TIFF ’23: What To See at This Year’s Fest, Sept. 13

By Jim Slotek, Liz Braun, Thom Ernst, Karen Gordon, Kim Hughes, John Kirk, Chris Knight, Liam Lacey and Bonnie Laufer

In the final third of the Toronto International Film Festival, we continue spotlighting titles of note for your consideration. Yeah, we’re good like that.

Green Border

Flipside (TIFF Docs)

Wed, Sept. 13, 9:30 pm, Scotiabank 4.

Chris Wilcha wanted to be a filmmaker. But after a promising start with a documentary, followed by moving his family to Los Angeles, he ended up directing commercials. In Flipside, Wilcha contemplates a number things including a list of his failures, and wonders what happened to his goals and passion projects. As part of that, he travels back to New Jersey to visit Flipside, the used record store where he worked as a teen that is still run by the same guy who hired him. He’s just one of the great characters populating this film. Flipside has a light touch, but as Wilcha jumps from subject to subject, it starts to form into something deeply philosophical: a look at what makes a life, middle age, failures and successes, and how we each build worlds that have meaning to us even if they seem weird to others. It’s a wonderful meditation. If you’re going to have a mid-life, late-life — or anytime-of-life crisis — this is the way to do it. And this is the film to watch. KG

Flora And Son (Gala Presentations)

Wed, Sept. 13, 9 pm, Scotiabank 1; Sat, Sept 16, 2:45 pm, Scotiabank 3.

Irish writer-director John Carney’s excellent latest stars Eve Hewson as Flora, a somewhat unstable young mother with a troubled teenage son, Max, who is consumed with creating beats on his computer. To connect with Max, Flora takes online guitar lessons with Jeff (Joseph Gordon Levitt), learning how to strum a few chords and how music can change her life for the better. Newcomer Orén Kinlan as Max and Hewson — who belts out a fantastic tune at the end of the film — are outstanding. Hewson, daughter of U2 frontman Bono, is a revelation.  BL

Four Daughters (Special Presentations)

Wed, Sept. 13, 2 pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox 1; Thurs, Sept. 14, 9:45 pm, Scotiabank 9.

Heartbreaking documentary from filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania blends reel and real life to tell the story of a Tunisian single mother with four daughters, two of whom ran away as teenagers to become fighters for the Islamic State in Syria. The remaining two daughters of Olfa Hamrouni (and Olfa herself) appear in the film with actors playing the missing sisters. Co-winner of the Cannes ’23 Golden Eye. LB

Green Border (Centrepiece)

Wed, Sept. 13, 5:50 pm, Scotiabank 4; Fri, Sept. 15, 12:30 pm, Scotiabank 4.

Apologies to her countrywoman Kasia Smutniak — whose documentary Walls covers the same territory — but Poland’s Agnieszka Holland has done the better job of showing the inhumanity, horror, and cruelty taking place at the border between Poland and Belarus. Though dramatized, this black-and-white film feels like a documentary itself. In 2021, Belarusian dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka announced free passage to refugees from the Middle East and Africa, knowing that most would then cross into the EU via Poland. The film follows a Syrian family as they fly to Minsk and are then hustled across the border, the first of several dangerous back-and-forth crossings, as neither side wants them and pushes them back whence they came. Parallel threads show a Polish border guard and his pregnant wife, and a group of activists intent on helping the refugees. Powerful, moving, and vital. CK

Not A Word (Platform)

Wed, Sept. 13, 6:15 pm, Scotiabank 10.

When we first meet Nina and Lars, their dynamic seems unremarkable: working single mother — in this instance, working rather successfully as an orchestra conductor — and sullen, mopey teenager. But an accident at Lars’ school, which briefly lands him in hospital, triggers a series of slowly unfolding events that lead Lars and his mom to a remote seaside village left deserted for the winter season. There, with no distractions save Nina’s endlessly pinging mobile phone, the pair’s striking inability to communicate speaks volumes about the precariousness of their bond, exposing a dreadful secret left unspoken. Writer-director Hanna Slak's feature conjures uneasiness and a sustained sense that something terrible is going to happen. Beautifully if eerily shot in morose shades of slate grey by cinematographer Claire Mathon (Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Spencer, Saint Omer), Not a Word is both haunting and uncomfortable. KH

Quiz Lady (Special Presentations)

Wed, Sept. 13, 6:30 pm, Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre.

Sandra Oh and Awkwafina form a comedy duo as classic as Laurel and Hardy with humour almost as old. Anne (Awkwafina) and Jenny (Oh) are sisters. Anne is the smart one, organized to the point of needing therapy and riddled with anxiety. Jenny is the outrageous one, the rebel child, reckless and fearless. The two sisters meet after what feels like an extended absence when their mother goes missing from a nursing home. Anne is addicted to a television quiz show modelled loosely on Jeopardy! with Will Ferrell stepping in doing a vague non-specific version of the late Alex Trebek. It's a rare, understated performance, which is a good thing given Oh’s overtly physical take on comedy — a belief that being frantic and loud is funny. But can Oh be faulted for performing the expectations of her character? It comes down to personal taste and my own anxiety which flares in the face of characters with little filter and a pattern of making bad decision. Director Jessica Yu film does find places where Oh's and Awkwafina’s energies can meet — Awkwafina auditioning while stoned is one such moment — and in those moment the film soars. TE

The Contestant (TIFF Docs)

Wed, Sept. 13, 6:45 pm, Scotiabank 9.

It’s The Truman Show meets Old Boy — but real. In 1998, a Japanese game show contestant known as Nasubi (eggplant, after the shape of his face) spent more than a year alone in a tiny apartment, naked and with only a stack of magazines, from which he had to enter contests until he won a million yen (about $10,000 today) in prizes. He also needed to win food, which led to him living on a diet of rice, dog food and, in the early days, willpower. And when TV viewers questioned whether the weekly show was real, the producers live-streamed it, all without Nasubi’s knowledge. Director Clair Titley expertly captures this funny/heartbreaking example of cruelty as entertainment. It must be seen to be believed. CK

The King Tide (Platform)

Wed, Sept. 13, 2:50 pm Scotiabank 4.

The King Tide is set off the coast of Newfoundland in a secluded and remote fishing village where the mayor (Clayne Crawford) and his wife have just suffered the devastating loss of their first child. Soon after, a child (Alix West Lefler) with mysterious powers turns up on their shores. But you just know things are not going to stay idyllic for long. The townspeople are creepy and desperate for something to cling to, but it’s the village’s elder, the child’s grandmother played by the fabulous Frances Fisher who really keeps this film afloat.  Amidst some beautiful scenery, strong performances, and intense drama, The King Tide delivers a thrilling ride right up until the very last scene, but it will also make you think a lot about morals, selfishness, and greed.  BL

The Pigeon Tunnel (TIFF Docs)

Wed, Sept. 13, 9:15 pm, Scotiabank 13.

Author John le Carré wrote a memoir. Filmmaker Errol Morris interviews him about it. Both men title their work The Pigeon Tunnel as though the film and the book are the same. Which, in a way, they are. Le Carré narrates a gripping tale of power, betrayal and anger, a story about writing, childhood, family, and an absent mother. And Morris knows how to capture every word. The combination of these two men — one who knows what questions to ask and the other who knows how to answer them — sitting down for a conversation makes for a powerful tale. The Pigeon Tunnel is mostly the story of a son, le Carré and his father, Ronald Cornwell, and how the betrayal of his youth led to the creation of some of Carré’s most memorable characters. Mixed in these stories are the writer’s insights on his craft, cleverly shot, I think, through a door ajar with no acknowledgement that the subject is aware there’s a camera pointed at him. Morris uses some visuals from archives such as BBC television series, films, and clips from rare, previous interviews. The rest are re-enactments. TE

The Royal Hotel (Gala Presentations)

Wed, Sept. 13, 12:05 pm, Scotiabank 12.

Kitty Green’s latest follows American backpackers Liv (Jessica Henwick) and Hanna (Julia Garner, whom Green directed to acclaim in 2019’s The Assistant) who take a job at a rough-and-tumble pub in the Australian outback to earn fast cash. A warning from the employment agency that they need to brace for the attention of local men is a whopper of an understatement. These blokes are fierce and swimming in booze. Liv’s inability to read an escalating situation despite Hanna’s growing alarm conjures palpable tension and eventually, a bloody reckoning. Still, Green’s snapshot of male aggression unchecked by conventional societal bounds doesn’t really tell us anything we don’t already know. The film’s searing ending, while emotionally satisfying, strains credulity in this otherwise straight-shooting drama. That said, a subsequent discussion of the film with a respected colleague makes me wonder if it’s deeper than I thought. KH

The Teachers’ Lounge (Centrepiece)

Wed, Sept. 13, 9:45 pm, Scotiabank 14.

Directorial debuts don’t come more assured than Ilker Çatak’s genuinely white-knuckle drama, which follows a young and popular teacher who, despite noble intentions, becomes embroiled in a theft case plaguing the school where she works. For some time, money and valuables have mysteriously gone missing. Is a student to blame, or could it be a member of the faculty? An internal investigation unearths uncomfortable issues of racism and class bias in contemporary Germany. When Ms. Nowak captures who may be the very surprising culprit on hidden camera, her status within the school is suddenly, venomously upended by pupils, coworkers, and parents — perhaps fairly but perhaps not. The most surprisingly riveting 98 minutes you’ll spend this year. KH

Wildcat (Special Presentations)

Wed, Sept. 13, 7:30 pm, Scotiabank 2; Sat, Sept. 16, 11:30 am, Scotiabank 2.

Catnip for literary fans, Ethan Hawke’s spellcasting biographical drama follows the life of Flannery O’Connor, who died almost 60 years ago at the age of 39 but remains a giant in American literature. To the credit of Hawke and co-writer Shelby Gaines, the film does nothing to soften O’Connor’s hardline religious belief, showing instead how it contributed to the complexity of her art. In a witty, multi-dimensional performance, Hawke’s daughter Maya Hawke stars as O’Connor starting at age 24, after she attended the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop, where she befriended and was championed by the poet Robert Lowell (Phillip Ettinger). Shortly after, O’Connor was compelled to return home to Georgia because of a Lupus diagnosis, a disease that left her in pain and progressively disabled. In the film’s most daring conceit, Hawke weaves O’Connor’s biography and elements from her non-fiction writing with vignettes from several of her most famous stories (A Good Man Is Hard To Find, Everything That Rises Must Converge, Good Country People, Revelation, Parker’s Back, The Enduring Chill), in which Hawke plays a half-dozen characters from the stories, with Laura Linney as both her mother, Regina, and various matriarchal figures that appear in O’Connor’s stories. The triumph of the film is examining the complex relationship between the author’s biography and work without reducing it to simple correspondences and motives. When it comes to award season, where Wildcat seems a probable contender, the film is likely to receive criticism for sidestepping the controversy about O’Connor’s comments in her correspondence (she was a self-described “integrationist by principle and a segregationist by taste”), expressions that seemed at odds with the inclusive, if sometimes severe, vision in her stories. LL