Toronto Film Festival
Comments by Sarah M. Elkins
Copyright 1991 Sarah M. Elkins
GIZLI YUZ/THE SECRET FACE: (Contemporary World Cinema, Dir. Omar Kavur, Turkey, 118 minutes, subtitled badly--quite annoying)
Plot kickoff: Supposedly beautiful woman hires photographer to shoot people in bars. She sees a picture of a watchmaker and obsesses over him, spying on him and so on.
Characters/acting: Hysterical woman, the photographer just wanted to sleep with her. I did like the watchmaker.
Cinematography/FX: Okay.
Score: Don't remember.
Violence/language: I left before the ending to see WHITE PAGE, so maybe there was some at the end.
Skin/situations: See above.
Analysis: This movie thought it was about Something Important and I just couldn't take it.
WHITE PAGE: (made in Cambodia recently, subtitled, about 2 hours, the director spoke at the start; no information on this one was printed; they decided to show this the day the information went to the printers -- I guess they should have had a DocuTech!).
Plot kickoff: Woman arrives in Cambodia in the 1970s (I guess) with her two children after her husband sends for them from Paris, and the woman and children are put in a forced "re-education" camp.
Characters/acting: I didn't catch any names, but everyone turned in a good job.
Cinematography/FX: Lush, lush, lush beautiful Cambodian countryside, old temples/stoneworks, contrasted with the harshness and ugliness of the prisoners' lives. This would lose a lot on the small screen.
Score: I liked the traditional music, didn't notice the rest.
Violence/language: Very little physical force is shown on screen, but plenty of degradation and humiliation of the prisoners by their "teachers." No gore, just made me angry and sad. Some sexist slurs/profanities.
Skin/situations: Some implied marital sex, one implied rape.
Analysis: Although parts of this movie may be familiar to anyone who's seen THE KILLING FIELDS, I thought the portrayal of these women trying to hold onto their identities and the main character trying to hold onto her children's love was very well done. I now want to read up on Cambodia. I particularly liked the ending of the movie.
KES: (Dir. Ken Loach, Great Britain, 107 minutes). Another (compared to WHITE PAGE) vision of Hell on Earth.
Plot: Boy growing up in squalid surroundings near the Yorkshire Moors attempts to overcome his awful school and home life through training a young falcon.
Characters/acting: I don't know any names. Top-notch performances, especially by the actors who play the boy and his hateful brother. Thank goodness, the young boy is not shown as a charming waif with a heart of gold. This is a pale, remote boy who fights when he has to and steals when he can, and has one thing and one thing only which lifts him out of himself - his joy and utter fascination in watching the falcon fly and come to him.
Cinematography/FX: Good, I think it would do as well on the small screen
Score: Okay.
Violence/language: Fist fights mostly; a lot of language I wasn't sure I heard right, but was pretty sure were profanities in a thick Yorkshire accent.
Skin/situations: Naked (mostly back views) boys in the shower after soccer.
Analysis: There was one subplot going on that I mostly didn't understand, something about gambling. This is a very powerful movie, and not pleasant to watch most of the time. If you can stand the squalor and hatefulness, you'll get a lot out of it. I'd like to see other movies by Loach.
LE CIEL DE PARIS: (FC, Dir. Michel Bena, France, 90 min., subtitled), some good scenes and charismatic acting;
Plot: Neurotic people trying to build love with people who aren't interested in them.
Characters/acting: The riveting actress from MONSIEUR HIRE is back, and this time she has a friend who is, if anything, more appealing. They have some very good scenes together, talking about life and hanging out. Too bad the movie didn't concentrate on their friendship more and forget about the men, one bi with a crush on one who's not, both manipulative liars, both of whom I'd lost patience with by the end of the movie.
Cinematography/FX: Okay.
Score: Okay.
Violence/language: Stupid fist fight.
Skin/situations: One scene of heavy kissing.
Analysis: Unfortunately, unlike A LITTLE STIFF, this movie was primarily unrelieved by humor. The only couple of laughs were from scenes between the women, except that the audience laughed at some of the manipulative tricks the men used.
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