Il Divo
Thursday, August 28------The Toronto International Film Festival, which starts next week, has a good number of gala presentations on tap, featuring the newest works from such critically acclaimed directors as Kathryn Bigelow, Spike Lee and Paolo Sorrentino and featuring performances by such diverse talents as John Malkovich, Viggo Mortensen, Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, John Leguizamo, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Michael Cera.
In Disgrace by Australian director Steve Jacobs, Australia, cult actor John Malkovich stars as a college professor whose life falls apart after he has an impulsive affair with one of his students. International favorite Viggo Mortensen toplines in director Vicente Amorim's film Good, a UK-German co-production. In the film, Mortensen plays a good, decent literature professor in the 1930s who write a book about euthanasia that suddenly become offical public policy in Nazi Germany.
A filmmaker who generates controversy for each new film he creates, Spike Lee is presenting the world premiere of his latest at the Festival. Miracle at St. Anna is based on an award-winning novel by James McBride (who also wrote the screenplay) that chronicles the story of four black American soldiers who are members of the US Army as part of the all-black 92nd "Buffalo Soldier" Division stationed in Tuscany, Italy, during World War II.
A film that could possibly be a cult hit of the same magniture as last year's Juno, and also starring young breakout actor Michael Cera, is Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist by director Peter Sollett. The film is a gentle comedy about two people thrust together for one hilarious, sleepless night of adventure in a world of mix tapes, late-night living and live, loud music.
Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, Il Divo by Italian director Paolo Sorrentino is the fictionalized story of Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti , who held the post seven different times over 25 years. The film, which has been hailed for its neo-realism and the performance of its lead, Toni Servillo, is an insightful, intensely political film that delves into the hidden character of one of the most powerful figures in the history of Italian politics.
Featuring an all-star cast that includes Ralph Fiennes, Guy Pearce, David Morse, Jeremy Renner and Christian Camargo, The Hurt Locker is the latest big-budget actioner from American cult director Kathryn Bigelow. In the exciting film, an elite Army bomb squad unit is forced to play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse in the chaos of the current Iraq war.
These are surely to be among the most talked films of the season, and they all have their North American premieres in Toronto next week. Festival website:
www.tiff08.caSandy Mandelberger, Toronto FF Dailies Editor
