MY DAUGHTER'S KILLER (L’ASSASSIN DE MA FILLE) (France 2022) ***1/2
Directed by Antoine Tassin
A father fights for decades to bring his daughter's killer to justice in France and Germany before taking extreme measures.
The doc opens with an emergency call about a man in really bad shape with his head smashed in who says he had been kidnapped from Germany. The doc then moves back 3 decades when the doc informs through voiceover when a 14-year old girl had been killed. The audience is posed the question about a father who knows who had killed his daughter. What would you do? What would you do for your daughter?
Netflix and otters streaming services have promoted the genre of true crime documentaries. Just last week saw Netflix;’s debut of another true crime doc, also an excellent compelling watch GIRL IN THE PICTURE. Both films deal with pedophile sex predators that have been brought to justice or rather get their comeuppance.
In MY DAUGHTER”S KILLER, the opening suggests that the daughter’s killer is the one who had his head smashed in and what follows are the incidents that continue. The film reaches that initial starting point two thirds through.
The investigative thriller takes the audience across France and Germany and through the period of 30 years.It is hard to believe that this incredible story is true.The child predator is a wealthy influential well-respected doctor in the city who has used his wealth and practice to drug children in order to rape them.The truth eventually comes out in what must be one of the most harrowing cases in human history.Yet this doctor, who is completely evil, vehemently insists on his innocence.Director Tassin masterfully connects all the pieces of information, footage and interviewstogether to create acompelling mystery worthy of Hitchcock.
MY DAUGHTER'S KILLER (L’ASSASSIN DE MA FILLE) is a French (filmed in French, German and english) compelling drama with a story that would delight Hitchcock fans is a compelling watch from start to end.
LES PASSAGERS DE LA NUIT (Passengers of the Night ) (France 2021) ***12
Directed ny Mikhael Hers
The film begins withcelebration on the streets of Paris.The date May 10, 1981 flashes on the screen.To those unfamiliar with that, it is election might and the Parisiennes are celebrating a new air of hope and change.
But it is a different change in store for the film’s protagonist.For Elisabeth (Charlotte Gainsbourg), her marriage is coming to an end and she will now have to support herself and her two teenage children. As she tells her father, she now has to look for work.She (not too tech-savvy) is first hired and fired on the same day because she forgets to save a file after entering all the inventory data.Her daughter tells her that she should have remembered what she taught her - using autosave.There is a slight problem in timing of this scenario, as in 1984 there were little or no PC’s around.How could the daughter be familiar with computers and most data entry were done on main frames.The auto-save feature in 1984 was unlikely to be invented yet.But other props like the older looking television set look authentic for the year 1984.
At the time, radio talks shows were still popular.She finds work at a late-night radio show and encounters a troubled teenager (interviewed for the program PASSENGERS OF THE NIGHT, named Talulah whom she invites into her home. With them, Talulah experiences the warmth of a family for the first time.Although she suddenly disappears, her free spirit has a lasting influence. Elisabeth and her children grow in confidence and begin to mature.
Emmanuelle Baert who rose to fame after MANON DES SOURCES has an important supporting role as Vanda, Elisabeth’s chain smoking radio boss.Vanda shows strength and vulnerability, often controlled by her moods affected by forces beyond her control.Beart is a pleasure to watch, especially when she is delivering her performance demonstrating strong screen presence, especially stealing the club scene where she is seen still with a cigarette in her mouth while grooving on the dance floor.
Cinema plays a big part in the film’s narrative.The first instance he two teenage children learn about independence is when they go for an evening at the cinema.They’re taught and shown how to sneak into the theatre after not being allowed in, after being more than 5 minutes late.Talulah also tells them that he loves the cinema and it makes her forget who she is.
Director Hers moves his film at a casual pace, allowing his audienceto let the events of the story of the action and behaviours of the characters sink in.
Major classics stories include a stranger that comes into the lives of a family, then disappears while making a distinct impact.Among these are of course MARY POPPINS and the stranger in George Stevens’ classic SHANE.In this film, Talulah is the stranger who disappears right after having a sexual encounter with Elisabeth’s son.
PASSENGERS OF THE NIGHT is an easy flowing yet effective family drama in which a family hears and grows from a stranger in their lives.
BOTH SIDES OF THE BLADE (Avec amour et acharnement)(France 2022) ***1/2
Directed by Claire Denis
BOTH SIDES OF THE BLADE (original English title: FIRE) follows a couple who have been together for 10 years and still very much in love.They go on holiday, are still pretty much into each other and show much affection and love.But there is trouble in paradise.Into the scene returns Jean’s old work colleague, Francois (Gregoire Colin) offering him a job that he clearly needs.Jean had been in prison for an undisclosed crime and has trouble getting work.But Francois is previously Sara's lover.
Nothing much happens during the first third of the film.It appears that director Denis is working beneath her abilities having tackled tricker subjects in the past with films like BEAU TRAVAIL and CHOCOLAT.But one has to be patient.What appears to be thematic melodrama turns out to be something quite different in the hands of French auteur Claire Denis, one of the most respected French directors living today.Denis is the no-nonsense type director as many journalists who have interviewed her in the past can attest.She is a difficult subject who says it as it is. BOTH SIDES OF THE BLADE is a sharp cutting look at the insides of a relationship, of how one can be torn cut open and torn apart.
Denis knows how to set up drama.The most moving segment is the one where a son rejects a father’s visit.Jean had cancelled an important meeting with Jean and drove 3 hours in heavy traffic to see his son Francois who is living with Jean’s mother.But Francois does not want to see him.Returning home, can cries and is comforted by Sara.This is one tremendously moving scene that will move one to tears. It also shows the strength of the couple's relationship in which sympathy is paramount.
It also helps that Denis’ film stars two of France’s finest actors - Juliette Binoche (Academy Award Winner for THE ENGLISH PATIENT) and Vincent Lindon.They also make the movie delivering superb performances.
BOTH SIDE OF THE BLADE opens at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, known to bring the best of world cinema to Toronto.BOTH SIDES OF THE BLADE is indeed one of the world’s best cinema.
The Lavazza Inclucity Film Festival is part of the ICFF (Italian Contemporary Film Festival). The venue is Toronto's Distillery District where one will watch the films under the stars while seated on large comfy sofas.
Capsule Reviews of Selected Films:
ACROSS THE RIVER AND INTO THE TREES (UK 2021) Directed by Paula Ortoz
(embargoed)
DRINKWATER (Canada 2021) ***
Directed by Stephen Campanelli
If there is any film that achieves the ‘honour’ of having the largest number of cliches,DRINKWATER is it.But director Campanelli tries so hard and his two performers are so good that one can forgive his errors.The film, to his credit does have some fresh ideas though predictability is his weak point.The protagonist of the film is an outsider in a remote British Columbian town.While his jobless father, Hank, makes money from insurance fraud schemes,Mike has to navigate the awkward teenage experience alone. To make matters worse, high school bully Luke Ryan and his father Wesley are a constant source of problems for the Drinkwaters.However, when Wallace, a young American girl, moves in next door Mike’s life is changed forever. Deciding to help Mike train for an upcoming cross-country race provides Wallace with the perfect opportunity to learn about life in remote British Columbia. Through their shared experiences of feeling like outsiders, Mike and Wallace discover what it really means to belong.
MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON (USA 2021) *** Directed by Dean Fleischer-Camp
The protagonist of this stop-motion animation is a shell that looks dis-proportionate as he has an eye on one side and a mouth on the other.The shell, supposedly a snail, has shoes on.Though classified as a ‘he’ in the film, Marcel, short for Marcello, as the audience learns later on in the film, is locked bya female, Jenny Slate.The result is that the shell sounds like a young male boy, a boy that is searching for his lost parents as a result of an adult couple quarrel.
Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colourful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan.Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy.But when a documentary filmmaker discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and new hope at finding his long-lost family.
The idea of MARCEL in reality began as a short film about Marcel, an anthropomorphic seashell outfitted with a single googly eye and a pair of miniature shoes. It is a collaboration between director Dean Fleischer-Camp and writer/actress Jenny Slate.The film premiered theatrically at AFI FEST 2010, where it was awarded Best Animated Short and was an official selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. It won the Grand Jury and Audience Awards at the New York International Children's Film Festival.
The plot of the full length feature follows the end of a marriage.Documentary filmmaker Dean moves into an Airbnb and discovers Marcel, a one-inch-tall talking shell living in the home with his grandmother, Nanna Connie and Alan, his pet ball of lint. Inspired by Marcel's whimsicality, resourcefulness, and fascination with the world, Dean begins filming Marcel's daily activities, most of which consist of gathering resources from the backyard in order to support himself and Connie, who tends to her garden and is beginning to show signs of dementia. Marcel and Connie bond over their mutual love of 60 Minutes and Lesley Stahl. Dean uploads his first video about Marcel to YouTube, where it quickly becomes a cultural phenomenon. Marcel is both flattered and overwhelmed with his newfound popularity, lamenting that his family is not around to celebrate it with him.
However, the expansion into a full length feature suffers a few problems.The film takes the already over-used mockumentary path and has a predictable ending of Marcel finding his family amidst the typical obstacles.A really fresh idea that is stretched a bit too long its a full length feature, the film still has its charm, mild humour and odd-like animation, thus garnishing it at the time of writing a 100% approval on Rotten Tomatoes.
REMEMBER ME: THE MAHALIA JACKSON STORY (USA 2020) *** Directed by Denise Dowse
Mahalia Jackson (October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century.With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to the development and spread of gospel blues in black churches throughout the U.S.The film emphasizes key issues like racial segregation, coloured rights, the recording industry and religion as were pervasive in American society.She met considerable and unexpected success in a recording career, selling an estimated 22 million records and performing in front of integrated and secular audiences in concert halls around the world.Jackson’s iconic voice helped to spread the message of the civil rights movement. In a world full of mounting pressure in her career and the social-political landscape of America, Jackson will face challenges like no other and overcome them the only way she knows how: with her voice.An occasional moving film that feels like a doc, the film’s best parts are the music, singing and dancing with the best scene shot in the jazz night club that Mahalia enters for the very first time.
TONBI (FATHER AND SON) (Japan 2022) ***
Directed by Takahisa Zeze
The film running at over two hours, which concentrates on the life of a father Yasuo and then with the relationship with his son, among other relationships feels like a family epic. There is a lot of hurt, misunderstandings, skeletons in the closet as well as a lot of life lessons to be learnt. Yasuo grew up an orphan so he knows the importance of a loving family and wants to provide his son, Akira, with the best life possible. Happily married to the love of his life, working a steady job and raising a son are Yasuo’s greatest accomplishments. However, when a tragic accident changes everything and leaves Yasuo with a devastated son and a life turned upside down he must rise to the occasion and provide a stable life for Akira, as he always promised he would. Director Zeze’s film, to his credit, tries its best to stay away from sentimentality and melodrama, though not always successfully. There are a few really moving scenes like when Yasuo’s sister’s daughter comes into her restaurant to meet her mother for the first time. Little dialogue in this scene but otherwise overflowing in emotions.
LES FEMMES EN OR (Two Women) (Canada 2025) *** Directed by Chloé Robichaud
Violette and Florence no longer understand what's happening to them. Respectively on maternity leave and off...
