Day 3 of TIFF included a film for kids of all ages and one strictly for the adults.
WHAT LIES BETWEEN US
If you’re longing to see Sidse Babett Knudsen commanding the screen as a morally conflicted matriarch, have I got the movie for you. One of my favorite actresses, Knudsen is known for work both in her homeland of Denmark (Susanne Bier’s After The Wedding, as lead of the long-running television series Borgen) and abroad (the reluctant dominatrix of Peter Strickland’s The Duke Of Burgundy, the forever-smiling instructor in Ben Sharrock’s Limbo.)
This incisive thriller provides her with an especially juicy leading part. As realtor Anne Sofie, she seems to juggle a demanding job and raising two teens almost effortlessly. She’s good friends with two other mothers whose kids attend her son’s school: longtime friend Sarah (Sofie Gråbøl) and single mother/newcomer to the neighborhood Ulrikke (Asta Kamma August). Anne Sofie and Ulrikke’s sons are both 14; Sarah’s is two years younger. One evening, the mothers convince the two older boys to allow the younger one to hang out with them. The following day, Sarah’s son accuses the other boys of sexually assaulting him. They deny it and the viewer suspects one of the three boys is lying. This ordeal tears the mothers apart as speculation runs rampant among each of them, leading to further accusations, rumors and, after some crucial information is revealed to one of them, outright lies to protect their own child.
A good companion piece to the recent German film The Teachers Lounge, this benefits from an even more intimate scope. While we’ve seen a lot of dramas centered around parenting and school, director Amalie Næsby Fick excels at creating a lived-in world that’s instantly recognizable but also intricately detailed enough to give one a real sense of both place and the various dynamics between these characters. However, Knudsen has the most prominent role and she is at turns admirable, relatable, exasperating and chilling. One’s sympathy towards her is bound to fluctuate wildly. While the narrative shifts into some unexpected and potentially outlandish phases, Knudsen’s performance is assured and seamless (even if Anne Sofie is anything but.)
JULIÁN
From The Secret Of Kells to Wolfwalkers, I’m convinced Irish animation studio Cartoon Saloon will never let me down. Their latest, the feature debut of director Louise Bagnall is an adaptation of Julián Is A Mermaid, a 2014 children’s book by Jessica Love. That title essentially gives away the plot but to elaborate, Julián is a young suburban boy dropped off to spend the summer with his Dominican grandmother in Brooklyn. He’s also a dreamer with an active imagination and a tendency to get into trouble, but his Abuela is less permissive and understanding of him than his father. Obsessed with the sea and marine creatures, he meets a trio of local girls preparing for the annual Coney Island parade. In them, he finds kindred spirits as the four of them plan to march in the event dressed up as mermaids. Julian’s challenging of gender roles doesn’t sit too well with Abuela and other kids and adults; fortunately, he finds solace in a magical water bubble come to life that exemplifies the production design’s whimsy and invention.
While not nearly as deep as the fantasy/folklore of Wolfwalkers, Bagnall’s adaptation is a simple, joyous fable about what it means to be different and how meaningful bonds are established when people take the time and thought to the understand one another. The bold, bright colors and Latin music soundtrack are delights and at just under ninety minutes, Julián doesn’t wear out its welcome. For kids (and adults) of all ages with even some moments near the end as affecting as the Roadrunner’s appearance in Coyote Vs. Acme.
