Boffo biz Sales accelerate Road Trip Link's Morocco Reviews Dallas Buyers Club
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Boffo biz Sales accelerate Road Trip Link’s Morocco Reviews Dallas Buyers Club
September 9, 2013
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CONGRATULATIONS TO THE
DFI SUPPORTED FILMS AT TIFF
Supporting global storytelling through co-financing and grants programme
BASTARDO
by Nejib Belkadhi
Tunisia, France, Qatar
Contemporary World Cinema
T IFF SC REENINGS:
6 Sept 6:00 PM Scotiabank 6
8 Sept 6:00 PM Scotiabank 10
10 Sept 10:00 PM Scotiabank 10
12 Sept 6:30 PM Scotiabank 5
14 Sept 9:00 AM TIFF Bell Lightbox 4
FOR THOSE WHO CAN TELL NO TALES
By Jasmila Žbanić
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Special Presentation
T IFF SC REENINGS:
7 Sept 7:30 PM Scotiabank 2
8 Sept 11:45 AM Scotiabank 5
9 Sept 9:45 PM Scotiabank 8
12 Sept 11:15 AM Scotiabank 10
14 Sept 11:45 AM Scotiabank 11
L ADDER TO DAMASCUS
By Mohamad Malas
Syria, Lebanon, Qatar
Contemporary World Cinema
T IFF SC REENINGS:
6 Sept 4:15 PM Scotiabank 5
8 Sept 9:30 PM Jackman Hall
10 Sept 12:00 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 4
12 Sept 9:00 PM Scotiabank 5
15 Sept 5:00 PM Jackman Hall
MY LOVE AWAITS ME BY THE SEA
By Mais Darwazah
Jordan, Germany, Palestine, Qatar
Discovery
TIFF SCREENINGS:
5 Sept 2:30 PM Scotiabank 5
7 Sept 6:45 PM Scotiabank 11
dohafilminstitute.com 9 Sept 2:00 PM Scotiabank 9
Facebook: 12 Sept 6:15 PM Scotiabank 7
Dohafilminstitute 14 Sept 12:00 PM TIFF Bell Lightbox 4
Twitter: @dohafilm
Dallas Buyers Club Link with Africa Studio Stars
Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto German filmmaker returns to Toronto Chris Hemsworth and Olivia Wilde were
impress in AIDS-era drama. with Moroccan road trip movie. among those sitting down with Variety.
Reviews p.6 Film p.2 Film p.4
TORONTO INT’L
FILM FESTIVAL
September 9, 2013
SOUND OF MONEY SHINGLE BOWS
Toronto Sings Happy Trio Launch
Ivanhoe
Tune with Buzzy Pix Pictures
Friedland, Penotti, Chen Team to
Fest likely to heat up in second half finance, produce pix in U.S., Asia
as films including ‘Railway Man’
A
draw strong interest from buyers DAVE McNARY
W
TRIO OF media-entertainment vet-
DAVE McNARY erans — financier Robert Fried-
ITH THE 38th Toronto land, producer John Penotti and
Film Festival at the half- Beijing-based media exec Ray Chen —
way point, Harvey Wein- have launched financing and production
stein has raised hopes company Ivanhoe Pictures.
for a high-powered fin- Friedland’s Ivanhoe Capital provided
ish following his company’s $7 million the founding venture capital for U.S.-
deal for writer-director John Carney’s based Sirius Satellite Radio.
“Can a Song Save Your Life?” Ivanhoe will work on films in America
The transaction, which includes a $20 and Asia, focusing on China, India, Korea
million P&A commitment, closed Sun- and Japan. It will be based in Hollywood
day morning, less than 12 hours after the with offices in Beijing and New York.
well-received world premiere at the Roy Friedland is chairman and Penotti is
Thomson Hall. TWC and Lionsgate were CEO while Chen serves as exec VP.
the final bidders for U.S. rights from sell- FESTIVAL TUNE-UP “Can a Song Save Your Life,” from writer-
ers Exclusive Media and Likely Story, with director John Carney, sold to the Weinstein Co. for $7 million.
CAA and UTA co-representing U.S. rights. FANNING ‘ANNE’
The drama, starring Keira Knightley
as an undiscovered singer and Mark Ruf-
million for “The Place Beyond the Pines.”
A24 also locked up North Ameri-
‘Green Gables’
falo as an over-the-hill producer, sparked
comparisons with Irish helmer Carney’s
can rights on Saturday for Tom Hardy’s
“Locke.” And Nicole Kidman-Colin Firth
Tuner to Bigscreen
“A
“Once.” starrer “The Railway Man” appears to be JENNIE PUNTER
“I can’t think of any buyer who wasn’t one of the most likely films to see a deal NNE OF Green Gables” will be com-
involved,” said Alex Walton, Exclusive by the time the festival ends Sunday, with ing to the bigscreen for the first
Media’s president of international dis- TWC having made an offer. time as a musical, from Toronto
tribution. “Because of John, we thought Other Toronto films generating inter- production company the Film Farm.
early on that we had something special. est among buyers included closing-night Based on the classic 19th-century nov-
And we wanted to be sure everyone saw title “Life of Crime,” starring Jennifer el by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canada’s
it first so there would be a level playing Aniston; Fred Schepisi’s “Words and Pic- long-running musical “Anne of Green
field.” tures”; Matthew Weiner’s “You Are Here”; It’s a good Gables — The Musical” celebrates its
The transaction was the second major Mike Myers doc “Supermensch”; Daniel market for 50th anniversary in 2014. Actor-play-
weekend deal at Toronto, following Focus Radcliffe starrer “Horns”; “The Double,” actor-driven wright Kristen Thomson will pen the
Features’ Saturday acquisition of world- starring Jesse Eisenberg and Mia Wasi- titles, and we’ll adaptation.
see it reflected
wide rights to Jason Bateman’s black kowska; and Eli Roth’s “The Green Infer- in the number Stephen Traynor, Jennifer Weiss and
comedy “Bad Words,” also for $7 million. no,” a Midnight Madness entry for which of sales this Simone Urdl of Film Farm produce with
Those two deals were far in excess of last a sequel is already in the works. year.” Side Road Media’s Kelley Harron, rights
year’s top Toronto transaction of $3.5 SALES P.4 Rena Ronson holder of the musical, and Brian Robertson.
CONNECT V A R I E T Y. C O M / N E W S L E T T E R S + T W I T T E R .C O M / VA R I E T Y + FAC E B O O K .C O M / VA R I E T Y + YO U T U B E .C O M / VA R I E T Y
TheBiz | TORONTO INT’L FILM FESTIVAL
LOCAL POWER
‘Break Loose’
Tops Russian
Slate for Fall
DENIS RUZAEV (VARIETY RUSSIA)
T
HE OUTLOOK for Russian cinema
is looking up, with three films in
Toronto’s Contemporary World
Cinema section as well as two big domes-
tic box office hits so far this year. It’s a
hopeful turnaround from 2012, when the
share of local films declined to just 13.8%
of the box office and Russian bizzers
worked to get more public funds into the
film business and counter the decline.
In Toronto, international promotion
org Roskino is presenting crime drama ROAD TO MOROCCO German helmer Caroline Link reveals the country’s dangerous side in “Exit Marrakech.”
“Break Loose,” directed by Alexei Uchi-
tel, who was Golden Globe-nominated FATHERS AND SONS
Caroline Link Takes a
for his drama “The Edge” in 2011.
Uchitel’s production studio Rock
Films has two other titles in the World
Journey to North Africa
Cinema section: Yuri Bykov’s “The Major”
and “Friends from France,” coproduced
by France, Germany, Russia and Canada.
The strong slate of new Russian films
will also be shown at the DOORS inter- German helmer of ‘Nowhere in Morocco, immersing themselves in the
national travelling film market organized Africa’ returns to Toronto with her local culture. She returned to the coun-
by Roskino with support of the Ministry latest pic set on the continent try a few years ago with Peter Herrmann,
G
of Culture and Ministry of Foreign Affairs who had produced “Nowhere in Africa.”
in St. Petersburg in late September. LEO BARRACLOUGH Link persuaded him to back a project set
Successes at the Russian box office this ERMAN DIRECTOR Caroline Link, in Morocco, but, at that stage, without a
year include Anton Megerdichev’s subway who won the foreign-language story, just the idea of a father-son road
disaster movie “Metro,” which earned $12 film Oscar with “Nowhere in movie set in motion by a disagreement.
million, and Nikolay Lebedev’s “Legend Africa,” is in Toronto with her “When I start writing screenplays, I
#17,” a biopic of the late Soviet hockey star latest film, “Exit Marrakech.” always think about scenes and moments
Valery Kharlamov, an even bigger hit with She feels at home at the festival, Link first. It’s not a typical way of creating a
a domestic total of $29.5 million. tells Variety. story,” she says.
This fall, promising titles on the sked “I have shown all my movies in Toronto, Herrmann says he had faith in the
include Fedor Bondarchuk’s ambitious and I have the feeling that this is a place director. “Caroline is an excellent story-
epic “Stalingrad,” set during one of the where they understand me, where they teller, and this is rare in Germany,” he
greatest battles of WWII. Other notable like and appreciate my work,” she says. says. “She is extremely good at directing I have shown
premieres include Alexandr Veledinsky’s In his program notes, Toronto’s artistic actors and has an unbelievable sensibil- all my movies
generational drama “The Geographer director Cameron Bailey writes, “Like a ity for the emotional structure of a film.” in Toronto,
Drank His Globe Away,” Renat Davletiar- fresher, contemporary Paul Bowles sto- Link found the story of competition and I have the
feeling that
ov’s retro melodrama “Once, “Anton Bor- ry, ‘Exit Marrakech’ offers a glimpse of between father and son had a strong res- this is a place
matov’s soccer hooligan thriller “Kicking what can happen when a Westerner is onance in a male-dominated society like where they
Off” and “Break Loose,” opening after its confronted with the radically unfamiliar.” Morocco. understand
Toronto Film Fest debut. “What I’m really tired of are the cliched “In combination with this culture, me.”
images we have of Morocco. It’s not always I found it more interesting to have a Caroline Link
sweet, good smelling and lush. People are competitive relationship between father
living in poverty. It’s dirty, it stinks. I want- and child. I didn’t want it to be the
ed to make that visible. It has a kind of vio- father-daughter thing, like in my other
lence, brutality and danger to it,” she says. movies. I liked the idea of the generation-
“Exit Marrakech” centers on Ben, a al conflict between an older man and a
17-year-old German boy (played by Samu- younger man,” she says.
el Schneider) who visits his father (Ulrich Link’s films are not plot driven; she
Tukur) in Morocco. After the two fall out, focuses more on exploring emotions and
the boy plunges himself into the street life relationships.
of Morocco, but when he follows a beautiful “It’s a bit of an experiment for me: How
young woman (Hafsia Herzi) to her Berber far can I go with a movie where I don’t
village, he finds he is out of his depth. really tell a very strong story. It’s very
Link drew on her own experience 22 much about feelings, moments, situations
CRIMER Gangster-themed “Break Loose” years ago when she and her husband, and atmosphere. Morocco is the third pro-
screens Friday at Scotiabank 2. director Dominik Moll, travelled around tagonist,” she says.
2
Advertorial
TheBiz | TORONTO INT’L FILM FESTIVAL
CURRYING AN AUDIENCE
Gentle Edge
for Indian Pic
‘Romance’
PATRICK FRATER
P
ERVERSELY, THE most interesting
feature of “Random Desi Romance”
(aka Shuddh Desi Romance), which
plays as a gala premiere later this week,
may be its ordinariness.
“Romance” is not one of the mold-break-
ing “Hindie-indies” or new Indian art-
house pics. But it’s a perfect example of
the modern-day Bollywood mainstream.
Mainstream Bollywood has often
got away with being more radical than
most people imagine. In a country where
arranged marriages are still prevalent, RACING HEARTS Olivia Wilde and Chris Hemsworth stopped by the Variety studio to talk about “Rush.”
Bollywood usually promotes love matches.
Helmed by U.S.-educated writer-direc- STUDIO SCENES
tor Maneesh Sharma, the standard-fare
love triangle, played by mid-level stars
Talent Turns Out to
Talk Up Toronto Titles
Sushant Singh Rajput, Parineeti Chopra
and Vaani Kapoor, gets slightly radical
in its openness about premarital sex and
onscreen kissing.
“We don’t normally show our films
to festivals, so we were very gratified McQueen, Ejiofor, Gyllenhaal were Joining her on Saturday were “12
that Cameron Bailey liked it,” says Avtar among bizzers who spoke with Years a Slave” director Steve McQueen
Variety Studio interviewers
T
Panesar, head of international at the film’s and cast members Chiwetel Ejiofor and
producer, Yash Raj Films. “The message Michael Fassbender were still beaming
is that it doesn’t matter where you live — HE VARIETY Studio raced into from Friday night’s premiere.
you are as modern as you think you are.” action this weekend at the “There’s actors and there’s ARTISTS,”
Toronto Film Festival. McQueen said of his cast, adding that
Hugh Jackman and Jake Ejiofor was fearless in his much-buzzed
REBEL ROUSER Gyllenhaal sat down for video about perf.
interviews prior to Warners’ premiere Other guests for the day included
Burnett to Return of “Prisoners” Friday night while Chris
Hemsworth and Olivia Wilde stopped by
Kristen Wiig, “Bad Words” director/actor
Jason Bateman, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica
With Algerian Pic to promote U’s racing pic “Rush.” Lange, “Gravity” director Alfonso Cua-
“I likened the story to Magic John- ron, Idris Elba and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
There’s actors
C
DAVE McNARY son and Larry Bird,” Wilde said. “They The Variety Studio, located at Holt and there’s
HARLES BURNETT, the “Killer of needed each others’ competitive spirit to Renfrew, runs through Tuesday. ARTISTS.”
Sheep” helmer who has largely achieve greatness!” — Variety staff Steve McQueen
been absent from theaters in the
last decade, has come on to helm a movie
based on the life of 19th century Algerian SALES on “2 Guns,” admitted he was perplexed
leader Abdelkader. CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 that activity had not ramped up further
The Algerian Ministry of Culture and “It’s a good market for actor-driven but speculated that many deals will need
Los Angeles-based Cinema Libre Studio titles, and we’ll see it reflected in the several more weeks to close.
have signed an agreement to co-produce. number of sales this year,” said UTA’s “There are a lot of good films for sale,
Cinema Libre topper Philippe Diaz is Rena Ronson. “The financing market is but I’ve also noticed that sales take more
producing with Mustapha Orif, general very healthy, and it’s led to some poten- and more time,” he added.
manager at Algeria’s AARC. tially great Academy films like ‘Inside Five-month-old International Film
Lensing will start in November in Alge- Llewyn Davis,’ ‘August: Osage,’ ‘Foxcatch- Trust saw solid interest on a pair of proj-
ria. Burnett also looked at Africa in 2008 er’ and ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ — films that ects — Ethan Hawke’s “Cymbeline,” now
docu “Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation.” the studios are not financing.” in production with Dakota Johnson in the
Abdelkader fought French coloniza- Ronson said funding sources are get- cast; and “Your Voice in My Head,” star-
tion and raised an army in Syria in 1860 ting more sophisticated. “Five or six years ring Emma Watson.
to save more than 12,000 Christians who ago, people just wanted to get into it,” she “I think summer was not easy for put-
JONATHAN LEIBSON/GETTY
were in danger of being massacred. added. “Now they ask for more diligent ting projects together so the market was
“Due to what is happening in the modeling and pre-sales. They’re looking not overly saturated,” said International
world right now, I can’t see any movie at the big picture a little more closely.” Film Trust prexy Ariel Veneziano. “Cym-
that is more important to be made today,” Marc Damon of Foresight Unlimited, beline” sold to Japan, Australia, Russia/
Diaz said. who oversaw impressive sales last year CIS, Eastern Europe, Turkey and Greece.
4
A FILM BY ANDRZEJ WAJDA
Reviews
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Thesp earns place in ‘Club’
A
PETER DEBRUGE
ny doubt that still exists
in audiences’ minds as to
Matthew McConaughey’s
talents as an actor will
no doubt be put to rest
by “Dallas Buyers Club,” for which the
6-foot Texan star shed 38 pounds to
play Ron Woodruff, the unlikely mas-
termind behind a scheme to circumvent
the FDA by delivering unapproved
treatments to AIDS patients during
the late ’80s. But McConaughey’s is not
the only performance of note in this
riveting and surprisingly relatable true
story, which co-stars Jared Leto as his
transsexual accomplice. Rave reviews
for both actors should draw main-
stream auds to one of the year’s most
vital and deserving indie efforts.
Nearly 20 years after launching his
career as a hayseed hunk in “Dazed and
Confused” and “Texas Chainsaw Mas-
sacre: The Next Generation,” McCo-
naughey subverts that macho image by REDNECK RESCUE Matthew McConaughey transforms himself again, playing an HIV-positive homophobe who helps
playing a redneck bigot gets the right treatments to AIDS patients in Jean-Marc Vallee’s “Dallas Buyers’ Club.”
Dallas
Buyers Club who becomes the unlike-
Director: ly savior to a generation and methamphetamines), leading him full immersion, and the star — whose
Jean-Marc Vallee of gay men frightened by to experiment with a cocktail of poten- recent roles in everything from “Mag-
Starring:
Matthew
a disease they don’t yet Reviewed at Toronto tial remedies not yet sanctioned by the ic Mike” to “Mud” have shown his com-
Film Festival (Special
McConaughey, understand. Woodruff FDA. The film pits Woodruff against mitment to total transformation — is
Presentations), Sept. 7, 2013.
Jennifer Garner,
Denis O’Hare was straight and repre- Running time: 117 MIN. the FDA and Big Pharma — positioning almost unrecognizable, apart from his
A Focus Features release
hensibly homophobic to presented with Truth
him as the rule-breaking Robin Hood charisma: a bony scarecrow of a man
boot, but his newfound outcast status Entertainment of a Voltage who circumvents their profit-oriented with shaggy brown hair and a Freddy
Pictures/R Films/Evolution
inspired a sense of empathy toward his Independent production.
practices in order to get effective treat- Mercury moustache.
HIV-positive peers that not only moti- Produced by Robbie ments into the hands of people. Leto’s character, Rayon, is sensitive,
Brenner, Rachel Winter.
vated his actions but also serves as this Executive producers,
The drug companies are shown considerate and not quite self-reliant.
exceptionally well-handled pic’s most David Bushell, Nathan Ross, conspiring with hospitals to rush In another movie, audiences would root
Tony Notargiacomo, Joe
valuable takeaway. Newcomb, Nicolas Chartier,
AZT through the system, even when for his sort to escape such a backward
What makes the character so inter- Zev Foreman, Logan Levy, research points to the medicine’s immu- place, but here, he’s the queer char-
Holly Wiersma, Cassian
esting is the way a man so driven by Elwes. Co-producers, Michael
nity-lowering side effects. At the same acter just nonthreatening enough to
selfishness could undergo such a rever- Sledd, Parry Creedon. time, the FDA appears to be drag- break through Woodruff’s homophobic
Directed by Jean-Marc
sal after his own life was threatened. Vallee. Screenplay, Craig
ging out the approval process on other defenses, inspiring an act of chivalry in
Craig Borten and Melisa Wallack’s Borten, Melisa Wallack. promising options, which means thou- the grocery store that ranks among the
Camera (color, Panavision
screenplay wastes little time getting to widescreen), Yves Belanger;
sands will die before existing products all-time great prejudice-melting scenes.
the diagnosis: After a workplace acci- editors, John Mac McMurphy, get approved. Although shot on a relatively tight
Martin Pensa; production
dent lands him in the hospital, Wood- designer, John Paino; art
“Dallas Buyers Club” unfolds almost budget, the film convincingly re-creates
ruff is told that he has HIV by a pair director, Javiera Varas; set like a crazy heist movie: It’s the story the period via a gritty widescreen look
decorator, Robert Covelman;
of doctors (Denis O’Hare and Jennifer costume designers, Kurt
of how one incredibly motivated creep that suits Vallee’s naturalistic style.
Garner) on the brink of implementing a and Bart; sound (Dolby managed to circumvent the system and By choosing such a vocally homopho-
Digital), Dick Hansen; stunt
new double-blind AZT trial. Since best coordinator, Alex Terzieff;
redeem himself in the process. bic antihero, writers Borten and Wal-
estimates give him only 30 days to live, sound supervisor, Martin Canadian helmer Jean-Marc Vallee lack ensure that no matter how uncom-
Pinsonnault; visual effects
Woodruff decides he can’t risk ending supervisor, Marc Cote; visual
makes no effort to polish Woodruff’s fortable audiences are with HIV or
up in the placebo group and devises a effects, Fake Studio; assistant unrefined and frequently offensive so-called alternative lifestyles, they will
director, Mark Stevens;
way to scam some of the drug. casting, Kerry Barden, Paul
worldview. Meanwhile, McConaughey recognize Woodruff’s knee-jerk bigot-
After a second near-death experi- Schnee, Rich Delia. never lets himself off the hook with ry as uncool. The film manages to edu-
With: Matthew
ence south of the border, Woodruff real- McConaughey, Jennifer
that apologetic wink so often tossed off cate without ever feeling didactic and
izes that AZT only makes his condi- Garner, Denis O’Hare, Steve when actors play someone whose poli- to entertain in the face of what would,
Zahn, Michael O’Neill, Dallas
tion worse (especially when combined Roberts, Griffin Dunne, Kevin
tics they don’t necessarily share. to any other character, seem like a grim
with his steady diet of cocaine, booze Rankin, Jared Leto. The role calls for nothing short of life sentence.
6
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EXXLI8SVSRXS-RXIVREXMSREP*MPQ*IWXMZEP
Laying the foundation for greatness
Reviews
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Gandolfini
Charms in
One of His
Last Roles
F
JUSTIN CHANG
or good and for ill, the spirit
of Woody Allen continues
to loom large over the films
of Nicole Holofcener: Her
fifth feature, “Enough Said,”
could have borne the less elegant title of
“Ex-Husbands and Ex-Wives.” Principal-
ly concerned with the pleasures, pitfalls
and unreasonable expectations that can
accompany romance after marriage, this
enjoyably meandering ensemble com- CHEMISTRY James Gandolfini and Julia Louis-Dreyfus make an appealing couple in Nicole Holofcener’s fifth film.
edy sets up a small Los Angeles-based
constellation of characters around Eva
(Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a divorced mom museum of TV history; the sex is great, While the conversation sparkles and
warily embracing an unexpected second if a bit tricky due to body size differenc- amuses as ever, there are indications
shot at love. If Holofcener’s recogniz- es; and Eva feels entirely comfortable here that Holofcener’s uniquely percep-
able style of barbed yet compassion- around him in a way she hasn’t felt with tive voice has begun to calcify somewhat
ate emotional probing is anyone in years. into a familiar house style. Immaculate-
Enough Said showing some mild signs of While it retains the somewhat shape- ly shot by Xavier Grobet, “Enough Said”
Director:
Nicole mainstream blandification, less, character-driven story approach may be her cleanest, most polished and
Holofcener the presence of a wonderful that has characterized all the writ- broadly funny effort to date; its emo-
Starring:
Julia Louis- James Gandolfini in one of er-director’s work so far, “Enough tional generosity is undeniable, but so
Dreyfus, his final screen performanc- Said” hinges on a plot twist that is fair- is its tendency to smooth over some of
James
Gandolfini, es represents a huge plus ly guessable from the get-go, but the the hard, brittle edges that have been
Catherine that could draw more eyes script gets it out of the way early on. the more interesting hallmarks of Holof-
Keener,
than usual to this Sept. 20 Suffice to say that Eva’s ongoing assess- cener’s work. Doing the most to coun-
Fox Searchlight release. ment of Albert, compulsively rearrang- teract these tendencies is Gandolfi-
Following her New York-set feature Reviewed at Toronto
ing his pros and cons, leads her into ni, his eyes twinkling with good humor
“Please Give,” Holofcener is back in the Film Festival (Special something of a moral gray zone that in what will likely be remembered
Presentations), Sept. 7, 2013.
L.A. she explored in “Lovely & Amaz- MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running
forces her to grapple with some difficult as one of his warmest, most vulnera-
ing” and “Friends With Money,” a gently time: 92 MIN. if hardly new questions: Why are some ble and enjoyable performances. Never
A Fox Searchlight Pictures
sun-dappled realm populated by mid- release and presentation of
couples compatible and others are not? vain or self-conscious, the actor gamely
dle-class white characters whose vari- a Likely Story production How can one woman’s ex be another’s embraces a character whose unhealthy
in association with TSG
ous hang-ups and insecurities are held Entertainment and Ingenious
soulmate? Is self-improvement possible, diet and sizable gut are regular subjects
up for gentle comic scrutiny. A decided- Media. Produced by Anthony or is happiness more a matter of accep- of conversation and occasional con-
Bregman, Stefanie Azpiazu.
ly well-off masseuse preparing to send Executive producer, Chrisann
tance and compromise? tempt, making clear that Albert knows
her daughter Ellen (Tracey Fairaway) off Verges. The Allen influence is most pro- his personal defects well and needs
Directed, written by Nicole
to college, Eva isn’t really looking for a Holofcener. Camera (color),
nounced in the way Holofcener engages someone who can acknowledge them
boyfriend when she attends a party and Xavier Grobet; editor, these issues using a mix of tart, offhand with kind acceptance.
Robert Frazen; music,
meets Albert (Gandolfini), himself the Marcelo Zarvos; music
observations and earnest philosoph- Amazingly, this is Louis-Dreyfus’
divorced father of a university-bound supervisor, Liza Richardson; ical digressions, setting in motion a first live-action film role since Allen’s
production designer,
daughter. But the two hit it off on a first Keith Cunningham; art
free-flowing dialogue about issues of life, “Deconstructing Harry” (1997), and
date, during which Eva’s sometimes director, Luke Freeborn; set love, class and contentment. A key voice while she’s frequently delightful here,
decorator, Douglas Mowat;
blunt, awkward remarks find a warm costume designer, Leah
in the discussion is that of Eva’s mas- her funny expressions and unthink-
complement in Albert’s humorous, easy- Katznelson; sound (Dolby sage client Marianne (Catherine Keen- ing outbursts at times suggest glib sit-
Digital/Datasat/SDSDS), Lisa
going manner, and things swiftly turn Pinero; supervising sound
er), a published poet with an airy, friend- com beats. Still, by the end, the actress
serious for the new couple. editor, Lora Hirschberg; ly manner and exquisite taste in home has brought Eva to a place of appre-
sound designer, Pete
Euphemistically describing her new Horner; re-recording mixers,
furnishings; her own divorce remains ciable depth, aided in no small part by
beau as “not classically handsome,” Eva Hirschberg, Horner; assistant enough of a sore spot that she advises Gandolfini, with whom she generates a
director, Jesse Nye; casting,
readily admits that he’s heavier than she Jeanne McCarthy.
Eva to proceed with some caution. Pro- marvelous onscreen chemistry.
would like, and he is, by his own admis- With: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, viding another perspective on the matter The supporting cast is excellent
James Gandolfini, Catherine
sion, a bit of a slob, with a lightly clut- Keener, Toni Collette,
is Eva’s therapist friend Sarah (Toni Col- across the board, with Collette’s Sarah
tered house and a garden overrun with Tavi Gevinson, Ben lette), whose own reasonably happy mar- emerging a tetchy but sympathetic fig-
Falcone, Tracey Fairaway,
weeds. At the same time, he’s tender Eve Hewson, Anjelah
riage to Will (Ben Falcone) is not with- ure, and Keener clearly having fun as
and sweet; he has an interesting job at a Johnson-Reyes. out its regular challenges. an aging hippie turned decor queen.
8Reviews
GALA PRESENTATIONS
True WWII
Tale Shows
an Overly
Placid Style
O
PETER DEBRUGE
ffering closure to a less-
told chapter of World War
II history, “The Railway
Man” retraces the tracks
of an exceptional man’s
life, as former British soldier Eric
Lomax confronts the Japanese officer
who tortured him as a prisoner of war
nearly four decades earlier. This overly TORTURED SOUL Colin Firth is suffering from the trauma of his war experiences in “The Railway Man”
stodgy true story brought audiences
first to tears and later to their feet Although Lomax belongs to a sup- as the now-elderly Lomax confronts
for a rousing standing ovation at the port group of sorts back home in Ber- Nagase Takashi (Hiroyuki Sanada, who
Toronto Film Festival with its placid, wick-upon-Tweed, he and a dozen other looks nothing like younger actor Tan-
postcard-worthy view of how men of survivors keep mum about their experi- roh Ishida) and subjects him to a frac-
a certain generation cope with deep ence (this code of silence makes the fact tion of the same treatment. How often
emotional scars, tenderly acted by that Lomax agreed to tell his story at all have we seen this story from the Nazi
Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman, as a rare thing among former Pacific-the- side of things, where liberated Jews get
Lomax and the woman who ater POWs). Concerned, Patti convinc- the upper hand on their tormentors?
The Railway
Man inspired his healing. Too es one of their lot, Lomax’s best friend, Still, though the Death Railway horrors
Director: delicate to entice the mass- Finlay (Stellan Skarsgard), to explain were no less reprehensible, and Lomax
Jonathan
Teplitzky es, “The Railway Man” will Reviewed at Toronto Film what her husband refuses to discuss, would be well within his means to go
Starring: likely give a smaller distrib Festival (Gala Presentations),
which invites a long flashback in which all Simon Wiesenthal on Nagase, the
Colin Firth, Sept. 6, 2013. Running time:
Nicole a dark horse in the awards 116 MIN. we learn of the arduous conditions film takes too respectful a tone for any
Kidman, (Australia-U.K.) A Screen
race. Australia presentation in
Lomax (played by “War Horse’s” Jeremy genuine retribution to occur.
Jeremy Irvine
There’s something decid- association with Silver Irvine as a young man) and his fellow Instead, “The Railway Man” depicts
Reel, Screen Queensland,
edly old-fashioned — and also dull as Creative Scotland, Screen
soldiers faced in the Japanese intern- a case of truth and reconciliation before
dishwater — about Jonathan Teplitz- NSW, Lionsgate U.K. of an ment camps. Caught with a contraband such attitudes became the accepted way
Andy Paterson, Pictures
ky’s retelling of events: The contem- in Paradise, Trinifold
radio, Lomax had it worst of all, endur- of coping with unspeakable human-
porary sequences, set in 1980, unfold production in association ing incredible torture as the Japanese rights violations. As in “A Single Man,”
with Davis Films, Latitude
like scenes in a 1940s studio picture as Media. (International
tried to force a confession. Firth excels at tapping into deep pools
Lomax (played by Colin Firth) meets sales: Lionsgate Intl., This treatment, which included of personal suffering, which comes
Santa Monica.) Produced
the unsuspecting Patti (Kidman) in by Andy Paterson, Chris
being beaten with bamboo and water- across all the more poignant when he
a train compartment. The characters Brown, Bill Curbishley. boarding, would be enough to break takes the high road.
Executive producers, Claudia
even make reference to David Lean’s Bluemhuber, Ian Hutchinson,
anyone’s spirit, and sure enough, Lomax The very last minute of the film is
“Brief Encounter,” which seems to be Zygi Kamasa, Nick Manzi, was never the same again — which far and away the most effective, sug-
Daria Jovicic, Anand Tucker.
running through Lomax’s mind when Co-producer, Annalise Davis.
explains why both he and Finlay are gesting that perhaps the unexpected
he later intercepts the elegant stranger Co-executive producers, so incensed when the Japanese trans- consequences of Lomax and Nagase’s
Samuel Hadida, Victor
at Edinburgh’s Waverly Station. Hadida.
lator who participated in their torture reunion (captured in the documentary
Lomax is a self-professed “railway Directed by Jonathan resurfaces unpunished, finding work as “Enemy, My Friend”) form a richer sto-
Teplitzky. Screenplay,
enthusiast,” you see. He worked as a Frank Cottrell Boyce, Andy
a tour guide at the country’s Kempeit- ry than the incidents leading up to it.
signals engineer in the service and nev- Paterson, based on the ai War Museum in the ’80s. Upsetting Regardless, it’s astonishing that Lomax
memoir by Eric Lomax.
er lost his love of trains, despite being Camera (color, widescreen),
as it sounds, everything unfolds entire- was able to let go of his hatred and still
forced to build Thailand’s notorious Garry Phillips; editor, Martin ly according to the parameters of good find place in his heart for all things
Connor; music, David
“Death Railway” after being taken pris- Hirschfelder; production
taste, as Terplitzky gradually reveals the railroad-related, which Frank Cottrell
oner in Singapore, circa 1942. Patti can designer, Steven Jones- degree of cruelty Lomax faced in captiv- Boyce and Andy Paterson’s script attri-
Evans; art director, Nicki
sense that there’s something not quite McCallum; costume designer,
ity, shooting everything in polite period butes to Patti’s presence in his life.
right about Lomax when they meet — Lizzy Gardiner; sound, Colin re-creations. The secret weapon here is Austra-
Nicolson; re-recording mixer,
a certain frazzled professorial quali- Gethin Creagh; visual effects
During the first half of the film, Firth lian composer David Hirschfelder, who
ty that masks just how much trauma supervisor, James Rogers; has it relatively easy, as Patti accepts previously collaborated with Teplitz-
line producer, Barbara Gibbs;
he’s still coping with as a result of his associate producers, Oliver
Lomax’s suffering vicariously and ky on “Better Than Sex” and before that
captivity. It’s not until after the cou- Veysey, Michelle Sahayan; Irvine’s younger version of the character on such indelible Oz scores as “Strict-
casting, Nikki Barrett.
ple is married that she realizes how the Cast: Colin Firth, Nicole
acts out the full passion play of abuse: ly Ballroom” and “Shine,” whose time-
nightmares still haunt him, while fan- Kidman, Jeremy Irvine, beaten, emaciated and still too proud to less theme conveys all of the hurt and
Stellan Skarsgard, Sam Reid,
tasies of revenge continue to dominate Tanroh Ishida, Hiroyuki
tell them anything but the truth. How- forgiveness which the film otherwise
his waking thoughts. Sanada. ever, the equation balances in the end, underplays onscreen.
10Reviews
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Youthful
Helmer’s
Kinky Noir
is His Best
L
GUY LODGE
usciously coiffed Quebe-
cois prodigy Xavier Dolan
overreached with last year’s
“Laurence Anyways,” a
three-hour transgender saga
that overindulged his admittedly strik-
ing stylistic affectations. Perhaps even
he agreed, since “Tom at the Farm,” the
24-year-old hyphenate’s delicious fourth
feature — and first excursion into genre
terrain — is a trimmer, tarter effort all SUSPENSEFUL Based on a stage play, “Tom at the Farm” has elements of both Patricia Highsmith and Hitchcock.
round. Perhaps not coincidentally, it’s
also his first collaboration with anoth- his poseur-ish charisma and lacquered
er writer. A kinky queer noir detailing townie feel as unwelcome as possible. good looks.) Viewers will either go with
the dangers awaiting a gay Montreal That’s putting it coyly: Francis assaults the film’s gradual dramatic divorce
hipster (Dolan) as he journeys to the Tom both in bed and in a toilet cubi- from accountable human behaviour —
homophobic heartland for his lover’s cle, threatening him with more consid- a move that coincides with its plum-
funeral, it’s an improbably erably more grievous harm if he reveals meting emotional temperature — and
Tom at exciting match of knife- the true nature of his relationship with borderline-silly narrative switchbacks,
the Farm
Director: edge storytelling and a Guillaume. or they won’t, but the helmer seems in
Xavier Dolan. florid vintage aesthetic After Tom obtusely reneges on his cool command of the tone throughout.
Starring:
Xavier Dolan, best represented by Gabriel first opportunity to escape by car, how- It’s a short leap, of course, from
Pierre-Yves Yared’s glorious orchestral ever, the film shifts intriguingly into a Highsmith to Hitchcock — not that
Cardinal
score. Dolan’s most accom- defiantly irrational mode of reality and “Tom at the Farm” has anything in com-
plished and enjoyable work to date, it’s game playing. Increasingly turned on mon with “Strangers on a Train,” bar-
also his most commercially viable. by his vicious tormentor, who in turn ring the obvious homoerotic ancestry.
Opening with a swooning interrupts his brutish bullying with iso- Though he shows an unexpected knack
French-language rendition of Michel lated moments of brazen flirtatiousness, in the film’s opening and closing stages
Legrand’s “The Windmills of Your Tom tacitly acquiesces to stay on at the for razor-cut suspense, Dolan fosters the
Mind” and closing with Rufus Wain- farm, wearing his lover’s clothes, carry- Hitch connection mainly through the
wright’s anguished escape anthem ing out pastoral chores and accepting lush strings of Yared’s almost ever-pres-
Reviewed at Venice Film
“Going to a Town,” the film could as Festival (competing), Sept.
Francis’ physical abuse. By the time the ent score, one so uncannily in thrall to
easily have cribbed a lyric from Blur’s 1, 2013. (Also in Toronto pair are performing a sensual tango in a Bernard Herrmann that viewers familiar
Film Festival — Special
“Coffee & TV”: “Do you go to the coun- Presentations.) Running
honey-lit barn, viewers might think the with Dolan’s previous output — hither-
try / It isn’t very far / There’re people time: 103 MIN. Original title: film has morphed into a warped fanta- to reliant on tastefully curated jukebox
“Tom a la ferme”
there who will hurt you / Because of (Canada-France) An MK2
sy perspective — a viewpoint that could soundtracks — may initially assume he’s
who you are.” That’s exactly what Tom presentation of an MK2, Sons as easily be attributed to either man. sampling extracts from lesser-known
of Manual production in
(a bottle-blond Dolan) learns when he association with Arte France
But when Sara (Evelyne Brochu), both a film scores from the Golden Age of noir.
heads to Quebec’s rural flatlands to Cinema, Arte/Copinova 9. friend of Tom’s and Guillaume’s regular So overwhelming and insistent as to
(International sales: MK2,
bury his 25-year-old lover, Guillaume. Paris.) Produced by Xavier
beard, arrives belatedly on the scene, constitute a narrative voice in itself,
That involves accepting the hos- Dolan, Nathanael Karmitz, the situation careers into even more Yared’s work constitutes a significant
Charles Gillibert. Executive
pitality of the dead man’s mother, producer, Nancy Grant.
heated realms of conflict. formal risk, but its sweeping intricacy
Agathe (Lise Roy), an apparent salt-of- Directed, edited by Xavier Though the film is based on a stage stands in sufficiently stark contrast to
Dolan. Screenplay, Michel-
the-earth type living on her late hus- Marc Bouchard, Dolan,
play by Michel-Marc Bouchard (who the film’s otherwise contempo-chic con-
band’s isolated dairy farm with Guillau- based on the stage play by shares screenwriting credit with Dolan), struction to make it a thrilling one.
Bouchard. Camera (color),
me’s handsome, volatile older brother, Andre Turpin; music,
there’s more than a hint of Patricia Meanwhile, as even Dolan’s detrac-
Francis (Pierre-Yves Cardinal). Agathe Gabriel Yared; production Highsmith to this heady tale of elas- tors have come to expect from his work,
designer, Colombe Raby;
is still blind to her younger son’s sex- costume designer, Dolan;
tically assumed identities and eroti- the film looks as gorgeous as it sounds,
uality, having bought his cover story sound, Sylvain Brassard; line cally charged male rivalry; it hardly with Andre Turpin’s rich, crisply com-
producer, Carole Mondello;
about a girlfriend in Montreal, though associate producer, Lyse
seems accidental that Dolan’s increas- posed lensing effectively playing the
she’s irked that said g.f. has skipped LaFontaine. ingly unknowable protagonist shares a landscape’s bleak, affectless minimal-
With: Xavier Dolan, Pierre-
the funeral, sending this somewhat fey Yves Cardinal, Lise Roy,
Christian name with Highsmith’s devi- ism against its deep autumnal coloring.
young man in her place. Francis has Evelyne Brochu, Manuel ous antihero, Tom Ripley. (Though still Working, as ever, as his own costume
Tadros, Jacques Lavallee,
known the truth all along, however, Anne Caron, Olivier Morin.
not a natural screen actor, Dolan has designer, Dolan makes even mud-splat-
and sets immediately about making the (French dialogue) hit upon an ideally tailored role for tered workwear look a tiny bit fabulous.
12Reviews
FILMS FROM ISRAEL
AT THE TORONTO INT’L
FILM FESTIVAL 2013
BETHLEHEM
Director: Yuval Adler
Producers: Talia Kleinhendler & Osnat Handelsman-Keren,
Pie Films Ltd. – Israel / Diana Elbaum & Sebastian Delloye,
POM WONDERFUL Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson’s in-joke sends up horrror sexploitation. Entre Chien et Loup – Belgium / Steve Hudson & Sonja Ewers,
Gringo Films – Germany
MIDNIGHT MADNESS Screenplay: Yuval Adler & Ali Waked
International Sales: Westend Films – Eve Schoukroun
‘Die’ Has Fun with Genre
E-mail: eve@westendfilms.com
Website: www.westendfilms.com
MON SEP 9 22:00 SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3 (OFFICIAL SCREENING)
WED SEP 11 16:00 SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4
SUN SEP 15 18:30 SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4
DENNIS HARVEY
until now apparently enjoyed intima-
PRESS & INDUSTRY:
I
ndie horror specialists Lucky cies with Maddy not strictly emotional SUN SEP 8 16:30 SCOTIABANK THEATRE 5
McKee (“May,” “The Woman”) in nature. She’s lurking around, spying WED SEP 11 14:15 SCOTIABANK THEATRE 7
and Chris Sivertson (“The Lost,” on her ex’s Sapphic seduction of Tra-
“I Know Who Killed Me”) team cy at a party in the woods, when a vio-
up on “All Cheerleaders Die,” a lent girls-vs.-boys argument results in
campy bloodfest very different from a deadly car accident. Leena uses her
the grimly serious if sometimes black- trusty magic Wiccan stones to revive
ly comedic genre exercises they’ve the deceased, and by morning, sever-
made separately since 2001, when they al not-so-dead cheerleaders are back in
co-directed a short under the same class — albeit with two sisters (Reanin
title. This saga of ill-fated pom-pom Johannink and Amanda Grace Cooper) THE WONDERS (PLAOT)
Director: Avi Nesher
girls who return from death to wreak now inconveniently stuck in each oth- Producers: Moshe Edery, Leon Edery – United King Films
David Silber – Metro Communications
vengeance will amuse if not wow jaded er’s bodies, and all afflicted by a new Avi Nesher – Artomas Communications
horror fans; more gullible ones, howev- desire to suck the life force from any Screenplay: Avi Nesher & Shaanan Streett
World Sales: Ronna B. Wallace, Eastgate Pictures, LLC
er, may miss the joke and think this is nearby male — specially obnoxious foot- E-mail: rowestgate@aol.com
simply a particularly dumb example of ball-playing ones.
SUN SEP 8 18:45 SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4
the kind of supernatural sexploitation Mashing together elements redolent TUE SEP 10 15:15 TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX CINEMA 2
it’s sending up. Home-format prospects of “The Craft,” “Species,” “Pet Sematary” SUN SEP 15 12:15 SCOTIABANK 3
look decent, theatrical ones thin. and anything featuring toned young PRESS & INDUSTRY:
The opening introduces us to subur- bods jiggling booty and tossing hair MON SEP 9 11:30 SCOTIABANK THEATRE 9
ban Cali Blackfoot High’s cheer squad, in slo-mo, “All Cheerleaders Die” has
led by creme-de-la-mean-girl-creme fun with its umpteen cliches. Still, the
Alexis, aka Lexi (Felisha satirical edge is underplayed enough
All Cheer- Cooper), though in her to make some viewers wonder whether
leaders Die
Director: reckless braggadocio, she the film is faux-stupid or the real thing.
Lucky McKee, executes a high jump that The most overt gags are musical: two
Chris Sivertson
Starring: ends in a fatal head inju- interludes in which the Prague Sym-
Caitlin Stasey, ry. Three months later, phony Orchestra provides utterly incon-
Sianoa A PLACE IN HEAVEN (MAKOM BE GAN EDEN)
Smit-McPhee the other cheerleaders are gruous flowery-string-section backing, Director: Joseph Madmony
Producers: David Mandil, Moshe Edery, Leon Edery -
starting senior year, with and a final credits crawl mocking such A Place in Heaven LP
Lexi’s demise leaving one slot open for sequences’ tendency to cram in too Screenplay: Joseph Madmony
Sales Contact: Movie Plus Productions
a newcomer. many last-minute “various artist” tunes E-mail: leelu@movieplus.info
It’s won by hitherto disinterest- to pad an original-soundtrack release. MON SEP 9 18:45 SCOTIABANK THEATRE 14
ed Maddy (Caitlin Stasey), who gets in McKee and Sivertson’s in-joke is a WED SEP 11 18:45 SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4
because she’s acrobatically flexible and fond, briskly diverting homage, but not SUN SEP 15 09:15 SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3
was once the dead girl’s best friend. Lit- a truly inspired one. PRESS & INDUSTRY:
tle do her teammates suspect that Mad- SUN SEP 8 16:00 SCOTIABANK THEATRE 7
dy has only joined in order to avenge
Reviewed at Toronto Film designer, Krista Gall; art
her pal’s death. She takes particular Festival (Midnight Madness), director, Mars Feehery;
ISRAEL FILM FUND
offense at the fact that replacement Sept. 6, 2013. Running time: costume designer, Oneita
TEL: +972-3-5628180, FAX: +972-3-5625992
89 MIN. Parker; sound, Ed White; sound
leader Tracy (Brooke Butler), a seem- A Moderncine production. designer/re-recording mixer,
INFO@FILMFUND.CO.IL / WWW.FILMFUND.ORG.IL
ingly bitchy blonde who’s secretly nice, Produced by Andrew van Andrew Smetek; assistant
THE YEHOSHUA RABINOVIC H FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS
den Houten, Robert Tonino. director, Cassandra Laymon;
and Lexi’s star-quarterback former boy- Executive producer, Arrien casting, Lindsay Chag.
CINEMA PROJECT / INFO@CINEMAPROJECT.ORG.IL
TEL: +972-3-5255020 / FAX: +972-3-5255130
friend, Terry (Tom Williamson), scarce- Schittkamp. With: Caitlin Stasey, Sianoa
WWW.CINEMAPROJECT.ORG.IL
Directed, written by Lucky Smit-McPhee, Brooke Butler,
ly waited for the corpse to cool before McKee, Chris Sivertson. Tom Williamson, Amanda
starting to date. Camera (color, HD), Greg Grace Cooper, Reanin Ministry
of Culture
Ephraim; editors, Ben La Johannink, Jordan Wilson, and Sport
Viewing all this with dismay is goth Marca, Zach Passero; music, Leigh Parker, Chris Petrovski,
girl Leena (Sianoa Smit-McPhee), who Mads Heldtberg; production Felisha Cooper.
13Reviews
GALA PRESENTATIONS
Canet Can’t
Wrap Up
Crime Redo
Fast Enough
A
SCOTT FOUNDAS
fter transposing an Amer-
ican detective novel to
France for his hit direc-
torial debut, “Tell No
One,” thesp-helmer-scribe
Guillaume Canet inverts the equation
for “Blood Ties,” which adapts French
director Jacques Maillot’s 2008 crime
drama “Les Liens du sang” to the 1970s
New York of “The French Connection”
and “Serpico” fame. Result is a sluggish,
dramatically undernourished saga that
somehow manages to exceed the orig-
inal pic’s running time by 40 minutes
without adding anything appreciable
to the story or characters. Canet’s name
plus a starry ensemble cast (including THICKER THAN WATER Clive Owen and Mila Kunis are among the starry cast of Guillaume Canet’s “Blood Ties.’”
Mrs. Canet, Marion Cotil-
Blood Ties lard) should ensure rea- lard), teenage son and younger daugh- as here the tension rarely rises above
Director:
Guillaume sonably brisk world sales, ter. But before long, Chris’ volatile tem- a low boil. In what feels like a strained
Canet though the pic’s excessive Reviewed at Cannes Film per gets the better of him at work, while effort at seriousness, Canet distends
Starring: Festival. Also in Toronto (Gala
Clive Owen, length and dour tone will Presentations). MPAA Rating:
a subsequent attempt starting a legit many scenes with long pauses and
Billy Crudup, limit audience appeal — R. Running time: 142 MIN. business — a hot-dog stand in Prospect pregnant glances on either side of the
Marion (France) A Mars Distribution
Cotillard especially in North Amer- release of a Les Prods.
Park — literally goes up in smoke. action — upwards of 20 minutes could
ica, where “Tell No One” du Tresor, Worldview Viewers familiar with Canet primar- be cut without losing a single line of
Entertainment, Caneo
racked up an impressive $6.1 million. Films, Mars Films, Wild
ily from “Tell No One” (his subsequent dialogue — and has everyone deliv-
Based on a roman a clef by authors Bunch, Le Grisbi Prods., ensemble dramedy, “Little White Lies,” er their lines in a breathy whisper, as
France 2 Cinema, Chi-Fou-Mi
Michel and Bruno Papet, Maillot’s film Productions, LGM Cinema,
was a hit in France but didn’t travel as if Chris and Franck’s ailing paterfamil-
(also set in the 1970s) starred Canet as Treasure Co. production. far offshore) may be surprised to find ias (James Caan) weren’t the only one
(International sales: Wild
a Lyonnais police officer thrust back Bunch, Paris.) Produced by
that “Blood Ties” offers little conven- missing a lung. And, where the origi-
into the life of his criminal broth- Alain Attal, Guillaume Canet, tional thriller architecture, or action nal film’s Canet and Cluzet were effort-
Hugo Selignac, Christopher
er (Francois Cluzet) when the latter Woodrow, John Lesher.
on par with “Tell No One’s” celebrat- less in their brotherly bond, Owen and
is released after a lengthy prison sen- Executive producers, Kerry ed highway foot chase. Instead, the pic Crudup don’t seem so much estranged
Orent, Chris Goode, James
tence. Scripted by Canet and James Gray, Vincent Maraval, Molly
is fundamentally a family melodrama, as outright strangers. Even the usually
Gray (whose 2007 “We Own the Night” Conners, Sarah Johnson detailing the various compromising unimpeachable Cotillard is oddly adrift
Redlich, Maria Cestone, Hoyt
also featured siblings on opposite sides David Morgan.
positions in which the characters find here, struggling with an unidentifiable
of the law), the new pic hews rather Directed by Guillaume themselves until something — or some- foreign accent whose origins (eventu-
Canet. Screenplay, Canet,
closely to the events of the first, until a James Gray, based on the
one — has to give. While Chris begins ally revealed as Italian) generate more
Grand Central Station climax that sig- screenplay “Les Liens du courting a shy, lonely office girl (Mila suspense than pretty much anything
sang” by Jaques Maillot,
nificantly alters the fate of one major Pierre Chosson, Eric Veniard
Kunis) from the garage, Franck takes else in the movie. The rest of the mixed
character. and the novel “Deux Freres, up with ex-flame Vanessa (Zoe Sal- Yank/Euro cast speak Brooklynese with
un flic, un truand” by Michel
Opening scenes show Brooklyn and Bruno Papet. Camera,
dana), whose vengeful husband (“Rust varying degrees of success.
cop Franck (Billy Crudup) and sister Christophe Offenstein; and Bone” star Matthias Schoenaerts, Most of Canet’s filmmaking ener-
editor, Herve De Luze; music,
Marie (Lili Taylor) collecting their new- Yodelice; music supervisor,
in one of the pic’s livelier perfs) has just gies seem to have gone into affect-
ly paroled brother Chris (Clive Owen, Raphael Hamburger; been arrested by Franck on a weap- ing a convincing period feel, from the
production designer, Ford
looking suitably paunchy and dishev- Wheeler; art director, Henry
ons charge. Meanwhile, Chris’ gradu- plethora of wide-body sedans in vary-
eled), free after serving nine years on Dunn; set decorators, al return to the criminal underworld ing shades of rust to the finely cultivat-
Heather Loeffler, Cherish
a murder conviction. It’s a bittersweet M. Hale; costume designer,
— beginning with a brazen contract ed sideburns and mustaches and a dou-
reunion, stepped in long-simmering Michael Clancy; sound, hit —threatens to derail Franck’s rising ble album’s worth of choice soul and
Michael Barosky; casting, Avy
resentments, among them Chris’ beef Kaufman.
police career. rock tunes. Lenser Christophe Offen-
that Franck never visited him in jail. With: Clive Owen, Billy Though Maillot’s film suffered from stein’s suitably grimy, washed-out color
Crudup, Marion Cotillard,
Still, Chris seems to make a concert- Mila Kunis, Zoe Saldana,
similar overplotting (and even includ- palette and production designer Ford
ed effort to go straight, taking a job at a Matthias Schoenaerts, James ed a couple of additional characters), Wheeler’s nicely aged sets similarly
Caan, Noah Emmerich,
local garage and trying to patch things Lili Taylor, Griffin Dunne.
it nevertheless managed to make all contribute to an authentic, pre-gentrifi-
up with his drug-addled wife (Cotil- (English dialogue) the intrigue more involving, where- cation vibe.
14SCENE
PARTIES, PEOPLE
PAULSON: LARRY BUSACCA/GETTY IMAGES. UTLEY: LARRY BUSACCA/GETTY IMAGES. RADCLIFF: AARON HARRIS/GETTY IMAGES. THOMAS: AMANDA EDWARDS/GETTY IMAGES
FOX SEARCHLIGHT
PARTY
SPICE ROUTE, TORONTO, SEPT. 7
Sarah Paulson and Paul Giamatti had
a laugh at the Fox Searchlight party,
where things were looking pretty
sweet for the distrib, which is seeing
critical kudos and Oscar buzz
roll in for “12 Years a Slave”— one of
four pics the company celebrated
Saturday night.
SONY CLASSICS DINNER
CREME BRASSERIE, TORONTO, SEPT. 7
“This is a great chance to catch up — and
point out that we have nine movies at
Toronto this year,” Sony Pictures Classics
co-prexy Michael Barker noted at the spe-
cialty distributor’s annual soiree attended by
filmmakers and talent from fest titles includ-
ing “Kill Your Darlings” (middle) and “Only
Lovers Left Alive” (right).
Daniel Radcliffe, John Krokidas Jeremy Thomas, Carter Logan, Jim Jarmusch,
Nancy Utley,Emilia Clarke, Steve Gilula at Fox fete at Sony Classics dinner Michael Barker, Tom Bernard
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