TIFF, Thursday, Sept 15

The weather has cooled off here, but it is still sunny with blue skies. I got to two movies today, each very different from the other.

The first was Warriors of the Rainbow : Seediq Bale from Taiwan. It deals with the time in the 1930's and 40's when Taiwan (aka Formosa) was under the control of the Japanese. The Seediq Bale are the aboriginal ( ie non Chinese) inhabitants of the highlands of the island. The movie is an explanation of the customs of the S Bale , and an account of the revolts by the clans against the Japanese occupation. It is done as a heroic epic, with a cast of thousands, great battle scenes, noble heroes leading the forces, swelling violins, and the use of the folk music of the S Bale. It is an interesting look into a little known part of history, but the movie runs way too long at 2 hrs 30 minutes. A lot of that time, we are looking at the battles, with many explosions, lots of beheadings, suicide hangings by the women and children, and so on. It is often a bit much to take, and, although it might be impressive technically, it sometimes just becomes a blur. Hopefully, they can cut it down to a manageable size for international distribution.

The second movie today was really great. Starbuck is a fun upbeat comedy from Quebec. The main character, who works in his family's butcher shop in Montreal, is usually in need of money. One of his sources of money over the years, has been to donate his sperm to a local sperm bank, where he was known as Starbuck, ( apparently after a famous bull, not the coffee chain). He is informed by a lawyer that he has fathered 533 children, and there is a group of over a hundred of his offspring who are trying to get his identity revealed. The rest of the film deals with the conflict of whether he should reveal himself, and, at the same time, he is secretly checking out some of the group to see what kind of people they are. It is a fun comedy about family, responsibility, and the challenges life sends us. This one has been very successful at the festival, and should be back soon.