Tagged: Toronto International Film Festival

First Look at Isabelle Huppert and Kool Shen in Catherine Breillat’s ‘Abuse of Weakness’

Not really a trailer, more like a scene from the movie, but it does say bande annonce, which I understand is French for trailer. So I guess that’s the route they decided to go. There’s not much to see in this first look at Catherine Breillat‘s new film Abus de faiblesse (Abuse of Weakness en anglais), except for dialogue between the two leading actors Isabelle Huppert and Kool Shen, who I understand is a rapper.

The film just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and will play at the New York Film Festival in October as well. As for an official release date, it’s not clear when the film will be available for general audiences. According to IMDb it is set to be released in February next year in France. I hope they’re wrong, because I happen to be a big fan of Breillat’s work and that just seems like a long ass wait.

Abuse of Weakness is an autobiographical film about “[a] stroke-afflicted filmmaker is manipulated by a notorious con man” (IMDb).   Much like pretty much every Catherine Breillat film this will be probably a very personal film dealing with female sexuality. I love this trailer visually, because it feels very European and in-keeping with the style of her previous works.

First Mysterious Teaser for Johnathan Glazer’s ‘Under the Skin’

under the skin
A new film starring Scarlett Johansson? Seems like we’ve been getting quite a few of those lately. Under the Skin is Johnathan Glazer‘s new film. The movie will première tomorrow at the 70th Venice International Film Festival and will play at the Toronto International Film Festival as well later this month.

I am not familiar with Glazer’s work (Sexy Beast & Birth), but I liked this teaser, because it’s very atmospheric and moody. It has a very mysterious aura. I’m not sure if the film will be as surreal, but it certainly looks interesting. I also happen to like Scarlett as an actress and I feel that many people still tend to underestimate her or take her for granted.

Since this teaser seems to be spoiler free I feel I can recommend it to anyone (even people who dislike trailers). At the same time I don’t feel like mentioning any plot details here, because I would like to know as little as possible myself going into this film. That’s also the reason why I’ll avoid any other trailers we might and will get for this film. I’ve made up my mind to see it, I don’t need further “encouragements”, if you do go ahead, but the next time you’ll hear me mention this film it’s probably for a review.