The
Toronto
International
Film
Festival
heralds
the
beginning
of
the
Fall
awards
season
as
films
from
the
earlier
festivals
in
Berlin,
Cannes,
Venice
and
Telluride
compete
with
new
projects
launched
by
studios
and
producers.
This
year
was
no
different
with
a
rich
crop
of
films
as
well
as
a
set
of
new
series
directed
by
leading
international
film-makers.
Many
of
the
frontrunners
for
the
2025
Oscar
race
like
Nicole
Kidman,
Daniel
Craig,
Saoirse
Ronan,
Ralph
Fiennes
and
the
new
kids
on
the
block
Mikey
Madison
(star
of
one
of
the
most
anticipated
Hollywood
films
Anora)
and
Karla
Sofia
Gascón
(a
trans
actress
from
Emilia
Perez,
France’s
official
Oscar
entry)
had
their
films
shown
at
Toronto.
There
were
a
few
important
international
films
shown
at
TIFF
that
were
essentially
coming
from
the
Cannes
Film
Festival
like
The
Seed
of
the
Sacred
Fig
(Iranian
film,
but
German’s
Oscar
entry),
Santosh
(an
Indian
film,
but
Britain’s
Oscar
entry)
and
All
We
Imagine
As
Light
(a
French-Indian
production
that
is
not
being
courted
by
both
those
countries).
Aseem
Chhabra‘s
Top
10
Films/
Series
from
TIFF
2024
includes
films
that
he
watched
for
the
first
time
in
Toronto.
The
films
were
impressive
due
to
their
rigor,
passion,
unique
storytelling
style
and
sometimes
exploring
the
vulnerable
sides
of
big
name
stars.
Boong
(India)
Boong
is
a
sweet
Manipuri
film
produced
by
Farhan
Akhtar’s
production
company,
a
sort
of
thank
you
to
the
first-time
film-maker
Lakshmipriya
Devi,
who
has
worked
as
an
assistant
on
many
Excel
Entertainment
projects
going
back
to
Lakshya
and
Talaash.
A
young
boy
(first-time
actor
Gugun
Kipgen)
longs
for
the
return
of
his
missing
father
and
to
reunite
his
parents.
But
as
years
go
by,
there
is
no
word
from
the
father.
So
he
sets
out
on
a
journey
with
a
friend
to
find
his
father
in
a
Manipuri
town
that
borders
Myanmar.
With
the
backdrop
of
conflicts
in
the
region,
Boong
is
Devi’s
homage
to
Manipuri
culture
and
other
outside
influences
that
are
impacting
the
society.
Particularly
charming
is
Boong’s
fascination
with
Madonna
and
a
recreation
of
the
singer’s
hit
song
Like
a
Virgin
with
Manipuri
dancers
and
musicians.
Boong
is
a
rare
experience
that
people
across
India
should
watch,
to
understand
life
in
a
remote
part
of
the
country.
Conclave
(US/UK)
German
director
Edward
Berger
has
followed
up
his
2022
epic
war
film
All
Quiet
On
The
Western
Front
(Oscar
winner
for
Best
International
Film)
with
a
thoroughly
entertaining
take
on
the
secrecies
surrounding
the
selection
of
the
Pope.
As
a
Pope
dies,
cardinals
from
across
the
world
gather
to
select
the
new
successor.
Locked
up
from
the
rest
of
the
world,
the
cardinals
form
groups,
which
is
no
different
than
political
parties,
campaigning
for
their
candidates
and
securing
votes.
There
are
scandals
and
revelations.
It
is
hard
to
say
how
of
much
of
what
Conclave
shows
actually
happens
behind
the
closed
doors,
but
the
film
works
like
a
thriller
with
a
star
cast
which
includes
Ralph
Fiennes
(his
best
performance
in
years
that
might
earn
him
an
Oscar
nomination),
Stanley
Tucci,
Isabella
Rossellini
and
John
Lithgow.
The
stunning,
audacious
conclusion
will
not
make
the
Roman
Catholic
Church
happy.
But
most
audiences
should
be
satisfied
with
the
ending.
Families
Like
Ours
(Denmark)
Imagine
if
one
day
you
have
to
leave
your
country,
not
for
better
opportunities,
but
because
everything
is
shutting
down
and
your
government
wants
you
out.
Thomas
Vinterberg
(The
Hunt,
Another
Round)
works
on
a
seven-part
series
(his
first
foray
into
long-form
story-telling)
and
develops
a
gripping
drama
about
regular
Danish
people,
some
wealthy,
others
middle
class
and
also
poor.
But
they
all
are
asked
to
get
out
of
Denmark
because
the
water
levels
are
rising
and
the
country
is
going
to
shut
down.
Families
are
divided,
scattered
across
Europe.
The
privilege
of
being
Danish
citizens
vanishes
overnight
and
Danes
face
similar
discrimination
in
other
European
countries
as
recent
undocumented
immigrants
from
Africa
and
Asia.
Families
Like
Ours
is
a
brilliant
series
—
set
in
the
near
future,
but
so
believable,
as
it
focuses
on
real
characters
with
beating
hearts,
desires
and
insecurities.
Disclaimer
(UK)
Just
like
Thomas
Vinterberg,
four-time
Oscar-winning
Mexican
film-maker
Alfonso
Cuarón
has
also
walks
into
the
unchartered
territory
of
developing
a
seven-part
series.
A
psychological
thriller
with
some
intense
graphic
sex
scenes,
Disclaimer
is
based
on
Renée
Knight’s
2015
novel.
The
show
stars
Cate
Blanchett
as
Catherine,
a
hard
nosed
journalist,
whose
life
and
marriage
to
Nicholas
(Sacha
Baron
Cohen
in
a
totally
different
persona)
is
rattled
by
the
publishing
of
a
book.
The
book
reveals
a
dark
secret
from
Catherine’s
past.
The
worlds
collide
as
other
characters
are
also
affected
by
the
details
of
the
book.
Kevin
Kline,
who
plays
Stephen,
has
not
been
seen
on
screen
for
a
long
while
and
like
Cohen,
sheds
his
comic
screen
image
for
a
dark,
tragic,
role.
Disclaimer
is
clear
proof
of
Cuarón’s
rich
talent
where
every
film
he
works
on,
including
Y
Tu
Mamá
También,
Children
of
Men,
Gravity
and
Roma,
is
vastly
different
from
the
other.
Disclaimer
premieres
on
Apple
TV+
on
October
11.
Queer
(Italy/US)
Luca
Guadagnino
(Call
Me
By
Your
Name)
has
had
quite
a
year
with
not
one,
but
two
films.
Earlier
this
year,
he
released
the
sexually
charged,
tennis
game
film
called
Challengers.
Now,
he
is
back
with
his
second
gay
drama,
Queer,
based
on
an
autobiographical
novel
of
the
same
name
by
the
Beatnik
writer
William
S
Burroughs.
In
Queer,
Daniel
Craig
plays
William
Lee,
a
middle-aged
American
on
a
hallucinogenic
journey
through
Latin
America.
The
film
starts
in
Mexico
City,
as
Lee,
a
heroin
addict,
hangs
around
in
gay
bars
frequented
by
American
expats.
The
object
of
his
desire
is
a
young
gay
man
from
Oklahoma,
named
Eugene
Allerton
(Drew
Starkey).
Together,
they
set
off
on
a
journey
in
search
of
a
natural
drug
called
ayahuasca
that
is
supposed
to
enhance
a
person’s
telepathic
powers.
Much
of
the
latter
parts
of
Queer
are
about
Lee’s
and
Allerton’s
drug
experimentation.
But
Queer‘s
heart
is
set
in
the
sad,
desperate
life
of
an
older
man
desiring
younger
male
sexual
companions.
After
the
release
of
Call
Me
By
Your
Name,
Guadagnino
was
criticised
by
many,
including
the
film’s
Oscar
winning
screenplay
writer
James
Ivory,
for
shying
away
from
showing
male
nudity.
With
Queer,
the
director
takes
a
different
approach
in
narrating
an
LGBTQ
story,
with
explicit
gay
scenes
rarely
portrayed
in
English
films.
The
Brutalist
(US)
Brady
Corbet’s
The
Brutalist
is
a
three-and-a-half
hour
long
(with
an
intermission)
American
epic
shot
on
70mm
film
stock,
which
gives
the
film’s
texture
a
historic
feel.
Adrien
Brody
(in
his
best
performance
since
The
Pianist)
plays
László
Toth,
a
Jewish
Hungarian
architect,
who
arrives
in
Philadelphia
having
survived
the
Second
World
War.
In
this
unknown
land,
Toth
hopes
to
rebuild
his
career
while
he
awaits
the
arrival
of
his
wife
(Felicity
Jones)
from
Europe.
In
Philadelphia,
Toth
meets
a
wealthy
man
Harrison
Lee
Van
Buren
(a
bitingly
sharp
Guy
Pearce).
Together,
they
plan
an
ambitious
project,
a
collaboration
which
will
make
and
then
break
up
their
relationship.
The
Brutalist
is
a
spectacular
film,
made
with
a
much
smaller
budget
in
comparison
to
Francis
Ford
Coppola’s
Megalopolis,
a
similar
themed
film,
but
an
artistic
failure.
The
positive
reception
at
Toronto
and
Venice
film
festivals
has
created
a
strong
Oscar
buzz
for
The
Brutalist.
Bound
in
Heaven
(China)
First-time
Chinese
director
Huo
Xin’s
Bound
in
Heaven
is
a
gorgeously
shot
story
of
a
successful
woman,
Xia
You,
supposedly
in
control
of
her
life.
But
beneath
her
bright
career
in
finance,
Xia
suffers
in
an
abusive
relationship.
One
night
desperate
to
catch
the
concert
of
her
favourite
star
Faye
Wong,
Xia
accidentally
meets
a
food
delivery
man,
Xu
Zitai.
Their
sexual
encounter
in
a
dark
alley
follows
a
chance
meeting
in
another
city.
When
she
learns
that
Xu
is
suffering
from
a
terminal
illness,
Xia
suddenly
breaks
off
all
bonds
to
live
with
him.
Xu
takes
Xia
to
his
village
to
meet
his
estranged
parents,
and
the
film
changes
its
tone
and
mood
from
an
urban
narrative
to
breathtaking
rural
landscapes.
Bound
in
Heaven
remains
a
deeply
romantic
film
that
is
a
pure
joy
to
watch.
No
Other
Land
(Israel/Palestine)
Winner
of
the
top
documentary
award
at
this
year’s
Berlinale,
this
urgent
film
is
a
rare
collaboration
between
two
men:
Israeli
journalist
Yuval
Abraham
and
Palestinian
activist
Basel
Adra.
Since
the
age
of
14,
Adra
had
been
recording
the
Israeli
encroachment
on
his
village,
Masafer
Yatta.
He
witnessed
homes
being
destroyed,
raids
by
Israeli
soldiers
and
the
arrest
of
his
political
activist
father.
Years
later,
Adra
became
friends
with
Abraham
who
made
frequent
visits
to
the
village
to
report
on
the
forced
removal
of
Palestinians
and
the
destruction
of
their
homes
by
Israeli
bulldozers.
Adra’s
family
accepted
Abraham
as
one
of
their
own,
but
it
was
always
an
unequal
friendship.
Abraham
could
move
freely
between
the
Palestinian
territory,
often
crossing
the
border
and
entering
Israel,
but
Adra
was
a
captive
in
his
own
homeland.
No
Other
Land
was
made
before
the
Hamas
terrorist
attacks
of
October
2023,
followed
by
the
ongoing
genocide
in
Gaza
and
now
in
Lebanon.
But
it
is
a
reminder
that
peace
in
that
region
can
only
come
about
when
there
is
an
understanding
between
the
Palestinians
and
Israelis.
Little
Jaffna
(France)
Inspired
by
Martin
Scorsese’s
The
Departed
and
Anurag
Kashyap’s
Gangs
of
Wasseypur,
Little
Jaffna
is
French-Tamil
actor/film-maker
Lawrence
Valin’s
ode
to
his
community.
Valin
plays
Michael,
a
Tamil
cop,
who
is
assigned
to
the
job
to
infiltrate
the
Sri
Lankan
Tigers
in
Paris.
He
is
supposed
to
make
friends
with
the
group,
win
their
confidence
to
learn
how
they
raise
money
and
fund
the
LTTE
in
Sri
Lanka.
Little
Jaffna
is
a
stunning
action
thriller,
one
of
the
best
South
Asian
Diaspora
films
in
a
long
time.
It
is
packed
with
colourful
street
scenes
in
Paris’
Little
Jaffna
neighbourhood,
the
local
festivals,
parades
and
even
a
scene
inside
a
movie
theatre
where
Michael
and
his
friends
watch
Tamil
star
Vijay
in
Attlee’s
film
Theri.
Babygirl
(US/Netherlands)
Inspired
by
the
films
of
Dutch
film-maker
Paul
Verhoeven
(Total
Recall),
Director
Halina
Reijn
(Bodies,
Bodies,
Bodies)
has
created
a
gripping
thriller
for
the
21st
century.
Babygirl
is
the
Basic
Instinct
(also
directed
by
Verhoeven)
of
our
times.
High-powered
CEO
Romy
(Nicole
Kidman)
is
sexually
dissatisfied
in
her
marriage
to
Jacob
(Antonio
Banderas).
Quite
unexpectedly,
she
starts
an
intense
relationship
with
a
young
intern
in
her
office,
Samuel,
played
by
British
actor
Harris
Dickenson
(Beach
Rats
and
the
Cannes
Palme
d’Or
winner
Triangle
of
Sadness).
Kidman
has
not
been
this
sexy
and
vulnerable
since
she
acted
opposite
ex-husband
Tom
Cruise
in
Eyes
Wide
Shut.
Here,
she
walks
a
dangerous
line
of
a
caring
mother,
wife
and
business
executive,
who
loses
control
of
her
sense
of
what
is
right
and
wrong
as
she
becomes
obsessed
with
her
young
lover.
Towards
the
middle
of
the
film,
Dickenson
does
a
seductive
shirtless
dance
twirling
around
Kidman.
She
is
wrapped
in
a
bathrobe.
Dickenson
picks
her
up
like
a
baby
and
cradles
her.
In
the
background,
George
Michael’s
song
Father
Figure
is
playing.
That
dance
alone
is
worth
the
price
of
the
ticket
for
the
film.
