What's On
There Will Be Blood
Paul Thomas Anderson's lacerating epic about the birth of the oil age: Daniel Day-Lewis is extraordinary as the prospector entirely consumed with his own enterprise, a Trumpian figure of naked self-assertion; Paul Dano the evangelist who may be his nemesis.
The Balconettes
In this flamboyant black comedy set in Marseille during a heatwave, writer-director-star Noémie Merlant and her two besties have to cover up the unpleasant evidence of a disastrous night partying with the hunk across the way.
Hard Eight
Anderson's debut is a deceptively modest character piece about a veteran gambler (Philip Baker Hall) who takes a much younger man under his wing and teaches him how to play the system and win. Until things take a darker turn...
Monk in Pieces
A playful and engaging portrait of the avant-garde singer, composer, choreographer and performance artist Meredith Monk. Philip Glass, David Byrne and Bjork share their observations.
The Master
Joaquin Phoenix as WWII vet Freddie Quell falls into the orbit of Philip Seymour Hoffman's self-styled prophet Lancaster Dodd in this tremulous 1950s psychodrama from Paul Thomas Anderson.
The Road to Patagonia
A travelogue, an eco doc, an adventure movie and a love story, The Road to Patagonia chronicles filmmaker and ecologist Mayy Hannon's 50,000 km expedition from Alaska to the tip of Chile (via Vancouver Island), on motorbike, horse, and surfboard.
A White, White Day
In a remote Icelandic town, an off-duty police chief begins to suspect a local man of having had an affair with his late wife, who died in a tragic accident. Intense psychological drama from the director of Godland and The Love That Remains.
School of Rock
With not one, but two new Richard Linklater movies at VIFF this year (Nouvelle Vague and Blue Moon), we thought it would be fun to revisit a choice cut from his rich back catalogue: the best Black and White movie ever made, School of Rock.
Magnolia
This deeply personal 1999 California opus is ripe for rediscovery. Mapping the emotional traumas of half-a-dozen major characters as they criss-cross the San Fernando Valley in search of either recognition or reconciliation, it's PTA's riskiest gamble.
Punch-Drunk Love
Anderson's surreal screwball romantic comedy has a wildly experimental edge, not least in Jon Brion's audacious score, but there's something euphoric about the entire irresistible project.
