TOTO AND HIS SISTERS (Alexander Nanau, Romania). 93 minutes. Rating: NNNNN
When their mother is jailed for drug trafficking, 10-year-old Toto and his two teenaged sisters scramble to survive on their own in this devastating slice of poverty-stricken life.
Alexander Nanau captures the kids’ relationships with each other and their druggie uncles – who, testimony to the power of addiction, blithely shoot up beside Toto in bed while the cameras are rolling – as well as their encounters with social services.
Turns out Toto may have some talent as a dancer, but Nanau is more interested in tempering hope with desperation. The last shot is killer.
Apr 24, 9:45 pm, ROM Apr 25, 4:30 pm, Scotiabank 4 May 1, 9 pm, Scotiabank 7
