Volume 21 Issue 1 - September 2015

TIFF TIPS continued from page 13
producers, DJs and designers for decades to come.
Set on the eve of Tunisia’s Jasmine Revolution, As I Open My
Eyes, the first feature from director Leyla Bouzid, follows an up-andcoming
underground band as they are pulled in all directions by
creative energy, authoritarian oppression and rebellion. With music
by virtuoso oud player, serial collaborator, musical explorer Khyam
Allami. Syrian-born of Iraqi descent, the London-based Allami is a
musician and composer with a formidable – and continually growing
– international reputation.
I was drawn to John Crowley’s Brooklyn by the prospect of Irish
music but was swept up in the coming-of-age story of a young Irish
immigrant navigating the new world of Brooklyn while tied to the
old one. Apart from a lovely a cappella song by Iarla Ó Lionáird, the
diegetic music is generic and serviceable (there are some period
nuggets buried beneath the action) but Saorise Ronan’s understated
star turn won me over. It’s another world, this period piece set in the
early 1950s.
Yorgos Lanthimos deservedly won the Jury Prize at this year’s
Cannes Festival for his inventive societal allegory The Lobster, which
deals with the relationship between men and women in a refreshingly
original way. Its surprising humour, surreal conception and
unwavering execution is rigorous to a fault; Lanthimos’ cinematic
world is unforgettable as satire and social commentary. Buttressing
the plot is a soundtrack laden with the likes of the slow movement
from Beethoven’s First String Quartet, excerpts from Schnittke’s
Piano Quintet, Stravinsky’s 3 Pieces for String Quartet, Shostakovich’s
String Quartet No.8, Britten’s First String Quartet and the first two
variations from Strauss’ Don Quixote. Nick Cave’s Where the Wild
Roses Grow is performed both by Cave and star Colin Farrell.
In Youth, an octogenarian retired composer (a relaxed, witty and
urbane Michael Caine) and his slightly younger film director pal (an
energetic Harvey Keitel), meet for their annual reunion at a spectacular
Swiss spa. Aphorisms roll off Caine’s tongue but despite his
infectious levity, he’s a wounded man. A musician so famous he’s
being offered a knighthood, he’s most at ease conducting a group of
mooing cows with bells on, in an Alpine meadow. Violinist Viktoria
Mullova and soprano Sumi Jo make a persuasive case for his Simple
Song # 3 (which was actually written for the film by Pulitzer Prizewinner
David Lang).
My Mother, the most entertaining film of Nanni Moretti’s storied
career, moves effortlessly from a busy film set to serious family scenes
but Moretti’s directorial skill makes the mood changes feel natural
and unforced. The well-chosen soundtrack, heavy on Arvo Pärt
(excerpts from nine works including the ubiquitous Für Alina) but
also including Philip Glass, Leonard Cohen and Jarvis Cocker, among
others, supports the emotional changes unobtrusively. Meanwhile,
John Turturro, playing a Hollywood “star” with an overblown sense of
self-worth, is hilarious in a delicious scenery-chewing performance
that is worth the price of admission alone.
Sleeping Giant
Advance word on Alexander
Sokurov’s Francofonia calls it a
remarkable visit to the Louvre in
the dark days under the German
Occupation during World War II.
Sokurov’s poetic reflection on the
museum’s cultural significance is
evident as the director shares his
genuine wonderment for the Louvre
– just as he showed a similar admiration
for the Hermitage in Russian
Ark, that astounding visual essay
shot in one uninterrupted take in
which the use of music was a crucial
component.
Two Icelandic films, Sparrows
and Horizon, feature musical contributions
by composers linked to the
innovative Icelandic group, Sigur
Rós. Kjartan Sveinsson, the band’s
former keyboardist, composed three songs for Rúnar Rúnarsson’s
Sparrows, which chronicles a father and son relationship during one
summer in a remote, Icelandic fishing village: a magical and thematically
poignant place to portray a story of change. Orri Páll Dýrason,
Sigur Ros’ current drummer, shares the credit for Horizon’s ethereal
score with Sigur Ros’ touring guitarist, Kjartan Holm. The subject of
the documentary, artist Georg Gudni Hauksson, paved the way for a
renaissance in Icelandic landscape painting. Director Fridrik Thor
Fridriksson considers Hauksson a kindred spirit and Viggo Mortensen,
who makes an appearance, is also a fan.
Sunset Song, Terence Davies’ epic of hope, tragedy and love at the
dawning of World War I follows a young woman’s tale of endurance
against the hardships of rural Scottish life. From Britain’s greatest
living auteur, Sunset Song stars Peter Mullan and Agyness Deyn, and
if the director’s filmography is any indication it undoubtedly will
include a well-chosen soundtrack.
The synopsis for Claude Lelouch’s Un plus une, having its world
premiere at TIFF, is intriguing, especially its poster with a nod to Jean-
Paul Belmondo. Charming, successful, Antoine (Jean Dujardin) could
be the hero of one of those films he composes the music for. When he
leaves for a job in India, he meets Anna (Elsa Zylberstein), a woman
who isn’t like him at all, but who attracts him more than anything.
The film’s score is by Francis Lai, who began his feature film career
with Lelouch’s iconic A Man and a Woman, almost 50 years earlier.
I’ve seen six of the 27 films previewed here and am looking
forward to viewing the others (and many more) during TIFF 2015.
Watch for reports on these and other discoveries in my Music and
the Movies blog on thewholenote.com over the months to come. The
Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 10 to 20.
Check tiff.net for further information.
Paul Ennis is the managing editor of The WholeNote.
The Lobster
78 | Sept 1 - Oct 7, 2015 thewholenote.com