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Loose Cannons

LOOSE CANNONS (Ferzan Ozpetek, Italy). 110 minutes. Subtitled. Tonight (Thursday, May 19), 8 pm, TIFF Bell Lightbox 1.

INSIDE OUT TORONTO LGBT FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL at TIFF Bell Lightbox and Buddies in Bad Times, from today (Thursday, May 19) to May 29. $6-$13, galas $22-$28 (including after-party). 416-599-8433, insideout.ca. See Indie & Rep Film. Rating: NNN


The festival’s gala opener covers some well-trod ground with style, even if it takes a while to find its footing.

When Tommaso (Riccardo Scamarcio) returns to his southern Italian home to announce that he’s gay, he expects to be cut out of his family’s pasta business, which will free him to stay in Rome with his boyfriend and pursue his dreams of becoming a novelist. But things don’t go as planned.

Director Ferzan Ozpetek’s attempts to mix comedy and drama aren’t always successful – he relies too much on a whimsical score – and the film could use a tighter edit. Things pick up at the halfway point during a visit by Tommaso’s gay friends from Rome (including the boyfriend), prompting all sorts of comic reactions.

The last reel adds complexity to the characters, and the final scene, a bold experiment, works beautifully to link past and present.

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