We saw 5 great films in the Contemporary World Cinema program in this years (2009) Toronto International Film Festival (Tiff).
We started off with a Irish film, Perrier’s Bounty, set in the underside of North Dublin. Great and meaty characters. I hope the DVD has English subtitles and translation so I can understand the other half of the dialog.
Next was a Danish film Applause, very very northern European, although not totally bleak. (or at least, not as bleak as I thought it was going to turn out.) The big surprise was now tall and beautiful the main actress, Paprika Steen, was!!
Fatih Akin’s Soul Kitchen was a great comedy, set in Hamburg Germany!!
Hong Kong’s Yonfan presented his Prince of Tears and it was very sad and gorgeous.
The Double Hour, an Italian film, keep us guessing with each twist, and I wouldn’t say they were happy twists but they were delightful surprises as we followed these characters we came to care about.
All the film very of the highest quality and enjoyable. I would recommend them all, but Perrier’s Bounty and Soul Kitchen are more mainstream cinema, easier to watch and understand. It was also great hearing the Directors and Actors after for a Q&A.