Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Bahman Ghobadi
Starring: Hedye Tehrani | Ismail Ghaffari | Kambiz Arshi
Beth says: “Apologies I don’t have a reference nearby and don’t exactly remember the director’s name, but he did TURTLES CAN FLY, a previous TIFF favorite. Like all of his films, this one dealt with the lives of the Kurdish
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Starring: Junichi Okada | Rie Miyazawa | Tadanobu Asano
Beth says: “Kore-eda’s newest. He was there, and spoke eloquently before the film (I couldn’t stay for the Q&A). He basically said, ‘this is my first period piece, I wanted to do a samurai film that sort of felt the
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Ryan Fleck
Starring: Anthony Mackie | Ryan Gosling | Shareeka Epps
Chris says: “Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling), a young, white history teacher and girls’ basketball coach in a mostly black Brooklyn middle school would seem like the ideal mentor. Eschewing the required curriculum, he genuinely inspires his students to think about
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: Sofie Fillières
Starring: Bruno Todeschini | Bulle Ogier | Emmanuelle Devos | Lambert Wilson | Michael Lonsdale
Bruce says: “This film is the story of Fontaine Leglou (Emmanuelle Devos) who is caught by surprise when the man she lives with (Bruno Todeschini) proposes marriage. Why is it so difficult to say ‘yes’ to what every woman is
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Danny Leiner
Starring: Edie Falco | Maggie Gyllenhaal | Olympia Dukakis | Tony Shaloub
Michael says: “GREAT NEW WONDERFUL is being billed as a 9/11 comedy, and the film is funny, and is also tangentially about the events of September 11, 2001, but for me this film falls squarely into the category of drama
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Rating: 2.25
Director: Joseph F. Lovett
Michael says: “This brief documentary takes a look at a very delineated period of time; when gay men embraced their sexuality with relish. This era begins with the Stonewall riots in 1967 and ends with the coming of A.I.D.S. in
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Lionel Baier
Starring: Khaled Khouri | Natacha Koutchoumov | Pierre Chatagny | Rui Alves
Bruce says: “Unlike most gay coming of age stories, GARÇON STUPIDE is not concerned with a sexual identity crisis or gaining acceptance about being gay. Loïc (Pierre Chatagny), a twenty year old Swiss boy loves the fact that he is
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Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Otar Iosseliani
Starring: Jacynthe Jacquet | Otar Iosseliani | Séverin Blanchet
Bruce says: “Friends or acquaintances often groan when the topic of French cinema is raised. I’m mostly puzzled by anyone who categorically dismisses French cinema. GARDENS IN AUTUMN is a film which helps me understand that position. Director Iosseliani has
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Michael Hoffman
Starring: Ari Graynor | Bebe Neuwirth | Griffin Dunne | Jr. | Michael Keaton | Robert Downey
Michael says: “This quirky film is reminiscent one of production team Griffin Dunne and Amy Robinson’s earlier collaborations, AFTER HOURS. Director Hoffman takes a darkly humorous look at the world of theater and the passion of the Boston Red Sox
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Nicole Holofcener
Starring: Catherine Keener | Frances McDormand | Jennifer Anniston | Joan Cusack
Michael says: “I really enjoy Nicole Holofcener’s films. Beginning with the brilliant WALKING & TALKING, and LOVELY & AMAZING I find it so delightfully refreshing to see smart films written and directed by a woman, focusing on women, and with
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