September 15, 2005 - After taking a day off yesterday, we were back on the TIFF circuit tonight with April Snow. Initially, none of us were too interested in the movie - it was our "backup" - we were supposed to see Brokeback Mountain instead I think. Anyway though, I'm glad we got to see it because it's my favourite TIFF movie so far.
April Snow is a melodrama that focuses on the lives of two strangers, brought together by a car accident. A man gets a phone call while at work and rushes to the hospital, where he learns that his wife is in a coma following a car accident. Waiting outside the operation room is a woman, and we learn that she's there because her husband was in the same accident and in the same car. While gathering their spouses' belongings, the two strangers learn that their partners were lovers. The rest of the movie then shows how these strangers learn to heal from their partners' betrayal and learn to love again...
When the director of the movie introduced the film, he warned us that the film is a little slow. I remember my first thought was "uh-oh"...and he was right, the movie was slow - but I wouldn't have wanted it in any other way. The pace of the movie is slow and it has a very quiet tone to it but what I enjoyed most was how the storytelling gently let the audience relate and learn about the characters. Like one lady said at the Q&A - it's like cappuccino - you have to slowly taste it and absorb it to get the real sense of what it's like.
This movie features two big Korean stars that are really popular in Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong (of course, none of us have heard of them). The audience was also primarily made up of Koreans (mainly middle-aged women), who showered the director with gifts, posters, flowers - you name it. Though I have to admit, the main actor, Bae Yong-Jun, is kinda hot...
Btw, I really like the posters for this movie...
September 12, 2005 - Another night, another TIFF movie.
Tonight, we went to see 7 Virgins, a film that takes place in Seville, Spain (we're definitely trying to see as many foreign films as we can). Let's me just start with the fact that there were no line up issues tonight :) and things are cool now between me and Jason...
The movie was a coming-of-age movie, about a teenager named Tano who has a 48 hour pass from juvenile detention so that he can attend his brother's wedding. Tano vows to do as much as he can within t hese 48 hours, including hanging out with his friends, hooking up with his girlfriend, finally attending his brother's wedding. Within these 48 hours though, Tano also learns the reality of life - and grows up (though not in the way that movie title refers to...).
I enjoyed the movie, particularly how it left some unanswered questions, such as, what did Tano did that landed him in jail? the relationship that Tano has with his brother is also interesting. Jason said it's possibly because Tano's brother is trying to live vicariously through him.
The director and two of the main characters were present for this world premiere. Apparently the actor who plays Tano is only 18 years old and is already a huge movie star in Spain...
September 10, 2005 - One of my biggest pet peeves is people who butt in front of others in lines. I absolutely cannot stand it when selfish inconsiderate people believe they are better than everyone else and don't have to get in line. Fortunately, I don't encounter these people that often, but an ugly incident occurred at the Toronto Film Festival tonight.
Tonight we went to see Breakfast on Pluto, starring the awesome Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later, Red Eye, Batman Begins). We were there an hour early and the line had already stretched around the block. By 8:30 pm, the line had stretched for another block - with probably more than 200 people behind us. It was when I noticed these two blonde 30+ ladies chatting with the festival volunteer beside us (who was doing a really poor job - he paid no attention to the line at all). At 9 pm, the line started to move. The two clever ladies smoothly merged into the line - right in front of me ! Of course, I told them that "there's a line up here you know". One of them quickly shot back "we were in line somewhere too" and just kept walking. I quickly protested and I think it was when I just lost it. I told Michael and Jason about it and they too were surprised. I was just pissed off - I just went on a rampage on how rude people can be and how uncivilized some people are. The ladies shot back comments at me, but I didn't hear them. I loudly called them bitches - which I think at that moment in time, was considered somewhat "polite" already. By the time we got inside, I had pretty much cooled off - I was still upset, but I figured I couldn't do much (though now that I'm writing this, a million other thoughts come to mind as to how I could've totally told them off).
What got me really upset though was not the fact the two women had gotten in front of me, it was what Jason said to me when we reached our seats. He said something like I should've just let it go, and that I had "called them names, and that's an entirely different level". The way that he spoke to me made me feel like I was wrong and I should've just kept my mouth shut. It also made me feel like I was being talked down at - and what exactly did he mean by an entirely different level ? that I was acting below them ? His tone of voice made me feel like I had done something wrong, when clearly I was just defending myself against people who clearly have taken advantage of us.
I HATE being taken advantage of (that hatred goes back a long long way)- and I absolutely hate it when people think they are better than everyone else and they are allowed to bend rules. But I think it was how Jason reacted that made me upset the most. I don't know why he had to speak to me like that. Sure, I could've used better wording or reacted to the situation more politely - but how could I when clearly what they had done was so disrespectful. I also didn't call them names to their face - I had said it loud enough so that I'm sure they could hear me, but it wasn't like I was in their face. What had I done that was so wrong.
Perhaps tonight is just one of those nights. I'm not mad - just a little upset I guess. Perhaps I'm also too sensitive. Maybe I just need some time to reflect on this situation. Maybe he was tired and he just didn't want to deal with me and my usual drama tonight.
On a positive note, I did get to see Cillian Murphy up close and personal - it was definitely cool (he walked right past me on my way to the bathroom). We also saw Liam Neeson, which was neat as well.
More blogs about the film festival as the week progresses...
September 9, 2005 - Tonight I saw my first ever Toronto International Fim Festival Gala Presentation. The last time I was at TIFF was 2 years ago, when my friend Erin and I went to see "The Singing Detective" with Robert Downey Jr. and Katie Holmes. Anyway, we saw L'Enfer, which isn't really my first choice (I would've picked a movie where I know the stars...), but still, it was really cool to be seated at Roy Thompson Hall for a movie premiere. The movie was in French and it starred some really good French stars, who unfortunately I have never heard of (but judging from the reception they got from the audience, they must be pretty big). We were among the lucky few that got asked to move from the nose-bleed balcony section to the 3rd row on the floor - that itself was pretty cool.
As for the movie itself, I enjoyed it. The movie is part of a 3 part triliogy, with the first one being "Heaven" starring Cate Blanchette and Giovanni Ribisi. In L'Enfer, the story revolved around the lives of 3 sisters and how they dealt with a family tragedy. Each of the sisters had their own dysfunctional relationship, one of which resembled the one they had to endure in their childhood.
The acting was superb (two of the stars were in attendance) and it was a tense family drama. The tile of the film, which means "Hell" in English, is opened for interpretation. Does it mean the sisters are living in hell ? or does it mean they have gone through hell ? hmm....
Tomorrow we're watching Breakfast on Pluto with Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later, Red Eye, etc). More on that later...
