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Day 2 of CIFF got off to a rocky start — mostly because of the herd of elephants in the hotel room above me, who apparently needed to march around the room at the crack of dawn. So much for getting seven hours in. To make matters worse, I couldn’t find the snooze button on the alarm clock, so I actually got up when the alarm went off. I stumbled off to the shower, remembering that, fortunately, I still had my emergency can of Red Bull, just in case…
Day 2 was another busy day. I had five screenings on my schedule, and since I was on my own, I didn’t really see the need to take any extended breaks in the middle. Really, what else did I have to do? So today was a marathon day.
I got to the Tower at around 10:30 and was surprised to find that the main lot wasn’t full yet, so I didn’t have to make the trek down to the overflow lot. But, as it turns out, the overflow lot probably would have been more convenient. Instead of getting picked up and dropped off by the shuttle, I ended up hiking to the door from what seemed to be about three miles away. Still, I keep reminding myself that it could be worse. It could be 90 degrees out, and I could actually be walking three miles, lugging my bag through the streets of Toronto, just hoping that I make it to the screening on time. I have to admit that I’m pretty spoiled here.
Once I made it inside, I guzzled a ginormous iced coffee at Dunkin Donuts (which, in hindsight, might not have been a good idea, considering that my first movie of the day was a pretty long one) before heading into the trenches for another day of movies.
Today’s movies:
#1 was Il Divo, a long and confusing — though intriguing — film that seemed to require some sort of knowledge of Italian politics to be able to follow it all.
#2 was Johnnie To’s latest, Sparrow. Before the movie, I met Tom, one of the ushers. He let me borrow his pen light for my note-taking, and I ended up spending so much time standing in the back of the theater, comparing notes with Tom and a pair of his friends, that, the next thing I knew, someone was sitting in my seat — despite the fact that all of my stuff was still there. I went to pick it up, and the seat-stealer half-heartedly offered to move, but I decided to move to the back of the theater and sit with Tom and the girls instead. I’m pretty sure that was more fun anyway. As for the movie, I have a soft spot for Hong Kong films, so it’s really no surprise that I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Classy, stylish, and definitely entertaining.
#3 was School Play, my first non-subtitled movie of the festival. While I have no problem with subtitles, it was nice to sit back for a while and give my eyes a rest. The film was a short documentary about a fifth-grade production of The Wizard of Oz. Cute kids, crazed director…nothing especially new or surprising, but it was cute. Since it was so short, I actually had a 90-minute break before the next movie, so I grabbed some dinner. On my way back in, I ran into Roger (whom I met yesterday) for the second time today. It’s funny how, in this huge crowd of moviegoers, I keep running into the same people (a bit like my first CIFF, when I kept getting stuck in theaters with the guy I knew as The Howler Monkey). But I’m glad I do. I’ve met some great people at this year’s festival already, and I’m always happy to run into them again. It’s nice to find a familiar face in the crowd from time to time.
#4 was Dean Spanley. I’m contractually obligated to mention that I was seated next to the Patricks (who told me they’d check the blog to make sure they were mentioned), two more wonderful Clevelanders (Clevelandites? Clevelanders?) with whom I had the pleasure of chatting before the movie began. After it was over, we all agreed that Dean Spanley was a great movie — quirky and oddly mesmerizing, with another incredible performance by Peter O’Toole.
Finally, #5 was Captive, a Russian film about a pair of soldiers and their young prisoner. Once again, I ended up making more new friends before the movie (Brandon and John, right?), who agreed that the movie was a bit too heavy and slow for a late-night show. They also promised to check the blog, in hopes of seeing how incoherent my writing becomes at 1 in the morning, after watching five movies back-to-back. Just for them, I hope that I’ve included a satisfactory number of misspellings and incoherencies in tonight’s entry.
When movie #5 got out at around 11:30, it was time to hike the three miles back to my car. And now, here I am, at 1:00, typing away, scribbling more notes, and trying to keep from falling asleep at my laptop. I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus. I’m pretty sure I look like it, too.
One thing that struck me several times today, though, is how surprised people seem to be when they find out that I’m a critic. In general, I’ve found that people don’t really like film critics. I guess they just don’t know the right ones. We’re not all stuffy and pretentious. Some of us won’t even look down on you for liking funny movies, nor will we hurl insults at you for choosing to watch Twilight instead of Frost/Nixon. Some of us are actually very nice people. I promise.
But now it’s time for me to get off my soap box (though I might just declare April “Hug a Film Critic Month”) and get some sleep. I’ve got another long day ahead of me tomorrow (and, believe it or not, I can’t wait).
