In my second year in Toronto, I got to experience TIFF again, an annual event that I had no inkling of before I moved here. The arts and culture scene in Toronto is truly spectacular and I’m glad I got to experience two films, both of which I loved. Here are my micro-reviews for them!
Love in the Big City
Love in the Big City—as the move is aptly named—is a sentimental journey spanning thirteen years, following the rarely-featured platonic friendship through highly contemporary struggles. Powered by the leads’ captivating chemistry, the film charms you as you’re whisked along two friends’ lives at breakneck pace. Despite the movie’s rough comedic whiplash, the story broaches its sensitive topics seriously, not shying away from its many painful and touching moments. ★★★★
Viet and Nam
Viet and Nam is a series of tender and haunting moments. Where the whole is not perfectly cohesive, each shot lingers on the moment long enough to fill in the blanks—to feel the pain, guilt, and love each character has for one another. “It’s not a sin to be poor,” Nam’s mother Hoa tells him. Though the characters make pleas otherwise, the story is stalked by this sense of inescapability, suffocated by the past and the society we live in, and still delivers delicate moments that rise above it. ★★★★