Top 10
The Best Canadian Flicks
The Toronto International Film Festival Group (TIFFG) has announced its picks for the Top-10 Canadian feature films of 2007. In oh-so Canadian fashion, instead of ranking the films, the group chose to list the honourees alphabetically. Very egalitarian, but we’re secretly happy that L’Âge des ténèbres starts with an “”.
If you happen to be in Toronto between January 25th and February 5th, you can catch screenings of the films — complete with Q&A sessions featuring the filmmakers — at Cinematheque Ontario (topten.ca for tickets). Some of the films will then tour major cities, including Vancouver, Winnipeg and Ottawa, keep an eye on your local listings for details.
So, in order of the first letter of each of their titles, here are TIFFG’s 10 favourite CanCon contributions to 2007’s movie slate.
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1. L’Âge des ténèbres
director: Denys Arcand
A bored man (Marc Lebrèche) escapes into a fantasy world.
2. Amal
director: Richie Mehta
A New Delhi autorickshaw driver’s (Rupinder Nagra) life transforms when he inherits a fortune.
3. Continental, un film sans fusil
director: Stéphane Lafleur
When a man wanders into the forest and disappears, four other people’s lives are affected.
4. Eastern Promises
director: David Cronenberg
A London midwife (Naomi Watts) unwittingly becomes involved with the Russian mob. |
5. Fugitive Pieces
director: Jeremy Podeswa
Having seen his entire family taken by the Nazis during World War Two, Jakob (Stephen Dillane) finds it hard to live a normal life.
6. My Winnipeg
director: Guy Maddin
The director pays tribute to his hometown in odd fashion.
7. A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman
director: Peter Raymont
A documentary about the life of Ariel Dorfman, cultural advisor to Chilean President Salvador Allende.
8. The Tracey Fragments
director: Bruce McDonald
A 15-year-old girl (Ellen Page) navigates a difficult home life, a terrible school and sessions
with her shrink.
9. Up the Yangtze
director: Yung Chang
A documentary that takes you, via a luxury cruiser, up the waterway known only as “The River” in China.
10. Young People F--king
director: Martin Gero
The stories of five couples — each one experiencing a problematic sexual encounter — are intertwined.