April 28, 2008
Does Lake Huron need a rubber bladder?
Water levels in Lake Huron have been low for a while. Really low. Docks are now on dry land, harbours are having to be dredged, cottagers are getting ornery. In fact, Huron and Michigan have been at “critical alert” level since 2000. One group, the Georgian Bay Association, is championing the theory that the water is rushing out the St. Clair River thanks to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers... [More >>]
April 27, 2008
Vancouver: City of Literature, presidential typography,
A group of Vancouver’s literati is gunning to get that city the honour of UNESCO World City of Literature. Mmmm, nice try Vancouver. While we love you and your pretty mountains and plentiful trees, not to mention excellent sushi, we don’t really think you’re the most literary city in Canada. We’ll let Montreal and Toronto fight it out for that honour. Also, do you think you’ll... [More >>]
April 25, 2008
The Northwest Passage has no more pomegranates
First off, apologies for the spell of darkness. I wasn’t trying to express certain silences of the documentary form with the silence of this blog. (Or was I?) No, a combo of slow internet, distractions, etc — these are to blame. There must always be something to blame. (Or must there?) On Wednesday I watched Passage in a sold-out theatre. Passage is an attempt to rescue the reputation... [More >>]
April 22, 2008
The Road
Sometimes it’s very hard to describe something good in a way that makes it sound as good as it is. Usually, I find this happens with vegan food or sensual experiments with clothespins. This time — surprise, surprise! — it’s a doc, Corridor #8. I don’t really know what to say. It’s documentary of the absurd. A road trip along a non-existent road the EU decided to... [More >>]
April 22, 2008
Obstructed View
[Hot docs media downloads are down, at least here in the Reference Library. So no photo for you!] Last night I watched another slow-paced doc about migrants — this time, asylum seekers — and I was lulled into such a deep ravine of slumbererous sludge I couldn’t even bring myself to get up and leave. I should have brought a pillow and caught up on my sleep. Seaview sucked all the more... [More >>]
April 21, 2008
Limbless and liminal in Central America
Last night I watched my favourite doc of the festival so far, The Infinite Border by Juan Manuel Sepulveda. But before I splatter any more drool on the screen, I want to offer fair warning: a friend with far more exposure to the world of doc than me walked out halfway through, citing infinite boredom. (Actually, her text message read, “Leaving–not enough interviews, too many long back... [More >>]
April 19, 2008
Catch me, I’m falling
Well, if you’re going to duck into a dark theatre at midday in the middle of a beautiful, sunny Saturday — Toronto spring’s first such Saturday — you’d better get to see some pretty stunning landscapes. 20 Seconds of Joy didn’t disappoint. I should admit, I would never have gone to see 20 Seconds if it hadn’t been for the first five installments I’ve... [More >>]
April 19, 2008
Mexican standoff
I learned a new word watching the Mexican doc The Demons of Eden: narcopederasty. But to be fair to the film’s scope, it should be expanded even further, maybe ending up with something like, “narcokleptocapitalopederasty”. And there you have your subject line. If Demons of Eden cast a wide net, it must be admitted, it caught a lot of fish. But let’s leave that metaphor behind.... [More >>]
April 18, 2008
Reporting the news, building the nation
Before Shock Waves came a 30-minute short called Umiaq Skin Boat which followed a group of Inuit elders building the first Umiaq (a traditional skin boat) in the community in 50 years. Boat-building being only so riveting, we also get some tall tales of survival from the elders, reminding me of an incredible book, Uqalurait: An Oral History of Nunavut. (For more arctic facts and some self promo, check... [More >>]
April 18, 2008
Danger is somebody’s middle name
Blogging a Toronto film festival may not be literally dangerous (despite being an act of aggression against actual literature), but real journalism often is. This evening, I’m hoping to explore the theme twice. Apparently, neither film is a “hot pick“. Then again, the margins are where the action is; as a German Jew might have once said, “The decisive blow is always struck left-handed.” First... [More >>]
