Alternative TIFF 2010 Picks: #1. Koen Mortier’s 22nd of May

Date:

#1. 22nd of May

Director: Koen Mortier
Cast: Sam Louwyck, Titus De Voogdt, Norman Baert, Wim Willaert, Jan Hammenecker
Distributor: Rights Available.

BuzzIt’s a major coup that TIFF managed to land the world premiere to this sampling of dystopian madness. From the ultra talented creator behind Ex Drummer (which was shown at TIFF in 2007 and its charged content probably sent a couple of patrons out the doors early), the mind blowing trailer below only demonstrates that Mortier’s packed tool box contains some gnarly heavy duty visual tricks.   

The Gist: Sam wakes up, gets ready and goes to do his daily job. And then the unexpected happens. A bomb explodes in the center of the shopping mall where he works. He drags himself towards the entrance to save the victims. One by one he pulls them out, until something terrible takes place. In complete hysteria he runs off till he falls down from exhaustion. A woman’s voice makes him raise his head. She’s one of the victims he saved. She wants to know why the suicide bomber did it. This encounter projects him back in history and even in a surreal world. Thereafter he runs into everyone he saved and feels that their defeat shows many parallels with his own. Even his confrontation with the wrongdoer isn’t that straightforward as he thought it would be and confronts him with the fact that guilt and innocence can be pretty much alike.

TIFF ScheduleMonday September 13 6:45:00 PM AMC 7
Tuesday September 14 7:00:00 PM AMC 7
Saturday September 18 3:00:00 PM AMC 10

 

Eric Lavallée
Eric Lavalléehttps://www.ericlavallee.com
Eric Lavallée is the founder, CEO, editor-in-chief, film journalist, and critic at IONCINEMA.com, established in 2000. A regular at Sundance, Cannes, and Venice, Eric holds a BFA in film studies from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. In 2013, he served on the narrative competition jury at the SXSW Film Festival. He was an associate producer on Mark Jackson’s "This Teacher" (2018 LA Film Festival, 2018 BFI London). He is a Golden Globes Voter, member of the ICS (International Cinephile Society) and AQCC (Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma).

Share post:

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Popular

More like this
Related

Only the Lonely: Ulrich Seidl Travels to Dark Tourism Places with ‘Distances’

The folks art Cineuropa are giving us a major...

History Repeating Itself: Magnus von Horn Train Hops with Jeremy Strong in ‘The Passenger’

Hopefully at some point it'll lose the over-used, generic...

2026 Rathaus Film Grant Winners: Paisley Sutton, Rachel Debolski & Bree Gant

Rathaus Films have announced the winners of the third...

TorinoFilmLab’s FeatureLab 2026: Daniel Soares, Luis De Filippis & Catarina Vasconcelos Among Ten Projects

Canadian filmmaker Luis De Filippis and Portuguese filmmakers Catarina...