Highly recommended
Border
If you want to see something you’ve never seen before, try Ali Abbasi’s film about an odd-looking Swedish border officer (Eva Melander) who has the ability to smell people’s feelings – especially fear. That’s all we’re going to tell you. See review.
Sep 12, 3:15 pm, TBLB 2.
Sibel
This beautiful film set in rural Turkey follows a mute woman (the charismatic Damla Sönmez) whose encounter with a wounded fugitive changes her life. See review.
Sep 12, 6 pm, TBLB 3 Sep 13, 3 pm, Scotiabank 13 Sep 15, 3:15 pm, Scotiabank 9.
Rojo
Benjamin Naishtat’s wickedly confident noir thriller – set in Dirty War-era Argentina – is apparently a strong contender for this year’s Platform Prize. See review.
Sep 12, 1:45 pm, TBLB 4 Sep 15, 3 pm, TBLB 2.
Persona
If you haven’t seen Ingmar Bergman’s psychologically complex masterpiece about a codependent relationship between an actress (Liv Ullman) and her young nurse (Bibi Andersson), don’t miss this free screening of a new 35mm print. Then watch the SCTV parody.
Sep 12, 5:15 pm, TBLB 4.
Not recommended
Peterloo
Writer/director Mike Leigh’s drama about a key event in British history is his most ambitious film yet. Alas, his approach is ill-suited to the material. See review.
Sep 12, 9:15 pm, TBLB 3 Sep 15, 3 pm, Scotiabank 4.
Woman At War
This co-production from Iceland, France and the Ukraine follows the life of a choir director/ecological activist who learns that she’s been approved to adopt a girl. The execution of the film borders on insufferable. See review.
Sep 12, 9:45 pm, Scotiabank 4.
Wild cards
Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema
In the year of Share Her Journey, how appropriate that TIFF audiences get to see the first four hours of Mark Cousins’s projected 16-hour film essay featuring only the work of female filmmakers.
Sep 12, 7 pm, Scotiabank 10.
The Wild Pear Tree
Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s work is polarizing. Either you love his slow-moving, beautifully filmed epics like Once Upon A Time In Anatolia and Winter Sleep, or you would rather watch paint dry in an Istanbul hovel. His new film, which clocks in at a typical three hours, follows an aspiring writer as he returns from college to a difficult family situation.
Sep 12, 8:30 pm, Scotiabank 3 Sep 14, 12:15 pm, Scotiabank 3.