Here, in my order of preference, are the films I saw at the 2006 festival:

 

·          My Favourite: True North

This British film about a son who takes it upon himself to do a smuggling run to get the cash needed to keep his father's North Sea fishing trawler operating provides Drama with a capital D. The plot feels almost Shakespearean in its simplicity and breadth, with excellent subplots that provide perfect counterpoints to the main father-son story line. The dreariness of life aboard the trawler doesn’t provide the film with a great deal of natural splendor, but the writing, direction, and acting are where the beauty lies in this movie.

 

·          Honourable Mention: The Last Kiss

It's rare to see a Hollywood movie that portrays relationships that are as truly complicated and multi-faceted as those in real life. Almost like a Cameron Crowe movie, The Last Kiss entertains while exploring some very real interpersonal issues that many of us have faced at one point or another (although hopefully not in as extreme a form as the characters here).

 

I also recommend:

·          The Last King of Scotland – This movie tells the incredible story (based on true events) of a young Scottish doctor who went to Uganda to work in a medical clinic but ended up becoming the personal doctor of infamous dictator Idi Amin. I felt a bit cheated when I found out that the doctor’s character is apparently actually an amalgam of three real people, but it’s nonetheless a fascinating tale, and Forest Whitaker’s Best Actor Oscar is well deserved.

·          2:37 – I would characterize this as the best teenage suicide movie since Heathers (but be aware that this film is dead serious…no LOL satire here). The film opens with somebody committing suicide in a locked school bathroom at 2:37pm, and then backs up to follow six students through the events of the day leading up to that time. It becomes a bit of a morbid mystery, because we don't know who it is in that locked bathroom until the graphic conclusion of the film, but that is presumably the point; everyone has big problems (although not all of us have problems as big as these six) and it’s difficult to predict when somebody will decide to take the suicide escape, and it’s maddening and affects the lives of many others when they do.

·          Golden Door – This movie follows a family of Italian immigrants around the beginning of the 20th century as they make the journey to America. It does an admirable job of providing us with their perspective, and I left feeling like I had learned something about the immigrant experience.

·          Sleeping Dogs Lie – Although Bobcat Goldthwait dares to violate a pretty big taboo with the premise of this movie, it’s really quite a sweet and honest look at honesty. If you’re easily offended, it’s probably best to avoid this movie, but if you can handle giving it the benefit of the doubt and don’t turn it off after the first five minutes, you’ll be rewarded with a pretty funny and insightful story.

·          Time – This Korean film covers issues similar to The Last Kiss (insecurity, infidelity, and the way love changes over time) but it does so with a more manic flair and extreme plot. Whereas it's difficult to dislike the characters in The Last Kiss, it's difficult to like the characters here, but the ingenious plot twists and flashes of sweetness and humour make this worthy of a recommendation.

 

Also worth seeing:

·          The Dog Problem – Giovanni Ribisi stars in this comedy as a sad sack writer in LA who, having blown all his money on psychoanalysis, decides to follow one of his shrink's last pieces of advice and get a pet dog. The story progresses with silly turns bordering on farce, but I did find it entertaining...and it has some of the best opening credits I've ever seen. (No, really, they even came up in the Q&A afterward…whether that speaks more to how good the credits are or how uninteresting the movie is, I'm not sure.)

·          Monkey Warfare – Don McKellar and Tracy Wright play two mysterious bohemians who befriend a rebellious young pot dealer in their neighbourhood, with incendiary results. A script rife with a history of subversion and some great rebellious music give the whole film a counterculture vibe, and that combined with some great understated acting and an unapologetic Canadian setting (Parkdale in Toronto) create an anarchic atmosphere reminiscent of Roadkill.

·          The Journals of Knud Rasmussen – Based on the journals of one of the earliest modern Arctic explorers, this latest film from Zacharias Kunuk (Atanarjuat - The Fast Runner). The pace is as glacial as the setting, but the story is compelling and the imagery imaginative.

·          10 Items or Less – A lighter version of Lost In Translation, with Morgan Freeman in the Bill Murray role and Paz Vega in Scarlet Johanssen's role (perhaps not so coincidentally named Scarlet here). Thoroughly entertaining, it’s clear that they had a lot of fun making it, but there’s not a lot of depth to the humour here.

·          Renaissance – Remarkable black-and-white animation techniques make this a stunning visual experience, but I've never been a big fan of animated science fiction, and the complicated story failed to hold my interest through the length of the movie. Still, I suspect that many people (especially anime fans) will enjoy this substantially more than I did.

·          Rescue Dawn – Christian Bale turns in another impressive performance as an American pilot who goes down on a pre-Vietnam War secret mission over Laos. Based on an amazing true story, we follow his desperate journey from crash site to freedom. Bale has become one of my favourite actors with performances like this and he is well supported here by Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies, but I have to say I think I saw a better movie at the festival in 2001 covering similar ground: To End All Wars.

·          Griffin & Phoenix – Dermot Mulroney finds out he has terminal cancer and then meets and falls for Amanda Peet. Standard Hollywood tearjerker, although well executed.

·          Death of a President – Perhaps it was just overhyped for me, but I was underwhelmed with this faux documentary about a hypothetical assassination of George W. Bush. While it’s worth seeing as a curiosity and for the albeit predictable sentiment, it seemed deliberately low-key and devoid of anything truly controversial, and therefore there really isn’t much substance or genuine suspense to it.

·          Suburban Mayhem – This Australian dark comedy about a young woman out of control definitely deserves some points for style, and that’s why I say it’s worth seeing, but the story doesn’t offer much and left me feeling kind of like I had watched a Jerry Springer show.

·          A Few Days in September – While this movie is about espionage and conspiracy around the events of September 11, 2001, I hesitate to call it a thriller. It was interesting enough to spend a couple of hours on, but I wouldn’t suggest that anybody go out of their way to see it.

 

I don't recommend:

·          Drama/Mex – Something akin to a Mexican soap opera, I never really got into this story of a number of young people in Acapulco. It was interesting to learn that the cast was a group of non-actor friends (with the exception of an important older character) and I suppose that in that context, the performances are fairly impressive, but I didn't find the story engaging, and just can't find any reason to recommend seeing it.

 

Feedback is welcome...thanks for reading!