Daily Riffs From TIFF - Day 7

Welcome to the seventh day of TIFF, this was certainly not going to be my day of rest. The action began at 11:00 in the blessed ayem and the film was one I was really looking forward to: THE INVENTION OF LYING, starring and co-directed by someone I consider one of the funniest men on the planet, RICKY GERVAIS (and MATTHEW ROBINSON).

Well, folks can you say, lunchbag letdown, because that's what this movie was for me. Oh, it certainly started with promise. The premise sounded hilarious. it is about a world where everyone tells the truth, regardless of the consequences. GERVAIS, plays his sad everyman, who achieves success and wins the girl, by being the only man who can lie. Now, you're probably saying to yourself but, cineman, this is just like LIAR, LIAR, exactly the only difference is, that, that movie was funny. Now, my credo is thrill me, chill me, just don't bore me, this movie did. The movie basically, is just an extended series of riffs, based on this one joke premise. However, this movie does answer the question, can a flick, with such gifted co-stars as, JENNIFER GARNER, JONAH HILL, JEFFREY TAMBOR, ROB LOWE, (even throw in, TINA FEY, for good measure), suck, it can and did. The audience seemed to be having a good time, with this film, which leads me to ask the burning question: just which movie, were they watching.

Alright, now on to movie deux of the day, or for those of you counting, movie #16, in total. This movie had recently won best screenplay, at Venice, it was LIFE DURING WARTIME, directed by that lovable oddball, TODD SOLANZ. This film is a sequel of sorts, to the director's earlier film, HAPPINESS, and has characters from that movie, played by other actors (why?- I don't know). This film has an excellent cast: ALLISON JANNEY, MICHAEL LERNER, CIARAN HINDS, ALLY SHEEDY, et al. I could tell you what this movie is about, but I fell asleep. On to the next...

The next film was a real treat, by one of my favourite directors: FRANCOIS OZON'S LE REFUGE. OZON, is Festival favourite, and I have mostly enjoyed his oeuvre, over the years. Such films as, UNDER THE SAND, 8 WOMEN, SWIMMING POOL and 5 TIMES 2.

Well, this film did not disappoint. It is the story of two junkies: MOUSSE (ISABELLE CARRE), and LOUIS (MELVILLE POUPAD). After one injection too many, LOUIS, is dead, leaving MOUSSE, alone and pregnant, with his baby. While his mother insists she has an abortion, MOUSSE, decides to carry the child to full-term, and escapes to her country house, her refuge, if you will. This is where the film gets interesting. She is visited by the brother of her lover, whose name is PAUL (LOUIS-RONAN CHOISY). Tentatively, at first, a slow affection develops between the two characters and one of them is gay.

The pastoral country-side is gorgeous. and CARRE, gives a stunning multi-faceted performance. She is the rare, kind of actress, whose inner thoughts you can read just by looking at her face. The movie, which albeit, is a little slow at times, arrives at a satisfying conclusion.

It's hard to believe, that there's only a few more days of TIFF, but it's true. Still, more films to come, so keep checking this blog for more film updates.

T.T.F.N.