We were lucky enough to be the first audience to see this film. It is based on Naomi Klein’s most recent book about the relationship between climate change and capitalism and is I think her best book in a large opus. The film is directed by her husband Avi Lewis – son of Stephen Lewis and with a long NDP heritage. The movie is different from the book in that rather than focus on political analysis it instead focusses on communities that have been affected by pollution, climate change or corporate nastiness of one kind or another. The film moves from first nations struggles in Canada to save their lands to similar situations in Greece, the US Midwest, India and Germany. It was important in my mind to move from our tendency to use first nation struggles as the lever on this issue and realize that their struggle is really no different from that of people all over the world. Very effective.

At the end of the film we were lucky to have several of the people from those communities present to tell us where their stories have developed. It was a very friendly audience as would be expected and they got a standing ovation for the film and for being who they are. Interestingly the introduction was introduced by 2 vegan activists who held up signs and urged us to stop eating animals in order to save the world. They have a point although I confess I did eat a nice filet mignon that evening. The protestors were ushered off politely amid scattered boos from the audience. It was somewhat hypocritical of the audience however as this crowd would likely have cheered similar protests at a Harper rally but that aside it was a pretty friendly event.

The movie is excellent and everyone who sees climate change as our biggest challenge as a species needs to see it and get on board. The film is hopeful that we will get our act together in time to save ourselves but that is still debatable unless something happens soon. This December there is world conference on climate change that will make or break us I fear. Avi let lose a great Freudian slip at the end. He told us that we need to push our political leaders to make meaningful change at the climate conference which will be held “at the end of the world”. Got lots of laughs before he realized what he had said and cried out “end of the year! End of the year!!

My first film of the festival was this wonderful documentary exploring the films of Alfred Hitchcock. In 1962 Truffaut sat down for a week long interview with Hitchcock to discuss his films and craftsmanship. Truffaut was a huge fan of Hitchcock’s films and believed that Hitchcock was much more than an entertainer but introduced great innovation into film making. The outcome of the interviews was a book that itself has influenced many contemporary directors, several of whom are interviewed in this film about the book, and Hitchcock’s films and legacy. The documentary delves in detail into the making of Vertigo, Psycho and The Wrong Man as well as a wonderful analysis of the Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant kiss in Notorious. Look it up if you have not seen the movie. At the end of the film you want to get the book, watch all of Hitchcock’s films again, see some of Truffaut’s work and maybe watch this movie again. It was a wonderful tribute, enhanced by interviews with the likes of Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson, David Fincher and Kurosawa. Perhaps my favourite scene was near the end where photos were taken of the two directors. Hitchcock was having a great time promoting himself as master to Truffaut’s student role. A series of the shots can be seen on IMDb’s website – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3748512/mediaindex?ref_=tt_pv_mi_sm

Today we decided to try the rush line and go for tickets to this 3 hour documentary about the National Gallery in London. The director is well known and has been doing docs since the 1960’s. His style is simply to film and let the images and dialogue speak for themselves. There is no narration but after 3 hours you feel like you have had a tour of one of the great art museums in the world. The film takes you through the galleries, offers you short lectures on individual pictures, visits management meetings, goes back to see the work done by restorers and gives you insight into how much thought goes into shows and how they are set up and lighted. Sounds long I know but it is fascinating and well worth your money and your time. Some of the images tied into earlier films including a significant look at a Turner exhibit that tied into Mr. Turner for me at least. The speakers in the film describing the art, the restoring process and the management of the gallery are all excellent. Hard to say too much more but it was really entertaining and I learned a ton. Go see this if you can.

http://www.tiff.net/festivals/thefestival/programmes/tiff-docs/national-gallery

I was not sure what to expect from this movie but being a hockey fan and having grown up with Canada vs the Red Army I was intrigued. Luckily we had a chance to hear the director introduce the movie. He is a first generation American born in Chicago of Ukrainian parents who had grown up in the Soviet Union. He played hockey as a kid in Chicago and was also interested in his Ukrainian origins and this led him to consider making this movie focussed on the incredibly successful and skilled Red Army team of the 70’s and 80’s. The movie is less a hockey movie and much more an exploration of the soul of the Soviet society of the time. The protagonist of the film was Fetisov, likely the greatest hockey player of his time. A defenceman to challenge Bobby Orr as the greatest defensive player ever. Interestingly Fetisov refused to be interviewed for the film until the final day of filming when he agreed to give 15 minutes. This turned into 5 hours and two more subsequent sessions. This saved the movie because he is a tremendously charismatic figure who led the Red Army team as captain and… well there is much more that teaches you why Putin is so successful today and much much more about Russian society and thinking. There is much here to learn about hockey, why the Red Army team was so successful, how oppressive the regime was as well as the team leadership itself. There are some amazing lines from the interviews with players, former KGB agents, coaches and others. The one coach Tikhonov was particularly brutal and at one point one of the team members tells the interviewer that if he had to have a heart transplant he would want Tikhonov’s heart because he never used it. The film is full of lines like this and even if you don’t know or like hockey you will love this movie. It is simply a brilliant documentary and well worth your time. Highly recommended to all.

http://www.tiff.net/festivals/thefestival/programmes/tiff-docs/red-army