• About Us
  • Sasha Stone
  • Editor Ryan Adams
  • Clarence Moye
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
Awardsdaily - The Oscars, the Films and everything in between.
  • Home
  • Oscar Predictions
    • Best Picture
    • Best Actor
    • Best Actress
  • Good As Gold
  • AD TV
  • Podcasts
  • FYC Gallery
  • Interviews
  • All News
  • Home
  • Oscar Predictions
    • Best Picture
    • Best Actor
    • Best Actress
  • Good As Gold
  • AD TV
  • Podcasts
  • FYC Gallery
  • Interviews
  • All News
No Result
View All Result
Awardsdaily - The Oscars, the Films and everything in between.
No Result
View All Result

TIFF, Day 8: Un été brûlant & Kotoko

by Sasha Stone
September 15, 2011
in TIFF, Toronto Film Festival
0

Day eight of TIFF was light for movie-going, as I had only two films on the schedule. The day began with a resounding thud with a screening of That Summer (Un été brûlant). This new feature by French filmmaker Philippe Garrel pits two couples in romantic squabbles as they vacation together in Rome. That Summer ranks among the most flaccid infidelity dramas I have ever seen, aside from one great dance sequence in which Monica Bellucci heats up the screen. The early scenes of That Summer show promise, but the film ultimately becomes as empty and directionless as its four characters. Like an exasperated parent awaiting ‘Back to School’, Summer can’t end soon enough!

Fortunately, the tedium of That Summer encouraged a brief visit to the Blackberry Lounge at the TIFF BellLightbox, which provided ample relief and a chance to recharge before the next film. Second up for the day was a more agreeable dip into the world cinema offerings of the festival. Kotoko is a shocking and ambitious horror film by Japanese director Shinya Tsukamoto. Kotoko stars pop singer Cocco in the title role of Kotoko, a young mother whose baby is taken from her when she is suspected of abuse.

Kotoko feels overwhelmed by the prospect of maternity, and she descends into a terrifying underworld of nightmarish daydreams and sudden bursts of violence. In some ways, this tale of motherhood gone awry resembles an Asian extreme version of We Need to Talk About Kevin: it recalls that scene in Kevin where Eva masks out Kevin’s cries in the blissful noise of jackhammers, except for Kotoko would literally drown her baby, rather than merely drown him out. Kotoko surely is not for the faint of heart, especially for audience members who might shirk away from the countless acts of violence against infants. (For example, Tsukamoto includes a close-up shot of Kotoko’s baby having its head blown away by an AK-47.) Tsukamoto amplifies Kotoko’s monstrous post-partum depression by manipulating the form of the film to match the content. As Kotoko becomes less lucid and more prone to madness, so does the film. Kotoko therefore projects Kotoko’s monstrous motherhood through fragmented images and near deafening sound. The spasmodic nature of the film offers an involving act of sense-making, provided one can avoid shielding one’s eyes from the horror. Kotoko is a brutally difficult film, but it is worth the pain.

Up for Friday: rising from the mid-festival slump with Hysteria, Take Shelter, Tyrannosaur, and Wuthering Heights.

Tags: KotokoTIFF 2011Un été brûlant
Sasha Stone

Sasha Stone

Sasha Stone has been around the Oscar scene since 1999. Almost everything on this website is her fault.

Next Post

Shine on You Crazy Diamond - Heath Ledger on a Skateboard

Sign up for Awards Daily's Breaking News

* indicates required

The State of the Race — Forget Your Troubles, Come On Get Happy

The State of the Race — Forget Your Troubles, Come On Get Happy
by Sasha Stone
February 25, 2021
33

‘Mank,’ ‘Mulan,’ ‘Ma Rainey’s’ Among Nominees for 25th Art Directors Guild Awards

‘Mank’ Co-Producer Peter Mavromates On Accentuating a 1930s World Through VFX

San Simeon Interior After VFX (Photo: Netflix)

by Clarence Moye
February 25, 2021
22

Marcell Rév On Capturing the Volatility of ‘Malcolm & Marie’

Marcell Rév On Capturing the Volatility of ‘Malcolm & Marie’

(Photo: Dominic Miller/Netflix)

by Joey Moser
February 25, 2021
0

‘Ma Rainey’s’ Team Reflects on George C. Wolfe’s Acclaimed Direction

First Look at Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman’s Transformative Work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020): (L to R) Viola Davis as Ma Rainey, Director George C. Wolfe, and Chadwick Boseman as Levee. Cr. David Lee / Netflix

by Clarence Moye
February 25, 2021
3

Disney and Pixar’s Luca Gets a Trailer

Disney and Pixar’s Luca Gets a Trailer
by Sasha Stone
February 25, 2021
2

Woody Allen Doc Makes a Strong Case for the Prosecution but It’s Missing the Defense

Woody Allen Doc Makes a Strong Case for the Prosecution but It’s Missing the Defense
by Ryan Adams
February 24, 2021
46

Predict the Golden Globes!

Predict the Golden Globes!
by Sasha Stone
February 24, 2021
15

Preferential Ballot Experiment Results in – Nomadland Dominates, but Promising, Chicago 7 Hillbilly In It

Makeup Department Head Eryn Krueger Mekash on Transforming Amy Adams and Glenn Close for ‘Hillbilly Elegy’

Photo Courtesy of Netflix

by Sasha Stone
February 24, 2021
50

Composer Henry Jackman on His Ambitious Score for Apple’s ‘Cherry’

Composer Henry Jackman on His Ambitious Score for Apple’s ‘Cherry’

(Photo: Apple TV+)

by Joey Moser
February 23, 2021
0

Shorts: A Father Fights for Normalcy in ‘The Present’

Shorts: A Father Fights for Normalcy in ‘The Present’
by Joey Moser
February 23, 2021
0

Shorts: ‘White Eye’ Asks Who Is the Real Bicycle Thief

Shorts: ‘White Eye’ Asks Who Is the Real Bicycle Thief
by Joey Moser
February 23, 2021
0

Shorts: Two Kids Get Taken To the Edge of Something Sinister in ‘Da Yie’

Shorts: Two Kids Get Taken To the Edge of Something Sinister in ‘Da Yie’
by Joey Moser
February 23, 2021
0

Shorts: A Wily Young Girl Witnesses an Accident in ‘Bittu

Shorts: A Wily Young Girl Witnesses an Accident in ‘Bittu
by Joey Moser
February 23, 2021
0

Join us Facebook

AwardsDaily Crew

  • About Us
  • Sasha Stone
  • Editor Ryan Adams
  • Clarence Moye
  • Contact Us

ADTV Crew

  • ADTV Home
  • Megan McLachlan, Co-Editor
  • Clarence Moye, Co-Editor
  • Jalal Haddad, Senior Contributor
  • Joey Moser, Senior Contributor
  • Kevin Dillon
  • Shadan Larki
  • Ben Morris
  • David Phillips

Follow on Twitter

ADTV Twitter

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertising on Awards Daily

© 1999-2021 AwardsDaily.com

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Oscar Predictions
    • Best Picture
    • Best Actor
    • Best Actress
  • Good As Gold
  • AD TV
  • Podcasts
  • FYC Gallery
  • Interviews
  • All News

© 1999-2021 AwardsDaily.com