TIFF Reviews: Parisienne & A Tale of 3 Cities

Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2015. Director Mabel Cheung. Sean Lau. Tang Wei. SAN CHENG JI. A Tale of Three Cities.

I didn’t go to as many screenings at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and because I wouldn’t be seeing that many, I decided to narrow it down to a theme. I decided to go for films that were:

  • outside of Canada & the United States of America
  • starred woman (or women) of colour AND/OR is directed by a woman of colour

I ended up seeing two films that fit that criteria and more (both star a woman of colour AND is directed by a woman of colour). So here are my mini TIFF reviews!

Parisienne (“Peur de Rien”)Parisienne/Peur de Rien. Directed by Danielle Arbid. Manal Issa. Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2015. Film. France.

Directed by Danielle Arbid

TIFF marked the worldwide debut of French-Lebanese director Danielle Arbid’s film, Parisienne (or its French title Peur de Rien), and it was my first screening of this year’s festival. Set in the 90s, it’s a coming of age story about an eighteen-year-old college student, Lina (Manal Issa), who navigates what it means to live in the city of lights. Within the first scene, we have Lina escape her aunt’s home after her uncle tries to assault her thus becoming the catalyst for our lead. Throughout the film, we watch Lina jump bureaucratic hurdles to stay in the country and out of war torn Beirut while finding herself through liaisons with three very different men (a married man, a criming waiter, and a revolutionary). It’s a story based on the director’s own experience migrating to France and it’s great for those who want a film about a girl exploring herself as a intellectual and sexual woman.

The question remains on whether or not I enjoyed the film and although I understood the importance of what it was saying, I wasn’t swayed by it emotionally. That first scene started a dialogue and connection between myself and Lina but the director failed to keep up the connection (at least for me personally). It felt very removed from the experience but I could appreciate what was unfolding in front of me.

A Tale of Three Cities (“San Cheng Ji”Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2015. Director Mabel Cheung. Sean Lau. Tang Wei. SAN CHENG JI. A Tale of Three Cities.

Directed by Mabel Cheung

The second film I got to see this year was Mabel Cheung’s latest directorial turn, A Tale of Three Cities (or its Chinese title San Cheng Ji). The story takes place between the Second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s to the start of the Mao era of the early 1950s and it’s based the the true life love story of how Jackie Chan’s parents met. Yuerong (Tang Wei) is a young opium smuggling widow while Daolong (Sean Lau) is a checkpoint officer who doubles as a spy for the Chinese government. Both find each other after the loss of their spouses–each with their own children from those marriages–and a love story blossoms during a time of war. Cheung’s partner, Alex Law, penned the script and the two of them heard this story at Jackie Chan’s family home in Australia during Chinese New Year as they explained during the Q&A (Chan hadn’t known his Dad was a spy or that his mom smuggled opium until that moment, in fact!).

I wanted to see this film mostly because of the Jackie Chan connection (who doesn’t love Jackie Chan?) but it turned out to be a great investment. I was captivated from beginning to end. It was visually stunning with memorable shots that were picture perfect. It was also very funny while also heartwarming and heartbreaking. I really enjoyed the 130 minutes I spent viewing it and the Q&A after was a delight. Apparently Chan cried from beginning to end when he saw it. I recommend watching it if you have the opportunity!

Those are the films I got to see at this year’s TIFF. For a general insight into our TIFF experience, check it out here.

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Ardo Omer

Ardo Omer

Former WWAC editor. Current curmudgeon and Batman's personal assistant. Icon art by Diana Sim.

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