Day 1 TIFF

Two movies: Retrieval, Borat

Funny story about Borat. As many of you know Borat was rescheduled due to projector broke down, and so they reschedule this screening to Friday at the Elgin. Since I was not at the Thurs screening, I was busy trying to score tickets. I called the festival box office around 11 or so, and they say there is no additional tickets and then around 2 or so, someone said that they will be limited additional tickets. I called back and was on hold forever, and I can't find tickets online. Wait I finally spoke to someone, she told me it's all sold out.

So I was pretty bummed out, for missing a chance to see Borat. I go back on line an hour later just to see if they have anything there, and Borat 11:59 showing at the Elgin was on screen and so I clicked to buy two tickets and somehow got it.

Anyway, on to the movies:

1) Retrieval.
Very familiar story. A young man Wojtek is desperate for cash, he quit his job in the concrete factory after seeing a coworker falling from the well. He loved his girlfriend Katja, who is an illegal immigrant from Ukraine, with a son named Andriy. Wojtek is a boxer and somehow got recruited as a bouncer/mobster/security guard for a mob boss named Gazda.

Wojtek doesn't have the stomach for this kind of job even though he is pretty good at it. Also, the money is so good that he can't turn it down until Katja found out and wants him to stop.

Even though the movie treads familiar territory, it can still be engaging and the performances are very strong especially from Antoni Pawlicki, who played Wojtek. However, the entire third act needs a rewrite, and in fact there is no ending here. I don't mind unconventional endings and stuff, but this one feels unfinished. The first reaction I have was that the director didn't have enough money to finish the film. I can't quite recommend this film, even though there is good stuff here. Grade: C

2) Borat
When Borat comes out in Nov, go and see it. It's the best movie of the year and the best of the festival (I know it's only two days, but I will declare it anyways, until some other film can top this).

There is not much story here. Borat is a journalist for a state run television station for Kazakhstan, and he is being sent to the US to report on the greatest country in the world. While he was in New York, Borat watched Baywatch on TV and become smitten with Pamela Anderson, so he journeys all the way from New York to LA.

This film is definitely not for everyone. It can be very offensive and sometimes pretty gross. But I didn't stop laughing. I don't remember the last time I laugh this hard. I was laughing so hard, that my throat hurts and I have problems breathing. I am not going to spoil the jokes here, you have to go see it yourself.

Sometimes we don't give comedy its due, especially something like Borat. It doesn't pretend to have a romance or an important lesson, it just try to make us laugh, and it did so sucessfully. David Poland was right, this is a masterpiece. Grade: A+