Well, I was wrong, and I did manage to make it to one last day at the Toronto International Film Festival. One of the movies I wanted to see the most this year was Scarlet, the latest from Mamoru Hosoda, whose most recent film was the metaverse fairy tale Belle. Whereas that film was a reimagining of Beauty and the Beast, Scarlet is a twist on Hamlet that’s full of bold, creative ideas. I mostly enjoyed it, but unfortunately it’s saddled with an ending that doesn’t really fit.
I also managed to squeeze in two other films: a Korean revenge / heist thriller, and a Norwegian film about connecting through art. You can read my thoughts on all three below.
That’s a lot to squeeze into one festival, and I appreciate everyone who followed along. Now I’m gonna take a nap.
Project Y
Even though the opening makes it clear everything turns out relatively OK, Project Y remains riveting and unpredictable throughout. It starts out as a heist movie. Two best friends (Han So-hee and Jun Jong-seo) have worked hard for years and are about to retire from their awful jobs for good, but then they run into a sequence of scams that completely wipe out their savings. So when they hear about a hidden cache of cash, they can’t resist. They get caught, of course, and the film shifts into revenge mode. There are a few implausible moments along the way, but Project Y has an unrelenting kind of tension that’s strengthened by an absolutely vicious villain (Kim Sung-cheol). Just be warned: there are some very gruesome torture sequences.
No word yet on a wider theatrical release.
Scarlet
Scarlet (Mana Ashida) is a young princess in 16th century Denmark who finds her life turned upside down when her uncle kills her father to take the crown for himself. The set-up is basically Hamlet, but the twist is that much of the film takes place in the afterlife. It’s a space known as the “otherworld” — neither heaven nor hell, but instead a wasteland where people struggle to get by, and a massive, ancient dragon prowls the skies smiting people with bolts of lightning. The fantasy element of the film is strong, as is Scarlet’s single-minded quest for revenge. But the film unravels towards the end, with a happy ending that feels very out of place.
In theaters in Japan on November 21st; no word yet on a global theatrical release.
Sentimental Value
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