My ranking of the top 5 films at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival
Honorable Mention: The Zone of Interest
The Zone of Interest provided another interesting viewpoint of this time in history that isn’t typically shown; how these people are just living and going about their daily lives all the while horrific injustices take place just across the street by them and their people. It was also shot in an interesting way with the still camera and the characters moving about the frame rather than the camera following the characters. Unfortunately, my biggest gripe with the film was how incredibly slow it was, unbelievably so, with long-winded moments of absolute nothingness. And though I understand the nuance of that juxtaposed against the horrific things simultaneously taking place, as a film the point could’ve still successfully come across without the unnecessarily slow pace which as an audience member ends up detaching you from the film at times.
3.5/5
#5: Hit Man
Hit Man was a pretty entertaining film with a fun script carried through by Glen Powell’s wide-range performance and the chemistry between him and Adria Arjona on screen. It was an enjoyable time with an interesting direction towards the film’s final act. It manages to capture both a fun action film vibe with a pseudo-romcom aesthetic to create an interesting experience, all the while subversing what you’d expect to take place as the film goes along. As we follow this seemingly mild-mannered guy transform as he assumes the character of a Hit Man. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel but is still an enjoyable experience.
3.5/5
#4: Dream Scenario
Pretty great movie, and a fascinating mirror to today’s culture of overnight sensation to swift cancellation in a satirical and even slightly horror style. Nick Cage does a terrific job playing this regular everyman whose portrayal of this somewhat pathetic character only makes you feel worse with the things that he goes through and the way things resolve at the end. It showcases a unique spin on the consequences of mob rule/mentality as well as the overnight sensation and “viral” craze society of today. On a funny side note for all the The Last Jedi haters, this film will help you understand better why Luke tried to kill Kylo in his sleep after his bad dream.
4/5
#3: Promised Land (Bastarden)
Mads Mikkelsen is terrific in this film, the struggle and journey he takes to achieve his dream and the realization he comes to bring everything full circle from start to finish. The entire cast did a great job and the film envelops you into the world in a way where you grow to care for each of the characters such as Ann Barbara, The Priest, and Anmai Mus, and equally hate certain characters (De Shinkel), maybe even more so as the film goes on as it goes on. The film is also shot well, capturing the different tones and sets realistic and believable manner. Mads is perfect in roles that allow him to be grounded and give an emotional performance, such as in Jagten and Druk, and now with this. It’s unfortunate how badly wasted his talents in theme park franchises like the MCU and Fantastic Beasts
4/5
#2: American Fiction
Terrific film with pretty incredible writing. It was real, heartfelt, satirical, and funny throughout with terrific character moments led by Jeffrey Wright. His portrayal of this veteran writer balancing his troubles in the writing sphere and within his personal life, trying to find his place in it all, feeling somewhat detached and misunderstood. The film though terrific in its comedy is a great mirror to society as it is now and the struggle to have BIPOC stories be told of them as more than just the base stereotypes. That’s why this film worked on those levels and the writing felt fresh, relevant, and based in reality. It was also shot incredibly well and had a great and diverse score that captured the emotion of the somber moments and the comedic moments perfectly. It’s clear why the film won People’s Choice at TIFF, deservingly so. If anything that speaks even more to the message the film was portraying in a multi-inception way. The only small gripe is that I’m not too sure how I feel about the very end and last few minutes of how it wraps up but in another way, it adds a new layer of “inception” to the film itself. Overall great film, a lot of fun, sincere, and very real. Jeffrey Wright did a terrific job in his performance and believability for this character and what he was going through
4.5/5
#1: The Boy and The Heron
The Boy and the Heron is another beautifully crafted film from the legendary Hayao Miyazaki. The animation was stunning and fluid as always, and the narrative was rich with themes of life, death, coping with loss, and ultimately acceptance, keeping you engaged throughout. This film not only challenges Across The Spider-Verse as the best animated film of the year, but it is also one of the best films of the year in general. Both the original Japanese dub and the English dub feature terrific and believable voice acting that portrays the emotions of the characters perfectly combined with the beautiful score and animation creating a complete and incredible experience that tells the emotional and heartfelt story of this boy and his journey after the loss of his mother. Though it was a difficult choice for first place between The Boy and The Heron and American Fiction, the former takes the slight edge for me and so is in my opinion was the best film at TIFF this year.
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