I'm still waiting to be bowled over. Of the films I've seen here so far, most fall into the "good" (or even "very good") category, but the kind of truly great film that opens the eyes, mind, and heart has thus far eluded me. Perhaps it has to do with my choice of movies - I've been concentrating more on the mainstream stuff at the expense of a number of exotic and obscure choices. (This is, incidentally, the opposite approach to the one I typically use for the Philadelphia Festival of World Cinema each May.) And, as I mentioned yesterday, several films I would have liked to have seen have been passed over in favor of something else, leaving me wondering (for at least 5 minutes) whether I made the right decision.

As I look back at the schedule for today, it seems to have been particularly weak. With the exception of Gattaca, I was more or less filling time rather than choosing movies I really wanted to see. Nevertheless, I still assessed my picks carefully.

It's also worth saying something about the crowds here. They are prodigious. Fortunately, everyone has been quite pleasant. I have ended up in a couple of rush lines, and have been amused and entertained by everyone around me. On Friday, a group of eight people were trying to figure out the most outrageous thing they could do to get mentioned in one of these columns. Consider yourselves mentioned.

I believe every screening is a sell-out, or a virtual sell-out, which makes cramped seating the norm. It's a little easier to spread out at the press screenings, where there are a larger number of empty seats. Still, there's something to be said about watching a movie, especially a good one, in a packed house. Now, if only I could have that experience with something great.

Clockwatchers (USA, 1997, dir: Jill Sprecher) reminded me very much of The Daytrippers in tone and style, if not content. A comedy/drama with a bit more of the latter than the former, Clockwatchers takes an unflattering look at the life of the temp worker in modern corporate America. Since I once was a temp, I can appreciate almost everything Sprecher is attempting, even when it doesn't work. The cast, which is headlined by Toni Collette, Parker Posey, Alanna Ubach, and Lisa Kudrow, highlights a cross-section of everyday workers who punch in at 9 am and punch out at 5 pm. In between, they stuff envelopes, type, make copies, and find ways to fill dead time. No one really takes notice of them, much less remembers their name. In its look at how the corporate world works, Clockwatchers is no less damning than In the Company of Men, but, on the whole, this is a far less challenging motion picture. The film loses some steam during the second half, when it becomes a little ponderous in its attempts to stretch the characters' arcs, but, in general, this is a pleasantly satirical jab at a workplace that many 9-to-5'ers will find all too familiar.
Rating: out of

Face (UK, 1997, dir: Antonia Bird) brings versatile actor Robert Carlyle to the fore again. In recent films, Carlyle has played a homicidal lunatic (Trainspotting), a man struggling with MS (Go Now), and an out of work steel worker-turne-stripper (The Full Monty). Now, Carlyle gets to essay a semi- sympathetic thief who, along with four others, pulls off a nearly-flawless caper. Unfortunately, as the saying goes, there's no honor among thieves, and post-crime friction causes dangerous rifts to develop in the group. Director Antonia Bird, who was equally responsible for the hard-hitting Priest and the ludicrous Mad Love, fashions Face in a way that places it somewhere between the two. Face is well-acted, and the storyline develops a certain amount of tension, but an improbable climax and an even less believable conclusion weaken the film's overall impact.
Rating: out of

Gattaca (USA, 1997, dir: Andrew Niccol) is a tightly-scripted, highly original science fiction thriller. Set in the near future, when genetic engineering has become the norm, Gattaca traces the life and career advancement of Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), a biologically imperfect man who is involved in an elaborate scheme to pass himself off as genetically advanced. I won't go deeply into plot details, other than to say that Gattaca is intelligently scripted, scientifically plausible, and filled with numerous clever twists and turns. Not only that, but director Andrew Niccol (in an impressive feature film debut) manages to interweave themes about discrimination and the dangers of technological abuse into the picture. Ultimately, however, this is less of a morality play and more of a rollicking good story. It's ironic that the best film I've seen to date at the Toronto Film Festival comes from a major American distributor (Columbia Pictures).
Rating: out of

Junk Food (Japan, 1997, dir: Masashi Yamamoto) may end up being the most original and adventurous of films at the festival. The movie, which takes place over a twenty-four hour period in modern-day Japan, is really a series of three shorts, the third of which is a composite of several interwoven tales. In less than 90 minutes, we meet an old lady who goes about her daily routine, a Japanese business woman who is driven to various forms of degradation by a cocaine addiction, and a group of men who are involved in street violence, prostitution, and murder. Director Masashi Yamamoto keeps things moving at a furious clip, giving us dramatic insights into even the most minor of supporting characters, and leaving us wanting more as he moves on to the next story. The camera work is inventive and energetic, and the film, which starts out looking like an experiment in style, becomes strikingly involving. Even though the middle segment (with the drug-addicted business woman) is the best, each of the others has its high points, with the old lady's routine standing in stark contrast to the violent, sociopathic behavior of nearly everyone else. With Junk Food, Yamamoto has successfully taken a snapshot of the dark side of life in the city.
Rating: out of

© 1997 James Berardinelli