MONSIEUR LAZHAR (CAN) Feb 1 4 PM & 7 PM
Running time: 94 minutes - Subtitles
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Philippe Falardeau (Congorama, It’s Not Me, I Swear!), Monsieur Lazhar is one of the most gripping Québécois films of the last decade. The film has already received extraordinary attention, including Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival® as well as being named as Canada’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards.
Following the tragic and shocking death of a Montreal schoolteacher, Bachir Lazhar (Fellag) – a middle-aged Algerian immigrant seeking political refuge in Quebec - swiftly pursues the opportunity to fill the sudden vacancy and come to the aid of the overworked principal and students affected by this tragedy. To these children in shock, Lazhar’s traditional teaching methods may well provide the structure they need. As more information about Lazhar’s own history is revealed, his struggles and experiences make him all the better suited to guide these children into adulthood.
Monsieur Lazhar is further proof of Falardeau’s talent for drawing out depth and precision from child actors. The fine performances reflect the authenticity of the characters, and the story illustrates how adult hypocrisy and little white lies about death can turn a child’s world upside down when fate strikes. A complex character study of loss, innocence and imposture, Monsieur Lazhar is a resplendent and tender tale about the lessons we learn from one another, regardless of age. Bachir has much to gain from his pupils, and so do we.
“Director Philippe Falardeau brings a luminous warmth to this affecting story.”
A DANGEROUS METHOD (Germany/Can) Feb 15 4 PM & 7 PM
Running time: 93 minutes
A Gala Presentation at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival®, A Dangerous Method is a brooding tale of dark desire and the dread that lurks behind genius, experienced by intellectual misfits in conventional society. Veteran Canadian director David Cronenberg (Eastern Promises, A History of Violence) brings these recognizable obsessions to a new genre: the historical period piece. A Dangerous Method is an extremely controlled film tackling a period of time in history when explanations about the human psyche were questioned in drastically new ways. Theories of such importance are still discussed, debated, celebrated and refuted to this date.
Set in Vienna on the eve of the First World War, the film explores the complex relationship between novice psychiatrist Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender, Jane Eyre, Inglourious Basterds) and his mentor Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen, The Road, Eastern Promises). Studying under the already well-established Freud, Jung practices his teacher’s methods while developing his own theories based on the clinical study of psychologically disturbed patients. When a sick young Russian woman arrives at the clinic, both Jung and Freud are fascinated by her case and spellbound by her vulnerable yet dangerous sexuality.
The beautiful and profoundly disturbed Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley, Last Night, Never Let Me Go) strikes an untapped well of unconscious emotions within Jung as he begins to probe her dark past. When his primal attraction to Sabina deepens and their interaction intensifies, Jung begins to question the restrictions of Freud’s methodology and develops his own approach to human behaviour and treatment.
Strong supporting turns from Vincent Cassel (Black Swan, Eastern Promises) as radical psychoanalyst Otto Gross — who encourages his patients to liberate rather than repress their base instincts — and Canadian newcomer Sarah Gadon (2011 TIFF Rising Star) as Jung’s morally upright wife complete the web of troubled relationships that surround Sabina’s treatment. Sharp-witted dialogue and a pristine turn-of-the-century Vienna setting add a refined tone to a film that explores the anything-but-civilized depths of human desire.
A SEPARATION (IRAN) Mar 7 4 PM & 7 PM
Running time: 123 minutes - Subtitles
Transcending cultural and religious barriers to present a fascinating portrait of contemporary Iran, A Separation is Asghar Farhadi’s Divorce, Persian Style. Screening at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival® the film has already received accolades from critics and audiences around the globe , leading to its selection as Iran's Best Foreign Language Film entry for the 84th Academy Awards®.
Nader (Peyman Moaadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami) are well-behaved middle-class Iranian citizens. They fight quietly, hold decent jobs and prefer to resolve their domestic differences in court. But they only comfort themselves with such courtesy because they might be a little too civilized to let their real feelings show. After Nader refuses to emigrate from Iran (a move that would provide a brighter future for their offspring), Simin files for divorce. Retreating to her mother’s house, Nader hires Razieh (Sareh Bayat), a deeply religious and secretly pregnant young woman, to look after his father, who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. As Razieh’s “condition” starts getting in the way of her job, Nader allows the worst aspects of his repressed nature to emerge - resulting in Razieh’s uncivilized termination and even more courtroom headaches. As Nader’s entire family is drawn into an unprecedented feud, Farhadi continues his devilishly clever turning of narrative tables, selectively revealing new details and forcing the viewer to continually reassess each character.
With extraordinary performances by an outstanding cast, A Separation delivers Farhadi’s best work to date; a maze of narrative intrigue and complex emotion in which everyone is both innocent and guilty, depending on where you stand.
TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY… (UK) Mar 21 4 PM & 7 PM
Running time: 127 minutes
Adapted from John le Carré’s classic Cold War spy novel of the same name, and starring a who’s who of British acting talent, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is a fascinating look at the disenchanted world of espionage and treachery. Unglamorous but certainly not unexciting, the film is the anti-James Bond where gadgets and girls are replaced with drab duds and anonymous office space, cool colours and muted emotions.
Having been dismissed from the Secret Intelligence Service, George Smiley (a superlative Gary Oldman, The Dark Knight, The Scarlet Letter) is brought back into the fold when former head of MI6, Control (John Hurt, Melancholia, Brighton Rock), asks him to smoke out a mole who’s leaking secrets to the Soviets. The suspects are all at the top level, collectively known as “The Circus”, and each of them is played by top-drawer British actors. Who is the guilty man? Take your pick from Toby Jones (My Week With Marilyn, Creation), Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, A Single Man), Ciaran Hinds (The Debt, There Will Be Blood), and David Dencik (War Horse and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), who meet around a table every so often to exchange hard looks and nasty quips. The fifth suspect, of course, is Smiley himself.
Preserving the murky atmosphere of mistrust and cynical insecurity of the novel, director Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In) impressively recreates early 1970s London. The London shown here is a cold, damp-looking place, scrupulously shot by Alfredson in a restricted palette of subdued greys and browns. Aided by superb production design, a satisfyingly intelligent script, and a crack ensemble cast that also includes Mark Strong (The Guard, The Way Back) and younger actors such as Tom Hardy (Warrior, Inception) and Benedict Cumberbatch (War Horse, The Whistleblower), Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is not only a stunningly good old-fashioned spy yarn, but a surefire classic.