Emporte-Moi | Set Me Free became my white whale after your humble narrator saw Goin' Down the Road, which was the white whale up to that point.
There was a possibility before the pandemic of seeing the film for free but the people couldn't find a copy with subtitles.
Turner Classic Movies will air the film early in the morning of January 13 at 3:45 am Eastern (after you go to bed on January 12).
Let's go through a few reasons why this film has been a white whale for your humble narrator.
Léa Pool — a Canadian filmmaker whose films have dazzled, most notably Lost and Delirious.
Karine Vanasse — a Canadian actor I have enjoyed in a number of performances in English and French, all as an adult. She is a teenager in this film. Curiosity to how she is as an actor as a teenager.
Vivre sa vie — There are many references to Anna Karina and this wonderful Jean-Luc Godard New Wave film.
Pascale Bussières — She plays Vanasse's mother in this film. Bussières is charming on screen no matter what kind of role she plays.
Some regular readers could point out our OCD on the Canadian nominees for Best International Feature Film. While the OCD is a factor, my genuine interest in seeing this film overshadows that OCD. That doesn't hurt as a reason to see the film but not the primary focus.
There is always a possibility the film may not live up to the hype. Willing to find out for myself. There will be a review, no matter how the film turns out.
Beans won the 2021 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award
Anne at 13,000 Ft. wins 2020 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award
And the nominees for the @Rogers Best Canadian Film Award are:
— Toronto Film Critics (@TFCA) January 8, 2023
-BROTHER, directed by Clement Virgo
-CRIMES OF THE FUTURE, directed by David Cronenberg
-RICEBOY SLEEPS, directed by Anthony Shim
The winner of the $100,000 prize will be revealed at the #TFCAawards gala on March 6! pic.twitter.com/MX0FZaHSq1
The Toronto Film Critics Association announced the 3 finalists for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, which carries a cash prize of $100,000.
- Brother (Clement Virgo)
- Crimes of the Future (David Cronenberg)
- Riceboy Sleeps (Anthony Shim)
All 3 films made the TIFF Top 10 Canadian films for 2022. Brother and Riceboy Sleeps played at the Toronto International Film Festival and Windsor International Film Festival with the latter film winning the 2022 WIFF Prize in Canadian Film.
We have seen all the nominees going back to 2019. We recently saw Crimes of the Future. While that was an intriguing film, either Brother and Riceboy Sleeps would be logical picks to win the award.
We won't know the winner until the 26th annual TFCA Awards, which will be an in-person gala at the Omni King Edward Hotel on March 6. The cash prize of $100,000 is the largest purse in Canadian film.
We will have seen 16 of the last 17 winners (counting 2022), the exception being The Stairs from Hugh Gibson (2016). Maybe we will see that film before the March 6 ceremony.
Seeing Emporte-Moi | Set Me Free will only leave 2 other films we have not seen that have been a TFCA winner, both from David Cronenberg: Spider (2003) and A History of Violence (2005).
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Reviews will come at some point for these films (more than likely). Did pick off a couple of recent TIFF Top 10 films. Charlotte (2021) and the aforementioned Crimes of the Future (2022) are both featured on Hulu in the United States. If you want to go way back. finally saw Barney's Version (2010), which is also available on Hulu.
Rather unusual to have TIFF Top 10 films in such a major outlet south of the border. David Cronenberg films do well in the States. Barney's Version has a number of American and non-Canadian actors. Charlotte is more of a European film than a Canadian film.
That leaves 4 not seen from the 2022 list and 2 from the 2021 list.
photo credit: Emporte-Moi | Set Me Free
Twitter capture: @TFCA
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