A Travelogue Gone Wrong

A White, White Day [Iceland, Hlynur Pálmason, 3.5] Rural cop on psych leave after his wife’s death comes to suspect that she was having an affair. Impeccably crafted Nordic bleakness drama follows a familiar thesis on the dangers of bottled-up emotion.

To the Ends of the Earth [Japan, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, 4] Logistical setbacks and microhumiliations beset a young TV presenter shooting a travelogue in Uzbekistan. Like other Kurosawa titles this episodic mood piece feels slight at first but leaves images that grow in power retrospectively.

Ibrahim: A Fate to Define [Denmark/Palestine, Lina Al Abed, 3.5] Documentarian investigates the life of the father she never knew, having left his family to work for his likely eventual killers, the Abu Nidal Organization, which later (probably) executed him. As befits the subject matter, its informal interviews are less about definitive answers than coming to terms with their absence.

When evaluating a doc with fly-on-the-wall element, one of the odd things is you’re evaluating whether anything amazing happened while the camera was rolling—in other words, you’re reviewing reality and whether it did or didn’t deliver.

A Girl Missing [Japan, Koji Fukada, 4] Nurse’s tangential connection to the kidnapping of a client’s granddaughter later leads her to assume a new identity in pursuit of an enigmatic plan. Twisting psychological thriller generates suspense by interweaving a past and a present timeline and making us wonder how they’re going to connect up.

On the way out of the screening I overheard two patrons, one of whom had fallen asleep for a big chunk of this and was asking the other to explain what had happened and boy I do not know where I would even start.

It feels like about half of the films I’ve seen so far have included dream sequences and seeing this device used so many times in close proximity underlines what a weak choice it almost invariably is.

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Capsule review boilerplate: Ratings are out of 5. I’ll be collecting these reviews in order of preference in a master post the Monday after the fest. Films shown on the festival circuit will appear in theaters, streaming platforms and perhaps even good old physical media over the next year plus. If you’ve heard of a film showing at TIFF, I’m probably waiting to see it during its upcoming conventional release.Unless you mean The Color Out of Space, which I’m seeing on the 14th.

TIFF 2019 Day Six: Cuban Emigre Spies and Refugee Application Suspense

Love Child [Denmark, Eva Mulvad, 5] Because their adulterous relationship is punishable by death, a couple flees Iran to Turkey, where they seek refugee status and permission to live in a safe country. Fly-in-the wall documentary places you inside the subjects’ family life, with emotional rollercoaster suspense as they wait for the UNHCR to determine their fate.

To say more would spoilerize, but this includes the most acute example of dramatic irony in any documentary I can think of.

Heroic Losers [Argentina, Sebastian Borensztein, 4] Crew of everyday Joes led by local hero gas station owner (Ricardo Darin) scheme to empty a vault belonging to the corrupt official who ripped them off during Argentina’s 2001 banking collapse. Charming rural heist flick uses the power of pop cinema to recuperate from national catastrophe.

Wasp Network [France, Olivier Assayas, 4] In the early 90s, a Cuban pilot (Edgar Ramirez) defects to Miami, leaving behind his patriotic wife (Penelope Cruz) and entering into a web of terrorism and covert counterterrorism. Ensemble spy docudrama tackles a dauntingly detailed real story with a tapestry-like screenplay structure that keeps resetting itself to introduce new allegiances and agendas.

I’d have to rewatch with a pause button to be sure, but I’d estimate that this has 4 act ones, 3-5 act twos, a fake act 3 and a real act 3 — not in that order.

The Antenna [Turkey, Orçun Behram, 2] Depressed building superintendent discovers that the government satellite dish installed on the roof is threatening his tenants with a bizarre black sludge. Larry Cohen-style political allegory horror realized with the very… deliberate… pacing… typical of Turkish art cinema.

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Capsule review boilerplate: Ratings are out of 5. I’ll be collecting these reviews in order of preference in a master post the Monday after the fest. Films shown on the festival circuit will appear in theaters, streaming platforms and perhaps even good old physical media over the next year plus. If you’ve heard of a film showing at TIFF, I’m probably waiting to see it during its upcoming conventional release.Unless you mean The Color Out of Space, which I’m seeing on the 14th.

TIFF 2019 Day Five: A Meta-Fictional French Farce Jumps Into the Lead

Incitement [Israel,  Yaron Zilberman, 4] Right-wing student activist opposed to democracy and the Oslo Accord pursues the justifications he requires to act on his plan to assassinate Yitzhak Rabin. Political crime docudrama depicts Benjamin Netanyahu as a key contributor to the atmosphere of permission leading to Rabin’s murder.

La Belle Epoque [France, Nicolas Bedos, 5] Aging cartoonist (Daniel Auteuil) on the outs with his wife (Fanny Ardant) uses a high end historical recreation service to visit the days in 1974 when they first met and fell in love. Propulsive, funny, moving farce where, instead of doors, the characters rush between memories and layers of fiction.

A thing about attending the same film festival for 33 years is, in addition to noticing that you are aging, so are the stars who once played hunks and ingenues.

The Moneychanger [Uruguay, Federico Veiroj, 4] 70s money launderer gets in over his head after accepting huge sums from mysterious Argentinians. Crime dramedy works as an inverted Goodfellas, in which the anti-hero narrating his career of illegality starts as a schnook and mostly stays that way through his ups and downs.

Dogs Don't Wear Pants [Finland, J-P Valkeapää, 4] Still shut down years after his wife’s suicide, a heart surgeon seeks strange solace as client to a dominatrix. Twisted but humane drama of grief and healing.

Not only a contender for the best title of the fest, but a film in which the title is spoken as a line of dialogue.

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Capsule review boilerplate: Ratings are out of 5. I’ll be collecting these reviews in order of preference in a master post the Monday after the fest. Films shown on the festival circuit will appear in theaters, streaming platforms and perhaps even good old physical media over the next year plus. If you’ve heard of a film showing at TIFF, I’m probably waiting to see it during its upcoming conventional release.Unless you mean The Color Out of Space, which I’m seeing on the 14th.

TIFF Day Four: Shanghai Spies & Larrain Lets His Bunuel Flag Fly

A day that begins with Bunuel lite and ends with Bunuel flamethrower.

The Barefoot Emperor [Belgium, Jessica Woodworth & Peter Brosens, 3.5] After a regrettable incident at a recreation of the Franz Ferdinand assassination, the Belgian king is confined to a sanatorium, formerly Tito’s island retreat whose head (Udo Kier) exudes a sinister solicitude. Absurdist fable of the slow-motion elite bafflement.

Sequel to 2016’s King of the Belgians, which it recaps at the top (not that it really has to.)

Saturday Fiction [China, Lou Ye, 4] Famed actress (Gong Li) returns to occupied Shanghai to run one last op for her French spymaster (Pascal Greggory) aimed at a Japanese cipher officer (Odagiri Jo.) Hazy, shifting identities in deglamorized B&W, culminating in gripping ballistics.

Coming Home Again [US, Wayne Wang, 4] Tightly wound writer (Justin Chen) returns to San Francisco to care for his cancer stricken mom (Jackie Chung), despite her and his dad’s worries over the effect this will have on his career. Contemplative drama of love, resentment, and the emotional weight of getting the food right.

The Good Intentions [Argentina, Ana García Blaya, 3.5] When her mom and stepdad decide to move to Paraguay, her precociously together young daughter lobbies to stay with her raffish, irresponsible slacker dad. Autobiographical slice-of-life, punctuated by real life home videos, illuminated by the performance of child actor Amanda Minujin.

Ema [Chile, Pablo Larrain, 4] Seductive dancer (Mariana di Girolamo) married to insecure choreographer (Gael Garcia Bernal) tries to regain custody of the boy they returned to the adoption agency after he burned her sister’s face. Unnerving, visually arresting, sex-drenched Bunuelian provocation.

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Capsule review boilerplate: Ratings are out of 5. I’ll be collecting these reviews in order of preference in a master post the Monday after the fest. Films shown on the festival circuit will appear in theaters, streaming platforms and perhaps even good old physical media over the next year plus. If you’ve heard of a film showing at TIFF, I’m probably waiting to see it during its upcoming conventional release.Unless you mean The Color Out of Space, which I’m seeing on the 14th.

TIFF Day Three: A Ruthless South Korean Thriller and a Forbiddingly Beautiful Cult Drama

The Other Lamb [Belgium/Poland/US, Malgorzata Szumowska, 4] The onset of puberty changes everything for a young member of an isolated cult (Raffey Cassidy) consisting of the many wives and daughters of a charismatic leader (Michiel Huisman.) Set in a landscape of stark and forbidding beauty, this hits the baked-in beats of a cult liberation drama with an emphasis on the role of womens’ devotion in sustaining patriarchy.

Three Summers [Brazil, Sandra Kogut, 3.5] When her employers are busted in the Operation Car Wash bribery scandal, their resourceful chief maid steps in to protect the staff and a disregarded pater familias. Naturalistic drama with satirical undertones follows the effects of elite dereliction on the working class.

The Giant [US, David Raboy, 2] In what might be a dream, a distorted memory or a trip into the Bardo Thodol, a southern teen processes nameless trauma involving her dead mom and troubled ex. Bearing the stylistic influences of Aronofsky and Malick, this falls prey to the standard failing of head trip films—no payoff.

Bring Me Home [South Korea, Kim Seung-woo,4] Nurse’s search for her missing young son takes her to a rural village where fishing tour operators protected by a corrupt cop exploit the labor of a couple of kids. Bars no holds in pursuit of physically and emotionally brutal thrills.

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Capsule review boilerplate: Ratings are out of 5. I’ll be collecting these reviews in order of preference in a master post the Monday after the fest. Films shown on the festival circuit will appear in theaters, streaming platforms and perhaps even good old physical media over the next year plus. If you’ve heard of a film showing at TIFF, I’m probably waiting to see it during its upcoming conventional release.Unless you mean The Color Out of Space, which I’m seeing on the 14th.

TIFF 2019 Day Two: Final Testament of a Cinematic Master & An Argentinean Musical

Not much space between screenings to compose interstitial observations today, so its capsules and just the capsules for Friday, the first full day of films.

Lina from Lima [Argentina, María Paz González, 4] As she looks after her rich boss’ new house and awaits a Christmas trip to see her family in Peru, a beleaguered maid’s mounting frustrations manifest as fantasized musical numbers. Drama of everyday yearning heightened by the interplay of naturalism and artifice.

Varda by Agnes [France, Agnes Varda, 4]. Documentary self-summation of the director’s body of work in cinema and installation art, expanded from a series of masterclasses shot prior to her death this March. Reveals the formal rigor underlying the apparent lightness of her style.

The Traitor [Italy, Marco Bellochio, 3.5] After his sons are slain in a 1980 Palermo gang war, a top soldier cooperates in a mass trial that spirals into histrionic chaos. Mafia docudrama embraces the tone shifts, narrative sidetracks and wild implausibilities of a landmark historical case.

A Sun [Taiwan, Chung Mong-Hong, 4] High schooler’s juvenile detention sentence strains his family, particularly his relationship with his father, a truculent driving instructor. Bittersweet family drama with a noirish fourth act.

The Lost Okoroshi [Nigeria, Abba Makama, 2] Unmotivated security guard transforms into supernatural masquerade spirit, performing blessing dances for the virtuous and smiting the wicked. Satire of traditionalism’s revenge on the urban is cleverer than other Nollywood films that reach the festival circuit, but the storytelling basics still aren’t in place.

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Capsule review boilerplate: Ratings are out of 5. I’ll be collecting these reviews in order of preference in a master post the Monday after the fest. Films shown on the festival circuit will appear in theaters, streaming platforms and perhaps even good old physical media over the next year plus. If you’ve heard of a film showing at TIFF, I’m probably waiting to see it during its upcoming conventional release.Unless you mean The Color Out of Space, which I’m seeing on the 14th.

TIFF 2019 Opening Night: Giant Bioluminescent Sea Parasites and a Meta-Tribute to an Indie Icon

Simple Women [Italy/Romania, Chiara Malta, 3.5] Novice director bumps into Elina Lowensohn, who she has idolized since her iconic role in Hal Hartley’s Simple Men, and decides to star her in a a low budget biopic about her life. The shaggy spirit of the 90s indie scene smiles on this observational meta-drama about the ways films become part of our identities.

This was apparently the first title from the Discovery program, dedicated to first time directors, to screen on opening night, which came as a surprise to me.

I’m always pleased when it’s possible to start the fest with a film about film. This felt especially circular as I first came across Hal Hartley when his first movie, The Unbelievable Truth, as an out-of-nowhere discovery at TIFF in 1989.

Elina Lowensohn was at the screening.

Sea Fever [Ireland, Neasa Hardiman,4] Withdrawn oceanographer’s routine mission aboard a fishing vessel turns disastrous when a gigantic, multi-tendriled parasite affixes itself to the hull. Skillfully paced infection horror, with touches of Lovecraftian oceanic unease, explores the genre’s ethical implications.

This is Harriman’s feature debut after episodic TV credits including “Jessica Jones.”

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Capsule review boilerplate: Ratings are out of 5. I’ll be collecting these reviews in order of preference in a master post the Monday after the fest. Films shown on the festival circuit will appear in theaters, streaming platforms and perhaps even good old physical media over the next year plus. If you’ve heard of a film showing at TIFF, I’m probably waiting to see it during its upcoming conventional release. Unless you mean The Color Out of Space, which I’m seeing on the 14th.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Stith Thompson Entries All Over It

In the latest episode of their ENnie-winning podcast, Ken and Robin talk time as a resource, occult Blues Brothers, the Gen Con auction with Jim Kitchen, and extending Habsburg Spain.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Live at Gen Con 2019

In a very special episode of their ENnie-winning podcast, recorded before a live Gen Con audience, Ken and Robin talk interstellar Habsburgs, balloonist danger, a trilogy of rebellions and donut hot takes.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Thunder and Filk

In the latest episode of their ENnie-winning podcast, Ken and Robin look back at the whirlwind of Gen Con, from awards to tiki gods.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Jealous of My Katana

In the latest episode of their ENnie-winning podcast, Ken and Robin talk lone wolf PCs, cooking shows, alien symbiotes in Night's Black Agents, and the Somerton Man mystery.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: It Ain’t That Non-Euclidean

In the latest episode of our beautifully antlered podcast, Ken and I talk DIE and depictions of RPG in fiction, Huey Long, qi-lin, and the USAF's plan to stop the earth.

Finding Me at Gen Con 2019

Hey, look what’s right around the corner again! Can it be a knife-wielding baby shoggoth? No, something much bigger and more exciting than that—adventure gaming’s biggest, whirwindiest convention, Gen Con, kicks off just a titch more than a week from now. If you’re headed there too and want to hear me lay down the wisdom and/or nonsense, I can be caught at the following panels:

2  pm Thursday Aug 1: Game Mastering 101 with Atlas Games, Crowne Plaza Pennsylvania Station A

4 pm Thursday Aug 1: Gaming with the King in Yellow, Stadium : Meeting Rm 8

1 pm Friday Aug 2: Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff Live, Stadium : Meeting Rm 8

5 pm Friday Aug 2: Investigative Roleplaying MasterClass, Westin : Grand Bllrm IV

2 pm Saturday Aug 3: Swords, Spies & Shoggoths: The Pelgrane Press Panel, Crowne Plaza : Pennsylvania Stn A

4 PM Saturday Aug 3: Dramatic Interaction MasterClass, JW : 202

As is its wont, KARTAS Live has sold out in advance, but perhaps you’ll be able to grab a seat left open by a no-show.

During exhibit hall hours, when I am not at a panel, on my way to a panel, or on my way back from a panel, I will be at the Pelgrane Press booth, 1417. Please swing by to say hi, ask a question, get books signed, or tell me about your favorite Hillfolk emotional tactic.

If you wish to see this year’s new shirt, and believe me you do, the day to catch me wearing it is Friday. Let no one say I don’t know how to lay down a teaser.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: You Can’t Say Eliptonic Without Tonic

In the latest episode of their ENnie-nominated podcast, Ken and Robin talk wait point scenario structures, thinking up good names, medicine hucksterism and politics, and time-machining the DC movies.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: We’ve Still Got that Other Folder

In the latest episode of our ENnie-nominated podcast, Ken and I talk scenario openings, critical term drift, radicalized FALL OF DELTA GREEN and Livonian werewolves.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: The Molticore

In the latest episode of our leonine podcast, Ken and Robin talk invisibility problems, Daniel Defoe's spying, manticores and a king knighted by a robot saint.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: 7th Anniversary LIGHTNING ROUND!!!

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff for the 350th time, and you know what that means—LIGHTNING ROUND!!!

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Bad Odds In a Balloon

In the latest episode of our semantically customized podcast, Ken and I talk bespoke game terms, doomed Swedish balloonists, the expanded Yellow King Universe, and occult Buenos Aires.

Ken and Robin Talk About Stuff: Marsupial Valley

In the latest episode of our loose cannon podcast, Ken and I talk Australian plot hooks, Dai Cathay, post-Lovecraftan King in Yellow tales and Stanton Friedman.