Toronto International Film Festival — A–Z of films

It’s fitting for a film set in the “City of Dreams” and that is concerned with life’s illusions and how we navigate them as it is about the here and now.

What isn't untrue is that Anora is brilliant.

It’s not unusual to say that something cuts through the silence but in Dea Kulumbegashvili’s April it’s the silence that cuts through us.

Halina Reijn's film is a rewarding piece of work, in no small part because of how it challenges its subjects and its audience.

Film's ability to change scale and scope turns Better Man from a jukebox musical into something at once more and less personal.

Amid all the deprivation Arnold, as is her style, uncovers elements that lift the action out of the ordinary and into the realms of fantasy and magical realism.

A past shines through another layer of the past into a silver screen present that is both familiar and brand-new.

Even though we’re essentially talking about a basic shot-reverse shot exchange, framed in creeping wide angles, juxtaposed with close-ups, the feeling is comparable to watching a getaway heist.

Director Edward Berger and his director of photography Stephane Fontaine have made every frame art.

Jule’s sheer resourcefulness makes her a compelling character to watch.

Vigorously covering all bases, Diop cuts elegantly to give each position ample space.

Everything here looks grimy, as if the film itself had been lying around in poor conditions for years, and colours and patterns are artfully mismatched.

Audiard has assembled a remarkable team of actors

It’s ironic that a film about a family who have built a perfect facsimile of a life for themselves should feel so overly constructed itself

There is a careful balance here between the big drama of the premise and the personal dramas experienced by the characters, most of whom pay no particular heed to the wider tragedy unfolding.

This is a powerful example of the phenomenon because it has affected so many different individuals, lending itself to a deeper analysis than is often possible.

Cat’s viewpoint predominates, and Zilbalodis has an acute understanding of how the world looks from its point of view, of what catches its attention and how its body follows instinctively.

A very New York film.

Illusions are everywhere in this film.

A thoughtful, shrewd examination of the impact of rapidly developing technologies.

It’s funny to begin with, watching Pansy rant with no filter, sharing her negative thoughts on everything from baby clothes with pockets to sofa salespeople, but gradually we realise just how close to the edge she is.

At times the discomfort that Harvest causes is not from dirt or despair but the room it leaves for interpretation.

This is a tactile retelling, inviting us to imagine the sticky feel of Coca-Cola on hot skin in the sun or the heat of a sheepskin coat and the love that goes with it being passed from mum to daughter ahead of a trip abroad.

The director shows how it’s not just Julie’s tennis skills that have been groomed by the coach but large aspects of her life.

Too often scoots over things when it should take a breath and better look.

Coppola has style, but sometimes employs too much of it.

It is described simply as “A Fable”, but there is nothing simple about this over-ambitious allegorical sprawl.

Once again, Guiraudie proves himself the master of setting up a mystery by the means of perfect script economy that functions strictly on “need to know” basis.

A film that is built upon patience and which takes a philosophical rather than judgmental stance.

No Other Land brings humanity and particularity to a topic that is too often discussed in the abstract.

Simply put, the viewer is constantly tempted to attribute the character’s old man’s ramblings both to the author of the source novel and to the filmmaker adapting it.

Nyoni expertly controls her narrative so that it glides effortlessly between the reality of the funeral preparations to the more surreal psychological trauma Shula is working through.

Carreira shows how quiet desperation can be eroding

The Order might not be too original, both in the plot and the character department, but it is very effective, functional movie fun.

Coogan is well cast in this tricky role, moving easily from humour to heartbreak..

A film that is so focused on the presence we can’t see it forgets to fully flesh out the lives that we can.

There’s also an emperor’s new clothes feeling to the general style, look closely and there's very little there.

The film hinges on amazing vocal work by Lalama.

Fiennes is lean in look and in performance, bringing an intensity that proves compelling.

Almodóvar goes all out with the delights fashion has to offer, bright colours, the joy of transformation - because it is never too late for sartorial metamorphosis.

The writing is sharp and succinct.

Writer/director Sandhya Suri - who has a documentary background - is keen to show that everyone plays their part in the prejudices and corruption of the legal system.

Grittily compelling

There is a feeling of being in a constant movement, with cars and buildings whizzing by as Souleymane is rushing through the city, either riding his bike, or running from one type of public transport to the next.

Brutal, bloody and enriched with a specific dark humour.

The excellent supporting cast – with Lopez impressive as ever – elevate the material,

Given that U Are The Universe is practically a one-man-play, Volodymyr Kravchuk masterfully commands the screen combining his knack for humour with a strong sense for drama.

Maura Delpero’s multi-layered drama sees its heroine growing up and coming to understand the world in new ways at the same time as the village itself shifts, not altogether willingly, into the modern era.

A perfect example of just how much the stars of a film can elevate mediocre material by the strength of their performances.

Beyond the dark loneliness of grief, is the soft light of a shared mourning.

The film mines a lot of clichés but manages to do something a little different with them, blending traditional elements of children’s fiction with a distinctly 21st Century sensibility.

An ostensibly rousing speech is aiming for Braveheart but has all the grip one would expect from an address to an adhesive sales conference.

Greenbaum pinpoints the tension between the hate eating away at parts of US society and the tremendous potential that the country still has.