Film Reviews

This is psychological drama by Tomasz Zygadlo begins as a straightforward story. Jan (Roman Wilhelmi) is the host of a nightly talk show in which he counsels people who call in with their problems. He is dedicated to helping these lonely souls but becomes increasingly disturbed when his co-workers and supervisors at the radio station do not appreciate his program; they seem unable to grasp the importance of what he is doing. Aside from that, Jan's private life is frayed around the edges. His wife is a heavy drinker and his mistress has no comprehension about who he is or what he is doing. Jan's frustration over this lack of recognition builds to an explosive level, threatening to upset the balance of his daily life.

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Masha Drokova is a rising star in Russia’s popular nationalistic youth movement, Nashi. A smart, ambitious teenager who – literally – embraced Vladimir Putin and his promise of a greater Russia, her dedication as an organizer is rewarded with a university scholarship, an apartment, and a job as a spokesperson. But her bright political future falters when she befriends a group of liberal journalists who are critical of the government, including blogger Oleg Kashin, who calls Nashi a “group of hooligans,” and she’s forced to confront the group’s dirty – even violent – tactics.

Agnès Jaoui co-writes and directs this romantic comedy of manners set in France's rustic Provence. Unpolished and ultra-pragmatic industrialist Jean-Jacques Castella (co-scripter Jean-Pierre Bacri) reluctantly attends Racine's tragedy "Berenice" in order to see his niece play a bit part. He is taken with the play's strangely familiar-looking leading lady Clara Devaux (Anne Alvaro). During the course of the show, Castella soon remembers that he once hired and then promptly fired the actress as an English language tutor. He immediately goes out and signs up for language lessons. Thinking that he is nothing but an ill-tempered philistine with bad taste, Clara rejects him until Castella charms her off her feet.

An enigmatic actress (Emmanuelle Seigner) may have a hidden agenda when she auditions for a part in a misogynistic writer's (Mathieu Amalric) play.

The black and white film is intentionally dislodged, disturbed, disrespectful, even aggressive. Here, there is no story. The film is constituted of a series of scenes, without connection between them. At the start we are in the presence of a half deaf Beethoven, represented in a subjective way, so that the spectator becomes the composer. Then, we are present, in the confusion, at a laughable televised dispute over Beethoven and his music; an evaluation of his physical capacities, morals and psyches of the music of Beethoven on the performers. There are many other scenes, which cover subjects such as the hearing of the composer, the analysis of his skull, the course of musical television, the analysis of the texts of Beethoven (notably his conversation notebooks), etc. The film ends at the zoo, by the scenes presenting the animals in the most stupid attitudes possible.

Hamilton's America delves deeper into the creation of the Hamilton musical, revealing Lin-Manuel Miranda's process of absorbing and then adapting Hamilton's epic story into groundbreaking musical theater.

An average magician can entertain but a world-class artist can reawaken your faith in the impossible. In this utterly charming showbiz chronicle, four stellar magicians will amaze even the staunchest of skeptics. But for each of these virtuosos, true success seems illusory. Among them: Brian Gillis was Johnny Carson’s favourite close-up magician and a regular on The Tonight Show; David Minkin can levitate almost anything with his mind; and Jon Armstrong might be the best card trickster in the world—but none of them are satisfied. Each can captivate a crowd, but how long can they chase their dreams and at what cost? Following the artists on and off the stage, Magicians: Life in the Impossible captures the sacrifices, the obsessive drive, and the very real possibility of losing everything for the one true love of their lives.

A priest is sent to a small parish in the Polish countryside which is believed to be under demonic possession and there he finds his own temptations awaiting.

Feature length documentary on the making of David Cronenberg's The Fly.

After an attack against the guard of the Third Reich, Nazi repression intensifies, and the Czechoslovakian resistance's organized sabotage in an aircraft factory leads to Gestapo shootings.

Amateur plumber Cluny Brown gets sent off by her uncle to work as a servant at an English country estate..

The Guinness World of Records contains the most bizarre human achievements imaginable. But who are the crazy people behind the feats? From the grape catchers, to the hula hoopers and the ‘jogglers’, this humorous, but strikingly insightful documentary introduces us to the colourful characters who devote their lives to the oddest frontiers of human excellence. A delightfully eccentric human odyssey that is not to be missed.

Director Julien Temple (The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle, The Filth and the Fury) surveys the past century of London's tumultuous history in this vibrant documentary. (TIFF)

Following her boyfriend's suicide, supermarket clerk Morvern Callar passes off his unpublished novel as her own...