The Streamer’s Guide To The 2018 Toronto International Film Festival: What Non-Festgoers Can Watch At Home
By Marshall Shaffer/Sept. 5, 2018 9:00 am EST
Telluride has wrapped, Venice is heading towards its close and now the fall festival season spotlight moves towards Toronto. Known as “the people’s festival” for its accessibility of its robust programming slate to the public at large, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is a cinema lover’s dream. It’s one of the few events with something for everyone, whether you want to see the star-studded premiere of a predestined awards darling, check out the latest work by a renowned international master filmmaker, discover an emerging voice in world cinema or explore projects that push the boundaries of the form.
/Film will be in attendance at TIFF reporting back on the good, the bad and the sublime movies we see. But for those who aren’t heading north of the border for the festival, you can curate an equally impressive slate of films at home to prepare yourself for the eventual release of these festival titles. Here are 10 films we’re getting excited to see in Toronto and what you can watch from the comfort of your couch in order to have a more informed frame of reference when the public conversation centers around these movies. (All streaming availability is accurate as of publication and subject to change.)
Widows (Gala Presentations)
Steve McQueen’s Widows is arguably the most hyped world premiere at Toronto this year, and it honestly might have been on just his name alone. But no, the 12 Years a Slave director also collaborated with Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn and hired virtually every actor with heat in Hollywood. Viola Davis, you get a part! Daniel Kaluuya, you get a part! Brian Tyree Henry, you get a part! The phrase “I’d watch them read the phone book” is a cliché, but it exists because films like these require such hyperbole.
Can’t make it to Toronto? Watch this at home: Since McQueen seems to be making more of a play for the mainstream action audience here, why not go back and check out his first feature film, Hunger? Especially because it’s pretty much the exact opposite of a commercial blockbuster. His portrait of Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands, played by a pre-Inglourious Basterds fame Michael Fassbender, owes more to the aesthetics of the gallery art world than narrative cinema. Come for the extreme devotion of the protestors, stay for the extreme aesthetic of McQueen that’s capped off by a 17-minute unbroken take. (available for free to FilmStruck subscribers)
ROMA (Special Presentations)
Alfonso Cuarón’s follow-up to Gravity, an apparent 180-degree turn in tone, has already played to raves at Venice and Telluride. ROMA even has many critics dropping the m-word: masterpiece. After training his camera on the far reaches of outer space, Cuarón turns his gaze inwards for a largely autobiographical and introspective portrait of his own youth in Mexico. And to film this intimate story, he chose to shoot with a grand 65mm scope. Though it will soon be readily available at home thanks to Netflix, this looks like one we’ll want to catch on the big screen too.
Can’t make it to Toronto? Watch this at home: The obvious point of comparison from Cuarón’s small but formidable filmography would be Y Tu Mamá También, the last time the Oscar-winning director made a movie in his native Mexico. The film, starring a very young Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal, infuses an intimate road trip across pastoral Mexican landscapes with sly political commentary on the country’s state of affairs. (available to stream for free to subscribers of Netflix and FilmStruck)
The Sisters Brothers (Special Presentations)
The latest entry into this small but notable canon is The Sisters Brothers, directed by Jacques Audiard of France. He’s assembled a top-notch cast including Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed to bring a Western novel about two bounty hunting brothers with the surname Sister to life. Since this movie appears to have been designed by an algorithm to appeal directly to me, I’ll be doing my best to check out this fascinating genre hybrid.
Can’t make it to Toronto? Watch this at home: Audiard’s prior films have all been in French, and many are hard to track down on streaming. But luckily, Rust and Bone, his emotionally stirring tale of two broken individuals finding self-repair through love, is accessible! You’ll never believe Marion Cotillard dancing to Katy Perry’s “Firework” can be so moving. Really. (available for free to subscribers of Netflix)
Donnybrook (Platform)
It’s a hardscrabble year for Jamie Bell, who has two movies at TIFF showing off a darker side to the charming star. The first, Skin, features Bell as a reformed skinhead in the process of removing varying offensive tattoos. The second, however, intrigues me a little bit more. Donnybrook, a significant step toward the mainstream for experimental film director Tim Sutton, stars Bell as a veteran driven to cage-fight in order to raise the money for his wife’s cancer treatment. (Guess Walter White closed off selling meth as an avenue.) This is the first time Sutton, whose prior films are borderline avant-garde, has worked with big-name actors on a project, and I’m curious as to how he works within a more commercial framework.
Can’t make it to Toronto? Watch this at home: It is decidedly not for everyone – and might make you want to avoid movie theaters for a while – but Sutton’s prior film Dark Night is a truly chilling rumination on cinema and gun violence. Using a scene similar to the 2012 Aurora shooting at the midnight The Dark Knight Rises premiere as his springboard, Sutton poetically explores a broken tapestry of violence and isolation in America. Sutton’s tone poem has some ups and downs, but the film rewards those willing to put in the mental energy it requires. (available for free to subscribers of Netflix)
The Streamer’s Guide To The 2018 Toronto International Film Festival: What Non-Festgoers Can Watch At Home
By Marshall Shaffer/Sept. 5, 2018 9:00 am EST
Telluride has wrapped, Venice is heading towards its close and now the fall festival season spotlight moves towards Toronto. Known as “the people’s festival” for its accessibility of its robust programming slate to the public at large, the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is a cinema lover’s dream. It’s one of the few events with something for everyone, whether you want to see the star-studded premiere of a predestined awards darling, check out the latest work by a renowned international master filmmaker, discover an emerging voice in world cinema or explore projects that push the boundaries of the form.
/Film will be in attendance at TIFF reporting back on the good, the bad and the sublime movies we see. But for those who aren’t heading north of the border for the festival, you can curate an equally impressive slate of films at home to prepare yourself for the eventual release of these festival titles. Here are 10 films we’re getting excited to see in Toronto and what you can watch from the comfort of your couch in order to have a more informed frame of reference when the public conversation centers around these movies. (All streaming availability is accurate as of publication and subject to change.)
/Film will be in attendance at TIFF reporting back on the good, the bad and the sublime movies we see. But for those who aren’t heading north of the border for the festival, you can curate an equally impressive slate of films at home to prepare yourself for the eventual release of these festival titles. Here are 10 films we’re getting excited to see in Toronto and what you can watch from the comfort of your couch in order to have a more informed frame of reference when the public conversation centers around these movies. (All streaming availability is accurate as of publication and subject to change.)
Outlaw King (Gala Presentations – Opening Night)
Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy (Gala Presentations – Closing Night)
Widows (Gala Presentations)
Steve McQueen’s Widows is arguably the most hyped world premiere at Toronto this year, and it honestly might have been on just his name alone. But no, the 12 Years a Slave director also collaborated with Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn and hired virtually every actor with heat in Hollywood. Viola Davis, you get a part! Daniel Kaluuya, you get a part! Brian Tyree Henry, you get a part! The phrase “I’d watch them read the phone book” is a cliché, but it exists because films like these require such hyperbole.
Can’t make it to Toronto? Watch this at home: Since McQueen seems to be making more of a play for the mainstream action audience here, why not go back and check out his first feature film, Hunger? Especially because it’s pretty much the exact opposite of a commercial blockbuster. His portrait of Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands, played by a pre-Inglourious Basterds fame Michael Fassbender, owes more to the aesthetics of the gallery art world than narrative cinema. Come for the extreme devotion of the protestors, stay for the extreme aesthetic of McQueen that’s capped off by a 17-minute unbroken take. (available for free to FilmStruck subscribers)
Can’t make it to Toronto? Watch this at home: Since McQueen seems to be making more of a play for the mainstream action audience here, why not go back and check out his first feature film, Hunger? Especially because it’s pretty much the exact opposite of a commercial blockbuster. His portrait of Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands, played by a pre-Inglourious Basterds fame Michael Fassbender, owes more to the aesthetics of the gallery art world than narrative cinema. Come for the extreme devotion of the protestors, stay for the extreme aesthetic of McQueen that’s capped off by a 17-minute unbroken take. (available for free to FilmStruck subscribers)
The Land of Steady Habits (Gala Presentations)
ROMA (Special Presentations)
Alfonso Cuarón’s follow-up to Gravity, an apparent 180-degree turn in tone, has already played to raves at Venice and Telluride. ROMA even has many critics dropping the m-word: masterpiece. After training his camera on the far reaches of outer space, Cuarón turns his gaze inwards for a largely autobiographical and introspective portrait of his own youth in Mexico. And to film this intimate story, he chose to shoot with a grand 65mm scope. Though it will soon be readily available at home thanks to Netflix, this looks like one we’ll want to catch on the big screen too.
Can’t make it to Toronto? Watch this at home: The obvious point of comparison from Cuarón’s small but formidable filmography would be Y Tu Mamá También, the last time the Oscar-winning director made a movie in his native Mexico. The film, starring a very young Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal, infuses an intimate road trip across pastoral Mexican landscapes with sly political commentary on the country’s state of affairs. (available to stream for free to subscribers of Netflix and FilmStruck)
Can’t make it to Toronto? Watch this at home: The obvious point of comparison from Cuarón’s small but formidable filmography would be Y Tu Mamá También, the last time the Oscar-winning director made a movie in his native Mexico. The film, starring a very young Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal, infuses an intimate road trip across pastoral Mexican landscapes with sly political commentary on the country’s state of affairs. (available to stream for free to subscribers of Netflix and FilmStruck)
The Sisters Brothers (Special Presentations)
The latest entry into this small but notable canon is The Sisters Brothers, directed by Jacques Audiard of France. He’s assembled a top-notch cast including Joaquin Phoenix, John C. Reilly, Jake Gyllenhaal and Riz Ahmed to bring a Western novel about two bounty hunting brothers with the surname Sister to life. Since this movie appears to have been designed by an algorithm to appeal directly to me, I’ll be doing my best to check out this fascinating genre hybrid.
Can’t make it to Toronto? Watch this at home: Audiard’s prior films have all been in French, and many are hard to track down on streaming. But luckily, Rust and Bone, his emotionally stirring tale of two broken individuals finding self-repair through love, is accessible! You’ll never believe Marion Cotillard dancing to Katy Perry’s “Firework” can be so moving. Really. (available for free to subscribers of Netflix)
Can’t make it to Toronto? Watch this at home: Audiard’s prior films have all been in French, and many are hard to track down on streaming. But luckily, Rust and Bone, his emotionally stirring tale of two broken individuals finding self-repair through love, is accessible! You’ll never believe Marion Cotillard dancing to Katy Perry’s “Firework” can be so moving. Really. (available for free to subscribers of Netflix)
Ben Is Back (Special Presentations)
The Hummingbird Project (Special Presentations)
Hold the Dark (Special Presentations)
Donnybrook (Platform)
It’s a hardscrabble year for Jamie Bell, who has two movies at TIFF showing off a darker side to the charming star. The first, Skin, features Bell as a reformed skinhead in the process of removing varying offensive tattoos. The second, however, intrigues me a little bit more. Donnybrook, a significant step toward the mainstream for experimental film director Tim Sutton, stars Bell as a veteran driven to cage-fight in order to raise the money for his wife’s cancer treatment. (Guess Walter White closed off selling meth as an avenue.) This is the first time Sutton, whose prior films are borderline avant-garde, has worked with big-name actors on a project, and I’m curious as to how he works within a more commercial framework.
Can’t make it to Toronto? Watch this at home: It is decidedly not for everyone – and might make you want to avoid movie theaters for a while – but Sutton’s prior film Dark Night is a truly chilling rumination on cinema and gun violence. Using a scene similar to the 2012 Aurora shooting at the midnight The Dark Knight Rises premiere as his springboard, Sutton poetically explores a broken tapestry of violence and isolation in America. Sutton’s tone poem has some ups and downs, but the film rewards those willing to put in the mental energy it requires. (available for free to subscribers of Netflix)
Can’t make it to Toronto? Watch this at home: It is decidedly not for everyone – and might make you want to avoid movie theaters for a while – but Sutton’s prior film Dark Night is a truly chilling rumination on cinema and gun violence. Using a scene similar to the 2012 Aurora shooting at the midnight The Dark Knight Rises premiere as his springboard, Sutton poetically explores a broken tapestry of violence and isolation in America. Sutton’s tone poem has some ups and downs, but the film rewards those willing to put in the mental energy it requires. (available for free to subscribers of Netflix)
