Toronto International Film Festival — A–Z of films

A film which is as playful with its own structure as with its subject.

Hüller has always been an unfussy actress, who allows a character's flaws to shine out in interesting ways.

The Beast explores what Henry James diagnosed so devastatingly. The chill of egotism and the feverish dance around the void are so desperately relevant today that it leaves one breathless.

Stitching together the various pieces of Layla’s journey are sequences which use dance to explore wild landscapes, adding a different dimension to the film.

The film goes at it with all the manic intensity of an old Saturday morning kids TV show: Wacaday cruentus.

Rohrwacher’s visually eclectic style is well suited to exploring the contrasts between present and past, natural and artificial, poverty and wealth.

Janis Pugh’s ability to blend crowdpleasing comedy and emotional poignancy should not be underestimated.

Purev-Ochir gives a sense of the pressures the younger generation are under through their experience in the classroom, with a tacit implication that Ze’s struggles are reflecting a spirit of a nation.

Rather than watching Sam from a distance, with curiosity, we are very much aligned with him, experiencing the world as he does, noticing the things that don’t make sense about other people.

A meditation on both memory and movies as well as ageing and a hankering for the past that is informed by the melancholic knowledge that nostalgia is inevitably rose-tinted.

Um is interested in how such landscapes seduce us into particular ways of thinking.

An intriguing piece of work which probes the psychology of contestant, producers and viewers alike.

As Copa 71 goes on to show, it’s not the players that are the problem but the lack of a level playing field.

In its early stages, the film stands up pretty well. It’s when it reaches the blackmail stage of the story that it falters.

While offering some notion of Beckett’s feelings towards key people in his life, his works feel very underrepresented.

A small and human story in the sweep of a West both mythic and mundane.

Well paced and energetic, with some stunning action scenes.

A film that lives in the moment.

Moreno isn’t shy about his use of symbolism...What this effects to disguise, however, is the degree to which [the men's] own thinking has been shaped by symbols and by the belief system which surrounds them.

Jude masterfully keeps the audience attached to the screen for almost three hours without relying on heightened tensions or conventional plot twists.

The writers care about even their smallest characters.

If you take it for what it is rather than what it was marketed as, The End We Start From is an interesting watch.

An amuse-bouche of a film, Aki Kaurismäki’s latest comedy romance may leave you wanting more but it’s also a fully rounded, good looking experience packed with all the flavours we’ve come to expect from the master of deadpan down the years.

There’s something inherently endearing about the way that Nikou always managed to conjure timelessness in his worlds. They’re more analogue than futuristic but ultimately hang in a sort of limbo of ‘here but not quite now’.

This film strikes one of those wonderful paradoxes, being simultaneously about holding on and letting go.

The exposure of the film’s underlying structures...invites audiences to think about the processes of storytelling and interpretation, which is important, because it’s a story which took the missing women away.

Peyrot’s documentary becomes increasingly absorbing - so that we want to see this original film as much as they do.

Essential, urgent and damning.

An old school slice of comfort and joy for the cold season.

This is a quiet and thoughtful film with slowly building power. It will leave you awed by the resilience of its subjects yet angry that they needed it.

A fresh spin on territory that has been frequently explored.

While Louis-Seize’s treatment of the night is atmospheric, the emphasis here is firmly on comedy rather on gore.

A sort of soft-faced tyrany abounds.

There’s a freshness to this world, as if one had just stepped out of one’s own door and arrived in an unexpected place.

Writer/director Zarrar Khan uses techniques borrowed from the horror genre to address the experience of living in an environment where one is seen as less than fully human, or even as prey.

Beyond the stories that unfold within the vehicle, the tension of these journeys, often on dirt tracks in rural areas, is brought home.

It’s Clennon’s first ever film role, but you wouldn’t think it. The interiority, the subtlety of his performance is what really sells it.

Finding a child with as much screen presence as Niemenmaa would be impressive in any circumstances.

This cinematic exploration, a manifestation of Christian bigotry, speculates with cinematic icons and religious imagery, laying bare the power-hungry clergy.

Winslet performance holds a powerful sway, embracing Lee’s abrasive and conflicted personality and viewing the horrors with an analytical eye and a sense of bravado as well as despair.

A beautifully constructed piece of work in which every detail serves the whole, putting the tools of the epic at the disposal of a story which is intimate and delicately realised.

Everything about El Moudir’s film is unusual, from the structure to the mood.

Handsomely mounted in terms of both the wide open landscapes and the confines of the church, Thornton allows the mystery surrounding the boy’s powers to remain that way, unknowable perhaps even to the youngster.

It's pleasant enough.

It's never a difficult watch, both because of, and despite its refusal to sit with anything too long.

The film undercuts the pop psychology associated with sporting success, clearing the space in which to attempt a more honest account.

Capturing the experience of living in a world where one’s gender doesn’t fit better than almost any other film to date, Preciado’s work is all about claiming space and present day narrative.

Just as Reymont’s book immersed itself in the metaphorical colour of Polish peasant life, so the Welchmans’ film delivers a flood of literal colour.

The 4:3 format, preferred by Yasujirō Ozu, is the perfect frame for paying attention to the small mysteries that are often overlooked.

These are the nooks and crannies where the ghosts still hang out, whistling in the dark, eager to haunt anew a crowd.

The only mystery is why anyone would stay to the end of Poolman.

Mirza may sometimes over-indulge in sentiment, but there’s a warmth to the film that makes it easy to like, and she handles its more chaotic scenes with flair.

Told from a child’s point of view, immediate and haphazard, magical and unlikely.

The feeling that something bad could happen at any moment permeates the mood.

It’s difficult to imagine the famously shrewd yet antagonistic Rustin being better cast.

Salome’s story has been shaped again and again by men; she is, perhaps, the first recorded subject of the male gaze. Egoyan is conscious that he is not in a position to resolve this, yet strives to bring female perspectives to the fore

What really drives the film is the quietly powerful central performance.

Using a mix of both professional and amateur actors the film reveals the intimate details and attitudes of these incarcerated individuals

Solo features wonderfully detailed sets which give depth and meaning to its characters’ lives, plus fantastic costume work both on and off the stage.

By taking their time and standing back from the fray, Mones and Suh are able to take a much more objective look at these social phenomena.

More poem than conventional narrative, Sweet Dreams explores the tropes of the colonial fable with a romantic eye and a sharp wit.

The film is given additional weight by the fact that each woman’s story is based upon the stories of the actors/filmmakers themselves.

A Teacher is not the most finely crafted film, but it is a cri de cœur.

Thrums from start to almost finish with the sweaty tension of a looming maths test.

At the heart of it is the complex relationship between mother and son.

The film delivers well on action, and Barker knows how to shoot fights which are both fun to watch and capable of advancing our understanding of the characters.

The film carries us from a carefree existence made possible by not paying attention, to a crushing tragedy.

A curious case of real-life poison pen letters is given an oddly cosy retelling in this well-polished if tonally uneven drama.

Despite its many grand visual flourishes, this is a film which succeeds because of its attention to detail, especially in the performances.

On the visual front, the camera moves harmoniously with the workers' unpredictable gestures.

There are no shortcuts in this film, no conventions and nothing careless.