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- Boys – Review and DVD competiton - 13 October, 2014
This past week the world of film and cinema descended upon Canada for the Toronto International Film Festival 2014. This world-renowned festival is known as the testing waters for many an Oscar award winning film. As per usual the competition was strong and I wanted to share with you some of my favourites.
Do I Sound Gay?
In this documentary David Thorpe tackles the stereotype of a “gay voice”. He meets with speech therapists and iconic figures of the LGBTQ community to discuss this somewhat touchy subject. I shant lie as a child I was VERY pre-occupied with not wanting to seem ‘too gay’ or to be obviously gay and it really broke my self-esteem. This documentary looks at how this stereotype like others effects one’s identity and in turn ones relationships. This is most definitely a must watch and will leave you feeling refreshed and revitalized.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4TUQ0X-ay0
Gett, The Trial of Viviane Amsalem
This beautifully gripping film follows the inter-personal and intra-personal conflicts of Viviane Amsalem (Ronit Elkabetz) as she fights the patriarchal constructs of the law to finally end her abusive marriage. Her husband Elisha, played by Simon Abkarian, is the perfect villain. After a short while the very image of his face shall make you salivate as the bile begins to creep up your throat. Elisha will both amaze and infuriate you as he plays the laws against the victim in a manipulative plot. The milieu is the court-house, a symbol of the very same construct which entraps Viviane. The irony is rife, that such a building should protect one against abuse yet it is this very building for which is to blame. An excellent film questioning the orthodox legal system of Israel.
Learning to Drive
Wendy (Patricia Clarkson) a successful editor comes home to discover her marriage has reached an abrupt end. Disbelief becomes anger ultimately ending in tears. Now after years of navigating the “traffic jams” of marriage she is left alone and unable to drive, literally. Enter Darwan (Ben Kingsley) her new driving instructor who teaches her to navigate through not only the traffic of the big apple but her emotional car wreck too. The two develop an unbelievable bond and the windows do definitely steam up with the breaths of two people who rediscover a reason to live.
Are you going to be seeing any of these films, let us know in the comment below and tell us what you think.
