Rating: NNNNN
Thursday, September 8
WATER (Deepa Mehta) The third in Mehta’s trilogy evoking women’s experience in India, set in a 1930s residence for widows. Stunning. (7:15 pm, Ryerson)
THE PRESIDENT’S LAST BANG (Im Sang-soo) State Of Siege meets Dr. Strangelove in this docudrama about the assassination of South Korean president Park Chung-hee. (7:15 pm, Varsity 1)
Friday, September 9
THE SUN (Alexander Sokurov) A must-see drama tracking the days leading up to Japan’s surrender in the second world war. (9:15 am, Paramount 1)
Saturday, September 10
A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE (David Cronenberg) Viggo Mortensen plays against type as a man who turns from hero to prey in this unique study in paranoia. (6:30 pm, Roy Thomson Hall).
Sunday, September 11
THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA (Tommy Lee Jones) Winner at Cannes for actor and screenplay, Three Burials follows a killer and his victim’s friend as they ride along the Rio Grande to Mexico to bury the body. From a script by the man who wrote 21 Grams. (1:30 pm, Roy Thomson Hall)
Monday, September 12
whole new thing (Amnon Buchbinder) A home-schooled boy (a gifted Aaron Webber) goes off to middle school, where he’s drawn to his English teacher (Daniel MacIvor). Could become a Canuck classic. (8:45 pm, Varsity 1)
Tuesday, September 13
WHERE THE TRUTH LIES (Atom Egoyan) Much-anticipated drama about a reporter trying to find out why a famous comedy duo broke up. An intense study of celebrity. (9:30 pm, Roy Thomson Hall)
TRISTRAM SHANDY: A COCK AND BULL STORY (Michael Winterbottom) A radical retelling of Laurence Sterne’s novel follows the making of a film adaptation of the book. A hilarious jab at the world of filmmaking. (7:15 pm, Ryerson)
Wednesday, September 14
SIX FIGURES (David Christensen) An impressive debut from a director to watch about a man (JR Bourne) who becomes the main suspect in a violent crime against his wife. Terrific performance by Bourne. (8:30 pm, Varsity 3)
Thursday, September 15
U-CARMEN EKHAYELITSHA (Mark Dornford-May) Bizet’s Carmen, transplanted to a Cape Town township, anchored by an awesome performance by Pauline Malefane. (3 pm, Elgin)
THE SQUID AND THE WHALE (Noah Baumbach) Catch Jesse Eisenberg, the best thing to happen to teen acting in years, in this fresh and intelligent story of a marriage gone sour. Jeff Daniels, as the dad, is as good as he’s ever been. (4 pm, Paramount 4)
Friday, September 16
WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT (Nick Park, Steve Box) Thanks to the boys who gave us Chicken Run, these characters finally get their feature film due. Terrific claymation. (6:30 pm, Roy Thomson Hall)
Saturday, September 17
PICK UP THE MIC (Alex Hinton) There’s more queer hiphop happening than you’d think, according to this fascinating documentary featuring the best in the game. (9 pm, ROM)
DEAR WENDY (Thomas Vinterberg) Another Dogme-tinged drama about America, this time about a teen gun cult. Full of ideas and wholly provocative. (10 am, Paramount 3)
