The German domestic thriller Pelican Blood starts off by employing a more psychologically based approach to a Bad Seed story of a child with violent impulses, but quickly devolves into monotony and cliches, despite the best efforts of all involved.
TIFF19
White Lie, the latest and most straightforward effort from Canadian filmmakers Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis, is an emotionally devastating look at a young woman who’s learning the hard way that the deception of others is a road that could lead to ruin.
An inventive, darkly comedic, and assuredly entertaining neo-noir, Romanian filmmaker Corneliu Porumboiu’s The Whistlers takes an unusual concept and weaves it into one of the most memorable and satisfying mysteries of the year.
The deeply personal, painfully honest, and subtly witty Pain and Glory finds writer-director Pedro Almodóvar and leading man Antonio Banderas delivering some of their career best work.