Our Paul Gratton has been hard at work viewing almost everything humanly possible at this year’s edition of the Toronto International Film Festival. Read below for all of his capsule reviews so far, with many more to come throughout the week!
International Films
Ah Girl (Singapore)
Set in Singapore in the 1990s, the world is seen through the eyes of an observant seven year-old girl. Her world is threatened when her neurotic estranged Mom asks if she wouldn’t prefer to live with her rather than Dad and grumpy Grandma. Okay first feature won the Youth Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival. (5/10)
Bedford Park (USA)
A solid American indie feature looks at the lives of two Korean immigrants in New Jersey who slowly fall for each other. He is an ex-wrestler with anger issues stemming from his orphan childhood, and she is a part-time sex worker who also has an edge to her. Their story is well told, and the film premiered at Sundance. The sort of celebration of multiculturalism that Canadian cinema excels at. (5/10)
Bitter Christmas (Spain)
Pedro Almodovar’s latest seems tired and uninspired, as he seems to be navel-gazing about an aging filmmaker who lacks inspiration while he tries to write about those around him. However, the ending of the film partially redeems his own self-indulgence, as he excoriates himself for being repetitive and uninspired. For hardcore film buffs only. (6//10)
Children Untold (Japan)
Set in Tokyo in 1945, the film looks at the plight of orphan children who survived the war. In particular, the film tells the story of a twelve year-old girl who played the accordion and pretended to be a boy to help her survive. At times a touching story, but overlong at two and a half hours. (6/10)
Clarissa (Nigeria)
Elegant and sumptuously photographed version of Mrs. Dalloway transplanted to modern-day Nigeria, this film follows a number of characters surrounding an elegant dinner party. Film played in the Directors Fortnight at Cannes and is very well acted. Probably a few too many characters and themes touched on to have maximum effect. (5/10).
Conversation with the Sea (Palestine)
A sixty year-old Palestinian man is forced to try to uncover the truth about what happened to his son, whose drowned, mutilated body was fished out of the water twenty years earlier. Usual middle eastern tensions are delineated, but Kamel El Basha’s dignified lead performance anchors the film. (5/10)
Coward (Netherlands)
Gay man finds his true love while performing in shows designed to lift the morale of the troops fighting in World War I. No one thinks twice about the boys performing in drag if it motivates the fighters to dig in deeper in the trenches. Battle sequences are quite effectively realized, but this highly praised film by Lukas Dhont seems to place the pursuit of personal sexual expression as being far more important than the loss of life and personal sacrifices on the battlefield. Gay audiences will respond best to its message. (6/10)
Double Freedom (Argentina)
Lisandro Alonso revisits the character he delineated in the 2001 film La Libertad. Misael Saavedra (a non-professional actor) still works the land as a logger and we spend much of the film in real-time observational mode as he lives his isolated existence. Things get complicated when the local asylum closes down and he is forced to care for an older sister. Most audiences will find this slow and rather tedious, though the languorous rhythms of the pampas are nicely captured through crisp photography and natural sound recording (4/10)
Elsinore (UK)
Oscar nomination for Best Actor is almost guaranteed for Andrew Scott, who plays actor Ian Charleson (of Chariots of Fire fame) courageously portraying Hamlet in the weeks leading up to his passing away from AIDS. He had replaced Daniel Day-Lewis who famously stomped off stage mid-scene during a performance at the National Theatre. Very moving. (7/10)
Everything Else Is Noise (Mexico)
Minimalist one joke comedy is set entirely inside a noisy Mexican apartment where the power keeps going off. An apparently talentless shlubby woman is being interviewed for being a great composer and cello player, though she displays no evidence deny talent for either. A poke at artistic pretensions partially funded by the Canada Council for the Arts, which may be the biggest joke of all. (3/10)
Everytime (Austria)
A slow but ultimately mesmerizing meditation on loss set in a seaside resort, with a dreamlike quality that gets under your skin. A Mom mourns the loss of her daughter who fell or jumped off a building, but returns as a younger version of herself. Very otherworldly is the only way to describe it. (6/10)
The Face of Horror
Anne Biller, the director of the cult favourite The Love Witch returns with another affectionate post feminist genre tribute, this time to the colour-saturated horror films of the early 69s, such as those directed by Roger Corman or Mario Bava. Where is Vincent Price when you need scenery chewing? (6/10).
Fjord (Romania/Norway)
Winner of the Grand Prix at Cannes, this is a film that smacks you right dab in the middle of the culture wars. A deeply religious family emigrates to Norway with five children. They do not let their children engage in social media and believe in spanking as a form of discipline, when the one of the girls shows up at school with some bruising, the state intervenes and takes the children from the parents, resulting in a very public courtroom battle. Both sides are shown as being stubborn, didactic and self-righteous, but taking kids away from obviously loving parents does tilt the argument against the well intentioned but busy-body progressives. Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve are very believable as the aggrieved parents, and the film obviously cuts to the core of the essence of the culture wars raging in the States. A film that will elicit much debate, but is essential viewing from master director Cristian Mungiu, (8/10)
God Bless You, Mr. Kopu (New Zealand)
A financially desperate Tongan man hooks up with con artist who swindles people out of money with a bogus product. Kind of amusing tale about losing your moral compass when the money starts pouring in. (5/10)
Head to Head (Iran)
Rather pretentious film about a female Iranian director who decides to make a film about the plight of women by having men don women’s clothing and hijabs in the heat. After a short while, the men don’t like it. Ghasideh Golmakani’s message is not very subtle. World Premiere at TIFF. (4/10)
Marie Madeleine (Haiti)
Colourful but very Catholic tale of a Haitian hooker who hooks up with an evangelical preacher’s son. Dad is gonna have trouble accepting his son’s behaviour, obviously. Canadian coproduction. (5/10)
Memory of a Forest (Austria)
A woman studying for her PhD at the University of Vienna goes home for a funeral and learns that she has inherited 15 hectares of forest that mean much more to others than it does to her. At least at first. A first film that premiered at the Munich Film Festival (5/10)
Minotaur (Latvia/France)
This remake of Claude Chabrol’s La femme infidèle is simply brilliant. Chabrol dispassionately dissected the amorality of the bourgeoisie by telling the story of a man who gets away with murder when he discovers his wife has been cheating on him. Winner of the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, ex-pat Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev transplants the story to Putin’s Russia, as an influential industrialist suspects his beautiful wife of cheating. At the same time, he must deal with Putin’s forced conscription, having to identify a fixed quota of his workers (he gets to choose the most expendable, for his operations to continue to succeed) for service on the front lines in the war in Ukraine. A brilliant indictment of the Russian ruling class, but a more general broadside against any system that perpetuates a ruling class based on cronyism and self-interest. Trump’s America is equally explained by this film. A TIFF highlight. (9/10)
Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People? (Japan)
It might seem odd that the Japanese would make an English language film about a black American soldier’s traumatic experiences during the Vietnamese war. But it turns out Allen Nelson gave over 1200 talks in Japan about his wartime experiences and had a profound influence in reinforcing antiwar sentiment among the Japanese. The battle sequences are powerfully mounted, with little sentimental overlay for “our poor troops” which often colours American renditions of the Viet Nam war. But the domestic scenes post PTSD and scenes with a psychiatrist played by Geoffrey Rush are a bit less convincing. (5/10)
Our Lives (Israel)
Kudos for TIFF for having the courage to program this Israeli film that is likely to represent Israel in the Oscars and is just as likely to attract blowback from festival audiences that have tilted very much in favour of Palestinian story-telling in recent times. Director Avi Nesher has made over twenty films and this is a well-made movie that tracks the lives of five Israelis and how their lives were affected by the October 7, 2023 terrorism attacks conducted by Hamas. By keeping the focus on individual stories, the film avoids a larger discussion of security failures and the nature of the response from the Israeli side. Perhaps it comes too soon after the horrific events depicted, and will be seen as propaganda by some. But as cinema. It is undeniably slick filmmaking, coming from a master storyteller. Premiering at the Haifa Film Festival. (6/10)
Phoolan (India)
Richie Mehta has done an admirable job adapting the true-life story of Phoolan Devi. As told in her autobiography, it tells the story of how a lower-caste 17 year-old teenager became a folk hero and a leader of her own outlaw band. She even took pleasure in castrating men because she had been repeatedly raped growing up. The only problem is that the story has been told before in Shekar Kapur’s devastating Bandit Queen made in 1994 with Seema Biswa owning the lead role. Not sure why an already great film needs to be remade, even if it is over thirty years old. (5/10)
Salvation (Scotland)
Annoying character study about a self-righteous smooth-talking life coach, who is so devoted to his calling that he totally neglects his own financial situation, which is on the brink of ruin. He’s basically a total con artist who talks a sincere game with his charming Scottish accent. You might want to punch him in the face after listening to him spout bromides for 90 minutes. (4/10)
Soumsoum, the Night of the Stars (Chad)
A somewhat different coming-of-age story as a 17 year-old woman in Chad has to overcome being treated like a pariah by her father and some villagers because her mother died while giving birth to her. She thinks she is cursed, especially when she seems to be overwhelmed by visions and what might be mystical powers. Something a little different. (5/10)
Tender Loving Care (UK)
Movingly human kitchen sink British drama may be Mike Leigh’s final film, as it looks at the difficult lives of two social workers in middle age, one of who has to cope with a father’s onset of dementia. The actors are allowed to live and breathe their characters in richly detailed scenes and the final shot of the film explains the title in uncompromising terms (7/10)
Thirteen in Gaza (Palestinian Territory)
A sad tragic story about a thirteen year-old girl and her father trapped in the hopeless grind of living in a grim refugee camp in Gaza. He tries to protect her from the harsh realities as best he can, but really, what hope does the future hold for her? Even at only 77 minutes, this grey film seems hopelessly long. (5/10)
The Violinist (Singapore)
If you can overlook some of the choppy body movements, this is a lovely animation film that won the Best Feature award at the Annecy Animation festival earlier this year. An aging violinist explains why she insists on playing the same old instrument as she flashes back to her youthful friendship with Fei in 1930s Singapore. When the Japanese invade Singapore, the two friends are separated by fate and history, but Kai has never given up hope of reuniting with her long-lost soul-mate. A moving final concert scene is beautifully rendered. (7/10)
We Are All Strangers (Singapore)
Two generations of married couples try to exist under one crowded roof in a lower class apartment complex in Singapore. Dad woos a local waitress from Malaysia, while trying hard to make enough money to pay the rent. His son resents his poor circumstances and is impatient to live the good life. Along the way he gets his girlfriend pregnant and Dad must pay for a wedding he can’t afford, in order to save face. Complications ensue when an online get-rich-quick scheme attracts the attention of the law. This surprisingly engrossing story premiered at the Berlin Film Festival (6/10)
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother
Nothing seems very credible in this hard-edged story of a deeply religious Muslim man, saddled with a newborn baby who requires a special formula, who also happens to be a brutal hitman, coerced into defending some mosque bigwigs who are running a halal porno ring. As ridiculous as it sounds despite the best efforts of Mahershala Ali to make it work (4/10)
Zjili: A Story of Sisterhood and the Burden of Excess
Hard to find fault with this sincere expression of feminist recognition in Ghana society as a young woman labourer dies, while calling for female workers rights within a strictly patriarchal society. It’s also hard to get too excited over issues that might seem all too obvious to Western audiences. A bit too preachy, but hard to argue with. The African musical score is memorable however.(5/10)
Documentaries at TIFF
Ba’s Book (Canada)
The worst advice given to aspiring filmmakers is “write about what you know”. That is why we have so many personal “coming-of-age” second generation immigration stories, and intergenerational reconciliation exercises that fail to be of much real interest to anyone who is not an immediate member of the filmmaker’s family. Here we have another earnest entry, funded by TVO, in which filmmaker Ashley Duong tries to reconcile her Vietnamese father with the family he left behind in Asia and his repressed memories of the Viet Nam war. Hired actors awkwardly recreate key scenes from this story of reconciliation. Glad they have all seemingly made peace with their respective pasts. (3/10)
Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been (Canada)
Barry Avrich delivers an infectious and affectionate tribute to a largely unsung singer whose career was essentially sabotaged by the egotistical machinations of Phil Spector. He kept her under contract and gave credit to others for her incredible voice work over many years as part of his “wall of sound” shtick. She did get to front the successful Crystals group for some years, but saw very few financial returns from such songs as “River Deep, Mountain High” which she helped create. She successfully sued Spector late in life for a tiny fraction of what he owed her but this feature helps restore her rightful place in music history as well as celebrating her indomitable spirit. Clip-rich, as always with Avrich musical docs (Oscar Peterson: Black+ White). (7/10)
Ladies and Gentlemen: Mr. Brian Mulroney (Canada)
This is a hilarious pastiche of clips from tv news, campaign ads, game shows and convention floors, as Canadian provocateur Matthew Rankin takes another skewed journey though Canadian history (see The Twentieth Century) this time showing how charm and sheer Irish blarney helped Brian Mulroney, the boy from Baie-Comeau, unite the conservatives from Quebec with the western wing of the party. Diefenbaker’s profound disdain for Mulroney, seeing him as little more than a bull-shit artist is very amusing. People over 40 who remember the era will love this. What the younger generation/midnight madness crowd will make of any of this is anybody’s guess. Who says Canadian politics are dull? (7/10)
Once Upon a Time in Harlem (USA)
This is a towering document of the emerging black pride and intellectual movement known as the Harlem Renaissance of the early 1970s. While lynchings were still going on in the Jim Crow South, artists, poets, thinkers and philosophers gathered at parties and happenings in the growing mecca of emerging black pride known as Harlem. Culled from incredible vintage footage shot mostly in 1972 by William Greaves at Duke Ellington’s apartment, it is a joy to hear the words and thoughts of such luminaries as Eubie Blake and George Schuyler expound upon what it means to be black and what African roots mean to these intellectuals. Intercut with more recent observations from those who are still around, this doc is sure to be in the running for consideration come Oscar time (7/10)
Rehearsals for a Revolution
Winner of the Best Documentary at Cannes, this is a very personal and deeply moving documentation of protest movements within Iran as compiled through home movies and photographs taken by actress Pegah Ahangarani who is now exiled and living in England. Her Fad protested the Shah only to feel ultimately betrayed by the Khomeini regime. Powerful insider stuff (7/10)
Union Town (USA)
Director Barbara Kopple has been twice Oscar-crowned for powerful pro union documentaries ( the classic Harlem County USA and American Dream). It is sad to note that the plight of workers has seemingly not progressed much over the years in the US of A. This one focuses on the exploitation of delivery workers in New York City, trying to organize into unions in order to limit the nonstop unwillingness of owners and management to acknowledge the value of the contributions made by their hard-working ranks. UPS, DoorDash, Amazon…the 1% get richer while the minimum wage class work their asses off to make ends meet. The only problem with this doc is that the subject matter is so overly familiar by now. Plus ça change…(6/10)
Canadian Films at TIFF
Back in Black
Good black humour, as a small town funeral home is borderline bankrupt until a silent member of the family starts causing mortal accidents to happen around town. Christopher Walken is hilarious as the money-obsessed family business owner, (6/10)
The Betrayers
Topical but rather boring story about former Israeli politician and Russian dissident trying to outrun his past while spending time at a resort in Yeltsin with his mistress, while planning to divorce his wife. Partially shot in Ottawa, co-produced with the Ukraine. (4/10)
In Alaska
Dark but authentic story set in Alaska but shot in Iqualuit, about an attempted teen suicide who ends up accidentally putting a bullet hole in a pipeline instead, triggering a massive FBI manhunt for a terrorist. With Noomi Rapace. A Dutch-Canadian coproduction (5/10)
Neverman
A transgendered woman has to adapt to life in a home as she develops a severe form of dementia. Potentially interesting set-up is too slow paced and contemplative to be very engaging, and the acting wobbles between characters, (5/10)
The Other (L’autre)
Wickedly inventive film from Quebec takes place entirely in one hospital room, where a man who seems to be in a hallucinatory state is trying to recover from cancer surgery. He becomes convinced that the comatose monster in the bed beside him in his room is taking it, and is out to get him. It even has a great musical number. One of Marc Messier’s final screen appearances. A great example of being creative within selfimposed restraints. (6/10)
Seventeen
Whiny indigenous features set on the hard streets of Vancouver, as Tamara looks for a lost passport in order to cross the border back into the States. The film has a gritty street feel to it that seems authentic, but the acting is all over the place, and the constant references to the evils of colonialism (as in, colonialism is the reason passports are even necessary in the first place) starts to wear super-thin around the fifth time it is referenced as the reason for the characters’ failures in life. (4/10)
Smudge the Blades
Every cliche in the book about a loser coach inspiring a team of even bigger losers to become a winning team gets trotted out in the Indigenous hockey story. It’s just that director/writer Cody Lightning gives such a funny and infectious performance as the coach, that you don’t mind sitting through yet another variation on the Bad News Bears blueprint. Not bad hockey footage either add to a fairly commercial if totally familiar package. (5/10)
Strong Son
Set in Manitoba, a Punjabi Canadian boy devoted to body building has to deal with a lot of problems, not the least of which is having to care for an aging father. Reminds one of the exceptional Magazine Dreams, whose release was scuttled when emerging star Johnathan Majors’ career was cut short due to scandal. The Dad has a very emotional response when he finally sees his son excelling in a wrestling competition. Unfortunately, the acting in this one is all over the place, undermining a strong effort by writer/director Ian Bawa. (5/10)
Sunburn
Another story from the African Canadian hell of Scarborough that isn’t half bad. Two buddies basically explore the neighbourhood during a power black out caused by a heat wave. It’s high rise hell that they seem to be living in, but instead of the usual angry rap music, the film is elevated by a lush music score, which is far more evocative in helping to establish the longing to get out and better themselves from the suburban dead end they are bringing raised in. Director Serville Poblete is a talent to watch. (5/10)
Toy Gun Bandit (Faux gun bandit)
A gritty crime drama set in the Quebec City suburbs as a blue-haired delinquent robs a corner store on his birthday. A coke snorting mentor soon convinces him that his skills would be put to better use knocking over banks. This is shot in the style of the Dardennes brothers, and is pretty exciting stuff from writer/director Remi St-Michel. (6/10)
Animation
Iron Boy (Le corset)
An award-winning animated film at both Annecy and Cannes, this is the story of a farm boy who has to wear a heavy metal brace in order to avoid toppling over. The style is very simple, almost like the panels in a newspaper, with dots for eyes and choppy motion. Touching at times but hardly memorable (5/10)
Julian
Colourful Canadian-Danish coproduction is probably MAGA’s worst nightmare. A young immigrant’s child wants to wear a dress in a parade so that he can fulfill his fantasy of becoming a mermaid. Either innocent fun or a blueprint for indoctrinating children into cross-dressing. Set in New York in a Caribbean family. (5/10)
More to come! Our thanks to Paul for sending in so many great capsule reviews for TIFF 2026. For more information on movies playing at TIFF this year, point your browser to TIFF.net!