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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TIFF '24: Sasson Gabay and Asi Levi in “Bliss”

By Abe Friedtanzer 

Getting older is supposed to come with certain issues, but there’s a notion that a peaceful retirement might be the goal. For some, it just doesn’t work that way, and continuing to hold down a monotonous job for many years while dealing with troublesome family dynamics may be their fate. The Israeli film Bliss spotlights a couple with a big age difference both dealing with unexpected relics of their pasts confronting them later in life… 

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TIFF '24: "Grand Tour" confirms Miguel Gomes has the Magic Touch

by Cláudio Alves

Some directors wish to transcend the artform they practice. Watching their creations, one senses a force pressing upon you, pushing toward a prescribed and somewhat contradicting immersion. Their hands are forever busy, guiding the viewer away from the theater, from their awareness of the cinematic device. Such artists want you to forget you're watching a film. They beckon surrender, but not to cinema. Instead it's to their story, their vision, sometimes their message. And there's nothing wrong with this approach. But there's nothing right either, not necessarily. I know I fell in love with cinema because of its particularities, not in spite of them. So, I don't wish to forget or abstract myself from the lot. Maybe that's why I adore the cinema of Miguel Gomes as I do. 

Regard his filmography and you may realize he is the antithesis of those other cineastes. Moreover, Gomes is all the better for it. If you want proof, look no further than Grand Tour, for which the Portuguese filmmaker won a well-deserved Best Director prize at Cannes…

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