#TIFF19

Camera! Lights! Action! Tiff ’19 has officially begun! There’s something for everyone, like always.

For the literature enthusiasts, here’s a few films that are inspired from literary adaptations!

The Personal History of David Copperfield

Director Armando Iannucci (The Death of Stalin) brings his sardonic wit — and a stellar cast that includes Dev Patel, Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, Gwendoline Christie, Peter Capaldi, and Ben Whishaw — to Charles Dickens’ classic autobiographical novel.

This brilliant adaptation adds aesthetic touch and diversity, thereby modernising the content. The dialogues are very witty, with some superb  direction and amazing performances by the actors.

The central idea of the film is that great art is born of great experience, and one’s true fortune can be measured in friends.

Once Were Brothers

The World Premiere of Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band was the Opening Night Gala Presentation for the 44th Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday, September 5, at Roy Thomson Hall.

Directed by Daniel Roher (Ghosts of Our Forest) and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Brian Grazer, and Ron Howard, the feature documentary follows Robertson from his early life in Toronto and on the Six Nations of the Grand River reserve, in Southern Ontario, to the creation of legendary roots-rock group The Band.

Offering unprecedented access to rock history, Once Were Brothers is  based on Robbie Robertson’s 2016 memoir Testimony.

 

The Goldfinch

A 13 year old boy’s  mother is killed in a museum bombing, sending him on an odyssey of grief and guilt, reinvention and redemption. Through it all, he holds on to one tangible piece of hope from that terrible day: a priceless painting of a bird chained to its perch, The Goldfinch. The latest from John Crowley (Brooklyn) is based on Donna Tartt’s bestselling novel. The film has an impressive star cast including Nicole Kidman, Sarah Paulson and Luke Wilson.

The Goldfinch (based on the 2013 novel of the same name) was shot by the legendary, Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins, who gives it a polish appropriate to its high-stakes, high-crime story. With its beautiful surfaces, complex undercurrents, and a creative team working at the top of their game, Crowley’s latest makes for delicious entertainment.

Les Misérables

Les Misérables starring many first time actors,  is an example of the work of an exciting new crop of French filmmakers.  It’s an  adaptation of the classic  novel by the same name, and  is a new, different perspective on the oppressed citizens of France in light of current issues such as rising nationalism and right-wing politics. Director Ladj Ly’s film  revolves around the people and police of a troubled suburb of Paris.

Radioactive

Radioactive stars Rosamund Pike as two-time Nobel Prize–winning scientist Marie Curie. The biographical film, directed by Iranian-born French graphic novelist Marjane Satrapi and also starring Sam Riley and Anya Taylor-Joy, looks at the world-changing scientific discoveries she made with her husband, Pierre.

Based on the remarkable graphic novel by MacArthur “Genius Grant”–winner Lauren Redniss, Radioactive begins as a familiar biopic but soon leaps into more exciting territory. Radioactive is — audacious, compelling, and surprisingly romantic. It’s a Gala Presentation, slated to be the Closing Night film.

Check out this and other very interesting films at #tiff19!