If you know Andrew Scott, then you know he’s no stranger to disappearing into a role. It’s like when he dedicates himself to a character, you don’t know where he starts and the character ends. And even though I know…
Bedford Park TIFF Review: Inmigrant Families Are Not All Alike
Bedford Park, Stephanie Ahn’s debut, is a subdued but incredibly touching look at what it is to be an immigrant. The movie follows Eli (Son Sukku) and Audrey (Moon Choi), who meet after Eli gets into a car accident with…
Idda TIFF Review: Broken Friendships Make For the Best Movies
Irene Dionisio’s Idda is a movie about vibes, but it’s also a movie about feelings. It’s the best kind of combination, because half the movie looks and feels like you’re living a dream, or like you are the story behind…
Hombre al Agua TIFF Review: Never As Good As It Could Be
Hombre Al Agua, co-written and directed by none other than Gael García Bernal, is a class satire that tries very hard to be both a comedy of errors and a biting criticism of the systems that keep people in the…
Brace Your Heart TIFF Review: A Brilliant Tale of Resilience and Community
Brace Your Heart, by director Amanda Kernell, is a quiet exploration of grief, resilience, and community focused on Sámi women in northernmost Europe. The movie follows Ejva (Elli Sara Valkeapää), who inherits her father’s herd of reindeer after he dies…
Alice: Pioneer of Cinema TIFF Review: Too Many Men Around
Alice: Pioneer of Cinema is first and foremost the story of a remarkable woman: Alice Guy (Bérénice Bejo), the first woman film director. And as a celebration of cinema and the importance of Guy, it feels particularly groundbreaking. But the…
Love Is the Monster TIFF Review: Haunting, but Real
Love is the Monster, from Costa Rican director Neto Villalobos Brenes, is the kind of film that throws us into a dystopian future, but with purpose. Following Gloria (Paulina García), an ailing grandmother who understands she doesn’t have much time to…
Ink TIFF Review: Stories Have Power
“People need stories,” Larry Lamb (Jack O’Connell) says at one point in Ink, and that feels like the entire thesis of the movie. And in so many ways, of the current political climate. We’ve gone far beyond telling facts and…
The Beloved TIFF Review: Javier Bardem Has Met His Match in Victoria Luengo
Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s The Beloved (El ser querido) is unlike any family drama I’ve watched because things don’t get fixed. And instead of that being the film’s weakness, it’s a strength. Oftentimes when it comes to films where there is a…
American Hostage TIFF Review: Interesting, if A Little Long
American Hostage is an interesting, perfectly acted look at a real-life story that, at times, stretches the premise a bit thin but never ends up being dull. Adapted from the 2022 scripted podcast and inspired by true events, the show…
