Here is a partial look at some of the more interesting titles at this year’s fest which unspools next Thurs.
Lars and the Real Girl Ryan Gossling slays in this dark comedy directed by Craig Gillespie and produced by Sidney Kimmel Entertainment (w00t!).
Married Life An ensemble cast of Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, and Rachel McAdams star in this Ira Sachs directed postwar period film produced by Sidney Kimmel Entertainment.
Rendition Gavin Hood’s follow up to academy award winning Tsotsi is this mid-budget contempo political thriller starring Reese Witherspoon, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Meryl Streep that is just one of many fall Oscar hopefuls vying for auds at Toronto.
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or winning film about a young girl who seeks out an abortion in late-Soviet Romania.
Margot at the Wedding Noah Baumbach’s follow-up to The Squid and the Whale finds Nicole Kidman questioning her place in this world.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Andrew Dominick’s film starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck has already started to receive much critical praise.
No Country for Old Men Joel and Ethan Coen’s superb thriller features some of the greatest performances of the year by Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, and Tommy Lee Jones.
Atonement Joe Wright’s WWII era follow up to his 2005 masterpiece Pride and Prejudice again starring Keira Knightley (this time beside James McAvoy).
Michael Clayton George Clooney stars in this Tony Gilroy drama that many have compared to movies from the height of New American Cinema of the 1970s.
Eastern Promises David Cronenberg’s follow up to A History of Violence re-teams him with star Viggo Mortensen in the Russian mafia crime thriller.
In The Valley of Elah Paul Haggis has a lot of pressure to follow up his Oscar winning Crash and this is his attempt – an Iraq war drama starring Tommy Lee Jones and Ashley Judd that has so far received mixed reviews.
Second Wind (Le Deuxième Souffle ) Daniel Auteuil (Cache) and Monica Bellucci star in Alain Corneau’s remake of this 1966 classic French thriller.
Into The Wild Sean Penn’s adaptation of the great Jon Krakauer novel starring Emile Hirsch as Chris McCandless has received fantastic reviews.
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly Julian Schnabel’s French language drama about a paralyzed man is said by many to be the best film at this year’s festival.
Sukiyaki Western Django Takashi MIIKE takes on the spaghetti western with his first ever English language feature (starring Japanese actors speaking English).
Lust, Caution Ang Lee’s NC-17 rated WWII Shanghai drama starring Tony Leung, Joan Chen, and newcomer Tang Wei.
Sleuth Kenneth Branagh directed this intellectual film starring Jude Law and Michael Caine (who played Jude Law’s role aside Laurence Olivier in the 1972 Joseph Mankiewicz version).
Across the Universe This controversial Beatles musical set in the swirling late 1960s-70s has already made headlines because of the creative differences between the studio and director Julie Taymor (famous for directing the Broadway version of the Lion King).
The Visitor Actor/director Thomas McCarthy marks his return to the director’s chair after his triumphant debut The Station Agent, with this Iraq-war milieu drama.
Juno Ellen page and Michael Cera (Superbad) star in Jason Reitman’s follow-up to Thank You For Smoking – a much anticipated quirky comedy about teen pregnancy.
Reservation Road Terry George’s (Hotel Rwanda) Oscar hopeful with Mark Ruffalo coping with tragedy and guilt in a cat and mouse showdown with Joaquin Phoenix.
Surfwise Doug Pray (Hype!, Scratch) is back already with an HDNet docu about a family of surf bums.
Young People Fucking Starring Carly Pope, this story is about some young people, well, fucking. Plus any title that provocative at least deserves mention.
The Band’s Visit This Israeli movie about an Egyptian band that gets lost in a small town in Israel won a top jury prize at Cannes for its first time director.
Battle in Seattle Actor Stuart Townsend’s dramatization of Seattle’s 1999 WTO protest finally makes it to the screen – but will it be able to do the event justice or is it just a starring vehicle for his wife Charlize Theron?
Blood Brothers Newcomer Alexi Tan’s Chinese crime drama set in 1930s Shanghai co-starring uber-hottie Shu Qi and produced by John Woo.
Chop Shop Ramin Bahrani’s follow up feature to his acclaimed debut Man Push Cart.
The Edge of Heaven Fatih Akin won the screenplay prize at Cannes for this German/Turkish drama.
Empties Oscar winning Czech director Jan Sverak (Kolya ’96) tells a light-hearted story of baby boomers entering retirement.
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead Film great Sidney Lumet’s crime thriller starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke.
Mongol Japan’s best actor, Tadanobu Asano, stars as Genghis Khan in this epic film by Russian director Sergei Bodrov.
Before the Rains Acclaimed Indian filmmaker Santosh Sivan’s period drama set in 1937 colonial India is said to be rife with striking vistas which made him famous as a cinematographer.
Control Acclaimed music video director Anton Corbijn makes his feature debut with this b&w tale of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis.
Deficit Gael Garcia Bernal’s directorial debut about Mexican youth.
The Exodus Witty and off-beat comedy from up and coming HK director Pan Ho-cheung.
Caramel This light-hearted Lebanese film from female director and star Nadine Labaki was a hit at Cannes.
Nothing is Private Writer Alan Ball (American Beauty, Six Feet Under) makes his feature directorial debut in this very dark comedy about the sexual awakening of a young Arab-American girl.
A Gentle Breeze in the Village Nobuhiro Yamashita’s (Linda Linda Linda) small village high school romance.
The Home Song Stories Joan Chen plays an immigrant from Hong Kong in deeply racist 1960s Australia in this very interesting looking film.
Captain Mike Across America Michael Moore has been much praised for staying out of the focus of Sicko – and to this praise is his counterpoint, a film about his travels across the country during the 2004 election.
I’m Not There Iconoclastic filmmaker Todd Haynes’ Bob Dylan pic starring a bevy of A-listers (Christian Bale, Richard Gere and even Cate Blanchett) as Dylan.
Jellyfish Isreali directing duo Shira Geffen and Etgar Keret won Camera d’Or at Cannes for best first feature.
Glory to the Filmmaker Takeshi Kitano’s comedic and horrific self-reflexive quest to create the perfect film.
It’s a Free World Ken Loach quickly follows up his 2006 Palme d’Or winning The Wind that Shakes the Barley with this story of EU migrant laborers.
The King of California A bearded Michael Douglas hunts for Spanish gold while daughter Evan Rachel Wood tries to reel him back in this indie comedy by first-timer Mike Cahill.
Run, Fat Boy, Run This quirky comedy is directed by David Schwimmer, written by Michael Ian Black, and stars Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, and Hank Azaria.
Flight of the Red Balloon Hou Hsiao-hsien’s follow up to the disappointing Three Times is also his first feature outside Asia and stars Juliette Binoche.
Secret Sunshine This highly anticipated Korean drama won its lead the best actress award at Cannes.
Persepolis Look for this French-Iranian animated feature to make noise come Oscar time.
Redacted Brian DePalma’s verite take on the Iraq war is sure to have people talking – and so far it hasn’t been all good.
Son of Rambow This upcoming release from Paramount Vantage was the darling of last January’s Sundance fest.
The Passage This innovative horror set in Morocco by first time director Mark Heller features the big screen debut of Israeli super-hottie Sarai Givaty.
Dainipponjin Comedian Hitoshi Matsumoto directs and stars in this comedy about a man who becomes a giant superhero.
Flash Point Wilson Yip’s latest HK actioner starring Donnie Yen as a cop who takes on the Triads.
Vexille Jp director Sori takes on the dystopic Neo-Tokyo anime genre with his follow up to the smash 2002 hit Ping-Pong.
Terror’s Advocate French docu about controversial lawyer Jacques Verges who has defended such baddies as Slobodan Milosevic and Nazi Klaus Barbie.
Body of War Co-directed by Phil Donahue, this docu about a paralyzed soldier turned anti-war activist features songs written for it by Eddie Vedder.
Mad Detective Another year, another kickass Johnnie To (Election, Exiled) HK actioner.
Encounters at the End of the World Famous documentarian Werner Herzog takes his cameras to McMurdo Station in Antarctica to find out what makes Antarctican tick.
Heavy Metal in Baghdad VICE Magazine creators Eddy Moretti and Suroosh Alvi take a look at youth culture in Iraq as they try to track down one of the country’s only metal bands.
My Kid Could Paint That Highly touted Sundance docu examining the truth behind a child prodigy painter.
Sad Vacation Indie.jp flick starring Tadanobu Asano.
A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman This docu takes the viewer behind the scenes of the US backed overthrow of Chilean president Salvador Allende by Augusto Pinochet in 1973 with one of the few members of Allende’s government to survive.
The Orphanage Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona’s debut has been repeatedly compared to Pan’s Labrynth, perhaps in part because it is produced by Guillermo Del Toro.
Paranoid Park Gus Van Sant’s Elephant with skateboarders.
Ploy Thai auteur Pen-ek Ratanaruang’s last film, Invisible Waves disappointed a bit because of the dreary visuals (maybe Chris Doyle was sober), but because Last Life in the Universe was so good it is worth giving him another shot – even without Doyle and Tadanobu Asano.
The Tracey Fragments Bruce McDonald’s film has won acclaim for its innovative visual style.
Help Me Eros A tale of looking for love in modern day Taiwan (with at least a very provocative photo).