Timothée Chalamet

Rebecca Ferguson

Oscar Isaac

Zendaya

Jason Momoa

Stellan Skarsgård

Stephen McKinley Henderson

Josh Brolin

Javier Bardem

Sharon Duncan-Brewster

Chang Chen

Dave Bautista

David Dastmalchian

Charlotte Rampling

Babs Olusanmokun

Benjamin Clémentine

Golda Rosheuvel

Souad Faress

Roger Yuan

Oliver Ryan

Stephen Collins

Charlie Rawes

Elmi Rashid Elmi

Gloria Obianyo

Paul Bullion

Balázs Megyeri

Peter Sztojanov Jr.

Björn Freiberg

Ferenc Iván Szabó

Richard Carter

Seun Shote

Neil Bell

Benjamin Dilloway

Tachia Newall

István Aldott

Denis Villeneuve

Eric Roth

Frank Herbert

Jon Spaihts

Mark A. Mangini

Ron Bartlett

Theo Green

Lee Gilmore

Doug Hemphill

Bob Kellough

Dani Connor Wild

Hans Zimmer

Joseph M. Caracciolo Jr.

John Harrison

Cale Boyter

Thomas Tull

Herb Gains

Mary Parent

Jessica Derhammer

Brian Herbert

Byron Merritt

Kim Herbert

Tanya Lapointe

Joshua Grode

Karl Probert

Tibor Lázár

Tom Brown

Bence Erdelyi

David Doran

Sam Hudecki

Gergely Rieger

Borbála Debreczeni

Greig Fraser

Michael Lemon

Maricel Pagulayan

Paul Lambert

Brian Connor

Tristan Myles

Lorna Barnshaw

Dan Finnegan

Alvaro Garcia

Frédéric Gaudin

Hamid Shahsavari

Ryan Wing

Shailesh Chibire

Jacqueline West

Bob Morgan

Stacy Horn

Lilla Vasvári

Joe Walker

Donald Mowat

Jutta Russell

Daniel McGraw

Judit Farkas-Arful

Kata Huszár

Warner Bros. Pictures

Legendary Pictures

Villeneuve Films

Canada

Paul Atreides, a brilliant and gifted young man born into a great destiny beyond his understanding, must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his family and his people. As malevolent forces explode into conflict over the planet's exclusive supply of the most precious resource in existence-a commodity capable of unlocking humanity's greatest potential-only those who can conquer their fear will survive.

Science Fiction

Drama

Action

Adventure

English

Chinese

Dune

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Programmers for the 46th Toronto International Film Festival chat about the degrees of intensity they look for in a festival film, and help us zoom in on the gems from TIFF’s 2021 program, by genre and region.

A preview of the 46th Toronto International Film Festival from its programming team.

The Eyes of TIFF

<h3>As <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G" rel="nofollow">Dune</a> hits theaters, TVs, laptops, and smartphones around the world, we board a flight to Arrakis to get a look at how Letterboxd members are responding to this spicy epic. </h3>The long wait is finally over. The hype train for many films suffered a grueling extension due to the COVID pandemic, as we saw delay after delay for films including <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/no-time-to-die-2021/" rel="nofollow">No Time to Die</a>, <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/black-widow-2021/" rel="nofollow">Black Widow</a>, and <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/the-green-knight/" rel="nofollow">The Green Knight</a>, but perhaps no wait was as torturous for cinephiles as the one for Denis Villeneuve’s take on Frank Herbert’s epic science-fiction tome, Dune. With a shocking announcement that the film would release day-and-date in theaters and on HBO Max, the discourse over the past year has been a maddening cacophony of debates around theaters versus streaming, pandemic safety, and the death of the cinema. Mercifully, all of that can be put aside for just a moment as the world now bears witness to what the director of <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/arrival-2016/" rel="nofollow">Arrival</a> and <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/blade-runner-2049/" rel="nofollow">Blade Runner 2049</a> has to offer with his latest. <h3>Half of a whole </h3>While the reviews have been trickling in the past couple of months from festival releases and theatrical runs in countries across the globe, there’s no denying that October 22nd was Dune Day, with Letterboxd homepages stampeded by takes like <a href="https://boxd.it/2e3UOf" rel="nofollow">Daniel Bayer's</a>, who says “This is a film that DEMANDS that you stare at it in awe, and for the most part earns it”, although he also found that “in the end it felt quite a bit less than the sum of its parts”. Even some of those who fell head over heels for the film’s “large scale visuals, galactic politics, KILLER sound design and thudding music, interesting sci-fi technology, mild fantasy elements, wonderful and sleek costumes”, <a href="https://boxd.it/2e8GHp" rel="nofollow">like June</a>, have expressed frustration that they can’t dive right into Villeneuve’s hoped-for sequel. <a href="https://boxd.it/2egUWJ" rel="nofollow">Juan even goes so far</a> as to call it “two and a half hours of set-up that could have been boiled down to an opening crawl at the start of whatever the next movie is supposed to be”. While the split into two parts has resulted in dissatisfaction for some, <a href="https://boxd.it/2e0LHt" rel="nofollow">others like Jamie</a> appreciate the patience in giving this story the space Villeneuve has allowed it. Referencing David Lynch’s critically maligned but historically reassessed <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/dune/" rel="nofollow">1984 take</a> on the material, Jamie says, “the David Lynch adaptation proves that trying to condense the whole thing into one movie is a bad idea”, following that up later with, “normally I don't like the notion of ending a film with the intention of setting up a sequel, but knowing how much material would have to be condensed, this is where it feels like it's earned”. <h3>Let’s talk about scale, baby </h3>For every take that’s overall positive with some critiques, there’s one <a href="https://boxd.it/2dZdJj" rel="nofollow">like Jake’s</a>, who declares Dune as “this decade's new sci-fi/fantasy masterpiece on a scale we haven’t seen in a long time”. Even those not nearly ready to declare the film a masterpiece were won over by its visual wonder, as <a href="https://boxd.it/2dVX0B" rel="nofollow">Spooky Gillespie</a> says, “to be fully immersed in the sights and sounds of Dune is an experience that paves over its shortcomings, as the splendour carries both you and the film along. In retrospect, you will have concerns and criticisms but, in the moment, Dune is really something”. The theaters versus streaming debate rears its nasty little head in a few pockets, but <a href="https://boxd.it/2e1EFR" rel="nofollow">Dom Sinacola</a> is perfectly pleasant when stating that he watched it on HBO Max but has been convinced to see it in IMAX. The Lincoln Square IMAX was home for <a href="https://boxd.it/2egquZ" rel="nofollow">Ben C's</a> viewing experience, who marvels at “the craft on display in creating such scale”, saying that it “legitimately forced me backwards and even made me tear up on multiple occasions.” Scale was a big focal point for Ben, declaring that “giving less than 4 stars to a film with that first sandworm scene seems criminal, and then it has at least 5 sequences on that level”. <h3>But does it have character? </h3>Sandworms have been getting <a href="https://boxd.it/2dXys5" rel="nofollow">plenty of talk</a> amongst the <a href="https://boxd.it/2e6DMn" rel="nofollow">Letterboxd crowd</a>, but what about the characters? Those shiny actors plastered all over floating head posters for months now? Rebecca Ferguson is getting lots of love from members like <a href="https://boxd.it/2efrbd" rel="nofollow">Harlequinade</a>, who calls her “the bleeding heart of the film and its emotional core”. <a href="https://boxd.it/2e9rQt" rel="nofollow">anna kendrick lamar</a> agrees with the “MVP Rebecca Ferguson” sentiment, while also finding time to shout out Timothée Chalamet and Letterboxd’s boyfriend, Oscar Isaac. Everyone seems to have their favorites, as <a href="https://boxd.it/2e50Dz" rel="nofollow">Vishwas echoes</a> the Chalamet and Ferguson love before noting that they “loved Jason Momoa as Duncan”. For <a href="https://boxd.it/2dL1YX" rel="nofollow">Isaac Feldberg</a>, Chalamet was the one worth praising the most: “Timothée Chalamet is meanwhile developing into one of the most compelling actors of his generation, and this Part One surrounds him with a cast perfectly attuned to the film’s grand, swelling rhythms.” Indeed, the whole ensemble seems to be getting their fair shake, <a href="https://boxd.it/2eby9b" rel="nofollow">with Zach Gilbert saying</a>, “We haven’t seen an ensemble of this caliber in a genre film since <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-fellowship-of-the-ring/" rel="nofollow">The Lord of the Rings</a>. Take note, SAG.” While there’s heaps of love out there for the characters and performances, there are also those who were hoping for more from this aspect of the film. <a href="https://boxd.it/2e1JiX" rel="nofollow">Drew Clouse</a> was “definitely entranced” by the film, but also left wishing “we got to see more of quite a few of the characters”. <a href="https://boxd.it/2e7XD3" rel="nofollow">irtizachowdhury</a> “couldn’t quite connect with the story or the characters”, although they still noted that there are “lots of incredible sequences throughout the film”. <a href="https://boxd.it/2ebnQX" rel="nofollow">Bartolomé was on the same wavelength</a>, using the same “incredible sequences” praise and giving love to Hans Zimmer’s score, while also acknowledging that “character development might not be its forte”. <h3>Thirst watch alert </h3>Character development or not, the one thing it seems everyone can agree on is that this spice has folks thirsty. “oh, to be that table that oscar isaac spat on”, pines <a href="https://boxd.it/2e05yz" rel="nofollow">Nicole Kubrick</a>, before <a href="https://letterboxd.com/jpat79/" rel="nofollow">JeffMovieMan hit the comments</a> strong with “Oh to be the floor that Javier Bardem spat on”. <a href="https://boxd.it/2efcMt" rel="nofollow">David Sims</a> is a bit of a Jason Momoa freak, and <a href="https://boxd.it/2efrbd" rel="nofollow">Harlequinade is back</a>, regretting her choice of leather pants every time Oscar Isaac shows up on the screen. Perhaps <a href="https://boxd.it/2ecTAf" rel="nofollow">Rendy Jones sums it up best</a>, not being particularly choosy: “Ugh, everyone in this could get it including the worm”. Whether you’re watching for the epic sci-fi action, immense world-building, or “the plot”, Dune is available now in theaters worldwide and on HBO Max. —<a href="https://letterboxd.com/Mitchell/" rel="nofollow">Mitchell Beaupre</a>, East Coast Editor

<h3>As <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G">Dune</a> hits theaters, TVs, laptops, and smartphones around the world, we board a flight to Arrakis to get a look at how Letterboxd members are responding to this spicy epic. </h3>

The long wait is finally over. The hype train for many films suffered a grueling extension due to the COVID pandemic, as we saw delay after delay for films including <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/no-time-to-die-2021/">No Time to Die</a>, <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/black-widow-2021/">Black Widow</a>, and <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/the-green-knight/">The Green Knight</a>, but perhaps no wait was as torturous for cinephiles as the one for Denis Villeneuve’s take on Frank Herbert’s epic science-fiction tome, Dune. 

With a shocking announcement that the film would release day-and-date in theaters and on HBO Max, the discourse over the past year has been a maddening cacophony of debates around theaters versus streaming, pandemic safety, and the death of the cinema. Mercifully, all of that can be put aside for just a moment as the world now bears witness to what the director of <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/arrival-2016/">Arrival</a> and <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/blade-runner-2049/">Blade Runner 2049</a> has to offer with his latest. 

<h3>Half of a whole </h3>

While the reviews have been trickling in the past couple of months from festival releases and theatrical runs in countries across the globe, there’s no denying that October 22nd was Dune Day, with Letterboxd homepages stampeded by takes like <a href="https://boxd.it/2e3UOf">Daniel Bayer's</a>, who says “This is a film that DEMANDS that you stare at it in awe, and for the most part earns it”, although he also found that “in the end it felt quite a bit less than the sum of its parts”. 

Even some of those who fell head over heels for the film’s “large scale visuals, galactic politics, KILLER sound design and thudding music, interesting sci-fi technology, mild fantasy elements, wonderful and sleek costumes”, <a href="https://boxd.it/2e8GHp">like June</a>, have expressed frustration that they can’t dive right into Villeneuve’s hoped-for sequel. <a href="https://boxd.it/2egUWJ">Juan even goes so far</a> as to call it “two and a half hours of set-up that could have been boiled down to an opening crawl at the start of whatever the next movie is supposed to be”. 

While the split into two parts has resulted in dissatisfaction for some, <a href="https://boxd.it/2e0LHt">others like Jamie</a> appreciate the patience in giving this story the space Villeneuve has allowed it. Referencing David Lynch’s critically maligned but historically reassessed <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/dune/">1984 take</a> on the material, Jamie says, “the David Lynch adaptation proves that trying to condense the whole thing into one movie is a bad idea”, following that up later with, “normally I don't like the notion of ending a film with the intention of setting up a sequel, but knowing how much material would have to be condensed, this is where it feels like it's earned”. 

<h3>Let’s talk about scale, baby </h3>

For every take that’s overall positive with some critiques, there’s one <a href="https://boxd.it/2dZdJj">like Jake’s</a>, who declares Dune as “this decade's new sci-fi/fantasy masterpiece on a scale we haven’t seen in a long time”. Even those not nearly ready to declare the film a masterpiece were won over by its visual wonder, as <a href="https://boxd.it/2dVX0B">Spooky Gillespie</a> says, “to be fully immersed in the sights and sounds of Dune is an experience that paves over its shortcomings, as the splendour carries both you and the film along. In retrospect, you will have concerns and criticisms but, in the moment, Dune is really something”. 

The theaters versus streaming debate rears its nasty little head in a few pockets, but <a href="https://boxd.it/2e1EFR">Dom Sinacola</a> is perfectly pleasant when stating that he watched it on HBO Max but has been convinced to see it in IMAX. The Lincoln Square IMAX was home for <a href="https://boxd.it/2egquZ">Ben C's</a> viewing experience, who marvels at “the craft on display in creating such scale”, saying that it “legitimately forced me backwards and even made me tear up on multiple occasions.” Scale was a big focal point for Ben, declaring that “giving less than 4 stars to a film with that first sandworm scene seems criminal, and then it has at least 5 sequences on that level”. 

<h3>But does it have character? </h3>

Sandworms have been getting <a href="https://boxd.it/2dXys5">plenty of talk</a> amongst the <a href="https://boxd.it/2e6DMn">Letterboxd crowd</a>, but what about the characters? Those shiny actors plastered all over floating head posters for months now? Rebecca Ferguson is getting lots of love from members like <a href="https://boxd.it/2efrbd">Harlequinade</a>, who calls her “the bleeding heart of the film and its emotional core”. <a href="https://boxd.it/2e9rQt">anna kendrick lamar</a> agrees with the “MVP Rebecca Ferguson” sentiment, while also finding time to shout out Timothée Chalamet and Letterboxd’s boyfriend, Oscar Isaac. Everyone seems to have their favorites, as <a href="https://boxd.it/2e50Dz">Vishwas echoes</a> the Chalamet and Ferguson love before noting that they “loved Jason Momoa as Duncan”. 

For <a href="https://boxd.it/2dL1YX">Isaac Feldberg</a>, Chalamet was the one worth praising the most: “Timothée Chalamet is meanwhile developing into one of the most compelling actors of his generation, and this Part One surrounds him with a cast perfectly attuned to the film’s grand, swelling rhythms.” Indeed, the whole ensemble seems to be getting their fair shake, <a href="https://boxd.it/2eby9b">with Zach Gilbert saying</a>, “We haven’t seen an ensemble of this caliber in a genre film since <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-fellowship-of-the-ring/">The Lord of the Rings</a>. Take note, SAG.” 

While there’s heaps of love out there for the characters and performances, there are also those who were hoping for more from this aspect of the film. <a href="https://boxd.it/2e1JiX">Drew Clouse</a> was “definitely entranced” by the film, but also left wishing “we got to see more of quite a few of the characters”. <a href="https://boxd.it/2e7XD3">irtizachowdhury</a> “couldn’t quite connect with the story or the characters”, although they still noted that there are “lots of incredible sequences throughout the film”. <a href="https://boxd.it/2ebnQX">Bartolomé was on the same wavelength</a>, using the same “incredible sequences” praise and giving love to Hans Zimmer’s score, while also acknowledging that “character development might not be its forte”. 

<h3>Thirst watch alert </h3>

Character development or not, the one thing it seems everyone can agree on is that this spice has folks thirsty. “oh, to be that table that oscar isaac spat on”, pines <a href="https://boxd.it/2e05yz">Nicole Kubrick</a>, before <a href="https://letterboxd.com/jpat79/">JeffMovieMan hit the comments</a> strong with “Oh to be the floor that Javier Bardem spat on”. <a href="https://boxd.it/2efcMt">David Sims</a> is a bit of a Jason Momoa freak, and <a href="https://boxd.it/2efrbd">Harlequinade is back</a>, regretting her choice of leather pants every time Oscar Isaac shows up on the screen. Perhaps <a href="https://boxd.it/2ecTAf">Rendy Jones sums it up best</a>, not being particularly choosy: “Ugh, everyone in this could get it including the worm”. 

Whether you’re watching for the epic sci-fi action, immense world-building, or “the plot”, Dune is available now in theaters worldwide and on HBO Max. 

—<a href="https://letterboxd.com/Mitchell/">Mitchell Beaupre</a>, East Coast Editor

Spice World: Letterboxd Members Hit the Dunes

Described as one of the most exciting and joyful movies ever made, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s portrait of Pablo Picasso at work focuses on a different kind of suspense — that of artistic creation.<a href="https://boxd.it/2pZQ" rel="nofollow">Le Mystère Picasso</a> is playing as part of The Uncanny Vision of Denis Villeneuve, a selection of past works from the director — along with three films hand-picked by Villeneuve that influenced his latest blockbuster, <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G" rel="nofollow">Dune</a>. Learn more about this series, playing October 15–23 at TIFF Bell Lightbox, at <a href="https://tiff.net/calendar?series=villeneuve&amp;list" rel="nofollow">tiff.net</a><a href="https://tiff.net/calendar?series=villeneuve&amp;list" rel="nofollow">.</a>

Described as one of the most exciting and joyful movies ever made, Henri-Georges Clouzot’s portrait of Pablo Picasso at work focuses on a different kind of suspense — that of artistic creation.

<a href="https://boxd.it/2pZQ">Le Mystère Picasso</a> is playing as part of The Uncanny Vision of Denis Villeneuve, a selection of past works from the director — along with three films hand-picked by Villeneuve that influenced his latest blockbuster, <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G">Dune</a>. Learn more about this series, playing October 15–23 at TIFF Bell Lightbox, at <a href="https://tiff.net/calendar?series=villeneuve&list">tiff.net</a><a href="https://tiff.net/calendar?series=villeneuve&list">.</a>

Denis Villeneuve Introduces Le Mystère Picasso

The film that changed Denis Villeneuve’s life? David Lean’s Academy Award–winning film <a href="https://boxd.it/2wRE" rel="nofollow">Lawrence of Arabia</a>.On October 20, Denis Villeneuve returns to TIFF Bell Lightbox to introduce the second screening of Lawrence of Arabia. The film is playing as part of The Uncanny Vision of Denis Villeneuve, a selection of past works from the director — along with three films hand-picked by Villeneuve that influenced his latest blockbuster, <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G" rel="nofollow">Dune</a>. Learn more about this series, playing October 15–23 at TIFF Bell Lightbox, at <a href="https://tiff.net/calendar?series=villeneuve&amp;list" rel="nofollow">tiff.net.</a>

The film that changed Denis Villeneuve’s life? 

David Lean’s Academy Award–winning film <a href="https://boxd.it/2wRE">Lawrence of Arabia</a>.

On October 20, Denis Villeneuve returns to TIFF Bell Lightbox to introduce the second screening of Lawrence of Arabia. The film is playing as part of The Uncanny Vision of Denis Villeneuve, a selection of past works from the director — along with three films hand-picked by Villeneuve that influenced his latest blockbuster, <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G">Dune</a>. Learn more about this series, playing October 15–23 at TIFF Bell Lightbox, at <a href="https://tiff.net/calendar?series=villeneuve&list">tiff.net.</a>

Denis Villeneuve Introduces Lawrence of Arabia

Director Denis Villeneuve's long-awaited adaptation of <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G" rel="nofollow">Dune</a> finally opens in theaters everywhere this Friday, and will also be available to stream from HBO Max. Critic <a href="https://letterboxd.com/awyatt76/" rel="nofollow">Andrew Wyatt</a> has a review:"Villeneuve's Dune is comparable to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy in this respect: Although perhaps not the “definitive” adaptation that some purists would demand, it has been pragmatically yet smartly reshaped to suit the cinematic medium, while also sparing no expense when it comes to the realization of Herbert’s otherworldly vistas.<a href="https://www.cinemastlouis.org/the-lens/dune" rel="nofollow">Read on at CSL's The Lens.</a>

Director Denis Villeneuve's long-awaited adaptation of <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G">Dune</a> finally opens in theaters everywhere this Friday, and will also be available to stream from HBO Max. Critic <a href="https://letterboxd.com/awyatt76/">Andrew Wyatt</a> has a review:

"Villeneuve's Dune is comparable to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy in this respect: Although perhaps not the “definitive” adaptation that some purists would demand, it has been pragmatically yet smartly reshaped to suit the cinematic medium, while also sparing no expense when it comes to the realization of Herbert’s otherworldly vistas.

<a href="https://www.cinemastlouis.org/the-lens/dune">Read on at CSL's The Lens.</a>

Review: 'Dune'

<blockquote>“I was dreaming to do sci-fi since I was a teenager.”</blockquote>With equal parts unguarded emotionalism and complex ideas about time and grief, Denis Villeneuve breaks down his critically acclaimed film <a href="https://boxd.it/aNGk" rel="nofollow">Arrival</a>. Arrival is playing as part of The Uncanny Vision of Denis Villeneuve, a selection of past works from the director — along with three films hand-picked by Villeneuve that influenced his latest blockbuster, <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G" rel="nofollow">Dune</a>. Learn more about this series, playing October 15–23 at TIFF Bell Lightbox, at <a href="https://tiff.net/calendar?series=villeneuve&amp;list" rel="nofollow">tiff.net.</a>

<blockquote>“I was dreaming to do sci-fi since I was a teenager.”</blockquote>

With equal parts unguarded emotionalism and complex ideas about time and grief, Denis Villeneuve breaks down his critically acclaimed film <a href="https://boxd.it/aNGk">Arrival</a>. 

Arrival is playing as part of The Uncanny Vision of Denis Villeneuve, a selection of past works from the director — along with three films hand-picked by Villeneuve that influenced his latest blockbuster, <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G">Dune</a>. Learn more about this series, playing October 15–23 at TIFF Bell Lightbox, at <a href="https://tiff.net/calendar?series=villeneuve&list">tiff.net.</a>

Denis Villeneuve Introduces Arrival

That Shelf's Jason Gorber talks with Canadian auteur Denis Villeneuve, director of <a href="https://thatshelf.com/tag/dune/" rel="nofollow">Dune</a>, about the challenges of bringing the film to life, about finding the right scope for the story, and asking a familiar friend for some help.We also had the chance to speak with <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G" rel="nofollow">Dune</a> star Rebecca Ferguson about playing Lady Jessica, turning Villeneuve into the filmmaking equivalent of a Fremen, and taking an indie approach to this blockbuster epic.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioIuyCmNQVU" rel="nofollow">www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioIuyCmNQVU</a>

That Shelf's Jason Gorber talks with Canadian auteur Denis Villeneuve, director of <a href="https://thatshelf.com/tag/dune/">Dune</a>, about the challenges of bringing the film to life, about finding the right scope for the story, and asking a familiar friend for some help.

We also had the chance to speak with <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G">Dune</a> star Rebecca Ferguson about playing Lady Jessica, turning Villeneuve into the filmmaking equivalent of a Fremen, and taking an indie approach to this blockbuster epic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioIuyCmNQVU

DUNE: Denis Villeneuve and Rebecca Ferguson talk Dune, Guillermo Del Toro and More!

<h3>Festiville editor <a href="https://letterboxd.com/mitchell/" rel="nofollow">Mitchell Beaupre</a> takes us through their <a href="https://letterboxd.com/tiff_net/" rel="nofollow">Toronto International Film Festival</a> experience, a journey that involves single-location Netflix thrillers, Indonesian martial arts romances, and a deeply personal connection with Céline Sciamma’s latest. </h3>Like many, I was a bit gutted that the digital press portal for TIFF ’21 would not include many of the most buzzed titles for this year’s festival. As someone still working remotely from my Delaware home, unable to attend the fest in person, I would have to miss out on some of the titles I have been eagerly awaiting. I always figured that <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G" rel="nofollow">Dune</a> and <a href="https://boxd.it/lbJC" rel="nofollow">Last Night in Soho</a> wouldn’t be options for those attending virtually, but no <a href="https://boxd.it/nlQC" rel="nofollow">Titane</a>? No <a href="https://boxd.it/lEQM" rel="nofollow">The Humans</a>? Crushed. Once I finished licking my wounds, however, a good look through the available lineup revealed plenty of exciting selections on offer. Particularly after the TIFF programmers gave us <a href="https://news.letterboxd.com/post/661734165618819072/the-eyes-of-tiff-2021-preview" rel="nofollow">a dive into some of their own recommendations</a>, my watchlist was overflowing with films from all over the world. Sure, I might still be jealous of the folks who were able to see <a href="https://boxd.it/m99E" rel="nofollow">The Power of the Dog</a> and <a href="https://boxd.it/sv94" rel="nofollow">Drive My Car</a> earlier than others, but we will all get our chances with those films soon enough, and I had more than enough on my plate for ten days at home with TIFF.  <h3><a href="https://boxd.it/p6KI" rel="nofollow">Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash</a> </h3>Directed by Edwin, written by Edwin and Eka Kurniawan Award-winning Indonesian director Edwin made sure I kicked things off with a bang—or, perhaps the absence of one, as the plot of the 1980s-set Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash revolves around a street fighter named Ajo (Marthino Lio) who struggles with erectile dysfunction. Seeing this as a threat to his masculinity, Ajo lashes out violently at the world. This is expressed through the film’s gripping hand-to-hand fight sequences that draw influence from the Hong Kong martial arts films that became popular in Indonesia during the 1980s. While the action, shot in gorgeous 16mm, grabs your attention, what stands out most in Edwin’s film is the beautiful romance between Ajo and Iteung (Ladya Cheryl). They meet courtesy of a fistfight that captures Edwin’s use of violence as a metaphor for sex, bodies colliding one way or another. Vengeance is resonating particularly with Indonesian Letterboxd members, who have highlighted its specific cultural themes. <a href="https://boxd.it/285cKX" rel="nofollow">Reyzando writes</a>, “There’s a complex intersection between violence, sex, love, masculinity, money, and Indonesia’s sociopolitical landscape that the film captures so well”. While echoing those observations, <a href="https://boxd.it/289i2l" rel="nofollow">Daffa praises the film</a> as “a fun, badass, and poetic dive into every character’s journey living in this system while at the same time, fighting against it.” <h3><a href="https://boxd.it/wp1w" rel="nofollow">Saloum</a></h3>Written and directed by Jean Luc HerbulotTitane wasn’t the only film making a big impression in the Midnight Madness section this year. Senagalese genre-bender Saloum, about a trio of mercenaries who crash land in the mysterious Saloum region while on the run with a drug dealer and a bounty of gold, was a hit in Toronto and with viewers at home. Described by Midnight Madness programmer Peter Kuplowsky as “<a href="https://boxd.it/29HQ" rel="nofollow">From Dusk Till Dawn</a> in West Africa”, Saloum takes its influence from many different touchstones of genre cinema, ranging from Westerns to the Korean New Wave. However, <a href="https://boxd.it/a5T" rel="nofollow">when I spoke with director Jean Luc Herbulot</a> before TIFF began, he told me that his biggest challenge making the film was to try and steer clear of his reference points in order to make his own original creation. I’d say he succeeded, as evidenced by the response from audiences who didn’t have a clue what to expect from this constantly shifting thrill ride. <a href="https://boxd.it/28XO1p" rel="nofollow">Courtney invoked</a> Leonardo DiCaprio’s <a href="https://boxd.it/2cCk" rel="nofollow">Django Unchained</a> character when recalling his experience watching the film, stating “Gentlemen, you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention”, while <a href="https://boxd.it/291i9z" rel="nofollow">Jake highlighted</a> the way the film “skillfully weaves from mercenary thriller to supernatural horror with a mixture of visual utilitarianism and opulence worthy of Carpenter”. Whatever you do, don’t be like <a href="https://boxd.it/298FZ3" rel="nofollow">Andrew</a>, who went to the bathroom for five minutes and came back not knowing what the hell was going on. You can’t miss a second of this one. <h3><a href="https://boxd.it/wp0o" rel="nofollow">Attica</a></h3>Directed by Stanley Nelson, co-directed by Traci A. CurryThis year’s documentary selections at TIFF brought a bevy of riches, be they the crowd-pleasing charms of Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s <a href="https://boxd.it/uzNQ" rel="nofollow">Julia</a>, the real-life heroism seen in E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s <a href="https://boxd.it/iEEq" rel="nofollow">Free Solo</a> follow-up <a href="https://boxd.it/wp0I" rel="nofollow">The Rescue</a>, or the quiet power of Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s <a href="https://boxd.it/ponM" rel="nofollow">Flee</a>, one of <a href="https://news.letterboxd.com/post/642684328545009664/best-of-sundance-2021" rel="nofollow">our top picks</a> from this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Out of all the docs premiering at TIFF, the one that stuck with me the most was Stanley Nelson and co-director Traci A. Curry’s Attica, a chronicling of the five-day prison rebellion in upstate New York in 1971. To this day, the largest and deadliest prison rebellion the US has ever seen, the film takes us inside the walls with a mixture of archival footage and interviews with the survivors and family members to educate the world on what really happened. The film aims to lend historical insight to an event that has become most associated with its reference in Sidney Lumet’s <a href="https://boxd.it/29bg" rel="nofollow">Dog Day Afternoon</a>. <a href="https://boxd.it/282UTX" rel="nofollow">Robert points this out in his review</a>, before championing the film for the way it “gives voice to the silent wronged, and illuminates a disaster that still speaks to America’s present-day racial struggles”. <a href="https://boxd.it/284uVn" rel="nofollow">Kaiserbread notes</a> the significance of the film’s release on the 50th anniversary of the rebellion, describing it as “a harrowing documentary that invites viewers to bear witness to the deadly consequences of anti-Blackness, white supremacy, and carcerality”. Attica will be released by Showtime later this year. <h3><a href="https://boxd.it/kOPW" rel="nofollow">The Guilty</a></h3>Directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by Nic Pizzolatto “It’s a somewhat uninteresting watch, doing all the same things but with a softer impact”, <a href="https://boxd.it/29fKzt" rel="nofollow">writes Jacob</a>, not taking too kindly to this American remake of the highly-acclaimed <a href="https://boxd.it/hw9i" rel="nofollow">2018 Danish film</a> of the same name. They saw “some potential in retelling this as an American story”, but found that Antoine Fuqua’s film missed the mark. The Guilty’s appearance at one of the most prestigious film festivals of the year may seem odd to some, but almost every year, the occasional mainstream cinema fare will have a premiere at the festival before soon arriving to general audiences. Fuqua is no stranger to TIFF, as his previous films <a href="https://boxd.it/4TUK" rel="nofollow">The Equalizer</a> and <a href="https://boxd.it/aZAy" rel="nofollow">The Magnificent Seven</a> (another remake) both premiered there before their general releases a few weeks later. The Guilty stars Jake Gyllenhaal as troubled police officer Joe Baylor, whose indiscretions in the field have led to him being shackled to desk duty as a 911 call operator. With wildfires raging in Los Angeles, Joe takes a troubling call that is more than it initially appears to be. Diving head-on into the mystery of what he’s hearing on the other end, Joe’s demons come to the surface as he pushes past any reasonable boundary to try and find redemption in this case.  Fuqua’s 90-minute single-location thriller utilizes the director’s keen stylistic sense, a skill that makes him one of the few remaining workman directors who can pull off a gripping mainstream thriller such as this, but the script from True Detective’s Nic Pizzolatto treads ground that he’s perhaps not the one best suited to cover. Fuqua’s film did find its defenders at the festival. <a href="https://boxd.it/28rw7F" rel="nofollow">For Sara</a>, even though the film “lacked the shock factor” of the original, it nevertheless “manages to keep us wholly invested in this tense, high-stakes rescue”. At the end of the day, <a href="https://boxd.it/28IiXr" rel="nofollow">Spotless hits on</a> the one thing we can all agree on: this is “Another addition to the Jake Gyllenhaal screaming and breaking things universe”. The Guilty is in theaters now, before hitting Netflix on October 1. Our best wishes to <a href="https://boxd.it/28qKRP" rel="nofollow">jonathanfromfujii</a> and their girlfriend. <h3><a href="https://boxd.it/mpss" rel="nofollow">The Survivor</a></h3>Directed by Barry Levinson, written by Justine Juel Gillmer Although everyone <a href="https://boxd.it/28C0Lv" rel="nofollow">can agree with Daniel </a>that “Ben Foster is spectacular” in the latest film from Barry Levinson—the man who brought us <a href="https://boxd.it/2avw" rel="nofollow">Rain Man</a> and <a href="https://boxd.it/29Aq" rel="nofollow">Good Morning, Vietnam</a>—this WWII drama feels like it’s stuck in cinema’s past, and not in a good way. Levinson’s video introduction for The Survivor featured him telling a story from when he was a young boy in the late 1940s, where he discovered that his grandmother’s brother was a survivor of the camps, and suffered from PTSD as a result. It’s clear that the film is a very personal one for him, centered on Harry Haft (Foster), a real-life Auschwitz survivor who was forced to fight fellow inmates in order to survive. Told through multiple timelines via Justine Juel Gillmer’s script, the film struggles to convey the emotion that everyone put into making it, though Foster’s commitment shines through in every scene. Acknowledging that “this feels like the type of film that would have been nominated for 8 Oscars if it was still 1997, or that your dad would switch to TBS to watch on a Sunday afternoon”, <a href="https://boxd.it/28AaTP" rel="nofollow">Nick goes on to say</a>, “it’s incredibly affecting even if you know exactly what button Levinson is about to push”. It certainly has a stacked cast on offer, with Foster joined by Peter Sarsgaard, Danny DeVito, an arguably miscast Billy Magnussen, and Queen of 2021 Vicky Krieps, but I ended up <a href="https://boxd.it/28H3eJ" rel="nofollow">aligning with Kevin</a>, who found that the film “relies way too much on its black and white flashbacks to tell its story. Hurts the emotional beats, hurts the story structure, hurts the pacing”. <h3><a href="https://boxd.it/s6je" rel="nofollow">Petite Maman</a></h3>Written and directed by Céline SciammaSometimes a film comes along that feels like it was made specifically for you, for this exact moment in your life. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to put into words how much Céline Sciamma’s Petite Maman means to me. These days, I try to go into films knowing as little as I possibly can about them. I don’t watch trailers, I don’t read reviews before I see films, and I often will avoid even reading a plot synopsis if it’s something I already know I want to see. Discovering within the first few minutes of Petite Maman that the film is about a young girl named Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) navigating her little world after the passing of her grandmother, I knew I was in trouble. My grandmother, Margaret, died two months ago, after a long, difficult battle with dementia. I live in the United States and that side of my family is in England; I was unable to attend her funeral in person, but was thankfully able to watch it over a live stream. As friends and family spoke about their relationships with Margaret, or Peggy as everyone knew her, they recounted personal experiences that spoke to the kind of woman she was— a proper English lady, always waiting at the door with a cup of tea anytime her granddaughter came for a visit, or the caring soul who treated her son-in-law as if he were her own child. I saw a side of this woman that I personally was never able to experience, and it made me reflect on not only my relationship with her, but my relationships with my own parents, two people I’ve always wished I felt closer to. In Petite Maman, Sciamma opens up these windows for Nelly to see her grandmother and her mother in a way she never could have conceived. Over seventy tender, heartfelt minutes, I felt that this film was speaking directly to me and my experience. The things that I longed for were right there in front of me, and I broke down several times. To take something so personal, as one imagines this film must be for Sciamma, and make it connect with someone to a degree where I felt it was made for me and only me, is the power of great art. As we’ve chronicled this year through the film’s festival appearances at <a href="https://news.letterboxd.com/post/645684373429092352/best-of-berlinale-2021" rel="nofollow">Berlin</a> and <a href="https://boxd.it/9R3" rel="nofollow">Telluride</a>, I’m certainly not the only one who felt this way. <h3><a href="https://boxd.it/l71G" rel="nofollow">One Second</a></h3>Directed by Zhang Yimou, written by Zhang Yimou and Zou JingzhiThe closing film of TIFF ‘21, and the latest from <a href="https://boxd.it/1WlC" rel="nofollow">Raise the Red Lantern</a> and <a href="https://boxd.it/2bcq" rel="nofollow">Hero</a> director Zhang Yimou, has traveled a difficult road to get in front of audiences. Originally set to premiere at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival, One Second was mysteriously pulled days before screening. While the official explanation for the move was that the film had technical difficulties during post-production, speculation began immediately that the Chinese censors were behind the decision.   In the two years since, Zhang reshot sections of the film and added others, with the result being a story that feels partially incomplete, or at the very least, stitched together. While some, like <a href="https://boxd.it/29bob7" rel="nofollow">Clint</a>, could “feel that there’s a grander political bite to this that’s smoothed out into a more general love of cinema and familial connection,” I personally found in an odd way that the film’s themes on the fleeting nature of memory, the desperate need to preserve image on celluloid, and the devastation that comes when those precious moments are gone forever ended up being perhaps even more resonant in One Second’s current form than they may have been previously. It almost feels as if Zhang has taken the treatment of his work from the authorities of his country and fused it into the fabric of the film itself. <a href="https://boxd.it/29iB7h" rel="nofollow">Jared gets it</a>, simply stating that the film was “Created with me (and other projectionists and archivists) in mind”. — <a href="https://letterboxd.com/mitchell/" rel="nofollow">Mitchell Beaupre</a>Pictured: Ladya Cheryl, Marthino Lio and Sal Priadi in ‘Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash’.

<h3>Festiville editor <a href="https://letterboxd.com/mitchell/">Mitchell Beaupre</a> takes us through their <a href="https://letterboxd.com/tiff_net/">Toronto International Film Festival</a> experience, a journey that involves single-location Netflix thrillers, Indonesian martial arts romances, and a deeply personal connection with Céline Sciamma’s latest. </h3>

Like many, I was a bit gutted that the digital press portal for TIFF ’21 would not include many of the most buzzed titles for this year’s festival. As someone still working remotely from my Delaware home, unable to attend the fest in person, I would have to miss out on some of the titles I have been eagerly awaiting. I always figured that <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G">Dune</a> and <a href="https://boxd.it/lbJC">Last Night in Soho</a> wouldn’t be options for those attending virtually, but no <a href="https://boxd.it/nlQC">Titane</a>? No <a href="https://boxd.it/lEQM">The Humans</a>? Crushed. 

Once I finished licking my wounds, however, a good look through the available lineup revealed plenty of exciting selections on offer. Particularly after the TIFF programmers gave us <a href="https://news.letterboxd.com/post/661734165618819072/the-eyes-of-tiff-2021-preview">a dive into some of their own recommendations</a>, my watchlist was overflowing with films from all over the world. Sure, I might still be jealous of the folks who were able to see <a href="https://boxd.it/m99E">The Power of the Dog</a> and <a href="https://boxd.it/sv94">Drive My Car</a> earlier than others, but we will all get our chances with those films soon enough, and I had more than enough on my plate for ten days at home with TIFF.  

<h3><a href="https://boxd.it/p6KI">Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash</a> </h3>

Directed by Edwin, written by Edwin and Eka Kurniawan 

Award-winning Indonesian director Edwin made sure I kicked things off with a bang—or, perhaps the absence of one, as the plot of the 1980s-set Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash revolves around a street fighter named Ajo (Marthino Lio) who struggles with erectile dysfunction. 

Seeing this as a threat to his masculinity, Ajo lashes out violently at the world. This is expressed through the film’s gripping hand-to-hand fight sequences that draw influence from the Hong Kong martial arts films that became popular in Indonesia during the 1980s. While the action, shot in gorgeous 16mm, grabs your attention, what stands out most in Edwin’s film is the beautiful romance between Ajo and Iteung (Ladya Cheryl). They meet courtesy of a fistfight that captures Edwin’s use of violence as a metaphor for sex, bodies colliding one way or another. 

Vengeance is resonating particularly with Indonesian Letterboxd members, who have highlighted its specific cultural themes. <a href="https://boxd.it/285cKX">Reyzando writes</a>, “There’s a complex intersection between violence, sex, love, masculinity, money, and Indonesia’s sociopolitical landscape that the film captures so well”. While echoing those observations, <a href="https://boxd.it/289i2l">Daffa praises the film</a> as “a fun, badass, and poetic dive into every character’s journey living in this system while at the same time, fighting against it.” 

<h3><a href="https://boxd.it/wp1w">Saloum</a></h3>

Written and directed by Jean Luc Herbulot

Titane wasn’t the only film making a big impression in the Midnight Madness section this year. Senagalese genre-bender Saloum, about a trio of mercenaries who crash land in the mysterious Saloum region while on the run with a drug dealer and a bounty of gold, was a hit in Toronto and with viewers at home. Described by Midnight Madness programmer Peter Kuplowsky as “<a href="https://boxd.it/29HQ">From Dusk Till Dawn</a> in West Africa”, Saloum takes its influence from many different touchstones of genre cinema, ranging from Westerns to the Korean New Wave. However, <a href="https://boxd.it/a5T">when I spoke with director Jean Luc Herbulot</a> before TIFF began, he told me that his biggest challenge making the film was to try and steer clear of his reference points in order to make his own original creation. 

I’d say he succeeded, as evidenced by the response from audiences who didn’t have a clue what to expect from this constantly shifting thrill ride. <a href="https://boxd.it/28XO1p">Courtney invoked</a> Leonardo DiCaprio’s <a href="https://boxd.it/2cCk">Django Unchained</a> character when recalling his experience watching the film, stating “Gentlemen, you had my curiosity, but now you have my attention”, while <a href="https://boxd.it/291i9z">Jake highlighted</a> the way the film “skillfully weaves from mercenary thriller to supernatural horror with a mixture of visual utilitarianism and opulence worthy of Carpenter”. Whatever you do, don’t be like <a href="https://boxd.it/298FZ3">Andrew</a>, who went to the bathroom for five minutes and came back not knowing what the hell was going on. You can’t miss a second of this one. 

<h3><a href="https://boxd.it/wp0o">Attica</a></h3>

Directed by Stanley Nelson, co-directed by Traci A. Curry

This year’s documentary selections at TIFF brought a bevy of riches, be they the crowd-pleasing charms of Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s <a href="https://boxd.it/uzNQ">Julia</a>, the real-life heroism seen in E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s <a href="https://boxd.it/iEEq">Free Solo</a> follow-up <a href="https://boxd.it/wp0I">The Rescue</a>, or the quiet power of Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s <a href="https://boxd.it/ponM">Flee</a>, one of <a href="https://news.letterboxd.com/post/642684328545009664/best-of-sundance-2021">our top picks</a> from this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Out of all the docs premiering at TIFF, the one that stuck with me the most was Stanley Nelson and co-director Traci A. Curry’s Attica, a chronicling of the five-day prison rebellion in upstate New York in 1971. To this day, the largest and deadliest prison rebellion the US has ever seen, the film takes us inside the walls with a mixture of archival footage and interviews with the survivors and family members to educate the world on what really happened. 

The film aims to lend historical insight to an event that has become most associated with its reference in Sidney Lumet’s <a href="https://boxd.it/29bg">Dog Day Afternoon</a>. <a href="https://boxd.it/282UTX">Robert points this out in his review</a>, before championing the film for the way it “gives voice to the silent wronged, and illuminates a disaster that still speaks to America’s present-day racial struggles”. <a href="https://boxd.it/284uVn">Kaiserbread notes</a> the significance of the film’s release on the 50th anniversary of the rebellion, describing it as “a harrowing documentary that invites viewers to bear witness to the deadly consequences of anti-Blackness, white supremacy, and carcerality”. Attica will be released by Showtime later this year. 

<h3><a href="https://boxd.it/kOPW">The Guilty</a></h3>

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, written by Nic Pizzolatto 

“It’s a somewhat uninteresting watch, doing all the same things but with a softer impact”, <a href="https://boxd.it/29fKzt">writes Jacob</a>, not taking too kindly to this American remake of the highly-acclaimed <a href="https://boxd.it/hw9i">2018 Danish film</a> of the same name. They saw “some potential in retelling this as an American story”, but found that Antoine Fuqua’s film missed the mark. 

The Guilty’s appearance at one of the most prestigious film festivals of the year may seem odd to some, but almost every year, the occasional mainstream cinema fare will have a premiere at the festival before soon arriving to general audiences. Fuqua is no stranger to TIFF, as his previous films <a href="https://boxd.it/4TUK">The Equalizer</a> and <a href="https://boxd.it/aZAy">The Magnificent Seven</a> (another remake) both premiered there before their general releases a few weeks later. 

The Guilty stars Jake Gyllenhaal as troubled police officer Joe Baylor, whose indiscretions in the field have led to him being shackled to desk duty as a 911 call operator. With wildfires raging in Los Angeles, Joe takes a troubling call that is more than it initially appears to be. Diving head-on into the mystery of what he’s hearing on the other end, Joe’s demons come to the surface as he pushes past any reasonable boundary to try and find redemption in this case. 
Fuqua’s 90-minute single-location thriller utilizes the director’s keen stylistic sense, a skill that makes him one of the few remaining workman directors who can pull off a gripping mainstream thriller such as this, but the script from True Detective’s Nic Pizzolatto treads ground that he’s perhaps not the one best suited to cover. 

Fuqua’s film did find its defenders at the festival. <a href="https://boxd.it/28rw7F">For Sara</a>, even though the film “lacked the shock factor” of the original, it nevertheless “manages to keep us wholly invested in this tense, high-stakes rescue”. At the end of the day, <a href="https://boxd.it/28IiXr">Spotless hits on</a> the one thing we can all agree on: this is “Another addition to the Jake Gyllenhaal screaming and breaking things universe”. The Guilty is in theaters now, before hitting Netflix on October 1. Our best wishes to <a href="https://boxd.it/28qKRP">jonathanfromfujii</a> and their girlfriend. 

<h3><a href="https://boxd.it/mpss">The Survivor</a></h3>

Directed by Barry Levinson, written by Justine Juel Gillmer 

Although everyone <a href="https://boxd.it/28C0Lv">can agree with Daniel </a>that “Ben Foster is spectacular” in the latest film from Barry Levinson—the man who brought us <a href="https://boxd.it/2avw">Rain Man</a> and <a href="https://boxd.it/29Aq">Good Morning, Vietnam</a>—this WWII drama feels like it’s stuck in cinema’s past, and not in a good way. 

Levinson’s video introduction for The Survivor featured him telling a story from when he was a young boy in the late 1940s, where he discovered that his grandmother’s brother was a survivor of the camps, and suffered from PTSD as a result. It’s clear that the film is a very personal one for him, centered on Harry Haft (Foster), a real-life Auschwitz survivor who was forced to fight fellow inmates in order to survive. Told through multiple timelines via Justine Juel Gillmer’s script, the film struggles to convey the emotion that everyone put into making it, though Foster’s commitment shines through in every scene. 

Acknowledging that “this feels like the type of film that would have been nominated for 8 Oscars if it was still 1997, or that your dad would switch to TBS to watch on a Sunday afternoon”, <a href="https://boxd.it/28AaTP">Nick goes on to say</a>, “it’s incredibly affecting even if you know exactly what button Levinson is about to push”. It certainly has a stacked cast on offer, with Foster joined by Peter Sarsgaard, Danny DeVito, an arguably miscast Billy Magnussen, and Queen of 2021 Vicky Krieps, but I ended up <a href="https://boxd.it/28H3eJ">aligning with Kevin</a>, who found that the film “relies way too much on its black and white flashbacks to tell its story. Hurts the emotional beats, hurts the story structure, hurts the pacing”. 

<h3><a href="https://boxd.it/s6je">Petite Maman</a></h3>

Written and directed by Céline Sciamma

Sometimes a film comes along that feels like it was made specifically for you, for this exact moment in your life. I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to put into words how much Céline Sciamma’s Petite Maman means to me. These days, I try to go into films knowing as little as I possibly can about them. I don’t watch trailers, I don’t read reviews before I see films, and I often will avoid even reading a plot synopsis if it’s something I already know I want to see. Discovering within the first few minutes of Petite Maman that the film is about a young girl named Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) navigating her little world after the passing of her grandmother, I knew I was in trouble. 

My grandmother, Margaret, died two months ago, after a long, difficult battle with dementia. I live in the United States and that side of my family is in England; I was unable to attend her funeral in person, but was thankfully able to watch it over a live stream. As friends and family spoke about their relationships with Margaret, or Peggy as everyone knew her, they recounted personal experiences that spoke to the kind of woman she was— a proper English lady, always waiting at the door with a cup of tea anytime her granddaughter came for a visit, or the caring soul who treated her son-in-law as if he were her own child. I saw a side of this woman that I personally was never able to experience, and it made me reflect on not only my relationship with her, but my relationships with my own parents, two people I’ve always wished I felt closer to. 

In Petite Maman, Sciamma opens up these windows for Nelly to see her grandmother and her mother in a way she never could have conceived. Over seventy tender, heartfelt minutes, I felt that this film was speaking directly to me and my experience. The things that I longed for were right there in front of me, and I broke down several times. To take something so personal, as one imagines this film must be for Sciamma, and make it connect with someone to a degree where I felt it was made for me and only me, is the power of great art. As we’ve chronicled this year through the film’s festival appearances at <a href="https://news.letterboxd.com/post/645684373429092352/best-of-berlinale-2021">Berlin</a> and <a href="https://boxd.it/9R3">Telluride</a>, I’m certainly not the only one who felt this way. 

<h3><a href="https://boxd.it/l71G">One Second</a></h3>

Directed by Zhang Yimou, written by Zhang Yimou and Zou Jingzhi

The closing film of TIFF ‘21, and the latest from <a href="https://boxd.it/1WlC">Raise the Red Lantern</a> and <a href="https://boxd.it/2bcq">Hero</a> director Zhang Yimou, has traveled a difficult road to get in front of audiences. Originally set to premiere at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival, One Second was mysteriously pulled days before screening. While the official explanation for the move was that the film had technical difficulties during post-production, speculation began immediately that the Chinese censors were behind the decision.
 
In the two years since, Zhang reshot sections of the film and added others, with the result being a story that feels partially incomplete, or at the very least, stitched together. While some, like <a href="https://boxd.it/29bob7">Clint</a>, could “feel that there’s a grander political bite to this that’s smoothed out into a more general love of cinema and familial connection,” I personally found in an odd way that the film’s themes on the fleeting nature of memory, the desperate need to preserve image on celluloid, and the devastation that comes when those precious moments are gone forever ended up being perhaps even more resonant in One Second’s current form than they may have been previously. 

It almost feels as if Zhang has taken the treatment of his work from the authorities of his country and fused it into the fabric of the film itself. <a href="https://boxd.it/29iB7h">Jared gets it</a>, simply stating that the film was “Created with me (and other projectionists and archivists) in mind”. 

— <a href="https://letterboxd.com/mitchell/">Mitchell Beaupre</a>

Pictured: Ladya Cheryl, Marthino Lio and Sal Priadi in ‘Vengeance Is Mine, All Others Pay Cash’.

Festiville at TIFF: Part 4—Guilt, Vengeance, and Little Mothers

The <a href="https://letterboxd.com/chifilmfest/" rel="nofollow">Chicago International Film Festival</a> has announced <a href="https://boxd.it/dqy34" rel="nofollow">their full lineup</a> for this year’s event, taking place in theaters, drive-ins, and virtually, from October 13—24, 2021. Opening Night for this year’s festival kicks off with Wes Anderson’s long-awaited <a href="https://boxd.it/jLP8" rel="nofollow">The French Dispatch</a> playing at the Music Box Theatre, while Todd Hanyes’ music doc <a href="https://boxd.it/jPXA" rel="nofollow">The Velvet Underground</a> will screen in drive-in format. <a href="https://boxd.it/nrI0" rel="nofollow">C’mon C’mon</a>, the Joaquin Phoenix-starring latest from <a href="https://boxd.it/s2S" rel="nofollow">Beginners</a> and <a href="https://boxd.it/bqU6" rel="nofollow">20th Century Women</a> filmmaker Mike Mills, will serve as the festival’s Centerpiece, hot off its highly acclaimed <a href="https://boxd.it/9Mx" rel="nofollow">Telluride Film Festival debut</a>. Closing Night sees another Telluride premiere hitting the Windy City, with Reinaldo Marcus Green’s drama <a href="https://boxd.it/mJZ2" rel="nofollow">King Richard</a>, about Richard Williams (played by Will Smith), father to Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton), hoping to pick up some more awards buzz. Other titles at the festival include <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G" rel="nofollow">Dune</a>, <a href="https://boxd.it/mQbe" rel="nofollow">The Last Duel</a>, <a href="https://boxd.it/sOP4" rel="nofollow">Parallel Mothers</a>, <a href="https://boxd.it/p2zw" rel="nofollow">A Hero</a>, and plenty more. To see the full lineup, check out <a href="https://boxd.it/dqy34" rel="nofollow">this handy Letterboxd list</a> at <a href="https://letterboxd.com/chifilmfest/" rel="nofollow">the festival’s HQ page</a>. For ticket information, <a href="https://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/festival/" rel="nofollow">visit the festival’s website</a>. — <a href="https://letterboxd.com/Mitchell/" rel="nofollow">Mitchell Beaupre</a>, Festiville Editor (Header image from ‘The French Dispatch’)

The <a href="https://letterboxd.com/chifilmfest/">Chicago International Film Festival</a> has announced <a href="https://boxd.it/dqy34">their full lineup</a> for this year’s event, taking place in theaters, drive-ins, and virtually, from October 13—24, 2021. 

Opening Night for this year’s festival kicks off with Wes Anderson’s long-awaited <a href="https://boxd.it/jLP8">The French Dispatch</a> playing at the Music Box Theatre, while Todd Hanyes’ music doc <a href="https://boxd.it/jPXA">The Velvet Underground</a> will screen in drive-in format. 

<a href="https://boxd.it/nrI0">C’mon C’mon</a>, the Joaquin Phoenix-starring latest from <a href="https://boxd.it/s2S">Beginners</a> and <a href="https://boxd.it/bqU6">20th Century Women</a> filmmaker Mike Mills, will serve as the festival’s Centerpiece, hot off its highly acclaimed <a href="https://boxd.it/9Mx">Telluride Film Festival debut</a>. 

Closing Night sees another Telluride premiere hitting the Windy City, with Reinaldo Marcus Green’s drama <a href="https://boxd.it/mJZ2">King Richard</a>, about Richard Williams (played by Will Smith), father to Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton), hoping to pick up some more awards buzz. 

Other titles at the festival include <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G">Dune</a>, <a href="https://boxd.it/mQbe">The Last Duel</a>, <a href="https://boxd.it/sOP4">Parallel Mothers</a>, <a href="https://boxd.it/p2zw">A Hero</a>, and plenty more. 

To see the full lineup, check out <a href="https://boxd.it/dqy34">this handy Letterboxd list</a> at <a href="https://letterboxd.com/chifilmfest/">the festival’s HQ page</a>. 

For ticket information, <a href="https://www.chicagofilmfestival.com/festival/">visit the festival’s website</a>. 

— <a href="https://letterboxd.com/Mitchell/">Mitchell Beaupre</a>, Festiville Editor 

(Header image from ‘The French Dispatch’)

Full Lineup Announced for 57th Chicago International Film Festival

<h2>We look back on the Canuck's career as we look forward to Dune.</h2>Is it time to crown <a href="http://thatshelf.com/tag/denis-villeneuve/" rel="nofollow">Denis Villeneuve</a> as Canada’s Spielberg? It’s safe to say that this year’s <a href="http://tiff.net/" rel="nofollow">TIFF</a> Ebert Director Award winner is officially Canada’s top director. Denis Villeneuve has catapulted himself to a level of Hollywood filmmaking with a path that’s unmatched by Canadian filmmakers. Although James Cameron crowned himself with blockbusters like <a href="https://thatshelf.com/composers-episode-47-titanic/" rel="nofollow">Titanic</a>, <a href="https://thatshelf.com/black-hole-films-episode-133-the-terminator/" rel="nofollow">The Terminator</a>, and <a href="https://thatshelf.com/avatar-review/" rel="nofollow">Avatar</a>, he didn’t come up through the system in the way that Villeneuve did.The filmmaker from Gentilly, Quebec honed his chops on art house pics and indies. Like many Canadians, he scored one of his first credits through the National Film Board and then dabbled in eccentric art films. His early work, great as it is, hardly anticipates the massive Hollywood budgets of his recent work. What’s so exciting about Villeneuve’s filmography, however, is that it doesn’t leave one feeling jaded about the Hollywood system. He’s still as exciting now as he was in his early career. His artistic vision translated as he began working in English and then in the USA. His films now are just as lean and mean as they were back when his budgets used Canadian Tire money—the difference is simply one of scale.The crew at That Shelf invites readers to join us in celebrating Denis Villeneuve as he gets the TIFF Ebert Director Award one year after Chloé Zhao accepted the honour en route to a Best Director Oscar. (We skipped the anthology film Cosmos, though, simply to focus on his work.) Villeneuve is already the talk of Toronto as his new flick <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G" rel="nofollow">Dune</a> is easily the hottest ticket at the festival. Early word is strong and one can’t help but feel a sense of Canadian pride as Dune touches down and the director’s dreams become a reality. It’s very exciting to think that any up-and-coming Canadian director can now aspire to the same path. - Pat Mullen<a href="https://thatshelf.com/the-films-of-denis-villeneuve-tiff-2021s-ebert-director-winner/" rel="nofollow">Join us at That Shelf as we Villeneuve's films review the auteur's film now</a>...

<h2>We look back on the Canuck's career as we look forward to Dune.</h2>

Is it time to crown <a href="http://thatshelf.com/tag/denis-villeneuve/">Denis Villeneuve</a> as Canada’s Spielberg? It’s safe to say that this year’s <a href="http://tiff.net/">TIFF</a> Ebert Director Award winner is officially Canada’s top director. Denis Villeneuve has catapulted himself to a level of Hollywood filmmaking with a path that’s unmatched by Canadian filmmakers. Although James Cameron crowned himself with blockbusters like <a href="https://thatshelf.com/composers-episode-47-titanic/">Titanic</a>, <a href="https://thatshelf.com/black-hole-films-episode-133-the-terminator/">The Terminator</a>, and <a href="https://thatshelf.com/avatar-review/">Avatar</a>, he didn’t come up through the system in the way that Villeneuve did.

The filmmaker from Gentilly, Quebec honed his chops on art house pics and indies. Like many Canadians, he scored one of his first credits through the National Film Board and then dabbled in eccentric art films. His early work, great as it is, hardly anticipates the massive Hollywood budgets of his recent work. What’s so exciting about Villeneuve’s filmography, however, is that it doesn’t leave one feeling jaded about the Hollywood system. He’s still as exciting now as he was in his early career. His artistic vision translated as he began working in English and then in the USA. His films now are just as lean and mean as they were back when his budgets used Canadian Tire money—the difference is simply one of scale.

The crew at That Shelf invites readers to join us in celebrating Denis Villeneuve as he gets the TIFF Ebert Director Award one year after Chloé Zhao accepted the honour en route to a Best Director Oscar. (We skipped the anthology film Cosmos, though, simply to focus on his work.) Villeneuve is already the talk of Toronto as his new flick <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G">Dune</a> is easily the hottest ticket at the festival. Early word is strong and one can’t help but feel a sense of Canadian pride as Dune touches down and the director’s dreams become a reality. It’s very exciting to think that any up-and-coming Canadian director can now aspire to the same path. - Pat Mullen

<a href="https://thatshelf.com/the-films-of-denis-villeneuve-tiff-2021s-ebert-director-winner/">Join us at That Shelf as we Villeneuve's films review the auteur's film now</a>...

The Films of Denis Villeneuve: TIFF 2021’s Ebert Director Winner

The countdown begins today! With just one week to go until this year’s Toronto International Film Festival kicks off, movie lovers are running out of time to finalize their must-see movie list. Despite a slightly pared-down slate, largely due to COVID-19 restrictions and logistics, there are still close to 200 titles to choose from over the 10 days of screenings. Then there’s the inevitable, yearly dilemma: do you try to see all the buzzed about biggies or set out to discover something completely new and different? There’s definitely plenty of the former including Denis Villeneuve’s <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G" rel="nofollow">Dune</a>, Julia Ducournau’s <a href="https://boxd.it/nlQC" rel="nofollow">Titane</a>, Edgar Wright’s <a href="https://boxd.it/lbJC" rel="nofollow">Last Night in Soho</a>, and Jane Campion’s <a href="https://boxd.it/m99E" rel="nofollow">The Power of the Dog</a>; but likewise, between an inordinately great slate of documentaries (The Rescue, Becoming Cousteau) and an impressive list of contemporary international pieces (Saloum, Snakehead, Întregalde), there’s lots to be found outside the spotlight.The team here at That Shelf has combed through the full schedule and made our must lists. Then we revised them, and revised them again until we’re dreaming about screening dates and times. But now it’s time to commit. So whether it’s a movie with built-in buzz (<a href="https://boxd.it/qPMG" rel="nofollow">Spencer</a>), an under-the radar indie with potential (Learn to Swim), or just something that makes our film-loving hearts flutter (<a href="https://boxd.it/tWaA" rel="nofollow">Night Raiders</a>, <a href="https://boxd.it/mRa2" rel="nofollow">The Electrical Life of Louis Wain</a>, <a href="https://boxd.it/tefG" rel="nofollow">Belfast</a>), here’s what we’re excited to see at TIFF 2021.<a href="https://thatshelf.com/tiff-2021-what-were-most-excited-to-see/" rel="nofollow">Head here for our full list of picks</a>.

The countdown begins today! With just one week to go until this year’s Toronto International Film Festival kicks off, movie lovers are running out of time to finalize their must-see movie list. Despite a slightly pared-down slate, largely due to COVID-19 restrictions and logistics, there are still close to 200 titles to choose from over the 10 days of screenings. Then there’s the inevitable, yearly dilemma: do you try to see all the buzzed about biggies or set out to discover something completely new and different? There’s definitely plenty of the former including Denis Villeneuve’s <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G">Dune</a>, Julia Ducournau’s <a href="https://boxd.it/nlQC">Titane</a>, Edgar Wright’s <a href="https://boxd.it/lbJC">Last Night in Soho</a>, and Jane Campion’s <a href="https://boxd.it/m99E">The Power of the Dog</a>; but likewise, between an inordinately great slate of documentaries (The Rescue, Becoming Cousteau) and an impressive list of contemporary international pieces (Saloum, Snakehead, Întregalde), there’s lots to be found outside the spotlight.

The team here at That Shelf has combed through the full schedule and made our must lists. Then we revised them, and revised them again until we’re dreaming about screening dates and times. But now it’s time to commit. So whether it’s a movie with built-in buzz (<a href="https://boxd.it/qPMG">Spencer</a>), an under-the radar indie with potential (Learn to Swim), or just something that makes our film-loving hearts flutter (<a href="https://boxd.it/tWaA">Night Raiders</a>, <a href="https://boxd.it/mRa2">The Electrical Life of Louis Wain</a>, <a href="https://boxd.it/tefG">Belfast</a>), here’s what we’re excited to see at TIFF 2021.

<a href="https://thatshelf.com/tiff-2021-what-were-most-excited-to-see/">Head here for our full list of picks</a>.

TIFF 2021: What We’re Most Excited to See

<h3>Denis Villeneuve’s much-anticipated retelling of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic stars Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, and Zendaya.</h3>Timothée Chalamet leads a remarkable cast in one of the most anticipated films of the year. Adapting Frank Herbert’s legendary novel for a true big-screen experience, Denis Villeneuve confirms his status as that rarest of artists, a visionary maker of blockbusters. <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G" rel="nofollow">Dune</a> delivers a complete immersion into new, spectacular worlds.Paul Atreides (Chalamet) is heir to the throne that governs the most important planet in the known universe, Arrakis. His father Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) rules Arrakis, but the desert planet’s chief natural resource, a drug nicknamed the spice that gives its users superhuman powers, makes it the target of violent battles and the constant threat of political treachery. House Atreides will need the help of the Fremen people in the desert, but they insist on their own autonomy. The desert has its own predators as well — gargantuan, merciless sandworms. Paul, who has been raised in a bubble of privilege, now stands at the moment when he must prepare himself for leadership and for battle.Villeneuve propels Dune through eye-popping action sequences set against dazzling vistas, always grounding what’s at stake in the emotional lives of his characters. Josh Brolin does terrific work as warrior Gurney Halleck, training Paul for the battles ahead. Rebecca Ferguson plays all the complex nuances of Lady Jessica, a character expanded and given more depth here than in the novel. And just watch Zendaya work in her role as a Fremen desert warrior. From start to finish, Dune is awe-inspiring — and it’s just the beginning.<blockquote>The 46th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 9–18, 2021. Single tickets for all in-person and digital screenings go on sale September 4 for Members and September 6 for the public. Learn more at <a href="http://tiff.net/tickets" rel="nofollow">tiff.net/tickets</a>.</blockquote>

<h3>Denis Villeneuve’s much-anticipated retelling of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi epic stars Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, and Zendaya.</h3>

Timothée Chalamet leads a remarkable cast in one of the most anticipated films of the year. Adapting Frank Herbert’s legendary novel for a true big-screen experience, Denis Villeneuve confirms his status as that rarest of artists, a visionary maker of blockbusters. <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G">Dune</a> delivers a complete immersion into new, spectacular worlds.

Paul Atreides (Chalamet) is heir to the throne that governs the most important planet in the known universe, Arrakis. His father Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac) rules Arrakis, but the desert planet’s chief natural resource, a drug nicknamed the spice that gives its users superhuman powers, makes it the target of violent battles and the constant threat of political treachery. House Atreides will need the help of the Fremen people in the desert, but they insist on their own autonomy. The desert has its own predators as well — gargantuan, merciless sandworms. Paul, who has been raised in a bubble of privilege, now stands at the moment when he must prepare himself for leadership and for battle.

Villeneuve propels Dune through eye-popping action sequences set against dazzling vistas, always grounding what’s at stake in the emotional lives of his characters. Josh Brolin does terrific work as warrior Gurney Halleck, training Paul for the battles ahead. Rebecca Ferguson plays all the complex nuances of Lady Jessica, a character expanded and given more depth here than in the novel. And just watch Zendaya work in her role as a Fremen desert warrior. From start to finish, Dune is awe-inspiring — and it’s just the beginning.

<blockquote>The 46th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 9–18, 2021. Single tickets for all in-person and digital screenings go on sale September 4 for Members and September 6 for the public. Learn more at <a href="http://tiff.net/tickets">tiff.net/tickets</a>.</blockquote>

#TIFF21 Special Event: Denis Villeneuve's Dune

<h3>Editor at Large Dominic Corry takes a look at what the Letterboxd community is most anticipating in the 78th Venice Film Festival. </h3>With a heavyweight line-up announcement right on the heels of a historic Cannes (<a href="https://boxd.it/7w3" rel="nofollow">which Brian Formo amply covered for us</a>), the 78th <a href="https://letterboxd.com/vermelholimao/list/biennale-2021-78th-venice-international-film/" rel="nofollow">Venice International Film Festival</a> is living up to its reputation as the fest that represents the mid-point between bold cinematic visions and big artistic swings from the studios. More so than Cannes, Venice (which launched fourteen years before its French counterpart) can be an effective launching pad for buzz around creatively ambitious films designed for wide audiences. Which makes it the right place for the world premiere of Denis Villeneuve’s new adaptation of <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G" rel="nofollow">Dune</a>, about as big a swing as we’ve seen from the studios in the superhero blockbuster era. Dune will need a lot of buy-in to warrant studio investment in a second film—an especially precarious possibility, as <a href="https://letterboxd.com/director/denis-villeneuve/" rel="nofollow">Villeneuve</a>’s film only covers the first half of Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi classic. There’s no shortage of love for Villeneuve on Letterboxd, so it makes sense that more than 150,000 members have the film on their watchlist. We’ll get the sequel yet, Denis! Edgar Wright is another filmmaker who regularly features highly in Letterboxd rankings, so no surprises that he’s the next director with the most watchlist adds, for his highly anticipated new work <a href="https://boxd.it/lbJC" rel="nofollow">Last Night In Soho</a>. Much excitement in our community for the film that with its <a href="https://letterboxd.com/director/brian-de-palma/" rel="nofollow">Brian De Palma</a>/<a href="https://letterboxd.com/biscottikyle/list/giallo/" rel="nofollow">Giallo</a> vibes and white hot cast (<a href="https://boxd.it/s1Ym" rel="nofollow">The Queen’s Gambit</a>’s <a href="https://letterboxd.com/actor/anya-taylor-joy/" rel="nofollow">Anya Taylor-Joy</a>, <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/old-2021/" rel="nofollow">Old</a><a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/old-2021/" rel="nofollow">’</a>s <a href="https://letterboxd.com/actor/thomasin-mckenzie/" rel="nofollow">Thomasin McKenzie</a>, <a href="https://letterboxd.com/actor/terence-stamp/" rel="nofollow">Terrence freaking Stamp</a>), almost seems specifically designed to tickle the fancy of our members. Someone else there is no shortage of love for around here is Kristen Stewart, starring as Diana, Princess of Wales in <a href="https://boxd.it/d6bu" rel="nofollow">Jackie</a> director Pablo Larraín’s new film <a href="https://boxd.it/qPMG" rel="nofollow">Spencer</a>, which honestly seems like it could go either way. Jackie certainly underwent some critical reassessment following its successful premiere at the 2016 festival. Nevertheless, our watchlist data shows plenty of Letterboxd members are officially anticipating his new effort, and we’re up for the ride.There are also premieres from celebrated auteurs such as Palme d’Or winner Jane Campion (<a href="https://boxd.it/m99E" rel="nofollow">The Power of the Dog</a>, filmed in New Zealand during lockdown, and her first feature film in twelve years), Pedro Almodóvar (<a href="https://boxd.it/sOP4" rel="nofollow">Parallel Mothers</a>), Ana Lily Amirpour (<a href="https://boxd.it/iXY0" rel="nofollow">Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon</a>), and Paul Schrader (<a href="https://boxd.it/nTH0" rel="nofollow">The Card Counter</a>). And that’s really only scratching the surface. Go deeper <a href="https://letterboxd.com/vermelholimao/list/biennale-2021-78th-venice-international-film/" rel="nofollow">here</a>, and keep an eye on Festiville for all your Venice coverage. Biennale Cinema 2021, as it’s also known, will be held from September 1 to 11 on the Lido, with Bong Joon-ho serving as the President of the Jury—a first for South Korea. Last year, <a href="https://boxd.it/lnRy" rel="nofollow">Nomadland</a> picked up the Golden Lion. The year before that, <a href="https://boxd.it/h4cS" rel="nofollow">Joker</a>. So, a field wide open to Director Bong and his jury. Andiamo!

<h3>Editor at Large Dominic Corry takes a look at what the Letterboxd community is most anticipating in the 78th Venice Film Festival. </h3>

With a heavyweight line-up announcement right on the heels of a historic Cannes (<a href="https://boxd.it/7w3">which Brian Formo amply covered for us</a>), the 78th <a href="https://letterboxd.com/vermelholimao/list/biennale-2021-78th-venice-international-film/">Venice International Film Festival</a> is living up to its reputation as the fest that represents the mid-point between bold cinematic visions and big artistic swings from the studios. 

More so than Cannes, Venice (which launched fourteen years before its French counterpart) can be an effective launching pad for buzz around creatively ambitious films designed for wide audiences. 

Which makes it the right place for the world premiere of Denis Villeneuve’s new adaptation of <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G">Dune</a>, about as big a swing as we’ve seen from the studios in the superhero blockbuster era. Dune will need a lot of buy-in to warrant studio investment in a second film—an especially precarious possibility, as <a href="https://letterboxd.com/director/denis-villeneuve/">Villeneuve</a>’s film only covers the first half of Frank Herbert’s iconic sci-fi classic. 

There’s no shortage of love for Villeneuve on Letterboxd, so it makes sense that more than 150,000 members have the film on their watchlist. We’ll get the sequel yet, Denis! 

Edgar Wright is another filmmaker who regularly features highly in Letterboxd rankings, so no surprises that he’s the next director with the most watchlist adds, for his highly anticipated new work <a href="https://boxd.it/lbJC">Last Night In Soho</a>. Much excitement in our community for the film that with its <a href="https://letterboxd.com/director/brian-de-palma/">Brian De Palma</a>/<a href="https://letterboxd.com/biscottikyle/list/giallo/">Giallo</a> vibes and white hot cast (<a href="https://boxd.it/s1Ym">The Queen’s Gambit</a>’s <a href="https://letterboxd.com/actor/anya-taylor-joy/">Anya Taylor-Joy</a>, <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/old-2021/">Old</a><a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/old-2021/">’</a>s <a href="https://letterboxd.com/actor/thomasin-mckenzie/">Thomasin McKenzie</a>, <a href="https://letterboxd.com/actor/terence-stamp/">Terrence freaking Stamp</a>), almost seems specifically designed to tickle the fancy of our members. 

Someone else there is no shortage of love for around here is Kristen Stewart, starring as Diana, Princess of Wales in <a href="https://boxd.it/d6bu">Jackie</a> director Pablo Larraín’s new film <a href="https://boxd.it/qPMG">Spencer</a>, which honestly seems like it could go either way. Jackie certainly underwent some critical reassessment following its successful premiere at the 2016 festival. Nevertheless, our watchlist data shows plenty of Letterboxd members are officially anticipating his new effort, and we’re up for the ride.

There are also premieres from celebrated auteurs such as Palme d’Or winner Jane Campion (<a href="https://boxd.it/m99E">The Power of the Dog</a>, filmed in New Zealand during lockdown, and her first feature film in twelve years), Pedro Almodóvar (<a href="https://boxd.it/sOP4">Parallel Mothers</a>), Ana Lily Amirpour (<a href="https://boxd.it/iXY0">Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon</a>), and Paul Schrader (<a href="https://boxd.it/nTH0">The Card Counter</a>). 

And that’s really only scratching the surface. Go deeper <a href="https://letterboxd.com/vermelholimao/list/biennale-2021-78th-venice-international-film/">here</a>, and keep an eye on Festiville for all your Venice coverage. Biennale Cinema 2021, as it’s also known, will be held from September 1 to 11 on the Lido, with Bong Joon-ho serving as the President of the Jury—a first for South Korea. 

Last year, <a href="https://boxd.it/lnRy">Nomadland</a> picked up the Golden Lion. The year before that, <a href="https://boxd.it/h4cS">Joker</a>. So, a field wide open to Director Bong and his jury. Andiamo!

Lido Dreams: In Anticipation of Venice 2021

Bookworms, rejoice. As we look forward to a safe return to movie theatres in the near future, let’s plan our summer reading list accordingly. The upcoming release schedule has a number of notable film <a href="https://thatshelf.com/tag/adaptation/" rel="nofollow">adaptations</a>. This means that read-the-book-before-seeing-the-movie-nerds like myself have lots to devour for the year ahead. Let’s crack the spine on a good book and get excited for some movies.<a href="https://thatshelf.com/10-upcoming-film-adaptations-to-read-while-social-distancing/" rel="nofollow">Last year’s list</a> actually has several films that were doubly delayed due to the extended lockdowns and production freezes. Add <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G" rel="nofollow">Dune</a>, <a href="https://boxd.it/m0HC" rel="nofollow">Nightmare Alley</a>, and Scarborough to your summer reading list if some of these books don’t tickle your fancy.Here are ten upcoming <a href="https://thatshelf.com/tag/film/" rel="nofollow">film</a> adaptations to beef up your summer reading list before theatres reopen. <a href="https://boxd.it/mQbe" rel="nofollow">The Last Duel</a> by Eric JagerCould 2021 finally be Ridley Scott’s year for Best Director? The <a href="https://thatshelf.com/the-50-best-summer-blockbusters-of-the-21st-century-ranked/" rel="nofollow">Gladiator</a> nominee returns to the world of hot-blooded historical films with The Last Duel. The film recounts the bizarre true story of an epic duel between knight Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and squire Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver). When de Carrouges’ wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer) accuses Le Gris of a violent rape, and no evidence can determine the she said/he said case, a judge orders the mystery solved via trial by combat. The ruse? The men must duel to the death, assuming that God’s hand will guide the virtuous party. The kicker? If Jean loses, Marguerite dies too with under decry that the whole thing’s a lie caused by her wickedness.   The book leaves no ambiguity to what happened, but the case truly captivates as it culminates in the 1386 duel. The nasty and barbarous affair makes clear why it was the final trial of its kind. In perhaps the most novel screenwriting team ever, moreover, Damon reunites Ben Affleck while Nicole Holofcener’s rewrite adds a feminist perspective. The Last Duel is the Ridley Scott/Nicole Holofcener action movie we’ve all been waiting for, baby!   The Last Duel is set for release October 16.  <a href="https://boxd.it/mfNU" rel="nofollow">The Stars at Noon</a> by Denis Johnson<a href="https://thatshelf.com/the-criterion-shelf-claire-denis-bill-forsyth-nadav-lapid/" rel="nofollow">Claire Denis</a> adapts this meditative novel about a young journalist navigating a web of lies during the 1984 Nicaraguan Revolution. The story puts Denis back in White Material territory with a hint of Bastards. Johnson’s book is a simmering thriller with conflicts amplified by colonial tensions. The Stars at Noon promises a sweaty and sexy kind of thriller-that-doesn’t-thrill as most of the book sees the unnamed journalist holed up in seedy motels with a shady Englishman. This book reads the way Denis shoots: unsentimental, yet poetic in its directness. The film will rely heavily on the heat provided by stars Margaret Qualley and Robert Pattinson, but Denis does this is kind of material well. It’s a tale of simmering moments amid an atmosphere of free-flowing unease.   The Stars at Noon is in production. A24 has North American distribution rights.  <a href="https://boxd.it/m99E" rel="nofollow">The Power of the Dog</a> by Thomas SavageFrom the first paragraph, I knew this book suited Jane Campion. Dog begins by describing a bull’s castration in graphic detail. The figurative castration that follows in the subsequent chapters, moreover, is right up her alley. The book tells of two brothers, George and Phil, whose simple ranch life is disrupted when George, the younger and meeker sibling, gets married. He invites his new wife and her teenage son to the ranch and they (naturally) clash with the boorish Phil. The Power of the Dog promises a juicy part for <a href="https://thatshelf.com/interview-benedict-cumberbatch/" rel="nofollow">Benedict Cumberbatch</a>, while Jesse Plemons is perfectly cast and Kirsten Dunst should have a chance to shine as Rose, George’s wife who struggles to adjust to domestic life and Phil’s domineering ways. This book is a thoughtful, meditative cross between a western and a domestic drama with rich characters and no-bullshit prose.   The Power of the Dog will be released by Netflix this year. <a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/house-of-gucci/" rel="nofollow">House of Gucci</a> by Sarah Gay FordenThe glamour! The greed! The murder! The madness! Things get awfully Shakespearean in The House of Gucci. This captivating take on the fashion family dynasty has it all and should be atop every cinephile’s summer reading list. Sarah Gay Forden’s impeccably well-researched and highly readable book recounts the Gucci family’s dramatic rise and fall. There’s backstabbing galore as the Italian clan becomes consumed by the power that popular shoes and chic bags bring.House of Gucci makes this year a double header for director Ridley Scott, too, as he follows the historical drama The Last Duel with this scintillating tale. The film has a stacked cast with Adam Drivers as the ill-fated Maurizio Gucci, Lady Gaga as his jilted wife, Patrizia, and Al Pacino and Jared Leto among the Gucci clan. The film should be quite different from the book, however, with early reports that the story will be told from Patrizia’s perspective and Lady Gaga narrating.Set for a November 24 release. Variety <a href="https://twitter.com/jazzt/status/1403131892539396098" rel="nofollow">recently reported</a> that House of Gucci will not be ready for Venice, so don’t be shocked if it’s not at TIFF too. But that means there’s plenty of time to read it over the summer. It pairs spectacularly with a negroni! Read Pat Mullen's full list here: <a href="https://thatshelf.com/summer-reading-list-10-upcoming-adaptations-for-the-beach-2/" rel="nofollow">thatshelf.com/summer-reading-list-10-upcoming-adaptations-for-the-beach-2/</a>

Bookworms, rejoice. As we look forward to a safe return to movie theatres in the near future, let’s plan our summer reading list accordingly. The upcoming release schedule has a number of notable film <a href="https://thatshelf.com/tag/adaptation/">adaptations</a>. This means that read-the-book-before-seeing-the-movie-nerds like myself have lots to devour for the year ahead. Let’s crack the spine on a good book and get excited for some movies.

<a href="https://thatshelf.com/10-upcoming-film-adaptations-to-read-while-social-distancing/">Last year’s list</a> actually has several films that were doubly delayed due to the extended lockdowns and production freezes. Add <a href="https://boxd.it/fA7G">Dune</a>, <a href="https://boxd.it/m0HC">Nightmare Alley</a>, and Scarborough to your summer reading list if some of these books don’t tickle your fancy.

Here are ten upcoming <a href="https://thatshelf.com/tag/film/">film</a> adaptations to beef up your summer reading list before theatres reopen.


<a href="https://boxd.it/mQbe">The Last Duel</a> by Eric Jager

Could 2021 finally be Ridley Scott’s year for Best Director? The <a href="https://thatshelf.com/the-50-best-summer-blockbusters-of-the-21st-century-ranked/">Gladiator</a> nominee returns to the world of hot-blooded historical films with The Last Duel. The film recounts the bizarre true story of an epic duel between knight Jean de Carrouges (Matt Damon) and squire Jacques Le Gris (Adam Driver). When de Carrouges’ wife, Marguerite (Jodie Comer) accuses Le Gris of a violent rape, and no evidence can determine the she said/he said case, a judge orders the mystery solved via trial by combat. The ruse? The men must duel to the death, assuming that God’s hand will guide the virtuous party. The kicker? If Jean loses, Marguerite dies too with under decry that the whole thing’s a lie caused by her wickedness.
 
The book leaves no ambiguity to what happened, but the case truly captivates as it culminates in the 1386 duel. The nasty and barbarous affair makes clear why it was the final trial of its kind. In perhaps the most novel screenwriting team ever, moreover, Damon reunites Ben Affleck while Nicole Holofcener’s rewrite adds a feminist perspective. The Last Duel is the Ridley Scott/Nicole Holofcener action movie we’ve all been waiting for, baby!
 
The Last Duel is set for release October 16.

 
<a href="https://boxd.it/mfNU">The Stars at Noon</a> by Denis Johnson

<a href="https://thatshelf.com/the-criterion-shelf-claire-denis-bill-forsyth-nadav-lapid/">Claire Denis</a> adapts this meditative novel about a young journalist navigating a web of lies during the 1984 Nicaraguan Revolution. The story puts Denis back in White Material territory with a hint of Bastards. Johnson’s book is a simmering thriller with conflicts amplified by colonial tensions. The Stars at Noon promises a sweaty and sexy kind of thriller-that-doesn’t-thrill as most of the book sees the unnamed journalist holed up in seedy motels with a shady Englishman. This book reads the way Denis shoots: unsentimental, yet poetic in its directness. The film will rely heavily on the heat provided by stars Margaret Qualley and Robert Pattinson, but Denis does this is kind of material well. It’s a tale of simmering moments amid an atmosphere of free-flowing unease.
 
The Stars at Noon is in production. A24 has North American distribution rights.
 

<a href="https://boxd.it/m99E">The Power of the Dog</a> by Thomas Savage

From the first paragraph, I knew this book suited Jane Campion. Dog begins by describing a bull’s castration in graphic detail. The figurative castration that follows in the subsequent chapters, moreover, is right up her alley. The book tells of two brothers, George and Phil, whose simple ranch life is disrupted when George, the younger and meeker sibling, gets married. He invites his new wife and her teenage son to the ranch and they (naturally) clash with the boorish Phil. The Power of the Dog promises a juicy part for <a href="https://thatshelf.com/interview-benedict-cumberbatch/">Benedict Cumberbatch</a>, while Jesse Plemons is perfectly cast and Kirsten Dunst should have a chance to shine as Rose, George’s wife who struggles to adjust to domestic life and Phil’s domineering ways. This book is a thoughtful, meditative cross between a western and a domestic drama with rich characters and no-bullshit prose.
 
The Power of the Dog will be released by Netflix this year.


<a href="https://letterboxd.com/film/house-of-gucci/">House of Gucci</a> by Sarah Gay Forden

The glamour! The greed! The murder! The madness! Things get awfully Shakespearean in The House of Gucci. This captivating take on the fashion family dynasty has it all and should be atop every cinephile’s summer reading list. Sarah Gay Forden’s impeccably well-researched and highly readable book recounts the Gucci family’s dramatic rise and fall. There’s backstabbing galore as the Italian clan becomes consumed by the power that popular shoes and chic bags bring.

House of Gucci makes this year a double header for director Ridley Scott, too, as he follows the historical drama The Last Duel with this scintillating tale. The film has a stacked cast with Adam Drivers as the ill-fated Maurizio Gucci, Lady Gaga as his jilted wife, Patrizia, and Al Pacino and Jared Leto among the Gucci clan. The film should be quite different from the book, however, with early reports that the story will be told from Patrizia’s perspective and Lady Gaga narrating.

Set for a November 24 release. Variety <a href="https://twitter.com/jazzt/status/1403131892539396098">recently reported</a> that House of Gucci will not be ready for Venice, so don’t be shocked if it’s not at TIFF too. But that means there’s plenty of time to read it over the summer. It pairs spectacularly with a negroni!


Read Pat Mullen's full list here: https://thatshelf.com/summer-reading-list-10-upcoming-adaptations-for-the-beach-2/

Summer Reading List: 10 Upcoming Adaptations

protolexus’s diary entry for Dune

ngl I teared up when neo and trinity hands touched. Next on 70mm

slim’s diary entry for Dune

Hype so hot I got sweat rolling down the crack of my ass. More soon on a very special <a href="https://70mmpod.com" rel="nofollow">70mm podcast</a>.

Dany’s diary entry for Dune

I’m just here so I won’t get fined.

Ben Sandberg’s ★★★ diary entry for Dune

A bit of a hollow spectacle, but hard not to be when you have to do this much world building. At least everyone in it is hot.

jwhale’s ★★★★★ diary entry for Dune

For context: Dune is a cultural blind spot for me. I’ve never read the books, seen the 80s movie, or even watched a trailer for this movie. That said, this Dune is an absolute masterpiece. I love that Villeneuve didn’t insult my intelligence with a lot of exposition. He just dropped me into a fully realized world and trusted his storytelling. I was just finding my footing as the characters on screen were losing their’s. Real narrative magic. Then you add in  the incredible score and production design. Perfection.

junkipenguin’s ★★★★ diary entry for Dune

Visuals on this were amazing. Getting so much out of a literal desert world was intense. Great acting by the cast. Everything felt big.

Art’s ★★★★ diary entry for Dune

Fantastic. So great to see old school, big vision, capital M moviemaking up on the screen. There’s an indie labor of love quality radiating off of this, realized with supersized budget, but the passion project ethos is still clearly its core DNA. Enormous care was taken here and it’s evident in every frame. Much of that care is center stage in great performances, good effects, etc., but so much is also lurking in the background, reflected by almost every physical object made for the movie. Furniture, doors, floors, walls, fabrics, clothing etc etc. Feels like there’s gotta be hours of LOTR dvd style appendices to reveal all the planning.  Let’s hope. This is one of those beautiful movies that is a gift because it will be a visual treat to watch again and again. I also respected the screenwriting because it succeeded in bringing total clarity to a dense story. It was never confusing or convoluted. The book, which I struggled with in parts, is well served here by good storytelling; I t’s been expertly adapted for the screen. The only impediment that holds it back from being absolute all timer is the stoic, emotionally cold vibe I got from it. Call me basic, but you want to pull off a five banger then you’ve got to pluck a couple of my heart strings. This didn’t do that like Arrival or even BR2049 did for me. Yes, this is a different kind story from those, with a bigger canvas — and I know we’re playing a long game with these characters — but thinking back, did any character emote anything other than very well acted grit, resolve, and maybe anxiety? I was thrilled and wowed watching this, but never quite moved by it. I am optimistic Part 2 will bring the feels this one scrimped on. Perhaps I’ll pick up on some I may have missed when I rewatch at home soon. Very excited to revisit Zimmer's score, which was awesome and penetrating.  In all, it’s a massive achievement. I’m glad things like this can still get made.

stephen frías’s ★★★★★ diary entry for Dune

groogruxdave’s ★★★★★ diary entry for Dune

Who am I kidding. This was legit bonkers good.

jonesylovesbeer’s ★★★★★ diary entry for Dune

Is this the most perfectly cast movie of all time? Oscar Isaac's beard was a vision. This is the film the Dune fans have been waiting for and deserve. Cheers to Denny.

WLattner’s ★★★★★ diary entry for Dune

Elena: “Ok that was pretty good.”Watched it at home this time, could have been worse but obviously see it in theaters if at all possible.

Game changer. Absolute masterpiece. Perfect cast, amazing effects, best production design of all time (not hyperbole), stunning score… pretty much every aspect of this movie is unparalleled. Very much feels like a part 1 obviously, my theater was packed so here’s hoping part 2 is confirmed in the next few days. I was way too attracted to Rebecca Ferguson.

Tyler’s ★★★★½ diary entry for Dune

Denis “No Misses” Villeneuve. This is what a movie with this size budget should look and feel like, and we are all for worse that big blockbuster filmmaking doesn’t treat us like adults like Dune does. It’s Straight up a crime they haven’t started making part 2. It’s always a gamble to split a movie into two parts, but they make it feel both fulfilling and keep you wanting to continue the story. High marks all around.

Ty McGowen’s ★★★★½ diary entry for Dune

Snorting the spice straight to the dome

This is only the beginning. My Chalamet stock I bought way back when is lookin pretty damn good right now.

remnant’s ★★★★ diary entry for Dune

2021 Watches #443While I prefer the original Dune movie with Kevin Bacon and the people of Perfection, Nevada… wait, you’re saying this joke is overused? Okay okay.This movie might be the reason why imax/btx/ whatever the hell makes theaters Xtra Loud should continue existing (at least until we get a real Pacific Rim 2). I can see why people are memeing about Hans Zimmy going off on the score - it’s pretty damn good! Lots of stylistic choices that paid off with the score, for me.Again with the imax/btx/whatever, the movie is gorgeous. The ship designs are out of this world (haha!) and the action sequences were played well enough. And sorry to sidetrack, but did Paul’s vision of him leading the Fremen against the Imperial baddies make anyone else wish Denis got his hands on Battle Angel Alita? Really reminded me of the brief sequence where Alita remembers her past life. Not sure how I felt about all the Zendaya visions. They were good at convincing me that yes, I would like to wander the desert with Zendaya but otherwise it often ruined the flow for me. I’m hit or miss with Timothy. If I didn’t see this is in a Xtra Loud mode theater, and instead watched it at home, it’d probably be a 3.5 for me? That’s assuming I’d probably miss some of the subtitles, which lingered around as much as a the person you brought back from a bar who then sees you without the beer goggles the next morning. A good advertisement for the book though! Maybe I should open the copy I’ve had on my coffee table for 8ish months. Feel like I’ll prefer the inevitable Part 2 (if there isn’t a Part 2 this movie is going to be a massive joke that looks and sounds really good).Can someone make time in my schedule so I can see this again in BTX to reevaluate?

Matthew Zavala’s ★★½ diary entry for Dune

Honestly haven't been this disappointed by a movie in a while. About an hour of this could have been shaved off to make room for, oh I don't know, the rest of the movie? When has breaking things up into two parts like this ever worked? When things were actually happening, it was exhilarating, but those moments are narrowly sprinkled between exposition we've already heard and visions of the future, which are likely just scenes of what we will get in part 2. Which begs the question, WHY NOT JUST MAKE THIS ONE BIG MOVIE. You already have a good chunk of it in here through visions, just trim the fat and make a big, bad ass 3 hour epic. Part 2 will likely be amazing, as many Part 2's are, but Part 1, LIKE EVERY OTHER PART ONE EVER MADE (minus Kill Bill Vol. 1), is a dud.The sand worms were cool though ☺️

Luka’s ★★★★½ diary entry for Dune

shatterball’s ★★★★★ diary entry for Dune

<blockquote>“A great man doesn’t seek to lead. He’s called to it.”</blockquote>The greatest big budget studio film of the last four years.(It would have been the last five years, but then you hit Villeneuve‘s last movie.)

Forrest’s ★★★★ diary entry for Dune

Watched the way lord Denis intended, from my bathtub.Ending was not it for me after an incredible journey. Felt like a 2.5 hour opening act, but a damned incredible opening act. Holy S the visuals, characters, acting, and music are just incredible. If/When Dune 2 happens, I can easily see revising this up to 5.We must protect Rebecca Ferguson at all costs.

doubble’s ★★★★ diary entry for Dune

Ben Jessup’s ★★★★½ diary entry for Dune

Denis the menis does it again. From Arrival to BR2049 and now Dune, Villeneuve just knows how to deliver a sci-fi experience.  The visuals, score and sound design just about perfectly suit what I want to see in a film. Especially on a big screen with the sound at a slightly unreasonable volume (thanks Alamo). A few nitpicks with writing and acting (and maybe casting?) really rubbed me the wrong way but I need to rewatch soon and see if that changes. A lot of the story felt rushed but I also heard someone say while walking out of the theater: “was that movie three and a half hours long?” I wish it was.

bekschex’s ★★★★★ diary entry for Dune

Truly surprised by Jason Momoa in this. The pace was so on point, nothing felt rushed. I know I’ll come back and write more, but let me just say that the costume and design in this movie may be my favorite thing about it. Really a spectacle.

anna ghoul’s ★★★★½ diary entry for Dune

imo, the best outcome of an adaptation of a known or loved property is getting a newcomer on board and excited to dive into that universe, and i'm about ready to throw on one of those fremen outfits and wander around some sand. i was worried about getting lost in the sauce, especially half-awake in the morning, but denis took my hand and showed me the world, ALADDIN style.watched with subtitles first so i can just soak in the visual/auditory experience in a theater.

Alex Bertoni’s ★★★★★ diary entry for Dune

inject this directly into my veins.

🦖Kenneth🦕’s diary entry for Dune

Zoinked out of my gourd watching this on the largest IMAX in the country was a transcendent experience. Thanks DunePod.A film too vast and overwhelming to digest from a single watch. Thrilled to see it again ASAP and get some thoughts down.

RAY’s ★★★★½ diary entry for Dune

PopFenton’s ★★★★½ diary entry for Dune

The creative force required by Denis and crew to compress so much of this story into a lean… 155 minutes… for the first half. Some minor pacing issues as some pieces of the story needing abridged to fit the overall narrative in this medium. It is every bit the cinematic spectacle and experience.

GabbVautour’s ★★★★★ diary entry for Dune

Merci Denis 🙏🏻Easy 5 stars, checks all the boxes. Probably my favourite experience watching a movie in theatres. I had full body chills multiple times. MasterpieceCan’t wait to watch this again and waiting for part 2 is going to be painful

Conan 👻🎃💀’s ★★★★★ diary entry for Dune

To the guy asking what I thought of Dune while I was trying to pee: It's great and I really like it. Please wash your hands next time.