Toronto
2005
..Festival
News
..Festival
Blog
..Festival
Trailers
..Festival
Reviews
Confessions
..Day
One
..Day Two
..Day
Three
..Day Four
..Day
Five
..Day Seven
Trailers
Day Eight
It's mighty quiet out there kimo sabe.
As the Toronto International Film Festival moves into its final two days, there's not a strong sense that things will conclude with a bang. Unlike Cannes that backloads its competition entrees, the Canadian metropolis concentrates its firepower for the opening weekend and the current manifestation was possibly even more tilted toward the front than any previous edition.
The high-profile, star-driven movies from America uncoiled during the first four days as did the smattering of movies that were looking to make headlines with a big ticket sale to a major specialized division. As Monday segued into Tuesday and thereafter, one could sense the deflated industry presence. The media profile ramped down as far as the major outlets were concerned and the likes of Cameron Diaz, Heath Ledger and Reese Witherspoon were replaced with Jeanne Moreau, Jackie Chan and Cannes prize-winning filmmakers les freres Dardennes.
The glitzy film festival basically gave way to an event that was slanted toward the cinephile. The remaining galas don't have quite the oomph of the supposed Oscar contenders from Toronto's opening days but a lot of those movies proved to be major disappointments. The mere mention of either Tideland or Revolver is sufficient to elicit a 20-minute rant from buyers, sellers, critics and the general public. There was a singular lack of enthusiasm for Chan's latest, The Myth, a bit of unease that the HBO movie Mrs. Harris had been slotted as a gala and general malaise about the closing night selection Edison that opened and closed in Greece to consistently bad reviews.
There's been virtually no mention that the organizers have essentially cut one day from the program and fattened up opening day. An uncharitable observer might conclude that what's been altered is a concession to the industry component of the festival and the removal of an aspect of the program that benefited locals more than anyone else. For decades Saturday's closing night gala and party was followed the next day by the press/industry luncheon where the non-competitive event doled out its prizes. Meanwhile, the festival cinemas gave over Sunday to repeat screenings of award winners and audience favorites and Torontonians could gorge on the cream of the crop. However, that's now history with the award's luncheon moved up a day and the repeats erased from the schedule.
The closing days of press/industry screenings also look like slim pickings rather than an opportunity to catch up on films missed during the opening weekend glut. That stuffed sausage effect was no illusion as the schedule went from a smattering of selections on opening day to a full out itinerary. Junket press saw even more films as the Hollywood majors decided to screen quite a number of films that weren't even on the festival schedule including Flight Plan with Jodie Foster. It seemed more than a bit ironic that the actress's presence in town wound up putting a squeeze on TIFF coverage.
****
The last time filmmaker Brian De Palma attended the Toronto festival he stayed at a hotel that was having problems with its alarm system and that resulted in three early morning fire drills. This year his problems went from hot to wet when his room was flooded as a result of burst pipes. The good news was that he was relocated to the hotel's Presidential Suite. It's doubtful that he'll be usurped by a surprise Bush visit to Canada as he appears to have his hands full with his own set of water problems.
