By: Henry J. Fromage –
Day 3 of TIFF was pretty Canadian overall, but I also caught a title I’m wagering will be changed before release- see if you can guess.
653. Nosotros
Nosotros follows Romero, an indigenous man who leaves his family to travel to Guatemala City in search of work. What was supposed to be three months turns into an unexpected new life when he meets and falls in love with a trans business owner in same small mall he’s hired as a security guard for. Without going too far into the plot from there, the big city proves a more dangerous world, which leads to a complicated yet highly effective ending. Three Beers.
Take a Drink: for mototaxi rides
Take a Drink: for dranks
Take a Drink: for phone calls home
Do a Shot: for lying in phone calls home
654. Everybody Wants to Fuck Me
Taron Egerton here plays apparently the worst kind of fuckboi- the kind that is performatively enlightened, the kind that insists they’re a feminist, that they’re really one of the nice ones (but all they’re after is sex, just like more straightforwardly transparent douches). When he chats up very much the wrong woman played by Jessica Henwick, she drugs him and he wakes up the next morning thinking he just can’t remember their one night stand, but then things get strange. Whenever he’s alone with a woman, they’re interested- perhaps too interested, no matter who they are (this escalates in several different ways). The metaphor here is very mixed, which can make the horror elements more confusing than terrifying, but Egerton remains committed throughout and it ends on a properly messed up note. Three Beers.
Take a Drink: for unsettled animals
Take a Drink: for creepy glances
Do a Shot: whenever Taron insists everybody wants to fuck him
655. Whatcha Want
Whatcha Want follows the wife of a Hong Kong businessman living in Vancouver while he spends most of his time working abroad. Feeling neglected and perhaps a bit bored, she joins a dance studio she observes across the street from her posh apartment. This is the kind of film with its heart in the right place and committed cast and crew, but perhaps not quite the budget or experience (or script) to carry off those Crazy Rich Asians aspirations (which this plays as the ‘after…’ of in some perhaps cynical ways). Five Beers.
Take a Drink: for bad marriage advice
Take a Drink: for dancing
Do a Shot: for video calls
656. Patronymic
This chaotic and very meta short (think: home movies, train cars as train cars and sets based on train cars) from Ukrainian-Dutch filmmaker Mariia Ponomarova sees her contend with authorities and her own self-doubt (given literal voice by a Greek chorus of sorts) in her quixotic quest to have her patronymic (her second name derived from her father’s name much of the Slavic world uses) officially added to her international passport(s). She packs a hell of a lot of ideas and philosophical tangents into a scant 22 minutes. Two Beers.
Take a Sip: for passports
Take a Drink: for videos or photos of Dad
Do a Shot: for the title
657. Fight Kid
This extremely well-shot and directed short film from Michael Del Monte follows a promising teen MMA fighter and his frighteningly obsessed father as they look to cut 11 pounds in 2 days in order to take a fight in a lower division that promises a lot more exposure. It’s riveting like watching a train wreck in slow motion – you just don’t know when the actual impact will come. Two Beers.
Take a Drink: for each fight
Take a Drink: for hustle talk
Do a Shot: for weight-cutting techniques
658. Smudge the Blades
Smudge the Blades follows a youth hockey team made up of First Nations kids whose bad rep get them kicked out of their city league. To get back, they’ll need a new coach and to play their way back up through the boonies. While Ed Helms makes an impactful appearance as they’re first positively unhinged coach, this is actually another winning showcase for indigenous actor (and writer/director) Cody Lighting (Hey, Viktor!), who plays the zamboni operator and washed-up former NHL prospect who takes over and learns that these rough and tumble kids just need something to dream on, however unrealistic- you’ll never have those glory days to reminisce on later if you never try. Three Beers.
Take a Drink: for spectacularly Canadian accents
Take a Drink: for each game
Do a Shot: hey, it’s the title!
