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Interview: Alejandro Landes (Porfirio)
Every year, about a week after Cannes' Competition and Un Certain Regard line-ups are unveiled, the Directors Fortnight throws down a list of another 20 to 25 films, and the world instantly meets and greets some of the biggest names of the next few decades. Alejandro Landes and his debut fiction film Porfirio had been on our radar ever since Sundance announced the film would be a part of their June 2009 Directors Lab slate, but we can't say we were prepared for the level of mastery and finesse that the Colombian newcomer was going to unleash on the Croisette this past May.
Nature, Grace, Period: Malick Retro Opens at Toronto’s Lightbox
Toronto's TIFF Bell Lightbox will be presenting a full retrospective on American filmmaker Terrence Malick commencing June 4, leading up to the Canadian premiere of his newest film, the Palme d'Or-winning The Tree of Life, as it hits Toronto theatres on June 10. Of course, a 'full' retrospective on Malick will consist of only a mere five films - the same number as TIFF's 'New Auteurs' filmmakers Denis Côté and Kelly Reichardt.
Review: Porfirio
Layered and haunting, Landes' first non-documentary feature shows tons of promise. It surfaces at a time when fiction/documentary hybrids are making a lot of noise on the festival circuits (they seem especially popular in South America, such as Alamar and Paraguayan Hammock, to name a couple). Porifiro isn't necessarily a giant leap forward in the format, but it is a solid entry, and will be frequently revisited if/when Landes' next few films gain him some notoriety.
Porfirio | Review
Landes' Strong Second Feature Wheels Along the Fine Line Between Documentary and Fiction
Review: Jeanne captive (The Silence of Joan)
If the story of Joan of Arc needed to be told again, is it too much to ask that it function on some level of entertainment, or perhaps some extreme deconstruction of previous efforts? This newest entry in the arsenal of Arc tales leaves no mark on those films, nor the viewer, and is entirely superfluous.
