Monthly Archives: September 2010

Tiny World

There he was, whispering the goddamn song

underneath the grayest roof; the raindrops;

while his only friend was the pick

dancing on the broken strings.

On the opposite side of his voice were

the fakest smiles and a bunch of wannabes

marching on the reddish carpets

lying in curls on the wet soil.

A few blocks down the road was

his lover, cursing the swindlers;

begging for loonies to sum up her whiskey sips,

and refreshing her memories of the lavender fields.

He is on my mind while watching the pacific from up high.

She too is on my mind while sitting

in silver lights, surrounded by the black bows

and hydrangeas; the white and the lilac ones.

What a tiny world!

Him, her and I

are all playing;

playing hard at life;

singing along.

S

TIFF 2010 | Crime D’Amour (Love Crime)

Here I am again, reviewing my final movie at the TIFF, 9 days after the festival ended.

Unlike all the French movies I saw at this year’s TIFF and those from previous years, which were typically right to my taste and very *French* in their ambiance, “Love Crime” wasn’t too appealing or special and could be compared to Hollywood thrillers. But hey, Kristin Scott Thomas is one of my all-time favourites and no matter what, I try to see whatever movie comes out with her in it. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, but “Love Crime” was definitely not festival material in my eyes.

Good or bad, I’m done with my TIFF reviews. Now back to ‘real’ writing, poetry and all the rest.

S

TIFF 2010 | Black Swan

I usually don’t bother with Hollywood movies at the TIFF, given the fact that they go on wide release at some future point anyway and can be seen with no hassle and stress. But hey, if you are lucky enough to take home two tickets for the most anticipated film at the TIFF, then who doesn’t want to take the opportunity? Even the lady working at the box office, handing me my tickets, was envious of the fact that I had scored tickets to the last screening of “Black Swan”!

Black Swan came right after La Solitudine Dei Numeri Primi and I can tell you that much: my Saturday night was deep, dark, intense and far from disappointing. Natalie Portman shines like a swan and disturbs like a psycho in the movie, and I’m quite positive she will be nominated for (and may possibly win) big acting awards in the year to come. She plays an insecure ballerina who gets her big break of starring as the Swan Queen (both the black and the white swan) in an adventurous adaptation of Swan Lake. I won’t say more than this brief introduction, as I don’t want to ruin the whole experience for those who haven’t yet seen the film.

Darren Aronofsky‘s Black swan is an intense, dark and well-make psychodrama – and Natalie just could not be better in her role!

S

TIFF 2010 | La Solitudine Dei Numeri Primi (The Solitude Of Prime Numbers)

Okay, here I go again – it’s been a few days since the TIFF ended and I’m still not done with my reviews. But it would be a total crime not to write about this well-made movie by Mr. Constanzo, after admiring it for two whole hours.

“The Solitude Of Prime Numbers“, perhaps, can be marked as one of my most favorite movies this year, not to mention at previous TIFFs. Two troubled youngsters with two completely different (or actually, not so much?) compelling back stories, living in parallel and interacting at different stages of their lives. As they grow older, they discover that their complex childhood stories resulted in their solitude today.

I was totally amazed by this fascinating yet intense story and the well-acted cast, and found myself coming out of the darkness with full sense of satisfaction.

S

Autumn Song

I repeat: “I love (deeply in love with) Autumn.”

… and this very morning I found the “Autumn Song” by Dante Gabriel Rossetti in my inbox:

Know’st thou not at the fall of the leaf
How the heart feels a languid grief
Laid on it for a covering,
And how sleep seems a goodly thing
In Autumn at the fall of the leaf?

And how the swift beat of the brain
Falters because it is in vain,
In Autumn at the fall of the leaf
Knowest thou not? and how the chief
Of joys seems–not to suffer pain?

Know’st thou not at the fall of the leaf
How the soul feels like a dried sheaf
Bound up at length for harvesting,
And how death seems a comely thing
In Autumn at the fall of the leaf?

Happy Autumn, loves!

S

TIFF 2010 | L’Amour Fou

This remarkable documentary on one of the most remarkable fashion designers of all times, Yves Saint Laurent, was another breath-taking experience, where digesting the whole beauty on the big screen becomes almost unbearable.

In this gorgeous piece, Pierre Thoretton showcases the life of Yves and his love life with his long-life business partner, Pierre Bergé, as well as their mind blowing art collection, comparable with a real museum. I admire Yves Saint Laurent, not only for his creative and artistic streak and the fact that he changed the way women dressed by introducing Prêt-à-Porter for the first time, but also for his delicate personality and big heart.

Documentaries in general – and on such artists in particular – have a great impact on me and “L’Amour Fou” was no exception.

S

TIFF 2010 | The Hunter (Shekarchi)

Unlike past festivals, Iranian cinema didn’t have much to say at the TIFF this year. The only movie screened from the country was “The Hunter“, by not the most well-known director and screenplay writer, Rafi Pitts.

There wasn’t much dialogue in the film. However, the nature landscape shots and the framing of the movie were quite beautiful and evoked feelings of nostalgia in me for the Caspian region. I mean, I loved the shots of greenery through the several window frames, the tunnel, and all the rest. The storyline, on the other hand, was poorly scripted and didn’t have a clear path to follow – well, only in my humble opinion.

Didn’t love nor hate the movie. Unfortunately, it wasn’t my cup of tea. That’s all.

S