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Toronto Film Fest: Hot Foxx, lightfooted Spacey

By Moira Macdonald
Seattle Times movie critic

XIAO YAN / SONY CLASSICS Zhang Ziyi in director Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers."

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TORONTO — The Toronto International Film Festival is in full swing, with movies and schmoozing around the clock in this sunny city, which for 10 days in September becomes the center of the film universe. Serious cinema and movie-star glamour mingle comfortably here — over the weekend, if you wished, you could watch the new Godard film ("Notre Musique"), or you could stroll down to the red carpet outside the Roy Thomson Theater and join the teenagers screaming for Orlando Bloom. (Variety reported that about 1,000 teens shrieked for 45 minutes Saturday, while the gallant Bloom, here with the thriller "Haven," signed autographs and accepted fan tributes. Elfmania, perhaps?)

The above notwithstanding, this year's celeb quotient does seem down a notch — Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Dustin Hoffman and Jamie Foxx are in town, but Charlize Theron, Al Pacino and (reportedly) Scarlett Johansson canceled. No matter; there's plenty of star power on screen, with the opening weekend featuring several dramas about real-life luminaries.

The films

Taylor Hackford's "Ray," written by James L. White, traces the early career (including a brief stint in an unrecognizable Seattle) and personal struggle of soul-music legend Ray Charles. Though it feels overlong and plodding in places, "Ray" is repeatedly uplifted by Charles' marvelous music and by a detailed, moving performance by Foxx at its center. This young actor gets better with every movie, and Toronto papers are full of Oscar talk for this role.

Foxx, of course, didn't perform the music; "Ray" uses a wealth of tracks from the master himself. "Beyond the Sea," Spacey's Bobby Darin biopic, takes a different tack: Spacey does his own singing — and, yes, does it quite well. (And yes, to answer the other ubiquitous question, he does look a tad too old for the role.) The movie borders on schmaltz, but has many pleasures, among them: Spacey's swinging big-band tunes, a few brief capital-M-for-Musical dance numbers, and the joy of seeing an actor who has been stuck in a deadpan groove exhibit spark, energy and lightfooted grace.

Toronto International Film Festival Runs through Sept. 18. For information, go to www.e.bell.ca/filmfest. See the Northwest Life section Thursday and next Monday for more festival reports.

A less flashy but even more satisfying real-people story is Walter Salles' lovely "The Motorcycle Diaries," which follows a young Che Guevara (Gael Garcia Bernal) and his friend Alberto Granada (Rodrigo de la Serna) on a road trip across South America. The landscape becomes a character as the men are gradually changed by their journey, and the film's final scene is a haunting gift to the audience, gently revealing the passage of time.

In the fictional realm, one of the festival's hottest tickets is "House of Flying Daggers," the dazzling new historical epic from Zhang Yimou (whose similarly themed "Hero" is currently cleaning up at American box offices). Set during the Tang Dynasty in China in 859 A.D., "House" goes "Hero" one better: It has a compelling story, as well as stunning visuals. The beautiful Zhang Ziyi shows off her ballerina grace as Mei, a blind dancer/swordswoman. Yimou's eye for color is as sharp as ever here, especially during a mesmerizing dance sequence as Mei swirls her coral robes within a circle of flowered drums — and the flying daggers of the title are, of course, perfection.

The fun

Outside of the theaters, some things about TIFF never change, such as the lecture you get when you register at the press office. Each visiting journalist is given an unremarkable-looking document called the Press & Industry Screening Schedule, and a firm warning about what will happen if we lose it: We absolutely, positively can't have another one.

There isn't much romance here among the press corps at TIFF, from what I can tell — we're not really dressed for it, and most of us seem too cranky in the mornings anyway — but I like to imagine long-term relationships (or sizzling affairs) blossoming among my colleagues, the sparks of which begin as one person shyly offers to lend a precious screening schedule.

And it's becoming increasingly difficult to imagine this festival existing without cellphones, as mysterious one-sided conversations form a background blur both in and out of the theaters.

Best overheard cellphone non-sequitur so far: A woman, old enough to know what's what, strode authoritatively past me yesterday while saying quite decisively into her mobile, "I have my lip gloss." Well, thank goodness.

There's much more to come at the festival: Thursday's report will include Alexander Payne's road movie "Sideways," David O. Russell's existential comedy "I [Heart] Huckabees," an assortment of delicious documentaries (including what must be the best film ever made for $218), an update on acquisitions and other tidbits, including the Kate Bosworth Entourage. Stay tuned.

Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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