By Anne Brodie
TIFF offers its final two chances to see fest fave, Chloe Zhao’s critically acclaimed film Hamnet today and tomorrow. Paul Mescal is William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley is his wife Agnes, with Emily Watson and Jacobi Jupe, set in 16th-century rural England. The Shakespeares mourn and endure the death of their baby in an epidemic. We navigate that sad reality, connecting with them largely from Agnes point of view. Zhao is one of my top five filmmakers – The Rider, Nomadland, First Cow. Her creations never fail to grab us by the heart – unconventional characters, stories, settings and motifs, her extraordinary writing that rings so true, and canny direction. Hamnet is based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell. Screens today at 9.10 and Saturday at 12.30 at Scotiabank Theatre and theatres this fall.
Michael Greyeyes, Carmen Moore, Alex Rice and Michelle Thrush lead a small cast in TIFF’s Meadowlarks from Tasha Hubbard. They’re Cree siblings – Anthony, Connie, Marianne and Gwen who were taken from their mother during the infamous Sixties Scoop during which the Canadian government removed children to place them in white foster homes. Not only did they lose their mothers, they lost their heritage and culture, and were traumatised. Gorgeous, resonant performances strengthen the message about grieving, growth, acceptance and starting anew. In theatres in November.
Triumph of the Heart, directed by Anthony D’Ambrosio and shot on location in Poland finds a Roman Catholic priest brutally incarcerated with a group of Jews during the Holocaust. They are intellectuals and prominent citizens, considered dangerous to the Reich, and share an Auschwitz cell in 1941. They are deprived of food and water, subject to beatings and torture, and begin to devolve, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically. They are desperate for relief they know isn’t coming. They can see predator birds flying overhead through a barred window, as if waiting for them. They foudn some relief even a little in singing, but a guard arrives to kill one of them because of the singing, He chooses a terrified young man. Father Maximilian Kolbe (Marcin Kwaśny), also a journalist who ran one of the largest papers in Poland before the war volunteers to take his place. The guard refuses. A morsel of food is tossed into the cell, and the men seize on it, hurting one another. The priest suggests talking about the foods they loved, and praying , They beging to sing again, loudly, exuberantly, songs of being, living, and joy, and the Polish national anthem. They’re brutally punished but continue. Daily horrors inside the cell mount up, and learn some dead inmates bore bite marks from someone’s attempts to eat them. Meanwhile, an officer is at an elegant dinner with his wife, in a fine room. She tells him what they’re doing isn’t right. He knows. The film isn’t aiming for an horrific effect, there’s no need. The miracle is that their spirit, power and the hope rise up. Death and madness are everywhere but Kolbe carries them. On 10 October 1982, Pope John Paul II declared Kolbe a Saint and martyr of charity. Really uplifting stuff especially for these bruising times. Limited theatres September 12.
Have you ever disliked some on sight? Prime Video’s audacious series The Girlfriend, an emotional thriller about a woman who enters a family’s life asks the tough questions. How and why do we form opinions of people the moment we meet? Are our initial responses the right ones? How do we become fixated on our determination even if it threatens a ripple effect of ill will and suspicion? The series, starring Robin Wright as Laura, Olivia Cooke as Cherry and Laurie Davidson as Daniel, paints a grim portrait of this primitive response to instinctive stimuli. It’s told in chapters, each from a different characters POV; in the first, Laura meets Cherry, her beloved son’s new girlfriend and immediately bristles. A violent opening misdirects us. She asks leading questions and reckons Cherry’s answers are lies, she witnesses Cherry and Daniel in an intimate moment having left the bedroom door open. Was it so that Laura would see them? Or was it an oversight? As Laura is suspicious of Cherry, and so are we, after all, Cherry comes from poverty and Laura’s family is crazy rich. The next chapter from Cherry’s POV finds her a much softer person, with humour, affection and openness in contrast to Laura’s sneaking, outright hostility and refusal to connect. And then there’s the disappearance of Laura’s gold bracelet and her cat is missing. And what about the time Laura happened to see Cherry punch a man in the face? And who is Laura? Who is delusional? Extraordinarily juicy stuff perfect for bingeing, all eight eppies. You won’t be able to help yourself. Who will win? Also stars Waleed Zuaiter, Tayna Moodie, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Karen Henthorn, Anna Chancellor, Leo Suter and Francesca Corney and is based on the novel by Michelle Frances. September 10.
The military action thriller Tin Solider, despite the name cast of Robert DeNiro, Scott Eastwood, Jamie Foxx and John Leguizamosounds interesting enough. A charismatic controlling leader Bokushi (Jamie Foxx)’s “Program” for ex-law enforcement and military veterans suffering from PTSD has come under government scrutiny. While promoting its ability heal the wounded, it has evolved into an armed, trained and fiercely anti-government cult – Shinjas – unquestioningly loyal to Bokushi. Brad Furman’s tale of the standoff between federal agents and the cult sounds familiar. Remember Jonestown in Guyana and that tragic standoff? The US sends agents to investigate the murder of a fellow federal agent posing as a member of the Program. Nash (Eastwood) a former soldier and cult member is called to join an authorised unit to take control of The Program and shut it down. Despite his knowledge that his followers will do anything Bokushi asks, including using deadly violence against government forces on American ground. Going back is triggering Nash who believes his missing wife may be there. Fine, but first, why bother to revisit the Jonestown tragedy métier at all? The scripting is awkward, cliched and leaden, the vibe is heavy and dense in and overall, dull and upsetting. Don’t bother. I bothered for you. Theaters Sept.12th and TVOD Sept 30.
And finally, as if you didn’t know, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – is in theatres today. The family saga of a loving, troubled, united, normal and wealthy landowning British aristocrats the Crawleys is catnip to many of us. This final time out they must deal with a scandal – oh no! – and face an increasingly changing modern world. The new generation will soften the blows for the oldies, clash politely on cultural social and political affairs and take on the mantle of care and power. You know the characters and actors after years of devoted attention to their family foibles. Nostalgia for their unique, well-appointed universe, the oh-so-polite family squabbles, and the promise of the future certainly make this appointment viewing. Betcha we see them again. Finale? We’ll see about that.