Andy's Film Journal for
The 26th Annual Toronto International Film Festival (2001)

Sunday September 9th, 2001

The half way point of the festival, at least in terms of days. Not necessarily films. Today is a busy day with FIVE films, two actual American commercial releases, Lynch's Mulholland Drive and Mamet's Heist. Wow, I am really losing my edge here!

Title: What Time is It There? [Ni neibian jidian]
Director: Ming-liang Tsai
Running Time: 116 min
Country: France / Taiwan
Internet Movie Database Entry

Director Ming-liang Tsai known for his previous film The Hole (1998), tells and interesting story of a young man whose father dies suddenly and his mother becomes obsessed with the thought he might be reincarnated in another form. The young man who sells watches on the street for a living meets a woman who is about to move to Paris and wants to buy a watch. The only watch she will settle for is the man's own which was given to him by his father. Reluctantly he sells her the watch, but suddenly becomes obsessed with this woman and Paris time. Setting the clocks ahead 7 hours to Paris time, strange things begin to happen that convince the young man and his mother that the departed spirit of their father/husband is close at hand.

Shooting in both Taipei and Paris, this move incorporates the best of both French and Asian cinema. A very moving film with plenty of poignant moments that catch you by surprise.

Director Ming-liang Tsai was present for the screening and speaking through and interpreter described some of the behind the scenes details of the movie. Describing a scene where the actor playing the young man Hsiao-kang is required to urinate into a plastic bag, the director said that it was all natural and no stunt bladder was used much to the surprise of the European crew filming the scene who expected a fake bladder to be used. The director also commented on one scene where a suitcase floats across the pond to come to rest next to the actor. The Director insisted that the suitcase floated unassisted to the exact spot it was required. A spooky coincidence considering the film is largely about ghosts.

Fantastic! -- Wow, a film that left me wanting more. Definitely one that I will be talking about for sometime.

Lynch once again leaves the audience scatching their head and wondering what they just witnessed with his latest outing Mulholland Drive . Originally planned as a pilot for new television series the project was shelved but later revived as a movie format with additional funding from a French film studio.

The film features Laura Harring as Rita, a woman who after walking away from a near fatal car accident has no memory of who she is or why someone was trying to kill her. She is befriended by a fresh faced innocent girl Naomi Watts as Betty Elms from Deep River, Ontario. Betty has recently arrived in L.A. hoping to make a name for herself as an actress.

As with much of Lynch's work, nothing is as it seems and characters begin to switch personalities at some point in the movie as Watts and Harring play different characters involved in similar relationships.

Ask any Lynch fan who's seen it and they can wax eloquently about the meaning behind the madness for hours. While I personally enjoyed it on a certain level it left me with an unsettled feeling afterwards.

Of course this catergory was made for Lynch movies -
Intriguing and challenging -- -- I really liked this movie even if I didn't understand it all.

Maybe its just me, but I find Gene Hackman utterly fascinating to watch act. I could watch the guy read a phone book for hours on end and still be enthralled. Bearing that in mind, this may be one of the reason I enjoyed HEIST so much. It helps that it has the screen presence of Delroy Lindo and the fabulous Ricky Jay who stands out in anything he acts in.

The plot revolves around the cliche thief who wants to pull just one more job before he sets sail into the sunset. What sets this apart from other crime capers of the genre is Mamet's writing and the acting job Hackman, Lindo, Jay and yes even Danny DeVito bring to the film. The film has some interesting twists to it and while DeVito's character Bergman verges on being a sterotype, the film holds together for the large part. The details behind the heist and the intricate nature of the dobule dealing going on behind the scenes make the film enjoyable.

The only mistep with the film in my opinion was the final betrayl in the film that just doesn't seem to work. Whether its in the writing or the performances by the actors, something about it just didn't feel right to me. Perhaps the casting of Sam Rockwell as the weasel Jimmy Silk was a bit much for my tastes. The majority of the cast seem comfortable as their characters, but something about Rockwell always strikes me as if you can tell he's acting. If that makes any sense. A film well worth the look.

Screening Notes: A lot of the cast was on hand for the screening including Mamet, Gene Hackman, Delroy Lindo and Danny DeVito. One comment I remember was Delroy Lindo mentioning spending some time growing up in Toronto during his teen years with an aunt and having fond memories of the city.

Fantastic! -- Wow, a film that left me wanting more. Definitely one that I will be talking about for sometime.

This Japanese film about a run down boy's school where the young punks rule the roost. A strict pecking order exists within the school and the leader of the gang can be challenged to a game of chicken on the schools roof top. One day a young man Kujo (Ryuhei Matsuda best known from 1999's GOHATTO) challenges the exisitng bully and surprising wins. His sudden power and fame have a profound impact on him, his classmates and the school in general.

A film with a lot of potential, the director takes it a bit to far, relying instead on over the top gore and insanity in couple of scenes, ruining any sense of mood he had built up. I was ready to buy into his portrait of disaffected Japanese teenagers until he ruined the tone of the film. For a better look at Japanese youth, I highly recommend Takeshi Kitano's Kids Return (1996).

Enjoyable but Disappointing -- I enjoyed elements of the movie, but was disappointed with some aspects.

My memory is a bit vague on the premise of this movie except to say that it involves a boy who after a freak electrical accident, has fits of rage in which electricity shoots from his hands. When a rival learns of his power he challenges him to a showdown in a Godzilla vs Gamera type stand off that has devestating effects to the neighbouring communtiy.

As a Midnight Madness entry it fits the bill perfectly with loud over the top soundtrack and a plot that makes little sense, but provides the audience with plenty of opportunity to make noise and cheer for the favourite character. I slept through a fair amount of the film, understandably so after a five film day.

Barely Tolerable -- Contemplated walking out but curiosity kept me there against my better judgement.