One day to go! Wow! When the Toronto International Film Festival began it seemed like it was going to last forever and there is only one more day. The festival has been great. With the organization evident here, I’m sure that the bugs we all experienced at the new AMC venue will be worked out by next year, which is good. That has been the only inconvenience that I have experienced although other people I talked to had issues with their place in the random box selection. That, however, is what “random” means, isn’t it? You take your chances, people! I had to laugh at some of the complaints about not getting the 10 films they wanted and having to go to the box office and stand in line trying to get tickets. Try getting 50 films the first day of the festival and see how that goes for you! That is what I did and it, as you can see, has worked out just fine for me. If you want and will only be satisfied if you get the 10 films you have selected when you have over 300 to choose from you are severely limiting yourselves. There are some incredible films here and some of the best are the obscure, the “Kabuli Kid”s, the “Maman est chez le Coiffeur”s, the “Pandora’s Box”s. Why get all mad that you didn’t get your ticket to “Burn after Reading” or “Slumdog Millionaire” when they’re just coming to the theater next month anyway?! Good Grief, people, relax and enjoy the incredible festival that you have right here at home! I’m making reference here to actual conversations I have overheard either in line or sitting in the theater waiting for films to start. Yes, I listen to other people’s conversations.
By the way, since I’m on a rant, some people should NOT eat popcorn in movies!
Enough for the ranting, I’ll post only one film today:
Kabuli Kid — Afghanistan
A woman leaves her baby in a taxi in Kabul. The story then takes us on a cultural journey through the Afghan capital as the taxidriver searches for the baby’s mother. We look through a window into today’s Kabul and Afghan culture and see family life, living, and working in this war-ravaged country. The taxi driver takes the baby home to his family and we see his feelings gradually deepen as he is told the story of Solomon, the two mothers and the child and begins to better understand motherhood and realize the complexity of life and how a mother could “forget” her child. Motherhood and family on a canvas shadowed by war are the primary themes. A must-see for anyone interested in the human side of Afghanistan.
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