On Wednesday we had a leisurely morning. Coffee at the Balzac’s at the public library and then breakfast at the AirBNB, then went to see Ballad of a Small Player with Colin Farrell as a gambler with Tilda Swinton as a dowdy collection agency employee chasing him. Which was quite enjoyable, but a bit confusing. I decided to just watch the colors of which there were plenty, since it was filmed in Macau, a city of casinos. The dance scene over the credits made the movie for me.
We had dinner at another of Chef Zach’s recommendations, Danny’s pizza. Tavern style pizza and a big chopped salad.
I felt funny about making a reservation for tavern pizza, and I couldn’t get one for about when we would arrive, anyways, a little before 6:00, but we just walked in and it was still early enough that we got seated even though the place filled up all around us. We had enough time to take our box of leftover pizza back to the AirBNB before heading to the late movie, Blue Heron. The most truly film fest type of movie we’ve seen, about a Hungarian family, immigrants to Canada, whose eldest son has schizophrenia. I think, or is at least quite disturbed and acting out in violent ways. As seen primarily through the eyes of the youngest daughter, it is an interesting examination of memory and sadness and shot amidst beautiful scenery. There was a King Crimson song in it, I Talk to the Wind.
The movie lasted until 11:00, so it was another late subway ride home. At least one night we got back so late that I had like 3/4 of a mile walking on the next day. Walking after midnight.
Subway wall art gallery late at night
Thursday our first movie wasn’t until 2:30, so in the morning we got up and walked towards Saint Lawrence Market. We had breakfast at Le Petit Dejeuner, a bar that serves breakfast food that we had always walked by when we stayed at Adam’s loft near the Market in 2015 and 2017. We ate there in 2023, also sitting outside. This year we were happy to be inside because there was a picket line and a jack hammer going outside, support staff at George Brown College protesting their treatment amidst construction. So nicer to be inside.
We got coffee at the Balzac’s and a basket of strawberries and a mini apple pie and mini blueberry pie and two breakfast pastries, apple and raspberry cheese, at the Market took it all back to the apartment on the subway. Then we walked back downtown to see Wake Up Dead Man, movie 3 in the Knives Out series. We thought it was at least as good as the first one, if not better, and definitely better than Glass Onion, the 2nd one. The Guardian agreed.
We came back to the AirBNB and ate our pie with ice cream.
The late movie was Adulthood, directed and acted in by Alex Winter, a black comedy about ordinary people who end up tipping over into violence and really bad choices. It was a gala presentation in the concert hall in Toronto, Roy Thomson Hall, with lots of fancy dressed industry people and most of the cast there. But our seats in the rattle your jewels section were way too close and at an odd angle (again), almost the same place we’d been for Roof Man. Which definitely deducted from our enjoyment of the movie. We think it’s maybe because Ticketmaster’s algorithm thinks close is better and it it is for live music but not for movies. Something to complain to TIFF about when they inevitable poll us about our experience. If TIFF is going to use Ticketmaster then TIFF ought to get Ticketmaster to adjust their algorithm for movies.
I’d almost like to see it again from a better angle. We listened to the panel following the movie, got to see Alex Winter and Kaya Scodelario and Anthony Carrigan – who was wearing seriously wide pants – and Billie Lourd talk about the movie, which made me like it more, but not at that angle. Don’t know if Josh Gad was there any place; Winter kept saying the whole cast is here, so maybe Josh was lurking someplace. Maybe it’ll be streaming soon.