As one of the most-nominated countries yet to actually take home the Best International Feature Oscar, Israel tends to offer up some very interesting choices. Its top contenders for the Oscar submission are always initially up for the Ophir, Israel’s Academy Awards which will be held on September 18th this year. The winner becomes the country’s official submission. Among the Ophir nominees we’ve already seen Karaoke, which played at Tribeca, and the animated film Where Is Anne Frank, which bowed at Cannes last year. Now another Ophir nominee, Valeria is Getting Married, makes its North American premiere in Toronto.
For all the political content that Israeli films often contain, this one has less to do with Israelis and more to do with a disadvantaged immigrant population...
7 hours of glorious sleep at a festival! Knowing that nothing could compare to my Tanya T adventure the day before, I sensibly hadn’t booked any further films for the evening, so I was home in bed by midnight. I know it sounds ridiculous when some people work in mines and on 16-hour shifts of emergency wards, but film festivals are exhausting! Not proper, real-world exhausting but certainly no-time-to-do-anything-else or call your mum exhausting. I also of course have to find time every day to send these lightweight bulletins for the millions of you eagerly awaiting my next update. All refreshed at 7am I was ready for the days entertainment. As you will discover that early start came back to bite me by the end of the day.
I started my viewing in style, Harry Styles in point of fact. After dabbling in acting the last few years, he’s been handed actual leading-man status. By the evidence of this offering, it may be a bit too soon...
Kate Hudson is the standout in "Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery"
The day had finally come. My most anticipated film of the whole festival. The one we’ve all been waiting for. A veteran star on the comeback trail. A critical darling steering the ship. There’s talk of awards but will the public and pundits be on board? I for one couldn't wait to find out, but The Return of Tanya Tucker featuring Brandi Carlisle was in the evening. I had other movies to see first.
And it started early. To my horror the screening of Glass Onion started at 9am. NINE AM!!! What was I thinking? It was worth the effort, though...
I wasn’t a big fan of the first Knives Out. Too convoluted by far. Too pleased with its own cleverness. Having been totally confused on first watch I saw it again earlier this year and still came away just as befuddled. Glass Onion, though,is a meticulously plotted and a huge improvement. The all-star cast are uniformly great. The relentless Elon Musk/Joe Rogan ribbing is a bonus delight. Great start to the day. It certainly woke me up.
Brian Tyree Henry & Jennifer Lawrence in "Causeway"
Next up was Causeway, JLaw’s return to serious acting after three years off and some dud of a comedy from last year I’ve done my best to forget (did you?). She’s pretty great in this small-scale character study but ironically it may be that her star power unbalances the tiny, understated indie. Very smart career move even if it seems unlikely to garner her another Oscar nod. Then again she got in for Joy so anything’s possible.
From there I went straight into Living a very subtle, quiet period drama with the great Bill Nighy making a serious bid for awards. To be honest I nodded off for a while in the middle and think I may have missed some crucial plot points. This is no reflection on the film, I was just tired (9am remember!). I suspect Academy voters may be taking more notice than I.
Now we come to the main event. As a Black man from London, I don’t think I’m her usual audience, but I adore Tanya Tucker. Although she’s barely known in the UK for soe reason I’ve been obsessed with her for decades. Many years ago, when Iived with my twin brother Jompy and best friend Kitty Supreme we played her songs to death. We loved every tale of revenge and heartbreak all being sung by a teenager who sounded like she smoked 40 a day.
In 2019 I flew straight from Toronto to NYC to see her in concert and then crashed the Meet and Greet (There was no way I was leaving without getting a photo with my heroine). Kitty Supreme was well jel. I can’t be objective about this doc. I loved every minute of it. My face hurt from smiling. It’s a behind the scenes look at her triumphant comeback after 17 years away from the recording studio. Shepherded by current Country superstar it’s beautiful to watch her coaxing a clearly nervous Tucker back to doing what she does best, with sensational results.
A notorious 70’s wild child who acquired drink and drug problems to go along with her forty Top 10 country hits. A pioneer who’s never received the respect she deserves is finally getting her due.
A lot of people are talking abou The Whale but I'm waiting to see it at the London Film Festival in a few weeks. The last time I saw a Darren Aronofsky film at TIFF it gave the man sitting next to me a nosebleed.
Film of The Day: My girl Tanya wins this one to go along with her 2 overdue Grammys!
Oscar Buzz: Academy Award nominee Bill Nighy has a nice ring to it, but will voters take to a very subtle performance in the very quiet film that is Living? Glass Onion could definitely repeat its predecessor and score a Screenplay nomination. It would be wonderful to see the stand-out Kate Hudson back in the Supporting Actress race after 22 years away from that party. Meanwhile Academy Award nominee Bill Nighy has a nice ring to it, but will voters take to a very subtle performance in a very quiet film?
Star Spot: The entire cast of Glass Onion was in attendance this morning with Daniel Craig’s horrendous hangover causing much hilarity. I also randomly saw Jordan Peele getting out of a car and most importantly I was able to apologise to Tanya for crashing her Meet & Greet three years back. I offered to pay the $50 she was owed but she graciously declined.
It’s fun to see a director known for a particular kind of film try something new. At the premiere for his film What’s Love Got To Do With It, Shekhar Kapur, best known for Elizabeth, joked about how he responded to being told that he doesn’t do rom-coms: “Watch me.” His latest is a joyous celebration of culture and heritage and the way they can serve to both unite and divide, offering many genuine laughs and some heartfelt commentary on what it means to stay true to family…
There have been many films recently about young women crossing the border from Mexico to the United States and coming across someone whose attitude towards illegal immigrants softens considerably after the chance meeting. But Carmen is something different entirely, an update of much older material, based on a Seville-set novella and opera from the 1800s by Prosper Mérimée. This time the setting is present day in surroundings that will be more familiar to audiences but just as enchanting…
Wednesday, September 14, 2022 at 5:16PM 
