Keith Simanton's 11 Films I Want to See in Toronto
by keithsim | created - 7 months ago | updated - 7 months ago | PublicIt's the 48th Toronto Film Festival (TIFF) & CEO Cameron Bailey & crew have assembled another robust set of films to unspool (actually, they don't really unspool anymore, do they) from September 7 - 17th. TIFF has some big awards contenders, special presentations, & international fare & you can see the full list of fims & shows showing here. From that list there are few movies I have already seen & can heartily endorse: ZONE OF INTEREST, FAIR PLAY, HIT MAN, & MONSTER & a few, which shall remain nameless, that I can't. These are 11 that I haven't seen, but plan to. Happy TIFF! - Keith Simanton
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1. The Boy and the Heron (2023)
PG-13 | 124 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
In the wake of his mother's death and his father's remarriage, a headstrong boy named Mahito ventures into a dreamlike world shared by both the living and the dead.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Kô Shibasaki, Aimyon
Votes: 50,912
It's the opening night film and it's Miyazaki. I asked someone who'd seen it if it was better than THE WIND RISES, which I love. They smiled & just replied it was "different than" it.
2. Dumb Money (2023)
R | 105 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
David vs. Goliath tale about everyday people who flipped the script on Wall Street and got rich by turning GameStop (the video-game store) into the world's hottest company.
Director: Craig Gillespie | Stars: Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D'Onofrio, America Ferrera
Votes: 41,349
The premise, the cast, the trailer, Gillespie (I, TONYA, LARS AND THE REAL GIRL) makes this one of the biggest tickets at TIFF.
3. The Peasants (2023)
R | 114 min | Animation, Drama, History
Jagna is a young woman determined to forge her own path in a late 19th century Polish village - a hotbed of gossip and on-going feuds, held together, rich and poor, by adherence to colorful traditions and deep-rooted patriarchy.
Directors: DK Welchman, Hugh Welchman | Stars: Kamila Urzedowska, Robert Gulaczyk, Miroslaw Baka, Sonia Mietielica
Votes: 5,058
DK Welchman did LOVING VINCENT. Even if this doesn't work out, it will be beautiful to watch.
4. Together 99 (2023)
115 min | Comedy, Drama
A group of very different individuals who in 1975 lived in a commune called "Together". Now it is 1999, and the collective has turned into the world's smallest. It's time for a reunion with old friends.
Director: Lukas Moodysson | Stars: David Dencik, Henrik Lundström, Jonas Karlsson, Gustaf Hammarsten
Votes: 1,328
Lukas Moodysson did SHOW ME LOVE which in the 'aughts was always in the IMDb Top 250. If you haven't seen it, you should. This is his new one.
5. His Three Daughters (2023)
R | 101 min | Drama
A tense, captivating, and touching portrait of family dynamics starring Carrie Coon, Elizabeth Olsen, and Natasha Lyonne as sisters who converge after their father's health declines.
Director: Azazel Jacobs | Stars: Jovan Adepo, Jasmine Bracey, Carrie Coon, Jose Febus
Votes: 181
Though this sounds like the disastrous A THOUSAND ACRES the director did the woefully underseen FRENCH EXIT.
6. Shoshana (2023)
121 min | Drama, Thriller
Follows two Brit police officers Thomas Wilkin and Geoffrey Morton in their hunt for charismatic poet and Zionist freedom fighter Avraham Stern, who was plotting to evict British authorities.
Director: Michael Winterbottom | Stars: Douglas Booth, Irina Starshenbaum, Harry Melling, Aury Alby
Votes: 190
I'm in an eternal death struggle with Michael Winterbottom. He's amazingly 1) unaware he's in one with me and 2) that he's winning. I can't believe how prolific he is or how varied. Some of his movies are awful. Some sublime. But I have to watch what he does. Have at you Winterbottom!
7. The Burial (II) (2023)
R | 126 min | Drama
Inspired by true events, a lawyer helps a funeral home owner save his family business from a corporate behemoth, exposing a complex web of race, power, and injustice.
Director: Maggie Betts | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Tommy Lee Jones, Jurnee Smollett, Alan Ruck
Votes: 33,758
Maggie Betts did NOVITIATE and it was her first freaking narrative feature. I can't wait to see how her talents have matured.
8. The Critic (II) (2023)
95 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The Critic is a story of ambition, blackmail and desire with a dazzling anti-hero at its dark heart. A whodunnit wrapped in a Faustian pact which winds tighter and tighter. Patrick Marber adapted the script from Anthony Quinn's novel.
Director: Anand Tucker | Stars: Romola Garai, Gemma Arterton, Ian McKellen, Mark Strong
Votes: 109
The cast is superb (Strong, McKellen, Manville) and I'd love to see Gemma Arterton get that one perfect role for her.
9. Backspot (2023)
93 min | Drama
Riley is given the chance to cheer with the all-star squad, Thunderhawks. With a competition looming, Riley must navigate her crippling anxiety, her relationship with her girlfriend, and her desperate need for approval from her new coach.
Director: D.W. Waterson | Stars: Devery Jacobs, Evan Rachel Wood, Kudakwashe Rutendo, Shannyn Sossamon
Votes: 65
This has three actresses I've always liked in Wood, Sossamon, & Crewson and intrigued to see what RESERVATION DOGS' Jacobs can do.
10. Rustin (2023)
PG-13 | 106 min | Biography, Drama, History
Activist Bayard Rustin faces racism and homophobia as he helps change the course of Civil Rights history by orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington.
Director: George C. Wolfe | Stars: Colman Domingo, Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Aml Ameen
Votes: 12,496
The buzz around Colman Domingo's performance make this a must for anyone worth their weight in Oscars predictions sauce.
11. Wildcat (2023)
103 min | Biography, Drama
Follows the life of writer Flannery O'Connor while she was struggling to publish her first novel.
Director: Ethan Hawke | Stars: Laura Linney, Philip Ettinger, Rafael Casal, Cooper Hoffman
Votes: 232
Ethan Hawke is a committed, smart artist and Flannery O'Connor was a complicated one. And who doesn't want to see Maya Hawke stretch her legs?
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