Well, I was wrong, and I did manage to make it to one last day at the Toronto International Film Festival. One of the movies I wanted to see the most this year was Scarlet, the latest from Mamoru Hosoda, whose most recent film was the metaverse fairy tale Belle. Whereas that film was a reimagining of Beauty and the Beast, Scarlet is a twist on Hamlet that’s full of bold, creative ideas. I mostly enjoyed it, but unfortunately it’s saddled with an ending that doesn’t really fit.
I also managed to squeeze in two other films: a Korean revenge / heist thriller, and a Norwegian film about connecting through art. You can read my thoughts on all three below.
That’s a lot to squeeze into one festival, and I appreciate everyone who followed along. Now I’m gonna take a nap.
Even though the opening makes it clear everything turns out relatively OK, Project Y remains riveting and unpredictable throughout. It starts out as a heist movie. Two best friends (Han So-hee and Jun Jong-seo) have worked hard for years and are about to retire from their awful jobs for good, but then they run into a sequence of scams that completely wipe out their savings. So when they hear about a hidden cache of cash, they can’t resist. They get caught, of course, and the film shifts into revenge mode. There are a few implausible moments along the way, but Project Y has an unrelenting kind of tension that’s strengthened by an absolutely vicious villain (Kim Sung-cheol). Just be warned: there are some very gruesome torture sequences.
No word yet on a wider theatrical release.
Scarlet (Mana Ashida) is a young princess in 16th century Denmark who finds her life turned upside down when her uncle kills her father to take the crown for himself. The set-up is basically Hamlet, but the twist is that much of the film takes place in the afterlife. It’s a space known as the “otherworld” — neither heaven nor hell, but instead a wasteland where people struggle to get by, and a massive, ancient dragon prowls the skies smiting people with bolts of lightning. The fantasy element of the film is strong, as is Scarlet’s single-minded quest for revenge. But the film unravels towards the end, with a happy ending that feels very out of place.
In theaters in Japan on November 21st; no word yet on a global theatrical release.
Sisters Nora (Renate Reinsve) and Agnes (Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas) try to come to grips with a troubled childhood after their mostly absentee father Gustav (Stellan Skarsgard) reenters their lives following their mother’s death. It’s an understated but powerful film from Worst Person in the World director Joachim Trier, and it happens in part through understanding trauma through art, as Gustav is a legendary film director attempting to make his most personal movie yet. Sentimental Value is filled with gut punch moments like when Nora asks her sibling “why didn’t our childhood ruin you?” But it brings it all together in a way that feels genuinely hopeful and touching.
In theaters on November 7th.
