TIFF 08 - Second Picks

Here is the list of my second choices:

Country Wedding - An Icelandic film about the shenanigans that go on behind the scenes at a wedding. Rather than a film about all of the pretty things that weddings are supposed to be about, this one is how weddings sometimes are about everything but.



Secret of Moonacre - This is a film from the Sprockets programming, which means that it has been selected for a family based audience. Last year I went to one of these films, and I promised myself I would never do it again. I went to a Danish film with subtitles, but since it was for kids, they have a person there to read the subtitles so kids can keep up. So the film is in Danish, I am reading the subtitles, and then on top of that a woman is reading them. It made the film near impossible to watch, I thought it was a terrible idea, and the filmmaker was visibly upset by it. So when I read the synopsis of The Secret of Moonacre, the first thing I looked for was whether it was in English, and it was, so I was willing to give the Sprockets films one final go. It's a United Kingdom/Hungary/France co-production about an orphan that goes to live at her eccentric uncle's manor where she finds out that she is a moon princess and has to save her family's heritage from the forces evil.

Three Blind Mice - An Australian film about three young naval officers that have 24hour leave in Sydney before getting shipped off to Iraq. It's kind of an On the Town (A Gene Kelly and Frank Sinatra movie with the same premise but set in New York with musical numbers), with a bit more edge.


Valentino: The Last Emperor - A documentary about the fashion magnate Valentino, that focuses on the time period between his 70th birthday and his final couture show. Not only does it highlight all of the contributions for which he is responsible in the fashion industry over multiple decades, but it's also about the love story between Valentino and his business partner Giancarlo Giammetti.

Summer Hours - A French film about two brothers and a sister that deals with the question of whether memories and objects define who a person is, and if a family's heritage is found in the acquisition of material wealth or whether it's something deeper. It stars Juliette Binoche.



Flame and Citron - A Danish/ German co-production that is one of the biggest grossing Danish films of all time. It's about the Danish resistance of the Nazi's occupation which focuses on the two men who were known by their code names of Flame and Citron.


Synecdoche, New York - The latest offering from Charlie Kaufman (who was responsible for Being John Malkovich and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) about a man who decides to build a a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play. It has a huge cast lead by one of my favs, Philip Seymour Hoffman.

$5 a Day - Christopher Walken plays a street hustler that claims he can live on $5 a day. He's the king of coupons, contest prizes and cheap little scams as he and his son travel cross country in last attempt at father/ son bonding.



I dropped off my selects, and my envelope was placed in box 34, so hopefully when they draw for the lottery I am close to get at least a few of my pics. Fingers crossed!