by Jaime Davis, The Fixer

Another successful TIFF in the books! I seriously haven’t had this much activity in my life since like, March 16, 2020. I’m tired, y’all. While this year’s fest felt a bit more subdued than in previous years, it was still filled with so many magical movie experiences. Can’t wait for #TIFF22!

Bergman Island
Written and directed by Mia Hansen-Løve
Starring Vicky Krieps, Tim Roth, Mia Wasikowska, Anders Danielsen Lie
Running time: 1 hour 52 minutes

Bergman Island is one of those quiet movies where intellectual types think and talk and drink and smoke and do little things that mean so much like ride a bike through a rainstorm or listlessly leaf through books. In theory, there’s only a little bit happening in Bergman Island but I find it fascinating nonetheless. Mia Hansen-Løve’s body of work deals with the interpersonal webs that weave romantic relationships into familial ones; in her acclaimed films, often female characters must deal with the unexpected arising from their partners’ personal demons. While Hansen-Løve’s work feels auto-biographical, the filmmaker has stated it's just personal, not necessarily based on fact. Despite this claim, Bergman Island excited me with an opportunity to (perhaps) get an inside view of what her previous real-life relationship with director Olivier Assayas might have been like.

The film begins with couple Chris (Vicky Krieps) and Tony (Tim Roth) descending on the island of Fårö, southwest of the Swedish mainland in the Baltic Sea. The two are filmmakers, off on a working holiday. For the Ingmar Bergman fans out there (like my wife, who’s already plotted out our island trip), they know that Fårö is the former home of the Swedish director, and the location where he filmed Through a Glass Darkly, The Passion of Anna, Shame, and Scenes from a Marriage. As the guest of the Ingmar Bergman Foundation, Tony (and by extension, Chris) is treated to special perks during their stay - ensconced at Dämba on the Bergman estate, entitled to 35 mm film viewings at Bergman’s screening room, and tours of the island via the Bergman Safari (!!!). In exchange, Tony attends Q&A’s with cinephiles obsessed with and inspired by his work, while Chris explores the local sites on her own, misses their daughter, and frets over her current screenplay. Her life feels like a bit of a supporting one to Tony’s, as she watches him move through his career with ease and confidence. She expresses personal struggles with the writing process while all kinds of thoughts and ideas seem to easily spring from Tony.

When Chris starts to tell Tony about her latest script idea, in the hopes of him helping her work through it, we’re treated to a visualization of her story, about a woman (Mia Wasikowska) who can’t seem to shake her previous love (Anders Danielsen Lie). It’s clear to Tony that in her story, Chris is revealing something deeply personal about herself, and he claims he can’t help her. To a writer nothing sacred, right? It’s heartbreaking to watch - nobody wins in this scenario.

Bergman Island eventually morphs into a movie within a movie within a movie, as we catch a short glimpse (just a few scenes) of Chris wrapping up production of her film on the same island. Shot in a virtual movie paradise, it’s an absorbing character study of the highest order.

The Falls
Written and directed by Chung Mong-Hong
Starring Alyssa Chia and Gingle Wang
Running time: 2 hours 9 minutes

Tucked away in a tony neighborhood of Taipei, in a sleek, modern high-rise apartment (one that almost kinda rivals that fantastic house in Parasite), a mother/daughter relationship unravels before slowly heading towards reconciliation. Xiao Jing is your typical Taiwanese 12th grader - studying for her big exams at the end of the year, figuring out her college plans, having fun with her friends whenever she can. Her mother Pin-Wen is a classy, divorced working woman, with a fantastic wardrobe, stylish car, and luxurious million-dollar apartment. All is well, or so it seems, as the global pandemic continues its hold on the world around them. When one of Xiao Jing’s classmates tests positive for COVID and she begins self-isolating at home, Pin-Wen’s boss asks her to quarantine with her. Her company has fallen on some hard times, and every employee was recently asked to voluntarily cut their salary by at least 10%. Reluctantly, she stays at home with her daughter, which is where the trouble begins.

Initially, the film uses Pin-Wen’s eyes primarily to see the world, but soon she becomes the most unreliable of narrators, as her mental health quickly deteriorates and she loses her job. Xiao Jing steps up to take care of the household but learns everything is not as it seems. Saddled with debt, her mother has neglected to pay their housekeeper for months and owes thousands in mortgage payments and condo fees. Her father, called in from time to time to help deal with her mother’s health, offers very little comfort. To the chagrin of PIn-Wen, he’s devoted to his new wife and family, providing only basic support. While it takes Pin-Wen time to realize their marriage is truly over, Xiao Jing finds the strength she needs to help her and her mother stand on their own without him.

The Falls, though not quite as eerie as I expected, is an intriguing, sprawling saga that highlights the importance of caring for people where they’re at, as opposed to where you want them to be. In taking care of her mother, Xiao Jing doesn’t chastise Pin-Wen during her bouts of paranoia. In one of the most heartbreaking scenes, Xiao Jing acts as if Pin-Wen’s vision of soldiers lurking outside their apartment door is real, shooing them away with a broom. Filmmaker Chung Mong-Hong (the acclaimed A Sun) spreads the message that less can be more - while Xiao Jing and Pin-Wen begin shedding the trappings of their previous life (corporate job, apartment, car, attending university abroad), their relationship blooms into something more tenable, resilient. No longer living an artfully curated lifestyle, they awaken to their ability to take care of themselves and each other.

Beautifully shot and languorously edited with unique bursts of original score, The Falls takes a critical look at the intensity of our modern world. Watching the trajectory of Xiao Jing and Pin-Wen’s relationship unfold is a tough watch at times, but by the end, seeing them both walk towards the light is well worth the darkness.

Belfast
Written and directed by Kenneth Branagh
Starring Caitríona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Dame Judi Dench, Ciarán Hinds, and Jude Hill
Running time 1 hour 38 minutes

Every year at TIFF, there’s a film that literally enchants audiences, so much in fact that it creates a sense of mystical buzziness throughout the rest of the fest. Maybe it goes on to win the TIFF People’s Choice Award, but at the very least, the film’s gospel is spread far and wide for the masses, creating an aura of anticipation as it glides through awards season. In 2019, JoJo Rabbit took the top prize, a film that went on to polarize Film Twitter and audiences alike. The year before that, Green Book won People’s Choice before experiencing quite a bit of backlash (much of it warranted, in my opinion). I actually attended the Green Book premiere at TIFF and would just like to assert that “festival haze” is a real and true thing. Outside of TIFF, there’s usually at least one film each awards season that receives glowing early reviews only to crash and burn with the heat of a thousand suns. Last year that film was, in my opinion, The Trial of the Chicago 7; a trial for sure, watching it is an excruciating exercise in human patience. This year, I fear that our besmirched film will be Kenneth Branagh’s delightful Belfast, and I’m here to proudly say - I WILL STILL LIKE IT ONCE THE BACKLASH COMMENCES.

Actually, it’s already started.

Once the film secured the People’s Choice Award last weekend, Film Twitter struck a match and let it burn. I’ve already seen quite a few unhappy critics on my timeline denouncing it as “not their People’s Choice Award,” instead pointing to Jane Campion’s The Power of the Dog as the best film of the fest (it was 2nd runner-up). To which I just want to remind everyone that while it is industry-centric, TIFF is designed for the public, hence People’s Choice Award, not Critic’s Choice Award. I feel strange drawing a line in the sand for something so trivial when the world slowly crumbles around us, considering I’m only approximately .035% a film critic, but still I feel it’s important to defend this film.

Look, I get it. Belfast is sappy and trite and puts a happy face on some truly bleak subject matter. But on the flip side, it’s also a feel-good salve for these dark, dismal times. Branagh’s semi-autobiographical film focuses on the 1969 Northern Ireland Riots, which kicked off the beginning of thirty years’ worth of civil and political unrest in the region. The story follows a Protestant family as they attempt to inject humanity, care, and humor into their lives despite the trouble around them. Is the film overly imaginative or creative? Not really. Does it contribute something unique to the world of cinema at large? Not necessarily. Is the beauty of its black and white cinematography debatable? Sure. However! Belfast made me truly care about the characters in such a short amount of time - it made me feel something for them as they lived, laughed, loved in their little crumbling corner of the city.

Let me also add that the performances are great! Caitríona Balfe (Outlander) really shines in this as the spitfire Ma - I didn’t even recognize her for the first hour or so (but I also don’t watch Outlander so that could be why). Jamie Dornan (the Fifty Shades cinematic universe, Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar) is also fantastic, and while I loved him in Barb and Star, let his performance be a lesson to anyone who’s previously doubted him. Of course, Dame Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds are a joy to watch. When are they not? And newcomer Jude Hill is just charming as the precocious Buddy.

Can I mention Jamie Dornan again? I’m gonna mention Jamie Dornan again. There’s a scene towards the end of the film that I particularly adored, where he croons “Everlasting Love” to Balfe complete with a backing band comprised of neighborhood locals. It’s a lovely moment that will give you some “aw, shucks” thrills.

By the final scene, despite the schmaltzy aftertaste, I was completely sucked into Branagh’s world and was sad to say goodbye. In the screening I attended, the person sitting socially distanced to my right clearly had an emotional response to the film as they flat-out bawled their way through the credits. Not gonna lie, I cried too (but even commercials can bring me to tears), which is why I am imploring you all now. Despite what you may hear, if you’re interested, give Belfast a chance and make up your own mind. If you’re looking for a new release that will give you all the feels, that you can watch with your grandma and your dad and your mom and your uncle and your uncle’s uncle and your little sister all at the same time, this is the one.