TIFF ’24: Another take on the transporting “Kill the Jockey”

By Abe Friedtanzer

It’s not always the plot a film that makes it interesting but sometimes the way that it’s told. Kill the Jockey most certainly falls under that description, enhancing a premise about a jockey on the run from his mobster boss after an accident with an unforgettable and unique style. Those seeking a narrative that has a distinct start and finish with clear resolution for all its characters won’t necessarily find that here, but what transpires over its ninety-six minutes is definitely captivating… 

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TIFF '24: “Hard Truths” hits hard

by Cláudio Alves

It's been six years since cinemas have been left waiting for a new Mike Leigh film. Moreover, the British portraitist of working-class life and struggle, joy and pain, secrets and lies, had for a while abandoned the contemporary stories upon which his early career was built. Though the director's forays into historical pasts have produced naught but great cinema, it's fair to say it's been over six years since the world has encountered what most associate with the words "a Mike Leigh film." Well, the wait is over, and I'm pleased to say Hard Truths is well worth the wait.

Not so much a return to form as a return to familiarity, the film also finds the auteur reuniting with Marianne Jean-Baptiste, the Oscar-nominated star of his Palme d'Or victor who also scored the director's Career Girls. And if what Leigh delivers behind the camera could be called a triumph, what his leading lady accomplishes demands a stronger word. She's the stuff of legend and what actressing dreams are made of…

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TIFF ’24: Rachel House Directs “The Mountain”

By Abe Friedtanzer

Rachel House is a terrific actress from New Zealand whose most memorable performances are, for most, likely those delivered in Taika Waititi’s films, including Eagle vs. Shark and Hunt for the Wilderpeople. She’s also capable of strong dramatic work, including her first film role, the Oscar-nominated Whale Rider, and as a cruel immigration facility guard in the Netflix limited series Stateless. She’s done voice work in popular animated films like Moana and Soul. After years of coaching young actors like Julian Dennison and directing theater, she’s made her own first film as director, The Mountain, a delight making its North American premiere at TIFF…

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TIFF ’24: Māori History in “Ka Whawhai Tonu - Struggle Without End”

By Abe Friedtanzer 

Many modern countries are founded on colonization, and what’s taught in schools may not fully cover the true nature of what happened. In New Zealand, the relationship between the native Māori people and the English-speaking settlers who arrived there later is a complicated one, and the country’s cinema continues to pay homage to that history. After Muru in 2022 and The Convert in 2023, TIFF once again features an important film about the clash of cultures with Ka Whawhai Tonu - Struggle Without End… 

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Venice '24: "The Room Next Door"

By Elisa Guidici

THE ROOM NEXT DOOR

There’s no living storyteller with a more profound, intimate understanding of death than Pedro Almodóvar. I call him a "storyteller" because, in the 2020s, that’s become his most defining identity. His first English-language feature—set in an alternative, upper-class, hyper-cultural, Almodóvarian version of the United States—once again showcases his incredible narrative talents...

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