THEY HAVE ESCAPED: Last Chance!

Filmmaker JP Valkeapää has been impressing audiences at this Festival with his unique and unexpected take at a "troubled youth" film. Joni and Raisa's impromptu, drug-fueled, animal skin wearing romp through Finland is definitely worth a watch and luckily you've got one last chance. Use it wisely!  

Nicholas Bell of Ion Cinema had this to say about They Have Escaped: 

"...JP Valkeapää has created an unnerving and unexpectedly off kilter teen romance that goes down a road less traveled. Throughout what seems a prolonged set-up, a variety of interactions with various institutions inevitably result in escalating instances of two teens engaging in petty crime due to cold shoulders, apathetic adults, and uncompromising rulebooks. We’re lulled into a sense of security as to where the journey’s taking us until a late switch up severely alters the tone of the film to upsetting effect. 

As Joni, Teppo Manner gives a very mild mannered and expressive performance, his interactions requiring little to no dialogue. Roosa Soderholm’s Raissa is a bit more expressive, a blonde punk resembling Fairuza Balk dressed up as Debbie Harry for Halloween. By the time we leave them behind, ending with an ambiguity that will only leave you further disjointed, you’ll realize Valkeapaa has managed to burrow deeply into your skin."

They Have Escaped is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

THEY HAVE ESCAPED screening time:

Saturday, Sept 13, 10:00 PM SCOTIABANK 8

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY: Some Thoughts

I don't have quite a review, more some thoughts about The Duke of Burgundy. I loved it from the opening credits, which are as gorgeous as Berberian Sound Studio's. Where Berberian Sound Studio (2012) explored and played with the conventions of giallo, The Duke of Burgundy is grounded in the forms and conventions of European erotica from the late Sixties and Seventies. It is gorgeous, as both Berberian Sound Studio and Strickland's first film, Katalin Varga (2009) are. The soundtrack is an intriguing mix of scoring by Cat's Eyes and field recordings of insects, including the mole cricket (which has become quite popular here at Vanguard). There are beautiful shots of insect and butterfly specimens and diagrams. One segment is an almost kaleidoscopic display of butterfly wings as seen through a microscope. And just as beautifully composed shots of orthopterist Cynthia (Sidse Babette Knudsen) dressing and applying her make-up, composing herself for amateur lepidopterist Evelyn (Chiara D'Anna).

U think that The Duke of Burgundy subverts its genre in its quiet way. There are no men present in the film, no male gaze or point of view to relate with, and the only evident male presence is the male mole cricket recording Cynthia listens to. And it isn't even a pointed male absence. It is, as Jordan Hoffman points out in his review, just the world of the movie. "The movie exists in a world without men, or automobiles or vocations/activities other than delivering or attending lepidoptera lectures."

"Off to another lepidoptera lecture at the institute!"

That world of riding bicycles and attending lepidoptera lectures on endless golden autumn days is tremendously appealing. And god knows, I am looking for a Queer cinema with scientists in love--and hopefully some Danger: Diabolik-style Queer lady cat burglars. But with The Duke of Burgundy, the setting, the lectures and the cycling becomes so much more present for me than the kink, which becomes almost mundane as we see it from different perspectives and in changing contexts.  The kink portrayed is a way of exploring not just their relationship, but the way that fantasy is negotiated in relationships and how relationships, like D/s scenes and films, have their scripts. It's also kind of fascinating to me that a film with such concern with structure and form, not only in Cynthia and Evelyn's relationship, but in the presentation of the narrative and in film's visual and aural structures can be so intimate and compassionate.

But where I think The Duke of Burgundy is truly subversive is in its presentation of Queer women, Lesbians and Lesbian relationships. I have seen a lot of Lesbian films, films about Lesbian relationships and films with Lesbians in them intended for a straight audience. The Duke of Burgundy is one of the few that I think people will watch in the future not as a historical curiosity about how women's relationships with women were portrayed, but as a film exploring the give and take of making your partner happy without making yourself miserable and balancing happiness and fulfillment in a relationship. But with kink, specially designed furniture, lectures about butterflies and mole crickets.

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY screening times:

Monday, Sept 8th 3:15 PM SCOTIABANK 12

DUKE OF BURGUNDY Press Round-Up!

"Should we go into town to see a film?"

 There's one more screening of The Duke Of Burgundy and maybe you haven't quite decided if it is for you. Here's a little round-up of reviews to help. We like to help.

At Little White Lies, David Ehrlich has a nice review of The Duke of Burgundy, writing, "Peter Strickland's sapphic giallo dream is a tied-up and twisted masterpiece."

And adding:

A few minutes into Peter Strickland’s The Duke of Burgundy, the matron of a gorgeous European estate pulls her maid into a bathroom and pisses into her mouth. That’s the exact moment when it becomes clear that these two women are deeply in love with each other.

Perhaps the major discovery of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, The Duke of Burgundy is a Certified Copy riff for the S&M crowd, Strickland’s third feature cementing his status as a world talent while also assimilating shades of early Fassbinder and a diffuse (but palpable) giallo atmosphere into its cheeky exploration of relationships and their performative nature

At Screen Daily, Allan Hunter writes, "The Duke Of Burgundy is a complex, melancholy romance in which love is sustained by negotiating the limits of desire and understanding the expectations of your partner. It is an odd, original and beguiling work."

 Robbie Collin writes at The Telegraph:

In the same way Strickland’s last film, Berberian Sound Studio, invoked the black gloves and curdled screams of giallo horror without actually making a home for itself in that genre, The Duke of Burgundy draws on the sexually charged European chillers of the late 1970s, by directors like Jess Franco and Joe D’Amato – it operates at the same kind of sex-dazed remove as Vampyros Lesbos or Lorna the Exorcist, although here, that forbidden creaminess comes spiced with very British humour.

 Jordan Hoffman writes at The Guardian:

The Duke of Burgundy will have its detractors. But this is not just a filthy movie. It's a considerable work of art, and one that touches on a rarely discussed side of human sexuality completely free of judgement. You may be surprised to find shades of your own life in Evelyn and Cynthia's fragile relationship.

Meanwhile, Culture Addicts looks at the soundtrack by Cat's Eyes:

Cat’s Eyes have created a compelling atmosphere which beautifully showcases [Rachel] Zeffira’s classical leanings and [Faris] Badwan’s darker side, while drawing previously invisible arcs between Verdian Requiems, Phil Spector pop, and Paul Giovanni’s Wicker Man.

 Unfortunately, I can find no reviews of Peter Strickland's mole cricket 7".

Sorry, little guy.

THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY Final Screening:

Monday, Sept 8th 3:15 PM SCOTIABANK 12

THE VOICES: Sundance Buzz!

"What, I'm excited. This is my excited face."

The Voices is a lot to take in on first glance. Ryan Reynolds? Talking animals? Wait, is that a head on that table? And what is up with those couch cushions?! So, it's totally understandable that you might be hesitant to add it to your Festival list. That's okay. There, there. We forgive you. This blog is going to help you get over your hesitation and running (literally to the box office or figuratively to the TIFF website) for a ticket before they go off-sale. You might wanna have your credit card ready before you start reading...

We still stand firmly on the belief that the less you know about this movie, the better so we've carefully selected reviews that don't give away too much. 

Joey Paur at Geeky Tyrant admits that "The Voices isn't for everyone, as it's extremely bloody and very disturbing, but in the best possible way, especially if you kind of have a demented mind."

Demented minds? Say no more, as we know all you readers have a little bit of dement...ness (Eh? Well, it's a word now.) lurking around in those delicious brains of yours. Paur also says:

I knew this movie was going to be a dark comedy going in, but I didn't know just how dark it would be. It goes into some very black places, but at the same time you can't help laughing because it's seriously funny as hell. There's definitely a lot of uncomfortable laughter. Reynolds plays such a great character in this movie. He has to show a lot of range and be funny, dramatic, and psycho, and he pulls it off seamlessly. This could very well be one of Reynolds' best performances to date.

Adam Chitwood at Collider declares that "The Voices is an insane movie about insanity" and "that [it] wears its crazy right on its sleeve."

We might even go as far to add that it's an insanely-insane movie about insanity. If such a thing didn't exist before, it does now. He goes on to compliment the style of the film:

The visual cues in the film are remarkably executed. When on his pills, Jerry sees the world as colorful and bright, almost as a picturesque 1950s society. He wears bright colored jackets, smiles a lot, and eats the same delicious cereal every day. This is the style in which the movie opens, but when Satrapi gives us a glimpse of the reality of what Jerry is seeing, these visual themes are all the more impressive. Moreover, Satrapi plays with a number of horror tropes throughout the film, bringing an air of familiarity to some of the more tense scenes but always playing them with a slight twist that makes them feel fresh and odd. 

And we're wildly in love with the three things Eric D. Snider at Film.com wrote that you need to know about The Voices:

One: Marjane Satrapi, the Iranian filmmaker whose autobiographical “Persepolis” made waves a few years ago, is a major directorial talent. Two: there is a demented screenwriter named Michael R. Perry who should probably be on some kind of watch list. Three: if Ryan Reynolds will keep making risky, offbeat aberrations like this, we’ll overlook the “Green Lantern”s and “R.I.P.D.”s and love him forever.

Enough with the reviews! Bring on the tweets! Below that you'll find the screening information. We recommend taking a date to this movie. You'll know if they run out screaming it wasn't meant to be.

The Voices is screening at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Vanguard Programme. Check out more Vanguard films on the official Festival website.

THE VOICES screening times:

Thursday, Sept 11th 9:00 PM RYERSON
Friday, Sept 12th 6:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE: Review Round Up!

Did you check out We Gotta Get Out Of This Place? Okay, did you check out what the Twitterverse said about it? Here are three wonderful reviews of the movie for your reading pleasure.

Deepayan Sengupta at Sound on Sight calls the dialogue in the film "deceptively smart" and the cinematography "particularly effective," adding that We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, "deftly veers between comedic moments and dramatic ones." He also has a lot of compliments for the cast, so be sure to read the whole thing for his insights.

Meanwhile, at Ain't It Cool, Copernicus (a.k.a. Andy Howell) says We Gotta Get Out Of This Place is "one of my favorite movies of 2013" and explains why: "This is exactly the kind of film that I was starting to think doesn’t get made anymore. A smart drama driven by a great script and strong characters without major stars to sell it." He goes on to praise everyone involved with the film, which you can read about in his full review.

"Zeke and Simon Hawkins display incredible talent here," raves Brian Marsh at Twitch film, "handling their actors with confidence, creating atmosphere you can taste and building incredible tension throughout." He calls the film "a crackling small town thriller that deserves to be sought out."

Those of you who saw and enjoyed the movie will no doubt be nodding your heads in agreement. For those who didn't (shame on you), we have good news, it's playing one more time.

WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE Final Screening:

Sunday, Sept 15th, 9:00 PM SCOTIABANK 10

THE CELESTIAL WIVES OF MEADOW MARI: Twitter Round Up!

Seems like people have enjoyed Alexei Fedorchenko's Celestial Wives of Meadow Mari. Don't believe us? Check out Twitter.

If that whole "Russian folklore" thing makes you question the appeal of this movie, you should check out this review from Trista Devries at Toronto Film Scene:

Whether this is subject matter you would normally find interesting or not, this is a stunningly beautiful film designed to help audiences participate in a gorgeous, dying culture.

See? Everyone wins.(And go read Siân's article on Russian folklore!)

THE STRANGE COLOUR OF YOUR BODY'S TEARS: Twitter and Review Round Up!

The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears is not a movie that can be easily explained. There have been both awestruck and overwhelmed reactions to the film--not surprising considering its over-the-top visuals and Last Year At Marienbad-style "narrative."

Here's a sampling of what folks have been saying on Twitter as well as choice quotes from some of our favorite reviews of the film.

"You have absolutely never seen anything like The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears."

--Anton Sirius, Ain't It Cool

"It's tempting to reference Strange Colour as a sort of neo-giallo, a term applied frequently to its predecessor. But it's not, really. It's something else, a strange new language that uses those familiar elements as their base while going off in some other direction."

--Todd Brown, Twitchfilm

"Lengthy passages are unrelated to any discernible narrative, and seem to exist in that interzone your mind travels through just before it goes to sleep. You may be familiar – it’s often the time when your leg twitches, heart skips a beat and you slam open your eyes again."

--Jordan Hoffman, Film.com

"The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears, a visual masterpiece that will confuse, confound, and hypnotize you as it’s one of the most visually extravagant explorations of the gaudy and grotesque ever committed to film . . . if you give into its lusty charms, you won’t be disappointed in its endless delights, surpassing the intensity of many titles it owes its existence to."

Nicholas Bell, Ion Cinema

 

"Cattet and Forzani treat the camera like a murder weapon, slashing it across rooms, penetrating characters' eyeballs in extreme close-ups, emphasizing the garish color schemes, and obscuring conversations with multiple split screens. They're not telling a story so much as transmitting hallucinations."

--Matt Barone, Complex Mag

"I don't think I can win here. I looooooooove The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears. Love. I'm in love, you guys. I'm not fucking around. I think it's one of the best horror movies I've ever seen."

--Travis Lee Bean, Film Colossus

For those of you planning to attend Austin's Fantastic Fest, there is great news! The Strange Colour of Your Body's Tears will be screening there this year.

PROXY Twitter Round-Up!

Are you sitting at home right now wonder what you should do with yourself tonight? Laundry? Dude, that's lame--even for us. A restaurant? Ehhhhh. Food is alright. Know what's better than food, though?

THE FINAL SCREENING OF ZACK PARKER'S PROXY! Yes, that did need to be written all in caps. Deal with it.

Anywho, tonight is your last chance at the Festival to see the absolutely disturbing Proxy. Bring your mum! Bring your grandma! The whole family! And if--heaven forbid--you miss your chance tonight, the film was picked up for distribution from IFC Midnight. Super big congrats to Zack Parker and the entire Proxy crew; we here at the Vanguard blog couldn't be happier! Especially now because the rest of the world can soon experience the shocking, twisty tale for themselves.

Check out some of the Twittery thoughts and start planning your evening appropriately.

PROXY Final Screening time:

• Saturday (TODAY, AUGH!), Sept 14, 8:00 PM SCOTIABANK 9

PROXY Final Screening:

Saturday, Sept 14th, 8:00 PM SCOTIABANK 9

SOUL: Press Round-Up!

The Wall Street Journal's "China Real Time Report" blog profiles director Chung Mong-Hong.

Taiwanese director Chung Mong-hong sees himself as a non-conformist.
In an era of Chinese-language romantic comedies, tear-jerkers, police dramas and lavish historical dramas, Mr. Chung says he doesn’t want to follow the crowd by making films with themes that are seen everywhere. 

The director, sitting in his studio in Taipei with a cigarette in one hand, says he draws inspiration from the works of American filmmaker David Lynch, director of Blue Velvet (1986) and Mulholland Drive (2001), and the late Japanese director Masaki Kobayashi, who thrived on dissecting sensitive and controversial subjects. 

“If you liken the movie to a house when you watch a Kobayashi movie,” Mr. Chung says, “you feel like you are inside a very serious and solemn home, and you automatically want to sit up straight at the edge of your chair.”

Exclaim.ca's Scott A. Gray reviews his film, Soul.

A uniquely moving and disturbing picture, Soul uses surreal cinematic poetry to postulate schizophrenia as a disassociation of the spirit. Taiwan's Chung Mong-Hong (The Fourth Portrait) is an accomplished visionary capable of balancing a calculated use of technical ability with instinctual artistry, as demonstrated throughout this emotionally gripping and consistently stimulating film.

SOUL Final Screening:

Saturday, Sept 14th, 12:00 PM SCOTIABANK 10

BORGMAN VS. MANBORG

 A couple of years ago, a movie called Manborg was unleashed upon the world. At this year's Festival, another movie--this one called Borgman--will also be unleashed on the North American world through the Vanguard Programme.

Since you've all seen Manborg numerous times already (ahem!), I won't rehash the plot. But for those of you who haven't seen Borgman, you may be surprised by how much the two films have in common.

Manborg, as you know, is a funny, yet frequently grotesque movie about a cyborg who, along with the help of his friends, helps to take down the alien invasion of Count Draculon. Interesting then, that Variety describes Borgman as being both "whimsical" and "macabre." Crazy, right? 

After his rebirth as part man, part machine, Manborg discovers he has great powers, mostly thanks to the various types of weaponry that he has at his disposal and on his person. Borgman is a "creature of unusual, malevolent powers and uncanny abilities," says Indiewire. Seems that Manborg and Borgman have more in common than you thought! 

When we first see Manborg, he punches his way through a cardboard box. When he first encounters Number One Man, Justice, and Mina, however, his memories are hazy and he isn't even sure of his first name. He sure sounds an awful lot like the title character of Borgman, who Time Out calls an "enigmatic, tramp-like figure." 

Before I saw Manborg for the first time, I only knew that Manborg was well, a Manborg. Discovering everything that takes place in the movie was a cinematic joy. This is a lot like the Film School Rejects review of Borgman, which says that it's "absolutely a film best approached with only a cursory knowledge of its plot."

Although Manborg has plenty of gore, action, and tender moments, mostly it's just laugh-out-loud hilarious, which is exactly how Twitchfilm describes Borgman. Even more intriguing? After you see Manborg, you'll have a difficult time getting it out of your system and you'll probably want to watch it again. Possibly even immediately. That is an awful lot like the way AwardsDaily says that Borgman has "memorable moments that are ultimately hard to shake."

There's one big difference between Manborg and Borgman, however. Manborg has its own fan-created theme song, while Borgman does not (we don't think). That doesn't mean it doesn't deserve one.

BORGMAN Screening Times:

Wednesday, Sept 11th, 9:00 PM SCOTIABANK 1

Thursday, Sept 12th, 3:00 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

GERONTOPHILIA Twitter Round Up!

Gerontophilia is the latest film from Bruce LaBruce (now playing at the Festival's Vanguard Programme) and it is not to be missed. I'm not ashamed to admit, that when I wasn't laughing during the film, I was crying. It's just that great. You don't have to take my word for it (although you should); here is what the Twitterverse has been saying.

See? I told you so. Now make sure you catch one of the remaining two screenings of Gerontophilia. Or both!

GERONTOPHILIA Screening Times:

Wednesday, Sept 11th, 9:30 PM SCOTIABANK 11

Friday, Sept 13th, 12:15 PM SCOTIABANK 3

BLUE RUIN Twitter Round Up!

 

If you missed Monday's premiere of Blue Ruin at the Festival, we are going to make you wish you hadn't. But good news! There is another screening of the film on Wednesday. In the meantime, check out what people on Twitter are saying about Blue Ruin. (Hint: it's really good stuff.)

I agree with all of these comments. Find out what all the fuss is about and check out Blue Ruin on Wednesday.

BLUE RUIN Screening Times:

Wednesday, Sept 11th, 12:00 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 1

CELESTIAL WIVES OF THE MEADOW MARI: Press Round Up

Director Alexey Fedorchenko's Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari, now playing as part of the Toronto International Film Festival's Vanguard Programme, has earned some delightfully positive reviews.

At the Toronto Standard, Alan Jones remarks that the film's theme argues "femininity is more than a target of objectification."

Dan Fainaru from Screen Daily shares a similar observation, noting that the women in the film seem to have been "chosen not for their beauty but for the lively energy emanating from their faces and body language."

"Fedorchenko adds a sense of magic and gentle humour to this cavalcade of idiosyncrasy," says Patrick Gamle at Cine-Vue, adding "the mood never fails to be anything less than cheerfully curious."

Jordan Mintzer at The Hollywood Reporter moves beyond the narrative and praises the film's "impressive technical package," singling out the "gorgeous landscape imagery by cinematographer Shandor Berkeshi" and Timofei Shestakov's "nuanced sound design."

Although the film could be seen as "little more than a series of disconnected vignettes, Film Wonk's Glenn B. "found it to be a master class in short-form storytelling." He feels that "in its treatment of fiction that the film absolutely shines." Finally, he says, "To put it simply, this film is exhilarating – and prone to moments of staggering poignancy."

See, delightfully positive, just like we told you! Celestial Wives of the Meadow Mari is screening at this year's Festival and you'll miss out on all of its wondrous, magical qualities if you don't go see it. So go see it!

CELESTIAL WIVES OF THE MEADOW MARI Screening Times:

Wednesday, Sept 11th, 7:00 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 4

Thursday, Sept 12th, 9:15 PM TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 2

Saturday, Sept 14th, 9:30 AM SCOTIABANK 8

THE SACRAMENT Twitter Round-Up Part 1!

Okay, okay, so today is the day you have to figure out how to clone yourself. Or, at the very least, be in two places at once. Why? Because tonight Zack Parker's Proxy premieres and Ti West's The Sacrament has its second screening around the same time.

Whoa, whoa. Hold up: does this mean that Joe Swanberg (who appears in both films) will officially be in two places at once?! Curse him and his awesomeness; first he has a burger named after him and now this. We guess it only makes sense--he is the Unofficial Vanguard Mascot after all. [We're gonna print up shirts ~ The Editor].

Anyway, we can't tell you which film to pick. Proxy may just be frightening enough to kill you, but so far the Twitterverse reviews from The Sacrament are pretty effin' amazing. Luckily there are more screenings of both later in the week. YOU MUST BE SO RELIEVED, EH?

To those of you attending the Proxy premiere, we eagerly anticipate your Twitterverse reactions. And for those planning on attending The Sacrament, here's a little Twittery sampling to get you even more excited:

PROXY Screening Times:

• Tuesday, Sept 10th, 10:30 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
• Thursday, Sept 12th, 5:00 PM SCOTIABANK 1
• Saturday, Sept 14th, 8:00 PM SCOTIABANK 9

THE SACRAMENT Screening Times:

• Tuesday, Sept 10th, 9:45 PM SCOTIABANK 7
• Friday, Sept 13th, 8:45 PM SCOTIABANK 3

SEX, DRUGS & TAXATION Twitter Round-Up!

If you were smart, your weekend would have included the hilarious Danish biopic Sex, Drugs & Taxation. It played twice over the weekend to amazing reviews. Completely off the wall and completely (sort of) true, this is one Festival film not to be missed--you know, because of scenes lke the one with the gorilla and the penis, among many, many others. You've got one more chance to prove yourself (phew) and your smartness (that's a word, right?) with a final screening later this week.

Check out some of the Twitterverse conversation and information about the last screening time below.

SEX, DRUGS & TAXATION Screening Times:

Saturday, Sept 7th, 9:30 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

Sunday, Sept 8th, 7:45 PM THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

Friday, Sept 13th, 12:00 PM SCOTIABANK 2