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| The race is on! Sophie Desmarais plays Sarah in Sarah Prefers to Run, an eOne Films release |
This week’s announcement of the Canadian films at TIFF
leaves much to anticipate. New films by Bruce McDonald (The Husband), Ingrid Veninger (The
Animal Project), Terry Miles (Cinemanovels),
Jennifer Baichwal (Watermark), and
Peter Stebbins (Empire of Dirt) all
sound like good reasons to head over to the festival’s website and add a ticket package of “The
Canadian” to one’s TIFF shopping cart. There’s also a double-dose of Denis
Villeneuve, which probably has many people excited. His double-header of Prisoners and Enemy might also have many Canadian filmmakers excited because
Villeneuve’s pair of Anglophone films means that the recent Oscar nominee for Incendies won’t be competing with his
fellow Quebecers for the coveted spot as Canada’s Oscar contender.
Canada has high expectations going in to this year’s Oscar
race since it holds one of the best batting averages among the Foreign Language
Film nations. Canada actually leads the tally of nominations in the category
over the past decade, as it ties Germany for five nominations across the last
ten years: Rebelle in 2012, Monsieur Lazhar in 2011, Incendies in 2010, Water in 2006, and Oscar winner The
Barbarian Invasions in 2003. That’s pretty good, I think. What film could
add to the standing and bring Canada its fourth consecutive nomination?
Oscar rules state
that the submitted film must “be first released in the country submitting it no
earlier than October 1, 2012, and no later than September 30, 2013.” The films
thus far in 2013 haven’t really been worthy of a submission, although the
selection committee could choose the middle-brow box office hit Louis Cyr, which doesn’t seem likely. This
date range means that a few stragglers from last year could also be selected,
although the only eligible films worthy of the title, All That You Possess and Alphée of the Stars, might not have much to gain at this point since they’re
through theatrical exhibition. The wild card might be Denis Côté’s Berlin hit Vic + Flo Saw a Bear, which isn’t
playing Toronto but opens theatrically during the festival on September 6. Readers
need not be too caught up on release dates, though, since films can be moved
around to ensure eligibility. 2011’s Canuck contender Monsieur Lazhar, for example, enjoyed a one-week qualifying run in
Edmonton before opening in Quebec in late October and in the ROC in early 2012.
The likelihood, however, is that the contender is lying somewhere
in the TIFF programme. Barring sleeper hit status, Catherine Martin’s Une jeune fille and Richie Mehta’s Siddarth could find themselves lost
among the other films in since they don’t have Canadian distribution, although the latter film premieres in the Venice Days section of the Venice Film Festival, which could bring it some attention at Toronto. (It helps
if there’s someone pushing the film both at the festival and afterwards.) Five films
with distribution stand out as strong possibilities, given their status in the
festival line-up, the pedigree of their filmmakers, or their buzz going into
Toronto. The five films that seem most worthwhile for keeping an eye on Canada
are:
Tom at the Farm (Tom à la ferme)
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| Photo courtesy Les films Séville |
Dir. Xavier Dolan
Programme: Special Presentations (North American Premiere)
Synopsis: This latest work from Canada’s endlessly inventive
and provocative Xavier Dolan (J'ai tué ma mere, Laurence Anyways)
follows a grief-stricken man who visits his dead lover’s parents — only to
discover that they were unaware of their son’s sexual orientation.
Cast: Xavier Dolan, Pierre-Yves Cardinal, Lise Roy, Evelyne
Brochu.
Xavier Dolan’s Tom at
the Farm is up first simply because it seems like the most logical first
choice. As mentioned previously, Dolan is probably due for another chance to
represent Canada since he first did so with his debut film I Killed My Mother in 2009. Dolan has only gained in popularity
since Mother, both in Canada and
abroad, thanks to his subsequent films Heartbeats
and Laurence Anyways, plus the
long-delayed American theatrical release of Mother
this year.
Tom at the Farm
sounds like a significant departure for Dolan. Not only is the film Dolan’s
first adaptation, but source author/playwright Michel Marc Bouchard also shares
a screenplay credit with Dolan, which marks the director’s first collaboration
on a major credit. I’ve admired Dolan’s previous films, but they’ve all
suffered from an element of self-indulgence, so perhaps working with a peer
might keep the film more balanced. Tom at
the Farm also notes a generic leap for Dolan, as the director’s signature reflection
on queer-themed sexual awakening tackles the realm of the psychological
thriller this time around. How Dolan’s stylish flair works with this different
tone could be very impressive, or it could be a letdown for hard-core fans if
he changes gears. There’s no denying the ambition of Dolan’s oeuvre, though,
and the style of Tom at the Farm is
bound to be impressive if one considers the additional talents teaming up with
Dolan: cinematographer André Turpin (Incendies)
and composer Gabriel Yared (The English
Patient), plus a cast that includes veteran actress Lise Roy (The Barbarian Invasions) and TIFF Rising
Star Evelyne Brochu (Café de flore, Inch ‘Allah).
Tom also marks a
significant fourth work for Dolan since it’s the first of his films not to
premiere at Cannes. The film, a Canada/France co-production, opens in
competition at Venice, whereas Dolan’s three previous films debuted outside the
main programme on the Croisette, before coming to Toronto. It’s a step up, for
sure, and a strong indication of Canada’s hottest young filmmaker’s rising
esteem in the industry. Tom doesn’t
have American distribution yet, although that’s bound to come after Venice and
TIFF. It also doesn’t have a firm release date, either, as the press materials
simply state that it anticipates a fall release. If word is good, might it be
fast-tracked for a qualifying run?
Sarah Prefers to Run (Sarah préfère la course)
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| Photo courtesy Les films Séville |
Dir. Chloé Robichaud
Programme: Discovery (Toronto Premiere)
Synopsis: This stylish and slyly comic chronicle of a young
woman’s sexual awakening is the highly anticipated feature debut of Quebec filmmaker
Chloé Robichaud.
Cast:
Sophie Desmarais, Jean-Sébastien Courchesne, Geneviève Boivin-Roussy, Eve
Duranceau, Hélène Florent, Micheline Lanctôt, Pierre-Luc Lafontaine, Benoît
Gouin
Sarah Prefers to Run
seems like a strong contender going into Toronto. The film by Chloé Robichaud,
making her feature debut, premiered at Cannes where it received a standing ovation. Sarah’s
strong run continued as it opened theatrically in Quebec early this summer and
enjoyed several weeks atop the Canadian box office. It has since grossed a
healthy $153 479 as of August 1st, which is respectable if one
considers that the take is from one province alone. Last year’s nominee Rebelle followed a similar pattern of
premiering at a major film festival (Berlin) before opening strong in Quebec
and bringing considerable pre-festival buzz to Toronto as it premiered to
Canadian audiences outside Quebec. But is Sarah
going into TIFF with the same hype as Rebelle
did?
In short, no. Early word from Cannes and Quebec is generally
positive, but the reviews don’t carry the same level of enthusiasm that Rebelle brought. For example, the Cannes
review from The Hollywood Reporter is largely dismissive, saying that Sarah Prefers to Run “feels too thin both narratively and
cinematically”. The review praises star Sophie Desmarais, but notes that Sarah
is a difficult character to find compelling. Variety
makes similar observations, offering a mixed review that says Desmarais gives
“a performance marked by intense watchfulness and very little dialogue” as
Sarah, but the reviewer remarks, “Sarah may prefer to run, but she doesn’t get
anywhere particularly notable in this determinedly flat character study…”
Cranky trades aside, Sarah Prefers to Run
kept a steady pace post-Cannes and found more favourable reviews at home. Sound on Sight,
for example, made observations consistent with the trades by noting the film’s subdued
style and the overall blankness of the closed-off Sarah, but concluded that the
film is “a compelling, effortlessly intimate character piece”. Similarly, Voir
says that Robichaud displays a mastery of her art, although the review
ultimately echoes the mixed, if mildly favourable reviews. The Montreal Gazette, meanwhile, offered the most negative review,
arguing, “that lack of emotional spark is… going to be a hurdle that
many viewers will have trouble getting over.” The best hope for Sarah might lie in the review for the
Francophone publication Affaire des gars, which calls the film a deeply moving work (“une
œuvre bouleversante”) and, more importantly, gives a more intuitive running
line than Variety does, saying that the film is more a matter of a marathon
than of a sprint (“Il est plus ici question de marathon que de sprint.”). If immediate gratification
is what the Foreign Language Film committee is looking for, Sarah isn’t it; however, a smart film
that lasts with the viewer/voter could be better in the long run.
Le Démantèlement
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| Photo credit: Bertrand Calmeau, courtesy Les films Séville |
Dir. Sébastien Pilote
Programme: Contemporary World Cinema (North American
Premiere)
Synopsis: The stoic patriarch of a Quebec farmstead makes a
dramatic sacrifice on behalf of his daughter in this poignant sophomore feature
from filmmaker Sébastien Pilote (The Salesman).
Cast: Gilles
Renaud, Gabriel Arcand, Lucie Laurier, Sophie Desmarais
Here’s an odd duck. Le Démantèlement offers both the best
and worst evidence for contention for Best Foreign Language Film. Let’s start
with the good news for this new film from Sébastien Pilote, whose previous film
Le vendeur was a surprise selection
for TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten in 2011. First, Le
Démantèlement premiered at Cannes where it took home Canada’s only award at
the festival by
netting the prize for Best Screenplay from la Société des auteurs et
compositeurs dramatiques (SACD). Second, Film Movement picked it up for American
distribution post-Cannes, which means that it is the only one of the five films
listed here to have a party secured to push the film through an awards
campaign. That alone is a significant factor. (The film is scheduled for
Canadian release on November 15th.)
Le Démantèlement sounds promising to represent Canada, or it does
until one grasps the critical consensus coming out of Cannes. Variety,
for one, calls Le Démantèlement “a film whose measured pace
and minimal conflict seem better suited to pastoral living than arthouse
viewing.” This review actually seems more favourable than other notices, which
don’t offer strong prospects for Oscar-ly success. Take Screen
Daily’s
review, which notes, “While beautifully shot and impressively
performed, it is ultimately perhaps too restrained and muted to break out
internationally.” Ditto The
Hollywood Reporter, which calls Le
Démantèlement a “lovingly crafted but overlong pastoral reverie”
and says the film “feels too culturally parochial and dramatically underpowered
to appeal to wider overseas markets.” Most reviews give strong notice to lead
actor Gabriel Arcand (who won a Genie for The
Decline of the American Empire, directed by his brother Denys),
cinematography, and score, but seem to agree that Pilote’s pastoral style might
simply be too slow and methodical for its own good. The reviews, however, aren’t
negative; they’re merely mixed. Moreover, the look and tone of Le Démantèlement certainly seems lovely
if one takes a glimpse at the trailer. This film might simply play better
locally than globally.
Gabrielle
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| Photo Credit: Philippe Bosse, courtesy of Les films Séville |
Dir. Louise Archambault
Programme: Special Presentations
(North American Premiere)
Synopsis: Quebecois director
Louise Archambault follows her smart and refreshing debut feature Familia
with this tender drama about a developmentally challenged young woman’s quest
for independence and sexual freedom.
Cast: Gabrielle Marion-Rivard, Alexandre Landry, Mélissa
Désormeaux-Poulin
There’s not yet much to go on for Gabrielle. The film nevertheless boasts
strong chances if it delivers, since it’s slated to hit theatres September 20th
following a North American Premiere at TIFF after making a World Premiere at
Locarno. This strategy has paid off well for Quebec’s strong producing team of
Kim McCraw and Luc Déry, who took Canada to the Oscars two years in a row with Incendies and Monsieur Lazhar. They missed out last year with Inch ‘Allah, which would have been my
personal choice to send, so they could be back after giving someone else a
turn.
Gabrielle reunites the producers with Incendies star Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin and Familia director Louise Archambault. Archambault, aside from
contributing a short to The National
Parks Project, has been curiously absent from feature filmmaking since her
2005 debut film Familia, which won
Best Canadian First Feature at TIFF and the Claude Jutra award for debut
filmmaker at the Canadian Genies. (It was also nominated for seven competitive
awards including Best Picture and Best Director.) The film looks very promising
from the trailer and early buzz seems positive with many writers noting Gabrielle as a film to watch from female
filmmakers on the festival circuit this fall. The subject matter of the film
also seems quite substantial, which could bode well in a category that often
favours challenging work. Reviews from Locarno should trickle in soon, as the
film premieres at the festival on Monday. If positive responses carry through
to TIFF and Gabrielle finds herself
an American distributor, the film could bring McCraw and Déry back to the big
competition.
Updated: The first reviews from Locarno are in! The Hollywood Reporter notes 'enthusiastic applause' for star Gabrielle Marion-Rivard at the film's screening, while Next Projection's Ronan Doyle (one of Indiewire's writers for its annual Critics Academy at the festival) gives the film a mixed response, writing, "Archambault’s film is light, even slight, its gentle humour and surface-skimming drama making for an affable enough experience, if rather an unmemorable one. Its strength is in the romance it crafts between Gabrielle and fellow singer Martin: leads Gabrielle Marion-Rivard and Alexandre Landry build vastly upon Archambault’s script, making of their characters’ romance something equally personal and political." La Presse, on the other hand, gives the film an all-out rave (depending on how good my French reading skills are) and notes that the audience was captivated by the film, especially Marion-Rivard, and was visibly delighted and moved during the screening. Journal de Montreal offers similar praise, calling the film "magic" and saying that it "is not to be missed". Metro, finally, notes that the film received a healthy ovation and that viewers were 'hyper-moved' by the film and, again, Marion-Rivard. So far so good for Gabrielle. Is the Locarno debut as good for Gabrielle as it was for Monsieur Lazhar?
Triptych
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| A scene from Triptych, an eOne Films release |
Dir. Robert Lepage with Pedro Pires
Programme: Masters, World Premiere
Synopsis: A Quebec City bookseller with psychiatric issues,
a German brain surgeon with a hand tremor, a jazz singer struggling to remember
the timbre of her father’s voice: the lives of these three characters intersect
in the sublime narrative geometry of this haunting adaptation of Robert
Lepage’s celebrated theatre work Lipsynch.
Cast: Frédérike Bédard, Lise Castonguay, Hans Piesbergen
Last but not least is a World Premiere at Toronto that could
be one of the festival’s main events for the Can Con crowd. Triptych is an event in itself being
Robert Lepage’s return to the director’s seat after a ten-year absence. One of
Canada’s most acclaimed filmmakers, Lepage has twice represented Canada in the
Oscar race, most recently with the 2003 film The Far Side of the Moon (La
face cachée de la lune) and in 1995 for The
Confessional, which also scooped the Genie for Best Picture. Audiences
might be most familiar with Lepage’s 2000 English language feature Possible Worlds, which starred Tilda
Swinton and The Sweet Hereafter’s Tom
McCamus.
Lepage hasn’t been lazy this past decade even though he
hasn’t been behind the camera. The director has had equal, if not greater,
success as a dramatist and he has adapted many of his own plays for the screen.
Triptych is Lepage’s latest effort in
bringing his own work from stage to screen. It also sounds like his most
ambitious project, too, as Lipsynch, the
play on which the film is based, has run between five and nine hours long. It’s
a haunting, elaborate work with innovative sets and visual design, which could
translate thrillingly (or fatally) to the cinema. (See below for a highlight
reel of the play.)
The excitement generated by Lepage’s return is clear in his
presence on the Canadian festival circuit this year. Not only is Toronto
welcoming him back by offering him a slot in the Masters programme, which
showcased Michael Haneke’s Amour last
year, but also the Montreal
Festival du nouveau cinema has selected Triptych
as its opening night film. Triptych
then hits Canadian theatres October 25th. Canada could therefore
send a seasoned master back to the competition as a rousing “Welcome back”.
So what could be Canada’s Oscar
choice? I’m not nearly as confident in hazarding a guess as I was last year in
speculating Rebelle’s chances. Odds
are that Tom or Gabrielle could bring popular filmmakers to the Oscar race if their
films deliver. Ditto Triptych,
although the film sounds like a risky and cerebral work. So was Possible Worlds, though, and Lepage has
proven that he can handle heavy material with an effortless air. Sarah Prefers to Run, on the other
hand, seems like a viable option outside of the films that are sight unseen. It
sounds like it has the goods to make a run for submission status, but it might
not have all it needs to make it to the finish line. Archambault and Robichaud
also offer viable options for Gabrielle and
Sarah, respectively, since sending
up-and-coming female directors might find favour with the image of diversity
that the Academy is trying to present. Any one of these films has a legitimate
chance if it goes over well, which makes this year’s race especially exciting.
(And if none of the films makes it
past the January shortlist, however, at least Canada can still root for Stories We Tell.)
