To Swim in His Blue Blue Eyes...

Oh, my! It has been a long time since I blogged! So, sorry, my dear followers--part busy life, part procrastination. Still pressed for time, but at least I've beat the procrastination. Here's a look at a few movies that I've seen since I last posted. What have you seen?

Carnage: why wasn't any of these lovely people nominated for Oscars?  It cast is comprised of 3 former winners, Kate Winslet, Jody Foster, Christoph Waltz,  and 1 Oscar-nominee, John C. Reilly. This satirical look at two couples discussing then battling it out over their respective son's role in a playground skirmish, is filled with deliciously scathing and witty dialogue delivered by a seasoned cast worthy of multiple ovations. If the film at some points feel stage-y, that's because Yasmina Reza has based the screenplay on her own play Le dieu du carnage, and because the entire evening takes place in one apartment. Director Roman Polansky is genius in what he brings out in his actors and how he chooses to capture their moments within this tight space. He breaks down walls as much as is possible in a one-set production, focusing attention on the players and using the set as a character that silently reveals personality and plot. His well-placed camera and character blocking relieve static and Reza's crackling dialogue make this film a merry experience.

I'm a good person/i'm a bad person: Thanks to Raindance Canada I was able to attend a public screening of Ingrid Veninger's film after having viewed it at an Industry screening at TIFF 2011. I'm a good person was one of my Top Ten Faves at last year's festival, tieing with Ralph Fiennes, Coriolanus. Oddly enough the two films screened withing days of each other!  You can see Coriolanus in theatres, but I'm a good person is intended for film festival viewing only, as the audience learned at the Indie Night at the Carlton screening. Director, Veninger, who currently teaches at York University, has decided that unless their is great demand for it, she would rather have an interested audience view her film, that navigate the uncertainties of of theatrical distribution where films with little or no budget duke it out with mega-Hollywood films with astronomical promotion budgets.

Cafe de flore: I've respected the work of director, Jean-Marc Vallée since his film C.R.A.Z.Y., but I didn't fall in love with him until a Canada Screens event of his then upcoming Young Victoria. After listening to him talk about making films, trying to remain independent while working in a business that demands soul-sucking compromises, trying to get the music you want in your film, and the problems of distribution, I fell into his swimming-pool blue eyes while having a one-on-one conversation with him at the bar. Being a mature woman, of a certain age, I don't allow my crushes to influence my take on a film (and if I ever feel I can't I will tell you straight up that my opinion is biased), so I honestly tell you that Cafe de flore is a film worth seeing, and seeing twice. The film follows two different story lines (mother/son; husband and wives), in two different time periods ('60s/present day) and cities (Paris/Montreal) connected by themes of love and obsession. The surprising success of the film lies with strong performances by Vanessa Paradis and screen newcomer, DJ turned actor, Kevin Parent in the lead roles. I say surprising because Paradis is not an actress know for this type of working class, unglamourous role and Parent is brilliant in a first time acting role that would be demanding, even for experienced actors. Jean-Marc Vallée's hands are all over this work in terms of the casting, music, and his collaboration with cinematographer Pierre Cottereau and an outstanding special effects team.

Monsieur Lahzar: We are so luck in Canada to have such wonderful directors whose work are finally getting international acknowledgement. Like Veninger, and Vallée, I have been a fan of Philippe Falardeau  several years. My introduction to Falardeau was via his 2000 film La moitee gauche de fringo. Since then I've seen and loved Congorama, C'est pas moi, je le jure! and now the Oscar-nominated, Monsieur Lahzar. I've never managed to get an interview with him, always somehow missing the connection, but since I would just gush anyway if I did, I will encourage you instead to go and see this delicate drama about a substitute school teacher (played by Mohamed Fellag) whose personal tragedy allows him to empathize and compassionately communicate with his grade-school students. Good luck on Oscar night, Philippe!

Director, Ingrid Veninger Scores Again!

Director, Ingrid Veninger (right) with daughter, actress Hallie Switzer

Toronto Film Critics Associationpresented Filmmaker 

Ingrid Veninger with the Jay Scott Prize for Emerging Talent tonight at the annual TFCA Event, held at the Carlu.

Bruce McDonald presented the Award to Toronto filmmaker Ingrid Veninger (i am a good person/i am a bad person, Modra, Only). The prize is accompanied by a $5,000 cash award.

"Jay Scott was a critic who loved to discover adventurous talents inventing themselves on the outskirts of the industry," said TFCA President Brian D. Johnson, film critic for Maclean'smagazine. "Ingrid Veninger is a true independent, a maker of intimate films that seem born of the moment. Her work is infused with a spirit of generosity that extends to her presence in the film community as Toronto's queen of low-budget cinema." 

"Receiving the Jay Scott Prize for Emerging Talent from the Toronto Film Critics Association is a great honour," said Ingrid Veninger. "It's impossible for me to imagine not making movies; but sometimes the obstacles seem insurmountable and a little bit of encouragement goes a long way. In 1990, I saw Jay Scott at the TIFF screening for 'H'. I had a small role in the film and he smiled at me after the screening. This might not seem like a big deal, but it meant a lot to me, because his smile was full of encouragement. Now, I make personal, micro-budget films and I hope they are genuine and provocative. I work with talented and committed people who want a filmmaking adventure. And I am grateful to every person who comes out to see the films in the end, because that exchange with an audience is the point of the entire process. Tomorrow, the $5000 award money is going right into my next feature --  a fantasy, musical, lesbian, road trip -- I like to imagine that Jay would like it."

Established in 1997, the Toronto Film Critics Association is comprised of Toronto based journalists and broadcasters who specialize in film criticism and commentary. All major dailies, weeklies and a variety of other print and electronic outlets are represented.

The TFCA is affiliated with the International Federation of International Film Critics (FIPRESCI). Members have sat on juries at festivals in Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, Venice, Miami, Palm Springs, Vienna, Chicago, Pusan, Moscow, San Francisco, Warsaw, Amsterdam and London, among others.

Website: http://www.torontofilmcritics.com

Material Source: GAT PR

Photo Credit: donna g Above photo of Ingrid and Hallie snapped at 2011 Toronto International Film Festival's Canadian Press Conference. Royal York Hotel.

Do It In Public in 2012!

Isn't it past time for the "elitist" tag to be removed from the Arts? In 2012, stop defending and/or being embarrassed for choosing to feed your creative soul. So, what if some people at work think you're weird for seeing a play, a non-mainstream movie, or strolling through an art gallery? Have you ever meet a kid who didn't take crayon to a blank piece of paper with a fervor? Those children were always proud of their masterpieces. When did the drawing end, and why? Was it your decision, or was it imposed upon you by outsiders with their own agendas? Reclaim and proclaim your love of the arts in 2012! It's time to break free!

"I dropped my bags and did it in public! 

Show your public display of affection for the Arts in 2012!"

Photo taken at King and John Streets during the CONTACT Photography Festival.
Photo credit: Men in Cities Public Installation series by Robert Longo

MEMPHIS The Musical: Felicia Boswell is Pure Magic!

If you haven't already heard, MEMPHIS, the 2010 Tony Award winner for Best Musical is in Toronto (until December 24th). Set in 1950's, Memphis, is the story of forbidden love (white boy/black girl) and forbidden musical integration (white teens listening to "race music"). DJ wanna be, Huey Calhoun (Bryan Fenkart) is in love with the music he hears on Beale Street, the music of the city's black inhabitants, who have taken church music and turned it on its head and transformed it into R & B, soon to be transitioned again into Rock music. Venturing into one of these clubs, Huey meets and falls in love with Felicia (Felicia Boswell), a singer in her brother Delray's (Quentin Earl Darrington) nightclub.

The love story is forwarded by dance-in-your-seat music by David Bryan and Joe DiPietro (who also penned the book, based on a concept by George W. George). Energetically choreographed by Sergio Trujillo, the dances are a blend of period moves, and pure Broadway styling that contrast the ways in which black and white teens were dancing, and the way everyone began to dance to the same music, American music. Set pieces such as the FM broadband dial, the disc jockey booth, and the television studio will be nostalgic for older audience members; younger audiences will view the set design as "vintage" while relating to the age-old theme of rebelling against their parents' music.

The themes in Memphis are huge societal issues, but this is more a play about music than anything else. If you're looking for a message piece or a weighty musical tome about the dangerous prospect of miscegenation in the south and the difficulties blacks faced in getting their music played without paying payola, or whites co-opting black music, then look elsewhere. Memphis is a commercial theatrical venture, meant to satisfy a wide range of tastes and ages. This is a full out musical about generational changes, the rise of rock and roll, and individuals daring to decide their own fates. I had a very enjoyable time watching this play on opening night, but I couldn't help wishing after I had left the theatre, that Memphis had risen to the heights of a Fiddler on the Roof, a play which so adroitly blends its themes of discrimination with extremely memorable tunes (Tradition, Matchmaker etc). What I do remember is the dynamic performance of Felicia Boswell. She is pure magic, bringing a spark to the stage every time she steps onto it. Once her character of Felicia is introduced, you will find yourself watching for her next appearance. Her tiny figure disguises a powerhouse voice that can fill any thearte, but what I enjoyed most about her singing are the quiet moments she has every now and then to sing with minimal music and without vocal riffs acrobatics. Boswell needs to watch her diction a wee bit, but you can't teach stage presence, and she's got that flowing from the tips of her fingers. Bryan Fenkart is adorable as the lovestruck Huey, but he is even better when paired with Boswell. She is one actress that producers should snap up once her run with Memphis ends.

Memphis does not shy away from the race issue: the polite terminology of "race music" is used throughout the play, but in one scene a character does use the term "nigger music", not to shock, but to remind the audience that such terms were broadly and commonly used to describe the music that black people were playing on stations way at the very end of the radio dial. Huey and Felicia have to keep their taboo romance a secret from his mother, her brother, and society at large. Even good Christians didn't listen to the music Huey wants to unearth from the clubs for all of Memphis to hear. Teenagers might be demanding a change on what's on the dial, as the song "Everybody Wants to Be Black on a Saturday Night" evidences, and advertisers will follow where the teen dollar goes, but race mixing will not be condoned! Felicia's "Colored Woman" tells the story of a woman who wants to make different choices than her mother, but as another tune demonstrates "Change Don't Come Easy". At a pivotal moment in the first act, Gator, a character who has not spoken since witnessing a lynching, breaks out of his trauma to earnestly ask everyone to "Say a Prayer".

MEMPHIS
Until December 24th
Toronto Centre for the Arts
5040 Yonge Street (North York Centre subway stop)
416-644-3665
www.dancaptickets.com

Photos: by Paul Kolnik; Memphis poster by Key Art.
Courtesy of DanCap Productions.

More Please: Mysteries of Lisbon (Nov. 14-17@TIFF Bell Lightbox)

Master director, Raul Ruiz must have been well-pleased that his last work, Mysteries of Lisbon, is such an inviting and engaging piece of cinema. Ruiz died this summer, but this 4 hour melodrama, along with his long list of film credits will endure. Ruiz is never in a hurry to tell this story (based on the novel by Camilo Castelo Branco) of a boy searching for his roots. Why is he called simply João, with no last name? Who are his parents? Are they alive? How did he end up in a convent school? We, the audience, wonder about these questions too as we are introduced to João, played by João Arrais, whose solemn brown eyes echo the void in his character's life. This young actor is an equal match to the actor, Adriano Luz, who plays the sympathetic Pardre Dinis, the keeper of many secrets. Also noteworthy is the performance of Ricardo Pereira who style is reminiscent of Errol Flynn, but with Pereira's own brand of unbridled sexuality.

More than a costume froth, Mysteries of Lisbon, is an intricately layered puzzle piece of a melodrama; just when you think you've begun to understand a central character, aspects of their nature and glimpses of their personal histories are revealed. With the legato pacing style, the smooth transition from one mystery to another, and actors that fit the period scenes this journey that takes us from Portugal, to Spain, France and Italy, seems much shorter than its actual running time of 274 minutes.

If I have one criticism, it is that I would have liked to have seen the entire 6-hour version that Ruiz completed, and which ran on Portuguese television. As good a job as is done condensing the film into a 4-hour version, you do get the feeling that there are stories that remain untold. So, like João this version leaves us with a bit of mystery. I'm not sure if a longer film version is available, but this 4-hour version is the one that played to positive crowds at TIFF 2010, and which the Lightbox is screening until November 17th. Yes, this version is worth seeing on a larger screen, I just wish that I could have viewed the remaining hours on a large screen as well.

SCREENING TIMES
TIFF Bell Lightbox
350 King West (corner of King and John streets)
Monday, Nov. 14, 6:15pm
Tuesday, Nov. 15, 12:00 noon, 6:15pm
Wednesday, Nov. 16, 12:00 noon, 6:15pm
Thursday, Nov. 17, 12:00 noon, 6:15pm

Get Tickets:
http://tiff.net/contact/gettickets
416.599.TIFF 1.888.599.8433

Lily Eng, Woman Warrior at Reel Asian Film Festival on Nov. 10th

LILY ENG: REEL ASIAN CANADIAN WOMAN WARRIOR
CANADIAN SPOTLIGHT THU NOV 10 6:30 PM INNIS TOWN HALL

donna g: Performance art is something that is often baffling to the public. How would you describe what you do to those who don’t have your artistic background and training?

Lily Eng: I am an experimental choreographer who uses the dynamics of martial arts to articulate movement in unique, emotive, and personal ways. At the core of my movement scope of practice is the desire to take my internal landscape and extract it externally.

donna g: You have training in more traditional dance forms such as classical and modern ballet. What drew you to this more experimental style of artistic expression? Did you have to “unlearn” traditional dance techniques? How the body moves in classical ballet is different from how it moves in modern ballet, let alone experimental dance, so how did you adapt to the new methods of movement?

Lily Eng: The common denominator that runs through my disciplined art/body-oriented forms is a strong disciplined foundation. I take everything (martial arts, modern dance, ballet …) I have learnt as my resource library of movement knowledge.

I have more upper body strength than say a ballet dancer because of my extensive kung fu training. The way I articulate my body in performance is very evident of how my muscles have developed to handle specific tasks of loading, and what it can and cannot handle.

For me, it was not a matter of unlearning dance techniques, but rather of encompassing and incorporating additional artistic and movement styles that presented themselves. My experimentation has allowed for advancement of a particular dance/movement personal style that is still highly relevant to me.

donna g: Growing up in Blind River, Ontario, did you ever dream that you would one day perform in such places as Sweden, Scotland, England and Italy? Or did that dream take form when you moved to Toronto at age 10?

Lily Eng: No, I didn’t know I would travel to such places when I was young, but I did know by 6-years of age, that I wanted to be a dancer. This was quite interesting because my small town and the surrounding areas did not even have a dance school. The travelling came about when I started dancing.

donna g: How supportive was your family/friends in regards to your career choice?

Lily Eng: I think they were rather surprised, as no one in our family came from a dance background or had dance training. However, my mother loved Chinese opera, so she had a very strong artistic slant. I got my love of the arts from her.

donna g: You formed Missing Associates with Peter Dudar in 1972. Where did the name come from and how was it different from other groups of that generation?

Lily Eng: Missing Associates is a tongue-in-cheek name and is a pun on my name. Peter Dudar and I are the constants of Missing Associates. Everyone else is missing until we ask him or her for his or her input.

Peter and I were able to explore creativity and the arts in ways that were quite innovative, and yet relevant to us. We were very multi-disciplinary in our approach and were rigorous in “pushing our own envelopes.”

There was a time when we used people who had no formal training to work with us so as to get to their “real and true” performance essence, albeit with their hesitant awkwardness, while being put on the spot in these speaking pieces that were unrehearsed and off-the-cuff conversations that enlightening and sometimes quite humorous.

A lot of my earlier works are endurance pieces. The audience can see me sweating, hear my laboured breathing; they can see I am getting tired. This runs contrary to what you would expect about “performance.” You are not supposed to see a sweaty brow because it is all effortless.

donna g: How was it, transitioning to solo performances?

Lily Eng: It wasn’t hard because I have always been very comfortable as a solo performer, and solo work has been my forte. However, this may change.

donna g: What inspired you to develop the piece, “But Women Did Come: 150 Years of Chinese Women to North America”? Was it a commissioned piece or something stemming from a more personal urge?

Lily Eng: "But Women Did Come: 150 Years of Chinese Women to North America" was a travelling pictorial show that ran concurrent with the American sister show, to promote the contribution of Chinese women in Canada. I was the opening performer for the show when it first came Toronto. My picture was included along with the other Chinese women in the show.

donna g: Congratulations on your work being highlighted in the festival’s “Lily Eng: Reel Asian Canadian Woman Warrior”. The dance/art world certainly knows your name, but how do you think your Kung Fu students will react to seeing your various performances on screen?

Lily Eng: They will love it and laugh when they see me sparring and kicking ass in several of the films.

Nov. 8 - 13 Toronto; Nov. 18-19 Richmond Hill
T: (416) 703 - 9333
E: info@reelasian.com W: http://reelasian.com/

FELA! YEH, YEH!

Do yourself a favour and get your ticket to FELA! Whether you line up 2 hours prior to showtime and get Rush tickets or whether you buy regular tickets, you will want to be in the house when Tony Award nominee, Sahr Ngaujah breaks it down as Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. With the Canon Theatre stage transformed into The Shrine (one of Fela’s clubs), leave your “shy” at home, in your car, on the TTC, and most definitely at the door, because you are going to more than just a play, you are going to a Fela-bration! Don’t worry that you haven’t had time to Google who Fela is or what Afrobeat is. Music will great you as you take your seat, and dancing women, with a talent for muscle isolation and sonic sexiness will demand your attention and make you forget the 416, 905, 519 and get into the 419, a gyrating audience participation dance where your hips are a clock and you set the movement. The 419 is also a reference to the Nigerian penal code for fraud, so while FELA! entertains, it’s also includes the political and social struggles that Fela Kuti experienced in Nigeria.

Directed and choreographed by the legendary Bill T. Jones, who conceived the idea with Jim Lewis (book, additional lyrics) and Stephen Hendel (also a producer), FELA! is a mesmerizing, production full of movement, magic and, of course, music. Anyone attempting to even perform in the style of Fela Kuti has to be multi-talented, and triple threat (actor, dancer, singer), Sahr Ngaujah effortlessly embodies Fela’s charismatic and explosive spirit. Ngaujah knows when to swagger with music star sex appeal, when to transition to charming repartee with the audience, and when to command attention as a leader and political activist.

Melanie Marshall (Fumilayo Kuti) tears the roof off with her warm, rounded soprano in Trouble Sleep and Rain, while actress/singer, Paulette Ivory (Fela’s U.S.-born second wife, Sandra) fills the Canon Theatre with her rich tones of molasses and smoke in such songs as Upside Down and Water Get No Enemy.

Lending credibility to the Fela stage are a core of female dancers that flit around Ngaujah; sometimes as the dancers/singers that were an essential part of Fela’s concerts; sometimes as club clients; and sometimes as members of Fela’s compound, Kalakuta. It is a quite a feat that Ngaujah is able to hold our attention amidst these lissome, athletic women. To call them sexy would not even begin to do justice to what these talented performers are able to accomplish on stage. Live dynamite is the best description I can think of for what they do. As for the male dancers, their leaps, taps, and swirls demonstrate a prowess that demands both talent and stamina. Rounding out the stellar excellence that is FELA! are the musicians that bring the Fela Kuti endorphin-raising beats to life.

Like many attempts to depict the life of someone who is larger than life, the script for FELA! emphasizes some aspects of Fela Kuti’s like while omitting of downplaying others. The play takes us through Fela’s journeys to England and the United States, his attempts at political life, his brushes with the law, the forming of his compound and the development of his musical ability, which touched the lives of so many in his Nigerian homeland and abroad; however, it is not a complete biography, nor should it be. At 2 hours and 45 minutes, you get your money’s worth from FELA!, as well as an introduction or re-introduction to Fela’s music (which dominates the play) and life.

Thank you to Mirvish for bringing this Broadway and West End production to Toronto. Yeh, yeh!

FELA! runs until Nov. 6
Info: www.mirvish.com
416-872-1212