Best of the Fest Part 2: More of The Best Films We Saw at TIFF

The Awards Contenders and Critical Darlings

Though usually known as the People’s Festival, TIFF has started to transition into more of an import fest, bringing in the best of the best from previous film fests that often include many of the biggest award contenders and critical darlings. If it got huge buzz at Cannes, chances are it’ll show up at TIFF. If it premiered in the first week of Venice, it’s most likely to find its way onto the Toronto Slate. Of course, they have their own world premieres, but more often than not the films we talk about the most come out what came before it.

This is a good thing for festival-goers. It allows audiences to put together a strong collection of potential greats and build a most anticipated list that will come very close to seeing a majority of the Academy Award nominees in every category. I, of course, sought those films out and made sure my schedule was completed with the buzziest titles and potential award contenders. And I got them all, no film left unseen. So let’s take a look at Part 2 of the Best of the Fest and get a snapshot of some films that are sure to continue to make waves throughout the award season.

La Gradiva and Everytime

Two incredibly singular voices left their mark on TIFF with these two films, paired together for their stunning cinematography and deep exploration of the hardships of the human experience. La Gradiva is an unbelievable feature film debut from cinematographer Marine Atlan. Assured and patient, the confidence displayed is that of veterans and the restraint and breath of her vision unfolds with immense trust in the audience. I cannot recall a film that felt so effortlessly lived in and instantaneously heartbreaking. La Gradiva is a film that asks you to sit with these characters and take in the volcanic buildup poised for eruption.

Every character, no matter how small feels completely realized, and the camera moves like a voyeur student a part of the group. It all builds and builds until it explodes into a final 20 minutes that still haunt me. It’s the cinematography of La Gradiva that shares with Everytime, both films prioritizing their visuals as a masterclass of moving picture astonishment. with Everytime, the colors of oranges and yellows and reds soak the city and characters in a hanging sun. It is visually arresting and profound, layering its patient portrait of grief and unexpectedly tragic loss.

Both films take their time, content with sitting in the mundane and letting the characters live their lives before transforming into something new. Everytime doesn’t have quite the same reward as La Gradiva, but it does deliver a surrealist third act that – even if it doesn’t completely work for you – will be an unforgettable sight to behold. Admittedly, I felt as if it lost me in end, but the more I sit with it (both films for that matter) the more its purposefully obscure conclusion grows on me and starts to come into focus.

\You have never seen anything like La Gradiva and Everytime; truly singular cinema and some of the most beautiful shot composition ever put on screen. I don’t know that these will be awards contenders, but they are both sure to be critical darlings and the kind of films we teach in schools for decades.

Club Kid and The Debut

Moving away from the perceived pretentious critic picks, these crowd pleasers tore the roof off at TIFF. Club Kid lived up to every bit of hype it carried with it out of Cannes and delivers a hilarious, touching coming of age film that uses conventions as a catalyst rather than standard movie making procedure. What begins as a typical story of a grown man refusing adulthood who gets saddled with a kid he didn’t know he had transforms into something much layered and nuanced. Jordan Firstman knows how to oscillate between laughs and cries, and keeps that balance all the way throughout. For all its rousing, crowd pleasing moments, there’s a somber reflection of the coming of age story, even layering the title of Club Kid to apply to more than one character.

Club Kid is a blast; a Big Daddy by queer with a lot more to say for itself and lot more emotional punches than you’d expect. And that brings us to The Debut, a film I need to rewatch because I missed half the dialogue laughing so hard. A film that feels made in a lab specifically for me, The Debut finds Jesse Eisenberg at his most absurd but also his most complex. The Debut is both niche and broad, hitting hard for those that understand or have lived the world of community theater but reaching beyond the confines of small theaters to everyone.

It’s the most fun you can have with a crowd; the musical numbers (created by Eisenberg with near perfect creation) are infectious, the story is just weird enough and it’s just a good time at the movies. And that’s all before we get to Julianne Moore. Unhinged and unfettered, Moore is the definition of ACTING and somehow outdoes her ‘screams at pharmacist’ from Magnolia. I don’t want to count my chickens before they hatch, but I’m pretty sure The Debut just locked in Moore’s second Oscar. There’s a scene she has in the middle of the film that got an applause break. Not a made up festival one, either. I mean cheering and hollering and clapping – in the middle of the movie. The Debut is definition of a crowd pleaser and just a joyous movie going experience you don’t want to miss.

Wild Horse 9 and La Bola Negra

We stan for Martin McDonagh here. A personal favorite director, McDonagh returns to his In Bruges roots with Wild Horse 9, and equal parts funny and somber buddy travel film that is carried by a career best performance from John Malkovich. A black comedy thriller that follows two CIA hit man – one young and one old – spending a week in the Easter Island right around the Chile Coupe of 1973. Wild Horse 9 isn’t quite the best McDonagh, but it draws from the best to deliver an all around blast. It’s humor and charm is more than enough to make up for its lack of story; it’s there, but narratively speaking its the least developed and the supporting cast shows it.

Malkovich is the key to everything in Wild Horse 9, and enters the Best Actor race with gusto and a pretty high number attached. This one is also a fun crowd pleaser, and even straight down the middle McDonagh is better than most movies out there. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, there’s the queer WWII generational epic La Bola Negra. Another film that came into TIFF with a lot of hype and manage to meet every expectation. Los Javis have crafted something special and beautiful, something that makes you want to watch it again immediately to put the pieces together again with new knowledge.

I don’t really even know how to describe La Bola Negra. It’s a lot of movie and doesn’t stop to dump exposition dumb on you ever. Like some other films on this list, Los Javis trust their audience to keep up as it time travels and follows 3 seemingly disconnected stories at different points in history. They earn that trust by bringing it all together in the end, and bring their ambition and bold vision to a satisfying conclusion. It’s rich and lot to take in – even overwhelming at time – but La Bola Negra earns its place among the greats. Not just of the festival circuit, too. It is easily one of the best films of the year and Netflix may finally have a winner on its hands.

Many movies to cover! Which film are you most looking forward to see?