News

The following reviews of

festival films are by Marsha Lederman and Mark Peranson. Films are rated out of four stars.

screenING TODAY

To Die Like a Man

Joao Pedro Rodrigues (Portugal/France)

****

Set in Lisbon's flourishing drag-queen demimonde during the late 1980s, Joao Pedro Rodrigues's latest foray into the gay body politic is a sensitive and transfixing look at Tonia (Fernando Santos), a veteran transsexual under pressure from her junkie boyfriend to make her adopted gender something permanent. At the same time, she is stricken by an illness, and the impending end causes the Catholic Tonia to confront her fate (and her relationship with her son). Completely eschewing spectacle, Rodrigues achieves moments of pure magic. To Die Like a Man retains the feel of a kind of melodramatic 1950s musical, with Fassbinder-like melancholy replacing camp. M.P.

Granville 7: Today, 8:45 p.m.; Oct. 7, 2:30 p.m.

We All Fall Down

Kevin Stocklin (USA)

**

Making movies may be new to Kevin Stocklin, but the New Yorker is covering familiar territory. A former Wall Street banker, Stocklin lost his job in the months leading up to last year's market crash. Now he's made a film that explains what went wrong. Ever heard of securitization? This is the area where Stocklin once worked, and the practice he says was at the very core of the economic meltdown. Also to blame: bogus home appraisals, NINJA loans (No Income, No Job, no Assets) and a lot of greed. Stocklin's explanatory and critical look at the mess is enlightening and often entertaining, but the film gets a little bogged down at times with the details of the lessons the audience is supposed to learn. This crisis has produced no shortage of dramatic outcomes - and Stocklin does incorporate some of these horror stories - but overall this film feels like more of a lecture than a narrative. M.L.

Pacific Cinémathèque: Today, 10:45 a.m.; Granville 7: Oct. 12, 7:15 p.m.

COMING SOON

Facing Ali

Pete McCormack (Canada)

****

This exceptional film, based on the book by Globe and Mail journalist Stephen Brunt, traces the career of the great Muhammad Ali through the eyes of ten of his opponents, including Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Larry Holmes and Leon Spinks. Beautifully edited, McCormack weaves archival footage of the bouts with his present-day interviews, Ali's opponents essentially providing the play-by-play for their long-ago fights (and re-enacting some of the moves they tried out against Ali). Each of these fighters has a story to tell - not just about Ali, but about themselves. Toronto fighter George Chuvalo is particularly articulate and colourful - and provides the film's most sombre moment. McCormack has also dug up unforgettable footage of the often heated pre-fight press conferences. It's impossible not to fall for the young, outspoken Ali's charisma - or this film. If you're prepared to dismiss this because you don't care for boxing, don't. This smart, innovative documentary is a knock-out. M.L.

Granville 7: Oct. 8, 9:30 p.m.; Oct. 9, 12 p.m.

Reporter

Eric Daniel Metzgar (USA)

***½

It's easy to be overwhelmed by the great contemporary tragedies of Africa - the wars, the starvation, the disease - and shrug your shoulders, thinking it's impossible for one person to make a difference. Unless, perhaps you're Nick Kristof. The New York Times columnist has worked tirelessly to publicize the suffering he has encountered in troubled places around the world - and he has the Pulitzers to prove it. This documentary (Ben Affleck is executive producer) follows Kristof into the Congolese jungle where he will meet with a rebel warlord and where he will try to save a starving woman's life. Kristof's cool demeanour, his compassion and his willingness to do more than just write the story make him an admirable subject. Unfortunately, the viewer never really gets to know the man behind the notebook. Still, this is a beautiful and horrifying documentary about so much more than journalism, but which certainly every journalist should see. M.L.

Pacific Cinémathèque: Oct. 13, 6:45 p.m.