TIFF ’26: What to See at This Year’s Fest, Sept. 16
By Liz Braun, Thom Ernst, Karen Gordon, Kim Hughes John Kirk, Chris Knight, Liam Lacey, Bonnie Laufer, Alice Shih and Jim Slotek
We are now at about the halfway point of the 51st annual TIFF and boy, have we seen some films. Lots and lots of films. Yet we remain steadfast in our commitment to watch everything that we can to bring you, dear readers, alerts to both gems and must-misses. Here we go again.
A scene from It Will Happen Tonight.
A Girl Unknown (Centrepiece)
Wed, Sept. 16, 3 pm, Scotiabank 11; Thu, Sept. 17, 8:30 pm, Scotiabank 5; Sun, Sept. 20, 1:25 pm, Scotiabank 11.
Coming of age is never a breeze under China’s one-child policy. It gets even more complicated when a girl’s father dies and her mother gets pregnant by a new lover. Things are not discussed with our six-year-old country girl who is brought overnight to live with a childless couple in a big city who speak Cantonese, a new dialect. Emotionally traumatized by abandonment and stressed with resettlement, she must adopt a new surname and learn to live up to new familial expectations. Years later, her birth mother comes back for her only to bring her another name and more unfamiliar family members. Zou Jing’s images are visually captivating, meticulously channelling the devastation of the character portrayed by both Cao Ruofan and Li Gengxi as the title character at different ages. AS
A Long Winter (Special Presentations)
Wed, Sept. 16, 6:15 pm, TIFF Lightbox 2; Thu, Sept. 17, 11:15 am, TIFF Lightbox 3.
Patience is gradually but amply rewarded in writer-director Andrew Haigh’s (All of Us Strangers) adaptation of Colm Tóibín’s 2006 novella, with nuanced performances and stunning mountain imagery from cinematographer André Turpin. In the Colorado Rockies in the early 1950s, sensitive young farmer Mike (Fred Hechinger) is thrown into adulthood when his depressed mother Louise (Caitríona Balfe) disappears into a blizzard after her husband Lester (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) throws out her secret wine supply. When Mike is not writing letters to his younger brother serving in Korea, he goes out each day looking for the vultures he expects to find circling his mother’s corpse. Lester, annoyed at having no housekeeper, hires a half-Indigenous orphan, Jimmy (D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai) to tend house and who becomes Mike’s companion on his daily devotional ritual. LL
Ah Girl (Centrepiece)
Wed, Sept. 16, 12 pm, Scotiabank 14; Thu, Sept. 17, 6:20 pm, Scotiabank 4; Sun, Sept. 20, 10:15 am, Scotiabank 11.
A Rotterdam Film Festival Youth Jury award-winner, Ah Girl takes us on a journey of doubts, despair, and courage through a fearless seven-year-old girl. In this world, adults are not to be trusted, and our protagonist must keep her younger sister from harm’s way, not knowing even this privilege could be taken away from her in a heartbeat. Although this dysfunctional family faces challenges that are heavy and stifling, comic relief brings glimpses of hope. The cast shine under Ang Geck Geck Priscilla’s direction, especially Ong Xuan Jing, who channels confusion and pain through the eyes of an innocent child. A very strong debut feature. AS
Gentle Monster (Special Presentations)
Wed, Sept. 16, 11:30 am, TIFF Lightbox 2; Sat, Sept. 19, 3:15 pm, TIFF Lightbox 2; Sun, Sept. 20, 9 am, TIFF Lightbox 2.
What do you do when your life completely falls apart? In director Marie Kreutzer’s slick psychological thriller, Léa Seydoux plays Lucy, a successful concert pianist, caring mother, and loving wife. Her seemingly idyllic marriage quickly collapses as disturbing secrets about her husband's past surface. As uncanny behaviours escalate, Lucy must navigate a terrifying reality: the man she married may be a stranger, forcing her to choose between devotion and emotional survival. So many questions are raised. Why didn’t she see the signs? Can she trust him? Can he be trusted with their son? Seydoux delivers a chilling, razor-sharp performance that transforms domestic bliss into a pressure cooker of paranoia. Bonus: seeing the extraordinary and still stunning Catherine Deneuve as Lucy's mother. BL
Intermission (Centrepiece)
Wed, Sept. 16, 3:15 pm, Scotiabank 8; Fri, Sept. 18, 9 am, Scotiabank 6.
Before Yonfan became a filmmaker with A Certain Romance in 1984, he was already considered one the best photographers in Asia. His visual aesthetics delight the eyes, and his films further transcend his art from stills to moving images. Intermission is more than a documentation of the best moments of his past 15 films; it also chronicles the development of artistic Chinese-language cinema with defining performances by Asian superstars, mostly from Hong Kong, at their prime: Chow Yun Fat, Maggie Cheung, Cherie Chung and Daniel Wu, with some actors — like Stephen Fung and Shu Qi — finding true love during a shoot. AS
It Will Happen Tonight (Special Presentations)
Wed, Sept. 16, 2:45 pm, TIFF Lightbox 1; Thu, Sept. 17, 6:10 pm, Scotiabank 2; Sat, Sept. 19, 8:15 pm, Scotiabank 2.
This decidedly lighthearted offering from Italian writer-director Nanni Moretti (The Son’s Room) had me searching for a translation for Manic Pixie Dream Girl. Louis Garrel stars as Matteo, who meets Greta (Jasmine Trinca) on her wedding day when she stops en route to the ceremony for an impromptu tennis game. Smitten, he spends years brooding about her until a chance meeting years later sets things in motion again. But in this self-indulgent male fantasy, women are mysterious objects to be wooed, seldom given the chance to express their desires beyond awkwardly blurting out that they enjoy sex. I thought we’d moved beyond that. CK
Kick-On (Midnight Madness)
Wed, Sept. 16, 6:45 pm, Scotiabank 4; Fri, Sept. 18, 8:50 pm, Scotiabank 11.
There is nothing in Australia’s Kick-On that hasn’t been seen before in stories about kids running afoul of gangsters. Which is precisely why it’s one of the must-see films at TIFF this year. The clichés aren’t bugs; they’re the whole point. When four likable, spectacularly irresponsible partygoers want to keep the night going after being kicked out of a nightclub, they wind up in the hands of an unstable drug lord — the useless, put-upon son of a very dangerous mobster. The red flags start waving the moment they arrive at his high-rise looking to score a few grams of cocaine. You know you’re in for a hell-ride when cocaine is the least troubling thing on the agenda. From there, the night moves from creepy to uncomfortable invitations, uneasy threats, drug-fuelled euphoria and, inevitably, blood-soaked mayhem. The violence is extreme — brutal, cruel, and occasionally stomach-churning — but Kick-On treats violence with wicked whimsy, like slapstick on meth. Directed by Nick Kozakis, it delivers exactly what you came hoping it would. TE
La Bola Negra (Special Presentations)
Wed, Sept. 16, 4:30 pm Royal Alexandra Theatre; Fri, Sept. 18, 4:15 pm; Royal Alexandra Theatre; Sat, Sept. 19, 2 pm, Visa Screening Room at the Princess of Wales Theatre.
Clocking in at 160 minutes and co-directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, this epic treasure explores queer repression in 1930s Spain. The story is inspired by an unfinished 1936 manuscript by legendary Spanish poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, who was murdered by fascists at the onset of his country’s civil war. The non-linear narrative weaves together three interconnected storylines spanning nearly a century, contrasting historical oppression with modern liberation. The storytelling tears at your heart while focusing on queer memory, resistance, repression and survival. Armed with stunning visuals and a beautiful score, it is a passionate, beautifully crafted tribute to the hidden histories that paved the way for the present. La Bola Negra is an experience, a love letter to poetry, cinema and art. I defy anyone not to fall in love with these characters. BL
Light Pillar (Centrepiece)
Wed, Sept. 16, 10 pm, TIFF Lightbox 4; Thu, Sept. 17, 3:20 pm, Scotiabank 9; Fri, Sept. 18, 9:15 pm, Scotiabank 7.
The decline of cinema is explored in this animation, set in the near future, of a once-bustling film studio. There isn’t any working crew in this big rundown studio space filled with broken sets and props of previous blockbusters. It is now a tourist theme park with dwindling attendance. There are only six workers, but the boss can only give the employees virtual-reality headsets as salaries. Our protagonist is a lonely man who resorts to this technological toy for daily pleasure. When he puts on the headset, the most interesting thing happens as his vision turns from animation into live action. This “virtual” world of real people is materialistic, filled with emotional and financial traps. This concept of “flipped” reality between animation and live action is thought-provoking, indicating technology is really changing the modern world in ways more than one can handle at times. AS
The Age of Goodbyes (Special Presentations)
Wed, Sept. 16, 1:30 pm, TIFF Lightbox 3; Fri, Sept. 18, 5:15 pm, Scotiabank 14; Sat, Sept. 19, 3:45 pm, Scotiabank 8.
The Age of Goodbyes is adapted from an award-winning novel by Li Zi Shu and was once considered to be unadaptable because of its multiple timelines. The story follows a young man who discovers a book which starts on page 513 (which carries a special meaning) and uncovers his hidden family lineage page by page. Edmond Yeo's visually stunning period drama features an excellent cast of actors from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia to portray characters caught in the darkest hour of Malaysian history. AS
A scene from The Difficult Bride.
The Difficult Bride (Centrepiece)
Wed, Sept. 16, 4 pm, TIFF Lightbox 4; Thu, Sept. 17, 10 pm, TIFF Lightbox 4; Sat, Sept. 19, 12:15 pm, Scotiabank 7.
As she prepares for her approaching wedding, affluent, educated Zaineen is spiralling in ways both recognizable and ethereal. Endless, uncomfortable beauty treatments aimed at creating a feminine ideal on her big day feel suffocating; anxiety about her complexion and weight are backdropped by a world seemingly teeming with creepy, crawly lifeforms, one possibly lodged beneath Zaineen’s skin. Are visions of a dead bride the result of persistent insomnia or something more sinister? Bangladeshi writer-director Rubaiyat Hossain’s perturbing but eerily watchable drama asks many questions about female agency in a traditional realm. Sometimes, despite the odds, the woman comes out on top. KH
The Only Living Pickpocket in New York (Gala Presentations)
Wed, Sept. 16, 5:30 pm, Roy Thomson Hall; Thu, Sept. 17, 3 pm, Scotiabank 2.
In gritty, contemporary New York, tech-resistant pickpocket Harry (John Turturro) eeks out a modest living relieving unwitting passersby of watches, smartphones, and wallets, which he pawns to his pal (Steve Buscemi) before returning home to tenderly care for his disabled wife. When Harry inadvertently targets a nasty, crime-connected young man, his day becomes a whir of high-stakes manoeuvres to recover a nicked and pawned USB stick that suddenly represents life or death. A twisty crime drama with much subtle humour of the old school-versus-new school variety, writer-director Noah Segan’s nifty film soars on Turturro’s hangdog poise and small but strong supports from Giancarlo Esposito, Tatiana Maslany, and a marquee star in a sly cameo. KH