toronto film festival: day 9 (LAST DAY)

it's actually quite fitting that on my last day at toronto, i'm watching the debut picture away from her of torontonian sarah polley (yes, the actress).

written and directed by the talented ingenue, sarah adapts the short story 'the bear came over the mountain' by alice munro and crafts a wonderfully subtle and moving love story between fiona and her husband grant (played gently by the gorgeous julie christie and gordon pinsent).

for over 40 years grant has never been away from his wife (and vice versa - even through his indiscretions), but when fiona's alzheimers becomes more and more debilitating, grant is forced to send his wife into a facility for full time care.

but what happens when fiona enters the clinic is what makes this movie more interesting than it seems. without giving anything away, all i can say is that sarah polley has created a beautiful film that may possibly redifine her calling in life. only a gifted storyteller can make a small canadian indie film into something quite grand and proudly representing canada.

so there you have it. toronto film festival movies in a nutshell. there were of course 300 movies that i didn't see (like the winning one bella), hopefully next year, i'll figure out a better way to catch the key ones.

so, so long toronto! looks like i have a crush on you!