Highly recommended
If Beale Street Could Talk
Barry Jenkins’s follow-up to his Oscar-winning Moonlight is a masterpiece about love and dignity in the face of systemic oppression. Powerful newcomer KiKi Layne and Toronto-raised actor Stephan James star in this searing, deeply empathetic adaptation of James Baldwin’s 1974 novel. See review.
Sep 10, 11 am, Princess of Wales.
Heartbound
This devastating documentary – filmed over a decade – examines marriages of convenience between Thai women and Danish men. The stories will haunt you long after the closing credits. See review.
Sep 10, 9:45 pm, Scotiabank 14 Sep 15, 10:15 am, Scotiabank 10.
Wildlife
Carey Mulligan, Jake Gyllenhaal and clear-eyed newcomer Ed Oxenbould play a fractured Midwest family trying to get by amidst unemployment, the changing social landscape of the early 1960s and raging forest fires on the outskirts of their small Montana town. Paul Dano’s feature debut as a director is quiet and unshowy but full of rage just beneath the surface. See review.
Sep 10, 2:30 pm, Princess of Wales Sep 12, 5:45 pm, Ryerson Sep 15, 6:15 pm, Winter Garden.
The Grand Bizarre
Jodie Mack’s experimental documentary about the global textile trade bursts with energy and invention to the point of sensory overload. See review.
Sep 10, 11:45 am, TBLB 4.
Not recommended
This Changes Everything
Tom Donahue’s documentary about sexism in Hollywood has been in the works for almost six years, long before the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements. But despite interviews with Reese Witherspoon, Meryl Streep, Shondra Rhimes and others, it doesn’t dig very deep into the issues. See review.
Sep 10, 7 pm, Scotiabank 11 Sep 15, 9:30 pm, Scotiabank 4.
The Great Darkened Days
Despite the best efforts of its actors (including Sarah Gadon and Roman Duris), Canadian director Maxime Giroux’s allegorical statement on the state of the world is an ungodly mess. See review.
Sep 10, 9 pm, Scotiabank 3 Sep 12, 9 am, TBLB 3 Sep 16, 6:45 pm, Scotiabank 11.
Wild cards
The Wind
We haven’t seen it yet, but buzz is so high for Emma Tammi’s western horror flick that the festival had to add a second industry screening to accommodate demand.
Sep 10, 11:59 pm, Ryerson Sep 12, 10:30 pm, Scotiabank 13 Sep 13, 10:15 pm, Scotiabank 12.
Meeting Gorbachev
Werner Herzog’s doc – essentially a conversation with the former leader of the Soviet Union – feels a bit slight. But if the Bavarian filmmaker comes to tonight’s premiere it’s sure to be lively. See review.
Sep 10, 9 pm, TBLB 1 Sep 11, 4 pm, Scotiabank 4 Sep 15, noon, Scotiabank 1.
First Man
Damien Chazelle’s first film since winning the best director Oscar for La La Land (and making history as the youngest person to do so) is a biopic starring that film’s Ryan Gosling as astronaut Neil Armstrong. Will it blast off? The countdown ends at today’s two gala screenings.
Sep 10, 4 pm, Elgin Theatre Sep 10, 6 pm, Roy Thomson Hall Sep 11, 11 am, Princess of Wales, Sep 12, 6 pm, Scotiabank 12 Sep 13, 6 pm, Scotiabank 12 Sep 14, 6 pm, Scotiabank 12 Sep 15, 6 pm, Scotiabank 12 Sep 15, 9:30 pm, Princess of Wales Sep 16, 6 pm, Scotiabank 12.
