TIFF14 wrap up! It’s pretty amazing that another festival has come and gone. I’m always super stressed and busy every time the festival comes around, but I think it comes naturally as part of the whole TIFF experience. =P

A first for me this year – I actually saw the same movie twice. It’s pretty ridiculous I had to pay to see the same movie a second time (for a mediocre film nonetheless), but long story short – my need to see Jung Woo Sung in person defied any logical reasoning. LOL.

Initially I bought tickets to the world premiere of Scarlet Innocence, but I was disappointed when they announced just before the screening started that JWS would not be in attendance. I purposely took the day off work just to see him! They played a recorded message where he apologized for missing the premiere and promised to be at the second screening. Hence I had to majorly re-work my schedule to make it to the second screening Saturday morning. (T__T)

Anyway, this story does have a happy ending, because not only did JWS show up for the second screening sitting through the entire movie with the audience, I also got to take a picture with him before the movie started!

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Saturday morning when I got to Isabel Bader Theatre I had already scoped out the spots where his car might pull up. There were some girls waiting outside the front entrance with me when his black SUV appeared. For some reason the SUV decided to reverse and turn towards the back of the theatre. Naturally I followed to the back and got there just in time to see him getting out of the car! Oddly so, none of the other girls waiting up front clued in to go round the back, so I was the only one creeping on him. LOL

Since he was waiting to be let inside the theatre, I sort of made my way over. I waved at him initially and he waved back. I wasn’t sure if I should intrude upon him (even though I was already snapping pics on my phone, haha) but I asked if I could take a pic with him and he nodded. Then when I got close to him a member of his staff offered to take the pic for us. Even though he didn’t say a word (I’m not sure how much English he speaks and I obviously speak zero Korean), he was super nice. Not to mention extremely tall and gorgeous, but that’s a given.

That was definitely my highlight at the festival. After I took the pic I made my way to the front to get inside the theatre. His fans were still standing there so I kindly directed them towards the back. I wasn’t too keen on watching the movie a second time but for some reason it seemed exponentially better. Totally had nothing to due with the fact that JWS was seated a few rows behind me. Haha.

The movie itself was a romantic revenge thriller. Totally never imagined a film of this genre! I’ve seen JWS’s previous films and this way by far it the riskiest in terms of all the sex scenes that were depicted in the movie. During the Q&A at the end an older gentleman even commented on it and jokingly asked him for pointers. LOL. Overall the movie was quite average since I didn’t really feel anything for any of the characters in the film. The only good part was hearing about the production from the director and from JWS. When the director commented on how he likes to cast beautiful people in his movies, JWS turned and gave him a hug. (They are like polar opposites in terms of looks but it was really cute seeing their bond. Haha.)

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For my second movie I saw Confession. Since the City to City spotlight this year was on Korea, I ended up watching a lot more Korean movies than I normally do. Confession was about a group of three best friends whose friendship slowly deteriorate when their trust in each other becomes tested. The story and the acting were excellent and I really have to commend the director for his excellent debut feature film. This was my favourite film at the festival. =)

My third movie was The World of Kanako (渇き) by Nakashima Tetsuya. I had loved Confessions and I was really looking forward to seeing his latest film. However, I wasn’t exactly anticipating on seeing so much blood and gore in a single movie. (@_@) Saying it was intense is a bit of an understatement, so let’s just say I was slightly traumatized by the film. Lol.

Fourth film was Miike’s Over Your Dead Body (喰女). It was a supernatural horror movie based on the tale of Yotsuya Kaidan. The movie has an added layer of complexity with a ‘life imitating art’ storyline. I didn’t really envision Shibasaki Kou taking on this type of role, but at least I was properly forewarned this time with regards to all the gruesome murder scenes. Severed head? No problem. =P

My fifth movie was Haemoo, which was the only Korean movie to have a gala premiere at the festival. The story is about a group of fishermen who smuggle illegal immigrants on board their ship and the disaster that ultimately unfolds. The tale was pretty gripping because it was based on true events, but I had expected a little more from the movie.

My last movie at the festival was The Tale of Princess Kaguya (かぐや姫の物語). Being another movie produced by Ghibli, I had high expectations for it. However, the film was just average in my opinion. The storyline was interesting enough, but maybe I wasn’t sold on the illustration style used in the movie. Either way, it was definitely good to end the festival with a Ghibli film. Since my previous movies were all intense dramas, I really needed to watch something a little more lighthearted. =P

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Overall this year’s festival was lots of fun. I liked the new addition of them closing off King Street for the first four days of TIFF. You definitely felt the excitement on the streets and it made the entire festival even more enjoyable than before. Until next year TIFF!