TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL - DAY ONE
We missed our first movie of the day (The Magic Flute) due to a combination of incorrect flight arrival time and an underestimation of time-standing-in-line for ticket pickup. Actually, if the line had been ten minutes quicker, we would have made it. Well, how many people should an international film festival have working the ticket counter for people who bought packages and need to pick them up? One is enough, right? The Toronto Film Fest seems to think so.
Anyway, I’m not complaining. I have more than enough to see. So here goes:
FILM #1 – THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY (aka “The Barley Movie)
This was a really great, complex film with top-notch acting and a superb story structure. A couple of points got in the way of my total immersion: 1. My utter and complete ignorance of Irish history 2. The accents – so thick! I probably understood about 60% of the dialog and inferred the rest. I couldn’t fill any dialog blanks in with my knowledge of Irish history, so that kind of left me in the dark. But the sheer emotionality of the actors carried me through. This deserves a second watch (on DVD, with English subtitles).
Q & A SESSION – I took out my notepad to take notes, which was mostly to help my memory, but also made me feel more important. Little did the people around me know that I am going to post these notes on a dumb-ass blog that a tiny (but important) handful of people will be reading. Ken Loach couldn’t make it because he’s currently filming something – the bastard! Cillian Murphy was there, however, and my 10th row seat afforded me a prime view of those killer cheekbones. He’s a chameleonic person who tends to look either really creepy or occasionally hot on film, depending on the camera angle and lighting. But in real life – seriously – he’s so, so pretty. I fully appreciate actors who have unusual or atypical features – especially the ones who can act their pants off. It’s so much better to have an interesting but odd face than a blandly pretty one.
Cillian made a few jokes about Ken Loach’s directing style, saying the script exists ‘but the cast is not privy to it,’ his films are undiluted by commerce which includes the exclusion of trailers and food for the crew (big laugh there), and usually uses a faraway, non-intrusive camera with a long lens which allows the actors more freedom. Someone asked a question about how he personally felt about the Irish independence issue, and he sort of dodged it by stating that the film takes place only two generations ago so everyone was careful to acknowledge the sensitivity of the project. He said he feels strongly about the issues from the level of his DNA, but couldn’t compress all his feelings into a simple anecdote.
A woman asked him about a book written by Ernie O’Malley (?), and he made a self-deprecating joke about how it was ‘very advanced reading’ so he only dipped in and out of it. She followed up by mentioning a specific historical person with the last name of Murphy. He clearly didn’t know who the hell she was talking about and finished by saying, ‘Uhhh… ehhhm… I don’t think he’s my… cousin.” It was funny. Come on, lady! You can’t drill actors on the historical facts of an era just because they made a movie taking place during that time. That’s a totally unfair, impromptu history test in front of a huge crowd. At least he got a laugh out of it.
Anyway, I’m not complaining. I have more than enough to see. So here goes:
FILM #1 – THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY (aka “The Barley Movie)
This was a really great, complex film with top-notch acting and a superb story structure. A couple of points got in the way of my total immersion: 1. My utter and complete ignorance of Irish history 2. The accents – so thick! I probably understood about 60% of the dialog and inferred the rest. I couldn’t fill any dialog blanks in with my knowledge of Irish history, so that kind of left me in the dark. But the sheer emotionality of the actors carried me through. This deserves a second watch (on DVD, with English subtitles).
Q & A SESSION – I took out my notepad to take notes, which was mostly to help my memory, but also made me feel more important. Little did the people around me know that I am going to post these notes on a dumb-ass blog that a tiny (but important) handful of people will be reading. Ken Loach couldn’t make it because he’s currently filming something – the bastard! Cillian Murphy was there, however, and my 10th row seat afforded me a prime view of those killer cheekbones. He’s a chameleonic person who tends to look either really creepy or occasionally hot on film, depending on the camera angle and lighting. But in real life – seriously – he’s so, so pretty. I fully appreciate actors who have unusual or atypical features – especially the ones who can act their pants off. It’s so much better to have an interesting but odd face than a blandly pretty one.
Cillian made a few jokes about Ken Loach’s directing style, saying the script exists ‘but the cast is not privy to it,’ his films are undiluted by commerce which includes the exclusion of trailers and food for the crew (big laugh there), and usually uses a faraway, non-intrusive camera with a long lens which allows the actors more freedom. Someone asked a question about how he personally felt about the Irish independence issue, and he sort of dodged it by stating that the film takes place only two generations ago so everyone was careful to acknowledge the sensitivity of the project. He said he feels strongly about the issues from the level of his DNA, but couldn’t compress all his feelings into a simple anecdote.
A woman asked him about a book written by Ernie O’Malley (?), and he made a self-deprecating joke about how it was ‘very advanced reading’ so he only dipped in and out of it. She followed up by mentioning a specific historical person with the last name of Murphy. He clearly didn’t know who the hell she was talking about and finished by saying, ‘Uhhh… ehhhm… I don’t think he’s my… cousin.” It was funny. Come on, lady! You can’t drill actors on the historical facts of an era just because they made a movie taking place during that time. That’s a totally unfair, impromptu history test in front of a huge crowd. At least he got a laugh out of it.
posted by ginsoakedgirl at 9:21 PM
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