Touted as his first English language film, Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai’s (IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, HAPPY TOGETHER) MY BLUE BERRY NIGHTS is a pensive moody film that follows Elizabeth’s (Nora Jones) struggle for love as she finally settles down with café owner, Jeremy (Jude Law).  In the process, Wong takes his audience across a rather boring North American cross country ride where she meets another other couple (David Strathairn and Rachel Weisz) and a card player (Natalie Portman).

THE BABYSITTERS has the best dialogue line so far of all the films at TIFF.  “Hurry up so you can wait for me!” is how husband Michael (John Leguizamo) would title his wife’s biography.  Director David Ross makes an impressive feature debut about a group of babysitters led by an enterprising Shirley (Katherine Waterston) that turns work into prostitution because at $200 a pop, the easy money pays the bills.  The film works primarily because Leguizamo makes the perfect dirty husband, all nice and well behaved in front of the missus, but cracking snide remarks and screwing the babysitter and Waterston the ideal MEAN GIRL.  If not for anything else, the two are a pleasure to watch. 

Based on Margaret Laurence’s best selling novel and directed by upcoming Canadian director Kari Skogland (the little seen SIZE OF WATERMELONS), THE STONE ANGEL centres on Hagar Shipley (Ellen Burstyn).  The film begins as fiercely as Hagar is feisty.  Ageing Hagar is brought to a nursing home against her wishes by her son Marvin (Dylan Baker) and daughter-in-law (Sheila McCarthy).  She escapes as director Skogland reveals her life through flashbacks with other actresses portraying Hagar at various stages of her life.

It has been a long wait for another film from Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore after his successful CINEMA PARADISO and EVERBODY’S FINE.  Following several flops such as the epic STORY OF 1900 and MALENA, AN UNKNOWN WOMAN is a worthy return of a director known for his sentiment, nostalgia and melodramatics.  AN UNKNOWN WOMAN contains elements of his past films, but at least Tornatore is in more control in his story of a woman with a terrible abused past.

Filmmaking writer/director Wachowski Brothers (Andy and Larry) take the kids family film to a new cheesy high – and that is not necessarily a bad thing.  Looking back at their successful MATRIX movies, the trilogy was nothing more than glossy high stylized cheesiness.  Even the Christina Ricci character bears an uncanny resemblance to the Jennifer Tilly lesbian heroine in their first crime hit BOUND.