Revision Film Festivals

BRAD BROWN HAS BEEN TO MORE FILM FESTIVALS THAN PARIS HILTON

(1)“She, a Chinese” from China/UK – a young woman in rural China seeks an identity in the modern world, traveling first to the city of Chongqing and then London, England, dealing with some unsavory men in the process. The child she is carrying alone at the end of the film is, one wishes, a symbol of hope for the future but what awaits is open ended. An interesting musical score contrasts the soft music of John Parish with Chinese punk bands. The young woman director, Guo Xiaolu (also a published novelist), during the Q & A, sounded more academic than most directors and shared some biographical simiarities to her film’s heroine. ***

(2)“Irene” from France, directed by Alain Cavalier – a self-indulgent and boring video diary of a man’s reminiscences of his first wife who died in a car accident 30 years earlier, triggered by finding old diaries. A handheld camera focusses on objects and remains static while a long narration is voiced over. Both Mary and I nodded off frequently – for serious cinephiles or Cavalier fans only.

(3)“Vision” from Germany – director Margarethe von Trotta tells the life of the Medieval Benedictine nun Hildegard von Bingen who was a composer, scientist, healer, author and visionary, rising to the rank of Magistra of the Abbey while confronting gender bias at every turn. The wonderful actress Barbara Sukowa plays the role and was present with von Trotta for the Q & A. Beautiful camera work and strong performances generated much discussion between Mary and I concerning the use and abuse of power, thwarted love and the limited possibilities available for women of the time wanting to pursue intellectual pursuits. ****

(4)“Samson & Delilah” from Australia, directed by Warwick Thornton – a young Aboriginal couple struggle against each other, prejudice, substance abuse, exploitation and limited opportunity in rural and urban Australian communities, yet ends with the possibility of happiness if they honour their cultural heritage. With next to no dialogue between the two protangonists, an elegiac tone is established throughout the film with both camera work and soundtrack. Many humourous moments provide comic relief from a life of pain, boredom and drudgery.

(5)“Moloch Tropical” from Haiti – an allegory of despotism and the magnetism and abuse of power. Paralleling Haiti’s real history (think the ousted president Aristide) with references to Clinton and Bush, the film is both topical and universal. Throughout, I was surprised by how suddently the scene would change from one of extreme violence to almost slapstick comedy, which I suspect captures distinct aspects of the culture of the island. The director Raoul Peck was once Haiti’s minister of culture and with his cast in tow had an appreciative audience for the followup Q & A. An interesting, but over applauded, accomplishment.

(6)“Cracks” from the UK – Ridley Scott’s daughter Jordan directed this beautiful to look at derivative story of life in a private girls boarding school combining themes and plots from “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” and Lillian Hellman’s homoerotic “The Children’s Hour” – an unconventional teacher inspires her students to liberalizing but tragic ends. Ms. Scott is beautiful, thin and extremely privileged and one wonders if this film, while professionally accomplished, would have been made without her father’s support. Her answers during the Q & A were not particularly intelligent or insightful but delivered with a sense of entitled noblesse oblige.

(7)“A Prophet” from France – director Jacques Audiard’s ugly but brilliantly told prison tale depicting how Malik, a young Arab, survives and learns to manipulate the brutal prison community controlled by the Corsican kingpin Cesar, who pits his coterie of thugs against their Muslim counterparts. Though his life is hardened by this harrowing existence, tender moments with his friend’s wife and baby show Malik doesn’t lose all of his humanity before release. A touch of magical realism adds depth to what might otherwise be just another strongly acted and suspense filled tale of prison life. ****

(8)"Same, Same but Different" from Germany, directed by Detlev Buck with the young actor who played Kate Winslet's lover in "The Reader". Here, he falls in love with a young bargirl on a trip to Cambodia who is HIV positive - a touching tale based on a true story. Some insights into how difficult life is in Cambodia juxtaposed with the contrasting affluence of Europe and the commercial relationships this dichotemy entails when the two cultures interact, is an interesting study.

(9)"Castaway on the Moon" from South Korea, directed by Lee Hey-jun - at times hilarious and other times very moving, a suicide attempt lands a young man on an island in the Han River and, subsequently, a Robinson Crusoe like existence. A young woman, who hasn't left her room for 3 years, observes him through her camera's photo lens from her high rise apartment and falls in love. I really enjoyed this movie and marvelled at how slapstick humour could elicit such empathy for its two protagonists – Chaplinesque!

(10) “Carmel” from Israel – director Amos Gitai (“Kadash” & “Plus tard, tu comprendras”) uses his successful career to fund a self-indulgent, experimental, non-narrative film verse characterized by images superimposed over images, biography juxtaposed with history, voiceover overlapping voiceover and some lovely poetry recitations. Little new is explored to explain why the history of Israel is so war ladened. For me this was a boring, sleep-inducing drag. Jeanne Moreau, who was so splendid in his “Plus tard, tu comprendras”, acts as narrator but even that glorious smoky voice didn’t prop up the eyelids! In Q&A, Gitai was more interesting than his film.

(11) “White Material” from France with Isabelle Huppert, directed by Claire Denis. In post-colonial Africa, a French national woman tries to save her coffee plantation in the midst of civil war between government forces, rebels and a roving child soldier band. The men in her life (father-in-law owner, ex-husband and son) are useless betrayers, the son verging on insanity. A legendary rebel named “the Boxer” enters this mayem, his world also turned upside down by this aimless lawlessness. Inevitable tragedy ensues. Huppert is superb, as usual. This was a fascinating film in its exploration of the effects of colonial history and contemporary values on present day outcomes. ****

(12)”Leslie, My Name is Evil” from Canada. A campy retelling of the life of Leslie Van Houten (one of Charles Manson’s “family” charged and convicted with the sensational Hollywood murders of the LaBianca couple following those of Sharon Tate et al) and a Christian jurist who, largely due to sexual frustration caused by his evangelical girlfriend’s resistance to premarital hanky panky, becomes entranced by Leslie’s free spirit. This comedic take is somewhat unsuccessfully juxtaposed with real life documentary of the Vietnam war and in particular the My Lai massacre. The director makes a valid and interesting argument concerning the almost schizophrenic nature of American society that was outraged by one horror but condoned the other, but the two tones don’t converge well. The director, Reginald Harkema, a giant hippie with long hair, frumpy clothes and a lot of “ya know?”’s sprinkled throughout his speech, was funny and interesting but a real throwback to the period, as if he’d never really left it.

(13) “Should I Really Do It?” from Turkey. A head shaved German hairdresser/ fashion photographer leaves her bohemian, drug induced, creative life in Istanbul to return to a German village to nurse her conservative twin sister dying of cancer. She has already lost both parents and one of her own kidneys to cancer. We learn of her life and coping skills largely by listening in to her talking sessions with a transvestite therapist who always wears a black rubber S & M mask donned with a Carol Channing style platinum or red wig. She is left with two dogs to care for when her sister dies, who she regards as children and cause her to move back to Germany as her apartment in Istanbul is not an amenable environment for them. Gradually she seems to metamorphose into a character that blends the more conservative character of her sister with her previous outrageous personality, which raises the question of whether she really had a twin or has just, through therapy, melded her own “twin” identities. The dream sequence featuring a Deathlike character that ends the film, plus the therapist’s appearance in other contexts suggests this possibility. Some wonderfully lit, panning shots of rural landscapes contrasted with the hustle of Istanbul, a great sound tract ranging from classical to punk rock and a palette of vivid colours helps make this a fascinating film. The director, Ismail Necmi, a well known photographer in Turkey, the woman/actress whose life the film was capturing along with the “therapist”, wearing his head gear, were all present for the Q & A. ***

(14)”A Brand New Life” from France/Korea. A young Korean girl, rejected by her stepmother, is abandoned by her father at an orphanage where she lives until adopted by a Parisienne couple via mail order. Her anger, dispondency and coping skills are catalogued by her behaviour and interactions with the other orphans and staff. All the actors, children and adults, are wonderful but the central character is particularly enchanting and expressive. The Korean director, Ounie Lecomte, just flown in from Paris, was herself adopted by a French couple as a child and relied heavily on her own experiences to make the film. She spoke elegantly in both French and English during the Q & A but admitted to not speaking Korean. Obviously, she seems to have benefitted personally by the “better life” adoption provided, but at what cost? As the girl Yehshen, in the film’s final shot, walks alone toward the departure gates of the Paris airport to meet her new parents, this question begs to be answered.

(15)”Shirley Adams” from South Africa, directed by Oliver Hermanus. A mother is left to cope with a quadrapelegic son, as a result of his being caught in the crossfire of gang fighting, and the consequent abandonment of her husband. A well intentioned student nurse assigned, as part of her training, to help Shirley, causes friction both racial (Shirley is mixed race, the student is white) and generational. A trial identifies her son’s offender to be a childhood friend and son of one of Shirley’s best friends, which raises the possibility of her son’s involvement in gangs. The son who has tried to commit suicide by drug overdose in the film’s opening shot is successful on his second attempt by drowning in the bath tub. Water images are frequent – the washing of hands, the bathing of bodies, the quenching of thirst, the son’s previous joy of swimming and it being said, when a boy, that he should have been a fish. The closing shots of Shirley on the beach with her son’s ashes and the crashing of surf on sand indicates that strength of character will ensure her survival from this baptism of tragedy. The actress playing the central character, Denise Newman, a well known stage actress in South Africa, is absolutely mesmerizing in her first film portrayal. The young director, very articulate and accommodating during the Q & A, is a film student and has submitted this film as his post graduate thesis – a very impressive first feature. ***

(16) “Spring Fever” from Hong Kong, directed by Lou Ye. A woman, suspecting her husband is having an affair, commissions a sleuth, only to discover the third party is another man. Tragedy ensues: the husband commits suicide, the wife tries to kill the lover, the sleuth’s spying awakens his own bisexuality, he takes up with the lover only to lose both him and the girlfriend. Poetry, read in voiceover, tries to disguise this "Baby Blue" as art - unsuccessfully! Too long and too didactic.

(17) “lo sono l’amore” (“I am Love”) from Italy with Tilda Swinton and Marisa Berenson. An ultra-wealthy, Milanese, industrial family’s very ordered life is seriously disrupted when the mother has an affair with her son’s friend and leaves the home. Swinton is perfect in the role of Russian emigre outsider, married into this very self-protecting dynasty. The sweeping camera, following a movement or a gaze, pulls you into the action. The score, dramatic and operatic, controls your emotions and the set designs, clothing and food are salivatingly sumptuous. However, the director, Luca Guadagnino, can get overly cliched, such as when he creates a montage of nature shots (ex: insects in flowers) and lovemaking. This movie is one of the most exquisitely beautiful and sensuous films I have ever seen, but the plot, aided by the score, initially suggesting something ominous is to happen, becomes overly melodramatic and derivative, an intoxicating journey through vacuity. ***

(18) “Kelin” from Kazakhstan, directed by Ermek Tursunov. In 2nd century Kazakhstan, a beautiful young woman is bartered to the highest paying suitor, her true love losing out but vowing revenge. With spirit forces, and shamanistic rituals, Nature exacts its control over everyone. The only verbalization is wails and battle cries but beautiful cinematography and an excellent sound track fills in the spaces. ***

(19) “Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glen Gould” A documentary by directors Peter Raymont & Michele Hozer from Canada. With footage not seen before and interviews with key people from his life, the film sensitively explores the contradictions between Gould’s personal and public lives and how loneliness and isolation eventually came to dominate. While in the earlier years he would exploit his eccentricities for public and commercial gain, eventually, the virtual became the real. ***

(20) “Visage” (“Face”) Director Tsai Ming-liang from Taiwan. The latest bizarre and surreal film by this artist, it concerns a Taiwanese director making a film in the Louvre about the story of Salome and John the Baptist, but the process is interrupted by the death of his mother. Biography parallels this plot as Tsai’s mother really did die in the process of making the film and he was invited by the Louvre to make a film inside the museum. Da Vinci’s painting “St. John the Baptist” inspired the plot. John-Pierre Leaud, Fanny Ardant, the model/actress Laetitia Casta and Lee Kang-Sheng (who is in all of Tsai’s films) play the principle roles, with cameos by Jeanne Moreau, Nathalie Baye and Mathieu Amalric (2007’s “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”). While bizarre mise en scene and surreal and dissonant scene connects are intriguing and thought provoking, agonizingly long camera shots and paralyzing pacing make this a difficult film to sit through – truly an example, in my opinion, of art for Art’s sake.



BRAD BROWN HAS BEEN TO MORE FILM FESTIVALS THAN PARIS HILTON (1)“She, a Chinese” from China/UK – a young woman in rural China seeks an identity in the modern world, traveling first to the city of Chongqing and then London, England, dealing with some unsavory men in the process. The child she is carrying alone at the end of the film is, one wishes, a symbol of hope for the future but what awaits is open ended. An interesting musical score contrasts the soft music of John Parish with Chinese punk bands. The young woman director, Guo Xiaolu (also a published novelist), during the Q & A, sounded more academic than most directors and shared some biographical simiarities to her film’s heroine. * (2)“Irene” from France, directed by Alain Cavalier – a self-indulgent and boring video diary of a man’s reminiscences of his first wife who died in a car accident 30 years earlier, triggered by finding old diaries. A handheld camera focusses on objects and remains static while a long narration is voiced over. Both Mary and I nodded off frequently – for serious cinephiles or Cavalier fans only. (3)“Vision” from Germany – director Margarethe von Trotta tells the life of the Medieval Benedictine nun Hildegard von Bingen who was a composer, scientist, healer, author and visionary, rising to the rank of Magistra of the Abbey while confronting gender bias at every turn. The wonderful actress Barbara Sukowa plays the role and was present with von Trotta for the Q & A. Beautiful camera work and strong performances generated much discussion between Mary and I concerning the use and abuse of power, thwarted love and the limited possibilities available for women of the time wanting to pursue intellectual pursuits. (4)“Samson & Delilah” from Australia, directed by Warwick Thornton – a young Aboriginal couple struggle against each other, prejudice, substance abuse, exploitation and limited opportunity in rural and urban Australian communities, yet ends with the possibility of happiness if they honour their cultural heritage. With next to no dialogue between the two protangonists, an elegiac tone is established throughout the film with both camera work and soundtrack. Many humourous moments provide comic relief from a life of pain, boredom and drudgery. (5)“Moloch Tropical” from Haiti – an allegory of despotism and the magnetism and abuse of power. Paralleling Haiti’s real history (think the ousted president Aristide) with references to Clinton and Bush, the film is both topical and universal. Throughout, I was surprised by how suddently the scene would change from one of extreme violence to almost slapstick comedy, which I suspect captures distinct aspects of the culture of the island. The director Raoul Peck was once Haiti’s minister of culture and with his cast in tow had an appreciative audience for the followup Q & A. An interesting, but over applauded, accomplishment. (6)“Cracks” from the UK – Ridley Scott’s daughter Jordan directed this beautiful to look at derivative story of life in a private girls boarding school combining themes and plots from “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” and Lillian Hellman’s homoerotic “The Children’s Hour” – an unconventional teacher inspires her students to liberalizing but tragic ends. Ms. Scott is beautiful, thin and extremely privileged and one wonders if this film, while professionally accomplished, would have been made without her father’s support. Her answers during the Q & A were not particularly intelligent or insightful but delivered with a sense of entitled noblesse oblige. (7)“A Prophet” from France – director Jacques Audiard’s ugly but brilliantly told prison tale depicting how Malik, a young Arab, survives and learns to manipulate the brutal prison community controlled by the Corsican kingpin Cesar, who pits his coterie of thugs against their Muslim counterparts. Though his life is hardened by this harrowing existence, tender moments with his friend’s wife and baby show Malik doesn’t lose all of his humanity before release. A touch of magical realism adds depth to what might otherwise be just another strongly acted and suspense filled tale of prison life. (8)"Same, Same but Different" from Germany, directed by Detlev Buck with the young actor who played Kate Winslet's lover in "The Reader". Here, he falls in love with a young bargirl on a trip to Cambodia who is HIV positive - a touching tale based on a true story. Some insights into how difficult life is in Cambodia juxtaposed with the contrasting affluence of Europe and the commercial relationships this dichotemy entails when the two cultures interact, is an interesting study. (9)"Castaway on the Moon" from South Korea, directed by Lee Hey-jun - at times hilarious and other times very moving, a suicide attempt lands a young man on an island in the Han River and, subsequently, a Robinson Crusoe like existence. A young woman, who hasn't left her room for 3 years, observes him through her camera's photo lens from her high rise apartment and falls in love. I really enjoyed this movie and marvelled at how slapstick humour could elicit such empathy for its two protagonists – Chaplinesque! (10) “Carmel” from Israel – director Amos Gitai (“Kadash” & “Plus tard, tu comprendras”) uses his successful career to fund a self-indulgent, experimental, non-narrative film verse characterized by images superimposed over images, biography juxtaposed with history, voiceover overlapping voiceover and some lovely poetry recitations. Little new is explored to explain why the history of Israel is so war ladened. For me this was a boring, sleep-inducing drag. Jeanne Moreau, who was so splendid in his “Plus tard, tu comprendras”, acts as narrator but even that glorious smoky voice didn’t prop up the eyelids! In Q&A, Gitai was more interesting than his film. (11) “White Material” from France with Isabelle Huppert, directed by Claire Denis. In post-colonial Africa, a French national woman tries to save her coffee plantation in the midst of civil war between government forces, rebels and a roving child soldier band. The men in her life (father-in-law owner, ex-husband and son) are useless betrayers, the son verging on insanity. A legendary rebel named “the Boxer” enters this mayem, his world also turned upside down by this aimless lawlessness. Inevitable tragedy ensues. Huppert is superb, as usual. This was a fascinating film in its exploration of the effects of colonial history and contemporary values on present day outcomes. (12)”Leslie, My Name is Evil” from Canada. A campy retelling of the life of Leslie Van Houten (one of Charles Manson’s “family” charged and convicted with the sensational Hollywood murders of the LaBianca couple following those of Sharon Tate et al) and a Christian jurist who, largely due to sexual frustration caused by his evangelical girlfriend’s resistance to premarital hanky panky, becomes entranced by Leslie’s free spirit. This comedic take is somewhat unsuccessfully juxtaposed with real life documentary of the Vietnam war and in particular the My Lai massacre. The director makes a valid and interesting argument concerning the almost schizophrenic nature of American society that was outraged by one horror but condoned the other, but the two tones don’t converge well. The director, Reginald Harkema, a giant hippie with long hair, frumpy clothes and a lot of “ya know?”’s sprinkled throughout his speech, was funny and interesting but a real throwback to the period, as if he’d never really left it. (13) “Should I Really Do It?” from Turkey. A head shaved German hairdresser/ fashion photographer leaves her bohemian, drug induced, creative life in Istanbul to return to a German village to nurse her conservative twin sister dying of cancer. She has already lost both parents and one of her own kidneys to cancer. We learn of her life and coping skills largely by listening in to her talking sessions with a transvestite therapist who always wears a black rubber S & M mask donned with a Carol Channing style platinum or red wig. She is left with two dogs to care for when her sister dies, who she regards as children and cause her to move back to Germany as her apartment in Istanbul is not an amenable environment for them. Gradually she seems to metamorphose into a character that blends the more conservative character of her sister with her previous outrageous personality, which raises the question of whether she really had a twin or has just, through therapy, melded her own “twin” identities. The dream sequence featuring a Deathlike character that ends the film, plus the therapist’s appearance in other contexts suggests this possibility. Some wonderfully lit, panning shots of rural landscapes contrasted with the hustle of Istanbul, a great sound tract ranging from classical to punk rock and a palette of vivid colours helps make this a fascinating film. The director, Ismail Necmi, a well known photographer in Turkey, the woman/actress whose life the film was capturing along with the “therapist”, wearing his head gear, were all present for the Q & A. * (14)”A Brand New Life” from France/Korea. A young Korean girl, rejected by her stepmother, is abandoned by her father at an orphanage where she lives until adopted by a Parisienne couple via mail order. Her anger, dispondency and coping skills are catalogued by her behaviour and interactions with the other orphans and staff. All the actors, children and adults, are wonderful but the central character is particularly enchanting and expressive. The Korean director, Ounie Lecomte, just flown in from Paris, was herself adopted by a French couple as a child and relied heavily on her own experiences to make the film. She spoke elegantly in both French and English during the Q & A but admitted to not speaking Korean. Obviously, she seems to have benefitted personally by the “better life” adoption provided, but at what cost? As the girl Yehshen, in the film’s final shot, walks alone toward the departure gates of the Paris airport to meet her new parents, this question begs to be answered. (15)”Shirley Adams” from South Africa, directed by Oliver Hermanus. A mother is left to cope with a quadrapelegic son, as a result of his being caught in the crossfire of gang fighting, and the consequent abandonment of her husband. A well intentioned student nurse assigned, as part of her training, to help Shirley, causes friction both racial (Shirley is mixed race, the student is white) and generational. A trial identifies her son’s offender to be a childhood friend and son of one of Shirley’s best friends, which raises the possibility of her son’s involvement in gangs. The son who has tried to commit suicide by drug overdose in the film’s opening shot is successful on his second attempt by drowning in the bath tub. Water images are frequent – the washing of hands, the bathing of bodies, the quenching of thirst, the son’s previous joy of swimming and it being said, when a boy, that he should have been a fish. The closing shots of Shirley on the beach with her son’s ashes and the crashing of surf on sand indicates that strength of character will ensure her survival from this baptism of tragedy. The actress playing the central character, Denise Newman, a well known stage actress in South Africa, is absolutely mesmerizing in her first film portrayal. The young director, very articulate and accommodating during the Q & A, is a film student and has submitted this film as his post graduate thesis – a very impressive first feature. * (16) “Spring Fever” from Hong Kong, directed by Lou Ye. A woman, suspecting her husband is having an affair, commissions a sleuth, only to discover the third party is another man. Tragedy ensues: the husband commits suicide, the wife tries to kill the lover, the sleuth’s spying awakens his own bisexuality, he takes up with the lover only to lose both him and the girlfriend. Poetry, read in voiceover, tries to disguise this "Baby Blue" as art - unsuccessfully! Too long and too didactic. (17) “lo sono l’amore” (“I am Love”) from Italy with Tilda Swinton and Marisa Berenson. An ultra-wealthy, Milanese, industrial family’s very ordered life is seriously disrupted when the mother has an affair with her son’s friend and leaves the home. Swinton is perfect in the role of Russian emigre outsider, married into this very self-protecting dynasty. The sweeping camera, following a movement or a gaze, pulls you into the action. The score, dramatic and operatic, controls your emotions and the set designs, clothing and food are salivatingly sumptuous. However, the director, Luca Guadagnino, can get overly cliched, such as when he creates a montage of nature shots (ex: insects in flowers) and lovemaking. This movie is one of the most exquisitely beautiful and sensuous films I have ever seen, but the plot, aided by the score, initially suggesting something ominous is to happen, becomes overly melodramatic and derivative, an intoxicating journey through vacuity. * (18) “Kelin” from Kazakhstan, directed by Ermek Tursunov. In 2nd century Kazakhstan, a beautiful young woman is bartered to the highest paying suitor, her true love losing out but vowing revenge. With spirit forces, and shamanistic rituals, Nature exacts its control over everyone. The only verbalization is wails and battle cries but beautiful cinematography and an excellent sound track fills in the spaces. * (19) “Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glen Gould” A documentary by directors Peter Raymont & Michele Hozer from Canada. With footage not seen before and interviews with key people from his life, the film sensitively explores the contradictions between Gould’s personal and public lives and how loneliness and isolation eventually came to dominate. While in the earlier years he would exploit his eccentricities for public and commercial gain, eventually, the virtual became the real. * (20) “Visage” (“Face”) Director Tsai Ming-liang from Taiwan. The latest bizarre and surreal film by this artist, it concerns a Taiwanese director making a film in the Louvre about the story of Salome and John the Baptist, but the process is interrupted by the death of his mother. Biography parallels this plot as Tsai’s mother really did die in the process of making the film and he was invited by the Louvre to make a film inside the museum. Da Vinci’s painting “St. John the Baptist” inspired the plot. John-Pierre Leaud, Fanny Ardant, the model/actress Laetitia Casta and Lee Kang-Sheng (who is in all of Tsai’s films) play the principle roles, with cameos by Jeanne Moreau, Nathalie Baye and Mathieu Amalric (2007’s “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”). While bizarre mise en scene and surreal and dissonant scene connects are intriguing and thought provoking, agonizingly long camera shots and paralyzing pacing make this a difficult film to sit through – truly an example, in my opinion, of art for Art’s sake.
Read Canadian Cinephile and Gossip Guru, Betsy Webber's take on TIFF. There is a lot of street activity and a lot of excitement in the air. The weather is cooperating and giving us a very comfortable waiting in line experience. TIFF seems to have listened to the complaints from last year and I have yet to experience the frustrations of being in the wrong line for a film. I think that there is a better scheduling of films so that we're all not lined up for many different titles. More From Toronto