Some recent TIFF viewings:
Grand Tour (dir. Miguel Gomes, 2024)
Miguel Gomes’ Grand Tour is an ambitious, visually stunning travelogue that weaves together romance, history, and melancholy. The film’s scope and thematic richness are impressive, but it sometimes feels a bit too unwieldy, lacking the emotional resonance needed to fully anchor its sprawling narrative.
Set in 1917, the story follows Edward (Gonçalo Waddington), a British diplomat in Rangoon, who abruptly flees a long-awaited reunion with his fiancée, Molly (Crista Alfaiate), in a haze of existential dread. His escape takes him on a disjointed journey through Asia, punctuated by a series of mishaps and hangovers. Meanwhile, Molly’s determined pursuit of Edward unfolds with a Katharine Hepburn-esque charm, providing the film with a lively counterpoint to Edward’s brooding (though I could have done without her quirk of blowing raspberries after the 3rd or so time).
Visually, Grand Tour is a marvel. Gomes masterfully blends eras, styles, and cultures, creating a cinematic tapestry that feels like an homage to the golden age of silent cinema. The use of soundstage sequences, juxtaposed with contemporary documentary fragments, gives the film a kaleidoscopic quality that keeps the viewer visually engaged, even when the narrative lags.
But where Grand Tour shines in its ambition, it falters in emotional depth. Edward’s existential crisis, while intriguing, lacks the personal weight to carry the film’s sprawling journey. Molly’s pursuit, though charming, also feels underdeveloped, more of a plot device than a fully fleshed-out emotional arc. The film's shifts between reality and artifice, while visually striking, sometimes hinder the viewer's ability to connect with the characters on a deeper level.
Ultimately, Grand Tour is an ambitious and visually rich work from Gomes, but its ambition can also feel unwieldy, leaving the viewer more dazzled by its aesthetics than its emotional core. A flawed, yet intriguing cinematic journey.
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U Are the Universe / ТИ - КОСМОС (dir. Pavlo Ostrikov, 2024)
Pavlo Ostrikov’s debut feature U Are The Universe is an ambitious and touching sci-fi odyssey that masterfully blends elements of space drama with the emotional weight of human connection (think of a mix between Her and 2001: A Space Odyssey). The film tells the story of Andriy, an ordinary Ukrainian space trucker tasked with the lonely job of transporting nuclear waste to Jupiter’s moon. However, when Earth explodes and he’s left adrift in the cosmos, the stakes shift from planetary survival to something more personal: the desperate search for companionship in an indifferent universe.
Volodymyr Kravchuk’s performance as Andriy is the heart of the film, as he is the only human on camera for nearly the entirety of the film. He expertly conveys the isolation and slow-burn desperation of a man who suddenly believes he’s the last person alive. Andriy’s interactions with his onboard robot Maxim (a comically programmed sidekick) provide levity, but it’s the unexpected communication from Catherine, a French woman on a distant space station, that elevates the film. Their budding connection in the aftermath of Earth’s destruction feels poignant and deeply human, especially as they navigate this strange post-apocalyptic scenario.
Visually, U Are The Universe captures the cold beauty of space, with stunning imagery that underscores the vastness of Andriy’s isolation. Ostrikov also uses this setting to reflect on deeper themes of survival, connection, and the fragility of life, all made more resonant by the film’s origins in the backdrop of the ongoing Ukrainian conflict.
Though at times the pacing feels slow, the emotional depth of U Are The Universe keeps it engaging. It’s a genre-bending exploration of loneliness, love, and resilience, offering a hopeful message about the human need for connection, even in the darkest times.
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Wishing on a Star (dir. Peter Kerekeš, 2024)
In Wishing on a Star, veteran filmmaker Péter Kerekes crafts a stranger-than-fiction documentary that feels both whimsical and deeply human (in fact my partner was convinced it was a fictional narrative film up until the Q&A with the director after the film). The film revolves around Luciana, an aging astrologer with an eccentric talent for fulfilling people’s desires through strategic, astrological travel on their birthdays.
Luciana’s clients—ranging from love-seeking women to a funeral director with an overbearing mother - are invited to go on transformative birthday journeys, meticulously planned by Luciana using latitudes, longitudes, and astrological charts. It’s an intriguing concept, and Kerekes’ direction, full of gentle charm and earthy humor, lets us explore these seemingly fantastical ideas with a grounded realism. He captures both the absurdity and poignancy of his subjects, inviting us into a world where the lines between belief and reality blur.
Luciana herself is a compelling protagonist, and as much as we are introduced to her clients’ desires, it’s her own struggles, doubts, and wishes that give the film its emotional core (her desire to settle in Napoli) . There’s a deep melancholy beneath her quirky exterior, and Kerekes wisely lets us into her world with patience and subtlety. Through her, the film becomes a meditation on desire—how we pursue it, and the lengths we’ll go to chase after fleeting moments of happiness.
Visually, the film is charming, with Kerekes capturing the rustic beauty of the Italian landscape alongside the magical aura of Luciana’s rituals. At times, however, the film’s loose narrative structure may leave some viewers wanting more cohesion, but its unpredictability works in harmony with the film’s larger themes of fate and coincidence.
Wishing on a Star offers a thoughtful and often humorous reflection on belief, astrology, and the human need for hope, even when it feels out of reach.
