Toronto 2000: The Grades


Reviews and/or commentary, alas, will have to wait, as my only computer access in Toronto is via pay-by-the-minute public stations. (Note to those in similar straits: I'm typing this in a rinky-dink fanboy comix/hobby store at 550 Yonge, not far from Wellesley, that charges a mere $2/hr. That's not a typo. Two bucks. With Telnet.) For the time being, however, here's what I thought in a reductionistic nutshell:
Thu 7

Sade (Benoît Jacquot, France): B
The Gleaners and I (Agnès Varda, France): B
Best in Show (Christopher Guest, USA): C+
The Devil's Playground (1976, Fred Schepisi)
Kippur (Amos Gitaï, Israel): B-

Fri 8

The Vertical Ray of Summer (Tran Anh Hung, France): B-
Blackboards (Samira Makhmalbaf, Iran/Italy): C+
Memento (Christopher Nolan, USA): A-
Chasing Sleep (Michael Walker, USA): C-
The Weight of Water (Kathryn Bigelow, USA/France): C

Sat 9

Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (Hong Sangsoo, South Korea): C+
Liam (Stephen Frears, UK): C+
/Memento/: A
Girlfight (Karyn Kusama, USA): C+

Sun 10

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, Taiwan): B+
Suspicious River (Lynne Stopkewich, Canada): D
Taboo (Nagisa Oshima, Japan/France/UK): C
Signs & Wonders (Jonathan Nossiter, France): C
Bread and Tulips (Silvio Soldini, Italy): B
A Real Young Lady (1975, Catherine Breillat)

Mon 11

Harry, He's Here to Help (Dominik Moll, France): B-
The Wrestlers (Buddhadeb Dasgupta, India): C
Time and Tide (Tsui Hark, Hong Kong): C+
In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, Hong Kong/China): A-
Under the Sand (François Ozon, France): B-

Tue 12

The Yards (James Gray, USA): C+
Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, USA): C+
Code Unknown (Michael Haneke, France/Austria): B [second viewing: B+]
Sexy Beast (Jonathan Glazer, UK): B-
The Circle (Jafar Panahi, Iran): C

[We interrupt the general grades-only minimalism of this page to quickly address the potentially startling grade allotted to Venice champ and critical favorite The Circle, quite possibly the lamest movie to be embraced by cinéastes since The Usual Suspects (sorry, LAK). Lemme put it this way: Stanley Kramer would be proud. Y'all are welcome to this blunt instrument; I'll be in the auditorium next door, watching a goddamn movie.]

Wed 13

The House of Mirth (Terence Davies, UK): B+
Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr, Hungary): C-
Seance (Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Japan): C+
The Widow of St. Pierre (Patrice Leconte, France/Canada): B
Sentimental Destiny (Olivier Assayas, France): C+

Thu 14

Chunhyang (Im KwonTaek, South Korea): B-
Two Family House (Raymond De Felitta, USA): B-
The Captive (Chantal Akerman, France/Belgium): C
Nightcap (Claude Chabrol, France/Switzerland): C+

Fri 15

Bread and Roses (Ken Loach, UK): C
The King Is Alive (Kristian Levring, Denmark): B-
Songs from the Second Floor (Roy Andersson, Sweden/Denmark/Norway): B+
The City of Lost Souls (Takashi Miike, Japan): C+

Sat 16

How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog (Michael Kalesniko, USA): C
Dersu Uzala (1975, Akira Kurosawa)
kaza-hana (Shinji Somai, Japan): C+
/Songs from the Second Floor/: B+
Wild Zero (Tetsuro Takeuchi, Japan): B-

Best of the Fest

[excellent TIFF entries seen prior to the festival -- George Washington, State and Main, You Can Count on Me, etc. -- not included]

01. Memento
02. In the Mood for Love
03. Songs from the Second Floor
04. The House of Mirth
05. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
06. Code Unknown
07. The Widow of St. Pierre
08. The Gleaners and I
09. Sade
10. Bread and Tulips