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| The Boy And The Heron is among the films showing this year |
Toronto Film Festival kicked off on Thursday also, tacitly, marking the start of awards season and many of the films that will hope to be contenders make their first bow to audiences, with this year's crop including Steven Spielberg's The Fabelmans. One of the ways to guage their prospects is to see who wins the People's Choice Award - actually a clutch of three honours, one for main features, one of documentaries and one for a Midnight Madness film. When we ran a similar selection of streaming highlights last year (now updated), we noted that every winner since had gone on to make the Academy Awards shortlist and that has, with Belfast, and the third placed The Power Of The Dog, continued to be the case.
Belfast, 2021 winner, Sky Go, Now Cinema and other platforms
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| Belfast Photo: Courtesy of London Film Festival |
It seems appropriate then to start with last year's winner. Kenneth Branagh's child's eye view of Belfast in the late Sixties, has an intimate sweep no doubt helped by the fact that this tale of childhood against the rise of what would become known as The Troubles is a semi-autobiographical one. Child star Jude Hill marks himself out as a young name to watch in the role of Buddy, whose everyday concerns about getting a local Catholic lass to notice him and contending with the domestic tensions of his ma (Caitriona Balfe) and pa (Jamie Dornan), are set against the wider picture of a community that is beginning to fracture. Branagh knows how to leaven sentiment with a good dollop of humour, much of it delivered with verve by Ciaran Hinds and Judi Dench as Buddy's grandparents. Throughout it all, Branagh reminds us that love will always be stronger than hate.
The Cave, 2019 Documentary Award winner, Disney+Google Play
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| The Cave |
Jennie Kermode writes: When cities are overwhelmed by war, we often see news reports which address the fact that medics are the last to leave - but what does it mean to be among them, day in and day out, for month after month of siege? Feras Fayyad's powerful documentary takes us inside the makeshift wards and operating theatres of the last hospital operating in al Ghouta, Damascus, following paediatrician Amani Ballour, the woman elected to run it. We see the day to day challenges the hospital faces, the terrifying risks involved in procuring supplies or in cooking food, which has to be done outdoors due to the need for ventilation. In the circumstances, minor, commonplace accidents and injuries become potentially fatal, and treating patients with serious health problems is almost impossible, whilst the staff also cope with a daily flood of injuries caused by bombing. We see what the pressure does to them and what it takes for them to pull through, bolstered by dreams of a better life in the future, of chocolate and mascara and pizza with extra cheese. This is an unforgettable piece of work.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, 2017 winner, Disney+, Apple TV and other platforms
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| Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri Photo: Courtesy of London Film Festival |
The billboards, or at least the message on them, belong to Mildred (Frances McDormand) a mother who wants answers about the murder of her daughter and isn't afraid to ask the questions in letters that are several feet high. Mildred's grief is an armour against those who aren't helping her as she takes on the town sheriff (Woody Harrelson, who is, in fact, dedicated to finding the killer. Writer/director Martin McDonagh came under fire over the racist cop (Sam Rockwell) that's presented here but his films are never simple in moral terms, portraying humans as infinitely complex, with saints as capable of damning themselves as sinners are of achieving redemption. Loyalties are forced to shift in ways that are often uncomfortable, which is what makes his work so powerful.
Room, 2015 winner, ITVX Premium, StudioCanal and other platforms
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| Room |
Director Lenny Abrahamson had already shown he knew a thing or two about careful pacing and shifting the mood in his previous films
What Richard Did and
Frank. In Room, these strengths come together with a keenly observed screenplay from Emma Donoghue, adapting from her own novel to tell the tale of the heartbreaking lengths a mother has gone to protect her son. Joy (Brie Larson) and five-year-old Jack (Jacob Tremblay) are living - held captive - in the room of the title, although Abrahamson shows how from Jack's perspective it's an entire universe. As things are forced to change, Abrahamson's film delivers thriller elements and a tension that could sing through the wires but - not least thanks to the finely callibrated acting of Larson and Tremblay - it is also a deeply moving testimony to love.
The Raid, 2011 winner, Netflix, Now Cinema and other platforms
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| The Raid |
Jennie Kermode writes: Every now and again a martial arts movie comes along which changes the game. Indonesia's Iko Uwais laughed when director
Gareth Evans saw him training and offered to make him a star, but his performance as rookie cop Rama changed his life, and it's a real thrill to watch. The plot is simple. A squad of officers have been dispatched to capture a criminal kingpin who lives at the top of a multi-story apartment building, but somebody has leaked their plan, and he knows they're coming, offering a reward to anybody who can kill them. They are left with no choice but to fight their way through every floor. Evans' skill lies in keeping this interesting for an hour and a half, with a mastery of pace and clever production design, plus the twists, turns and double crosses you'd expect from this sort of thing. Uwais fights almost non-stop in a variety of creative ways, with the elegance and precision of a ballet dancer, yet never lets us forget his character's vulnerability. This is a real edge-of-your-seat actioner.
Whale Rider, 2002 winner, Freevee, WeDoTV
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| Paikea in Whale Rider |
Jennie Kermode writes:Featuring an extraordinary performance from young Keisha Castle-Hughes, this intimate portrait of a Maori community trying to preserve its traditions in a changing world is in many ways an old fashioned film but is so well made that it has no difficulty communicating with modern audiences. The Oscar-nominated Castle-Hughes plays Paikea, a girl who has disappointed her mother since her birth, when she survived but her mother and twin brother did not. Although there is no shortage of love within her extended family, it is her grandfather (Rawiri Panatene), a chief struggling under the weight of his responsibilities, whom she most desires to impress, and he makes no secret of the fact that he wanted a boy. Paikea struggles to understand why he rejects her efforts to develop traditionally masculine skills, even when she's very good at them, and her ambition to become a prophet - until a whale stranding event changes everything. Gripping throughout and beautifully shot, this is a real treat for all ages.
The Princess Bride, 1987 winner, ITVX (free)
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| The Princess Bride |
Rob Reiner's adaptation of the book by William Goldman is a fairytale charmer with a distinctly postmodern sense of humour that would go on to re-emerge a couple of decades later in the likes of Shrek. Cary Elwes plays farmhand Westley, who in the manner of such things, is in love with a noblewoman (Robin Wright). Naturally, the pair fall foul of the scheming prince (Chris Sarandon) and his unpleasant sidekick (Christopher Guest). With the scene set, Westley sets about doing the derring, helped by Mandy Patinkin's very quotable Spanish swordsman Inigo Montoya. This is a film stuffed with comedy both for children and adults but Reiner also delivers in terms of adventure. More than 30 years on this is still a real treat.
Toronto also gives out short film prizes, including one for Best International short. You can watch 2019's winner, All Cats Are Grey In The Dark, below
All Cats Are Gray in the Dark from The New York Times on Vimeo.
