All the must-see films from this year’s festival
It’s a pity that most of us are already in the throes of readings and thus chained to desks for the foreseeable future, because TIFF 2019 promises to be a belter. While you most likely won’t be able to attend any of the screenings, do take note of these gems and make a point of catching them upon their wider release.
Pain and Glory (dir. Pedro Almodóvar)
The Spanish master doesn’t need a return to form after 2016’s stunning rework of Alice Munro stories in Julieta, but Pain and Glory certainly feels like a warning shot to those that would count Almodóvar to be getting too old to churn out bangers with the same prolificness that he has thus far in his storied career. Pain and Glory sees the Spanish auteur lean on two of his favourites, Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz, to give two knockout performances that won the former Best Actor at Cannes.
Honey Boy (dir. Alma Har’el)
Shia Labeouf’s much-anticipated autobiographical screenplay finally graces the silver screen in a stunning directorial effort from Alma Har’el. Labeouf based the screenplay on his fraught early life and tense relationship with his father, although he opts for different names for his characters. Labeouf joins A24 darling Lucas Hedges on screen, but opts to play his own father while Hedges plays a young Shia during his explosive Michael Bay days.
A Hidden Life (dir. Terrence Malick)
While Malick might never truly struggle to get viewers into seats, he had some work to recover from 2017’s convoluted dud, Song to Song. Opting for a self-professed tighter script, the American visionary director opts for weighty subject matter in the form of a historical drama set during World War II. Forgoing the star names that dominated the cast of his past couple efforts, Malick opts for faces that might not be familiar to most to portray the story of an Austrian farming family torn apart by the fervent Catholic father’s refusal to fight for the Third Reich. Existential quandaries ensue, all shot in Malick’s typical otherworldly style.
Blackbird (dir. Roger Mitchell)
Americans can often be found guilty of ruining what was already a good thing when they remake foreign films, but Roger Mitchell’s remake of the Danish film Silent Heart promises to excite when it premieres at this year’s festival. Featuring a stunning cast of Susan Sarandon, Rainn Wilson, Kate Winslett, and Mia Wasikowska among others, the film centres on a family gathering put together by a mother who wishes to spend a final weekend with her family before ending her life. Bring a tissue box.
Parasite (dir. Bong Joon-Ho)
This year’s Palme d’Or winner is an absolute must-see. Bong Joon Ho crafts a remarkable take on class that sees the son of a poor family con his way into becoming the English tutor for a child from an affluent family. Hailed by critics the world over, the black comedy promises to delight.
Instinct (dir. Halina Reijn)
It’s hard to believe that Instinct is Halina Reijn’s directorial debut, but the Dutch filmmaker appears to be well on her way to a glittering career. She enlists the help of Carice van Houten of Game of Thrones and Marwan Kanzari of Aladdin in a tense thriller that plays out between a psychologist with a murky past and her serial rapist patient. A provocative first film, but one that has garnered lofty praise thus far.