Toronto International Film Festival: What We Wish We Were Seeing

So the Toronto International Film Festival is currently going on, and though we're unable to be there, we can live vicariously through clips of several of the films being screened. These are just a few that we're excited to see in the future (in no particular order.)

1.) Melancholia


What It Is: This sci-fi film starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland is focuses on the strained relationship between a family as doomsday approaches. Director Lars von Trier (Antichrist) said of the film, "In Melancholia I start with the end. Because what is interesting is not what happens but how it happens! So we begin by seeing the world being crushed, then we can tell the story afterwards… In this way you don’t have to sit and form theories about what will happen, but can delve down into some other levels and become interested in the pictures and the universe – that’s what I imagine."

Why We Want To See It: Despite the controversy surrounding Lars von Trier's comments about "sympathizing" with Hitler earlier this year, Melancholia seems to be an aesthetically-beautiful film exploring how humans struggle with their own minds and attempt to find balance.

2.) A Dangerous Method


What It Is: David Cronenberg's (Videodrome, The Brood, Scanners) new drama starring Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley and Vincent Cassel chronicles the fictional complex relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud and their methods regarding psychoanalysis.

Why We Want To See It: Cronenberg's films are always unconventional and always interesting. Whether interesting is a positive or negative adjective in this case is to be determined.

3.) Livid


What It Is: Directed by Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (Inside), this horror-fantasy hybrid follows an in-house caregiver as she explores the house of her permanently comatose patient. When exploring the house, the caregiver, along with two friends, begin experiencing several supernatural events that cannot be explained.

Why We Want To See It: The duo's previous film, Inside, incorporated many elements of the French New Wave aesthetic, making the film both beautiful and terrifying. This film is said to incorporate the same cinematic aspects and elements of suspense as their first film.

4.) Kotoko


What It Is: Directed by Shinya Tsukamoto (Tetsus: The Iron), this Japanese psychological thriller follows the story of an unstable single mother with double vision as her grip on reality continues to slip further and further away.

Why We Want To See It: Tsukamoto's previous films are filled with elements of dark comedy and non-linear narratives. His use of cinematography is also particularly interesting to watch, as it breaks away from typical shot-reverse-shots in favor of more thought-provoking movement.

5.) Into The Abyss

What It Is: This documentary explores the life of two criminals serving time for a triple homicide committed in Texas 10 years ago. One serving a 40-year sentence and the other a death row inmate with eight days to go before his scheduled execution. Herzog explores the crime, the effect it has on the community and family of the victims, and the effect it's had on the two convicted of the crime.

Why We Want To See It: As a personal Herzog fanatic, I am excited to watch anything Herzog creates. His use of cinematography, voice-overs and true passion to show the most objective "truth" as possible within his films allows his documentaries to not only be entertaining, but also truly informative. I'm interested in seeing how Herzog transforms such a morbid subject and makes into something aesthetically pleasing.

6.) Drive


What It Is: This film starring Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan received a lot of buzz previously this year at Cannes. The film (based off a book) chronicles a Hollywood stuntman/getaway driver who has a contract put out on his life after a heist goes bad. Director Nicolas Winding Refn won Best Director for the film at Cannes.

Why We Want To See It: This indie-drama has a narrative that has been done before: heist gone wrong. However, Refn's use of suspense and new take on the heist/chase-scene film makes this film worth paying attention to. Plus, RYAN GOSLING IS IN IT.

The 36th TIFF, going on until September 18th, features hundreds of films from across the globe each year. These are just a few that we thought might be exciting to see, but the extensive catalog of films at TIFF has something for everyone. We hope to one day be in attendance, maybe even screening one of our very own films!

-Written by Samantha Schaitberger

First Meeting!

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