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EmilyGlassman
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An error has ocurred. Please try againIt was a nearly impossible challenge to narrow my 2014 TIFF Watchlist down to just 10 titles, but I did it ... just for you ;)
I would also like to mention several wonderful films that are playing at TIFF this year which aren't on my Watchlist only because I've already had the pleasure of seeing them at other film festivals. I highly recommend Lynn Shelton's LAGGIES, FOXCATHER, MR. TURNER and MAPS TO THE STARS.
Reviews
The Deepest Breath (2023)
A haunting, thrilling, eerie adventure
This is a powerful documentary about extreme sport Freediving, and the athletes who risk their lives to probe the abyss of the ocean ("the last quiet place on earth") as well as the deepest terrain of their souls and physical capabilities, alone and powered by only a single breath. This is a real-life thriller/love story/sports documentary/psychological study, and I encourage you to go in cold without doing any research about the fates of the people involved. What motivates these athletes to risk their lives to be utterly alone and unreachable in dark, dangerous, uncharted territory where they cannot be rescued, and then also risk deeply loving another who shares this need for life-threatening, extreme isolation and self-reliance? And the greatest irony of all is that the unexpected love story at the center of this film may end up being more dangerous than the sport itself. For me, this documentary is the most powerful, haunting, beautiful, and thought-provoking movie (in any genre) this year.
Station Eleven (2021)
Even better than the incredible book
As my many bookie friends well know, STATION ELEVEN is easily one of my all-time favorite works of fiction. I can't even recall how many copies of this book I've given as gifts to my friends and family. This is bittersweet for me given that I actually started down the path of trying to option the book as it so clearly would someday make a powerful film with tremendous female roles. As it turns out, it has been developed into an HBO Max mini series that actually improves upon the source material, with stunning cinematography, tremendous character development (beyond what we knew of them from the book) and a cast that is so good I don't even know how to describe both the casting and the performances other than to say, break out the IMDbPro STARmeter Cast and Breakout Awards. Sometimes, when you love the source material so much that you've gone deep imagining the characters and their interior and exterior worlds upon multiple re-readings, it can be a hallow, disappointing experience to see it come to life on screen. But this eerie, beautiful, haunting and yet life-affirming epic is even more compelling in the hands of the series creators. I'll be surprised if anything can knock if off my top slot for 2022. Watch the series. And read the book. Not sure what order to recommend you do that in .... PS episode 2 stumbles ... plow ahead, you'll be so glad you did.