On Sunday, the last day of TIFF, we got up early and walked down to the Scotiabank multiplex to see Lolo, an oh so French romantic comedy, co-written and directed and starred in by Julie Delpy. The TIFF description compares it to a Nancy Meyers rom com, and that’s pretty apt. It was nice to start the day laughing throughout a film.
When we walked out of Lolo, we were basically in the same area where we went looking for bakeries on Friday night – the financial district/West King/Queen/Spadina. I yelped around for bagels to take back to the airbnb after the movie, and we ended up at What A Bagel on Spadina. Got a couple of bagels and an out of season Hamen taschen, and went back to the apartment for breakfast. We had three nice tomatoes and some ham and cheese, so Mark scrambled some eggs with one of the tomatoes, and I ate another one on top of my bagel with cream cheese and Siracha.
What A Bagel in Toronto
Bakery case, showing Hamen taschen at What a Bagel
We checked the TIFF website to try to find out what the People’s Choice Award would be, trying to plan our night – would we be going to a movie at 8:00 PM, or just coming home and packing? I even tried the livestream of the awards ceremony, but that was obviously going to take forever, so I just opened a browser window to TIFF’s Twitter (@TIFF_NET). Mark went and got coffee while I recorded my “what’re we doing this week?” for both of my classes, these 5 – 7 minute screen captures where I open up the course module for the week, and go over what’s there for students.
We had Maggie’s Plan at 3:00, with Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, and Juliane Moore, all actors I like to watch. Bill Hader and Maya Rudolf are also in supporting roles as Maggie’s married friends. One reviewer described it as “light, but it’s not trifling” – and it did make Sunday truly our rom com day. It’s set in New York City, and portrays relationships between a bunch of academics. Ethan Hawke is an adjunct professor of “ficto-critical anthropology” whatever that is – I think it’s defined in the Onion – at the New School, where Maggie works as some kind of advisor. She describes what she does as helping students bridge art and business. I think they made it all up for the film. I guess it got a Sony pictures distribution deal out of showing at TIFF.
We’d found out that the people’s choice was Room, based on a novel by Emma Donoghue (note to self – put on hold at library, or buy an e-book), so we knew we wanted to go. I wanted to wait until one of my recordings finished uploading, and that got us to the line at Ryerson a little too late for a prime spot on the wall. But we still had OK seats for Maggie.
I’m not sure why Room got the People’s Choice. The acting was very good, but we’d seen a lot of good acting in a lot of different films. There was something quite absorbing about Room – I sort of forgot I was sitting in the theater, and just was in the film – maybe that’s what made everyone vote for it. Either that, or it’s because it was so obviously filmed in Toronto. Since I’d finished working, I treated myself to a Grolsch (of course) on sale at the theater, and I could bring it back to my seat in a covered plastic cup. Used up $8 of my remaining Canadian cash, too.
Last two movies
Growing pile of ticket stubs from been-to movies
On Monday, we got up and took out the trash and recycling, and shoved the last things into our suitcases. I packed a cream cheese bagel and fruit and Kind bars for the trip. I thought I’d get to meet our airbnb host, Adam, but we had to go, leaving the keys for his partner on the counter in the kitchen, so that we could make it to the train. It was a 20-minute walk dragging mammoth suitcase to a smooth 25-minute ride out to Pearson. Getting through customs was its own mysterious self – why were only 3 out of 29 service windows open?; why did the agents who were minding the lines carefully get us all lined up pointing at desk #8, and the agent there let about 3 people through, then he put on his jacket and went on break? leaving us to wait for another agent … plus I thought I was never going to get to the baggage drop, and be able to stop dragging mammoth suitcase. After that, going through the actual security x-ray was easy. And my packed apple was deemed OK, even though you’re not supposed to import food, because it had a barcode on it.
I made the 1:00 bus from O’Hare, and was in Madison by 4:15. There was a TIFF trailer that we saw before every film, promoting a show they’re doing at Bell Lightbox on Andy Warhol’s films. There were three variants, actually, one with Billy Name, one with Nico, and one with Edie Sedgewick, B&W and silent, like Warhol films are supposed to be, but then closing with some clanging Velvet Underground guitar chords. I don’t know what song the guitar chords came from, but all the while I was traveling on Monday, those chords merged with a John Cale tune from Songs for Drella, where John sings things that Andy (might have) said – Style it Takes. “This is a rock & roll band called the Velvet Underground; They have a style that grates; Let’s do a movie here next week”.
Ghostly young Billy Name, and what he looks like now – from this Guardian article about a show of his photographs currently in the UK
Edie
Posted back in Madison; I started writing on my Tuesday that felt like a Monday, my first day back – but I am finishing up on the Sunday one week later – and now gotta go record this week’s “what’re we doings” for both classes.
