9-13-2002: DAY *SNEEZE* EIGHT

I'm going to have to be more brief than usual Disclaimer: I am writing this tonight through the haze of decongestant medication (the post-festival sickness seems to be kicking in a few days early this year), so it may wind up a little more incoherent and a lot more ramble-y than usual. Which, I suppose, could also make it unexpectedly entertaining (or mind-numbingly dull) should my slowly clearing sinuses come with some delightful side effects.

Anyway...

Just so you know: I'm still not over the whole Mouthy Martha thing from yesterday. It kept me up last night, seething, and I was keeping an eye out for her today... ready to somehow and in some way make her moviegoing experiences today decidedly unpleasant. Word of her monumentally obnoxious behavior has spread from line to line and theater to theater, by the way. My smear campaign is working! Mwahahahahaaaa!

Today was the second-last day of the illustrious Toronto International Film Festival, and the wound-up mood of the past week is definitely being replaced by a mellow, wind-down mode. Crowds are noticably smaller, screenings are emptier and there aren't quite as many industry folks strolling around town with the credentials flapping in the breeze. People are t-i-r-e-d. You wouldn't think sitting in theaters all day long could be draining, but it really is.

My first screening of the day, The Three Marias, was a perfect example of impact of the above atmosphere. The theater still had 300 (!) tickets available when they opened the doors. No one seemed particularly excited to be going in, and the movie - about three sisters in Brazil who set out to avenge the murders of their father and brothers - was met with polite, but subdued, applause when it ended. Of course, that might also be due to the fact that the movie wasn't all that great.

I had a three-hour break between films, so I actually managed to trek home for a bit of a rest... and to load up on vitamin C, echinacea tea and a sensible lunch. I probably should have squeezed in a nap, but checking email took precedence.

Then it was back into the trenches for Together, a charming and beautifully realized drama from China about a gifted 13-year-old violinist whose father sets out to help him make the most of his talents. I was surprised how moving a dramatic violin solo could be!

Prior to the start of this screening, I was also treated to a delightful lesson in lanyards - yes, lanyards - from a "helpful," if somewhat tactless, fellow screening attendee. See, I was in the theater, engaged in conversation with a kewl woman from the States, when a somewhat gruff older man sat down next to her. She was an industry person and had, as all industry people do, her credentials hanging around her neck. When we came to a pause in our conversation, Monsiuer Useless Interjection leaned over, pointed at the industry pass and asked why my seat-mate had it on a lanyard. I was peeved that he jumped into the middle of our discussion, but my polite and nonplussed new friend was a little perplexed. She wondered aloud what a lanyard was, and he went into great detail... offering his theories on word origin and his definition of its function. I was ready for some eleven year old to pop up from behind his seat to start spelling it aloud. I swear to you, he must have said the word "lanyard" at least ten times in about a minute and a half. LANYARD, LANYARD, LANYARD...you know, if you say "lanyard" enough, it actually ceases to be a word. The whole time he was rambling on about lanyards, I was trying my best not to burst out laughing. Needless to say, the subject of lanyards is a rather limited one and not terribly effective for maintaining stimulating and thought-provoking discussions, so the lesson (thankfully) ended quickly. It did make for a nice diary-entry anecdote, though.

My last film of the day was Pure, a brilliant but bleak little film about a heroin-addicted mother (the always-wonderful Molly Parker) struggling to maintain some grasp on her life and, more importantly, the lives of her two young sons. It's not a happy movie, per se, and it presents a few gasp-inducing scenes, but I really enjoyed it... which sounds really weird to say when you consider the suffering (emotional and physical) the audience witnesses onscreen. The film also co-starred Keira Knightley, another wonderful Young Actress To Watch, who was also in Bend It Like Beckham. There, she played a fresh-faced, healthy, happy soccer player. Here? Heroin addict. Coincidentally, she gets pregnant in this movie and names her baby... Beckham!

And that was that for the day. Fairly uneventful, which (again) suits the vibe in the air.

Tomorrow is the last day. Three movies planned, starting at 9:30am. I think I'll take advantage of my medication-induced drowsiness, and the fact that it's not yet midnight, to catch up on a little sleep tonight. I'm hoping for one more run-in with Mouthy tomorrow before the curtain officially falls on this year's event, and I gotta rest up for that.

*yawn*

;-)

— Vickie

CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS:

Is anyone even in town anymore? Just Molly Parker, at her screening.

ROGER EBERT SIGHTINGS:

Nada.