11 Days of Canadian and International Cinema
TIFF 2024 Volume 3
The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival delivered another unforgettable celebration of cinema, and I was thrilled to be a part of it for my second consecutive year. Over the course of the festival, I immersed myself in 61 films spanning genres, countries, and styles, each adding a unique thread to TIFF’s rich tapestry. Across six volumes, I’m excited to share my reviews, offering snapshots of these cinematic experiences with links to full analyses as they’re published.
As always, TIFF reminded me why I love movies—their power to transport, challenge, and connect us. From hidden gems to high-profile premieres, this year’s lineup didn’t disappoint. I’m grateful for the opportunity to take it all in, for the city of Toronto’s warmth and energy, and for the anticipation of returning in 2025 for TIFF’s 50th Anniversary. Until then, here’s a look at the films that made TIFF 2024 such a memorable journey
UNSTOPPABLE
Autobiografic documentary about Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg, and went on to be a wrestling champion winning a national championship for Arizona State.
If there’s one thing certain at every film festival, there will be an underdog sports drama to rouse the crowd. Nothing says sold-out, standing ovation togetherness than raising your hands to cheer a winner who triumphed over adversity. TIFFF had several options to choose from, and while there was one I didn’t stick with until the end (yes, sometimes critics bail if we feel we have nothing to add to the conversation), I wasn’t about to pass up UNSTOPPABLE because it had a few selling points that got me on the hook. Full transparency, I love Jennifer Lopez, so her casting as Judy Robles, the mother of NCAA wrestler Anthony Robles, who was born without a right leg, sealed the deal immediately.
More than that, wrestling is an atypical sport to depict onscreen, and I wanted to see how editor William Goldenberg would handle the action when stepping behind the camera for his feature debut. Finally, Jharrel Jerome is one of the best actors in the new generation. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see this world premiere with all the above-mentioned people attending.
As expected, this was a powerfully made, terrifically acted, thoroughly sentimental look at the life of Robles but also the equally unstoppable force of his mother. As far as sports dramas go, it’s not crashing through genre barriers, but it’s a slow clap leading to a full-on roof-raising cheer by the finale.
If you can make it through the closing scrawl of where the real people are now and what they have achieved without getting misty, you are made of stronger stuff than me.
40 ACRES
In a post-apocalyptic world with food scarcity, a Black family of Canadian farmers descended from American Civil War migrants defend their homestead against cannibals trying to seize their resources.
It’s getting increasingly rare to find post-apocalyptic thrillers that can maintain unpredictability (that aren’t based on pre-existing IP). Still, the unassuming 40 ACRES is a nerve-twisting example of how to do it right. Co-writer and director R.T. Thorne’s feature debut is a significant achievement in sharp storytelling and carefully constructed world-building.
The Canadian production benefits from Thorne’s music video background, not only because it’s tightly edited and creatively shot but because it can tell multiple mini-stories within the small cast in service of the larger narrative. Incredible lead performances from Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Greyeyes, and Kataem O’Connor as family members standing their ground in a world of unimaginable violence and efficient pacing keep audiences on the edge of their seats. I can’t overstate how nice it was to reach the 3/4 mark, and still have no idea what will happen at the end.
The film sets up perilously high stakes for its characters, and our expectations; Thorne’s ability to resolve them so satisfactorily (with a surprising amount of emotion) bodes well for future projects.
DEAD TALENTS SOCIETY
A meek and newly dead teen learns from an undead diva how to haunt the living, in this bloody and hilarious supernatural comedy.
Round two of TIFF’s Midnight Madness was DEAD TALENTS SOCIETY, a Taiwanese ghost comedy that brought the packed house down on a magnificent scale. Any worry I had about not being able to stay awake vanished in the opening moments of John Hsu’s high-energy, colorfully eye-popping, manically creative LOL-fest.
This film leaps out of the gate full of ideas and never stops, running wild with a creative fever you won’t want to get a cure from. Highly competitive ghosts attempting to make a name for themselves by becoming the stuff of (urban) legends are thrown for a loop when a newbie arrives on the scene guided by a veteran (a perfectly deadpan Sandrine Pinna) wanting to make a daring comeback of her own. The cast is dynamite, with Gingle Wang as “The Rookie” hysterically going from awkward initiate to experienced executor of frights, and Hsu’s story focuses on the emptiness of death as much as it does its ability to raise the hairs on your neck.
A bonus is that the soundtrack is killer, with an earworm of a closing credit song still buzzing around my head. It’s legitimately laugh a second and has the potential to be a minor cult hit when released. And stay to the end…to the very end. The very end.
WE LIVE IN TIME
An up-and-coming chef and a recent divorcée find their lives forever changed when a chance encounter brings them together, in a decade-spanning, deeply moving romance.
The age of the old-fashioned weepie has long since passed, so much so that when one does show its tear-stained face being wiped but the sleeve brandishing a broken heart, it feels like many don’t quite know what to do with themselves.
In a way, I get it. It can be hard to give yourself to human emotion that isn’t delivered via dazzling, award-worthy animation. Still, making space at the cinema for filmmakers drawing the tears out of an audience ready to cry into their popcorn feels good…and that’s how I felt during my early morning watch of John Crawley’s TIFF premiere of WE LIVE IN TIME from A24.
Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield star are partners who receive devastating news, but the film is pieced together so that it’s only part of their larger love story. It’s unabashedly sentimental but not saccharine, brutally honest but not obvious, inevitable but suitably surprising how it goes about its business.
The two leads have a physical chemistry that convinces us why they fall for one another but form a warmer screen bond that defines why their characters stick it out through troubling times.
THE LIFE OF CHUCK
A life-affirming, genre-bending story based on Stephen King's novella about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz.
Though I saw it early on in the festival, I’m doing this write-up just after THE LIFE OF CHUCK won the People’s Choice Award, and, in a way, that’s fitting.
Writer/director Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of Stephen King’s short story (from his anthology If It Bleeds) is three chapters told in reverse order in one man’s life (Tom Hiddleston) and the surprising way he impacts others along the way.
It’s easy to see why TIFF audiences embraced this world premiere. It has the biggest heart you can imagine and is hard-wired with a message about life and death that speaks to the masses. Whereas some films are tailored to a specific genre audience, Flanagan’s beautiful departure from his scary fare will undoubtedly reach further than his ardent followers. I count myself as one of his dedicated fans, so I know that even at his most terrifying, Flanagan has an undercurrent of emotional maturity few filmmakers have harnessed so delicately. He’s shifted his focus from creeps to crying, and the result is staggeringly good.
And what a cast. Many of Flanagan’s regular company are here (sometimes only in voice-over), and he’s added a few newer faces, with several 80s ladies like Mia Sara and Heather Langenkamp given key roles. As of this writing, the film doesn’t have a distributor…but it won’t be long until someone pays big bucks for it. **UPDATE: NEON has picked this one up and will release it in theaters during the Summer of 2025, a wise choice!**
K-POPS!
A washed-up musician jumps at the chance to capitalize on his long-lost son's stardom for his own renaissance, but learns that fatherhood is much more than stardom.
If they could bottle only a fraction of the energy in the room at today’s World Premiere of Anderson Paak’s K-POPs at TIFF, none of us would pay an electric bill for an entire year.
What an unexpected delight—a charming and instantly appealing debut feature for the Grammy-winning Paak. Proving he’s not only a gifted musician but also a promising filmmaker and charismatic screen presence, he co-wrote this after being inspired by his son (who also makes a convincing acting debut), and the result is an audience-pleasing roof-raiser.
Having zero exposure to the world of K-pop, the film provides easy access for any level of fan, but judging by the frequent yelps of excitement, Paak and his team nailed it. There is also a great score/soundtrack, with fun supporting turns from
ON SWIFT HORSES
Muriel and her husband Lee are about to begin a bright new life, which is upended by the arrival of Lee's brother. Muriel embarks on a secret life, gambling on racehorses and discovering a love she never thought possible.
I wasn’t familiar with Shannon Pufahl’s novel before tonight’s world premiere of ON SWIFT HORSES, director Daniel Minihan’s adaptation of her beautiful, sensitive drama about the secrets we keep for ourselves, the pain we share with the ones we love the most, and the lies that have silenced opportunities to live with authenticity.
Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, Will Poulter, Diego Calva, and Sasha Calle are a quintet of red-hot stars that populate this tale, playing broken people at different stages of recompense. Gorgeously shot but a bit meandering, the final moments offer a range of surprising emotional payoffs that audiences will either love or loathe—a special shout-out to Poulter’s luxe hair, which could have a centerfold in Playgirl.
THE RETURN
After 20 years Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca, where he finds his wife held prisoner by suitors vying to be king and his son facing death at their hands. To win back his family and all he has lost, Odysseus must rediscover his strength
To hear writer/director Uberto Pasolini tell it at the Q&A after the world premiere on THE RETURN, he’s been working on bringing this adaption of Homer’s The Odyssey to the screen since the last time leads Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche co-started in a film. Meaning he’s had since 1996’s The English Patient to breathe life into this centuries-old epic; however, this passion project is truly a tragedy of Greek proportions.
Unsurprisingly, the scenes between the leads are great (Binoche is “fine wine-ing” her acting roles as of late, only getting better), but the rest of the cast range from preening gym rats (did Ithaca have an LA Fitness, Muscle Milk, and access to baby oil?) to RSC spear holders shipped off to Greece for filming this slog. Pasolini’s ex-wife Rachel Portman contributes a haunting score, but this is nap-inducing instead of myth-making.
ICK
Science teacher Hank's life changes when he reconnects with his first love and suspects a new student is his daughter, all while facing an alien threat in their town.
Day three of TIFF 2024 ended with a rowdy Midnight Madness world premiere of Joseph Khan’s ICK.
The hype was big for this one, with promises of a gnarly film with hints of Slither, The Blob, and a run of 80s creature features. My alarm bell went run a ding ding when we were told before that this was programmed when the festival had only seen 25% of it and after Khan appeared, saying he finished it yesterday and hadn’t seen a final cut yet.
Lots of ideas in this one, mostly good if incomplete and the spirit is there, but even viewing it as a maximalist exercise in yucko goo monster mayhem it’s messy and unfocused entertainment with a cool as hell soundtrack. Brandon Routh is a bright (ultraviolet) light leading a frenetic cast.
EDEN
Based on two wildly different takes of the same story, Eden explores one of the longest-standing and most compelling human mysteries ever where eight people went to an island, and less than half survive.
Some at TIFF are already calling EDEN a departure for Oscar-winning director RON HOWARD after its world premiere, and there’s indeed a darkness not present in many of his films to this true story about life on Floreana, a land of unconquered beauty and uncompromising danger in the Galapagos.
However, anyone following Howard’s recent foray into documentaries (both directing and producing) about nature and his established love of bringing nonfiction to the screen will see where EDEN bloomed. Set in the late 1920s, this has an enviable cast, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Sydney Sweeney, Jude Law, Daniel Brühl, gorgeous scenery, and the benefit of being a subject not everyone has heard about, making it an honest to goodness two-hour mystery of what will happen to these characters. Call it Survivor: Imagine Entertainment edition.
Sweeney struggles with her accent and livening up her delivery while Law goes without teeth and, at one point, clothes. However, even with a questionable German accent (yes, you heard that right), it’s de Armas who, again, becomes the MVP in a dangerously wicked role.
RELAY
A broker of lucrative payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals who threaten them breaks his own rules when a new client seeks his protection to stay alive.
Despite their immense popularity, Hollywood fell out of love with the high-concept thriller sometime in the mid-2000s. They’ve been slowly making a comeback, and director David Mackenzie started it with Hell or High Water in 2016.
More twists and turns abound in Mackenzie’s new film, RELAY, making its world premiere at TIFF. A pure popcorn chomper with shades of Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much and bits of The Conversation; the Blacklist script has clockwork machinations to keep it moving but can also expose its secrets if you are absolutely determined to find them early.
Audiences willing to kick back and have fun can enjoy a well-made ride featuring another atypical leading man performance from Riz Ahmed. You’re almost 1/4 through the movie before you realize he hasn’t spoken a word.
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