Anurag Thakur | Film Festival Today

TIFF Review: “Phoolan”

September 16, 2026

TIFF Review: “Phoolan”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
September 16, 2026
Phoolan (Richie Mehta, 2026) 4 out of 5 stars Phoolan Devi, known as India’s “Bandit Queen,” may have been assassinated in 2001, but her earlier armed rebellion against the country’s deep-seated misogyny and caste prejudice made of her a star that keeps shining today. In writer/director Richie Mehta’s latest work, Phoolan, she is an unstoppable force to be reckoned with, refusing to accept the terms dictated by her world. Though born ... >>
TIFF Review: “Re/Pair”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
September 14, 2026
Re/Pair (Lacey Schwartz Delgado, 2026) 4 out of 5 stars I was unaware of a serious rift between Black and Jewish Americans until reading the description for the new documentary Re/Pair, but based on the conversations showcased within, it’s clear that what the two groups have in common should far outweigh their differences. Both have suffered intense discrimination—and, as actors David Schwimmer and Harry Lennix point out, we shouldn’t do an ... >>
TIFF Review: “Pretenders”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
September 13, 2026
Pretenders (Joss Crowley, 2026) 3½ out of 5 stars By now, the conventions of nonfiction biopics are familiar and, if done well, also enjoyable. Pick any public figure—or musical group—that you admire, and chances are that a competently made movie will engage and entertain. Such is the case with Pretenders, the latest foray into the genre from director Joss Crowley (Simple Minds: Everything Is Possible). It may not reinvent the cinematic wheel, ... >>
TIFF Review: “The Hummingbird Paints Fragrant Songs”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
September 12, 2026
The Hummingbird Paints Fragrant Songs (Èlia Gasull Balada/Matteo Norzi, 2026) 4½ out of 5 stars Every artist who agrees to have a movie made about them should be so lucky as to have their work photographed in as exquisite a manner as that used by Èlia Gasull Balada and Matteo Norzi (Icaros: A Vision) for the canvases of Sara Flores. In The Hummingbird Paints Fragrant Songs, they craft a loving portrait of their septuagenarian subject, an ... >>
TIFF Review: “Le Faux Soir”
By Christopher Llewellyn Reed
September 10, 2026
Le Faux Soir (Michaël R. Roskam, 2026) 4 out of 5 stars We have by now seen what feels like every permutation possible of a World War II narrative. Not so, it turns out, for Belgian director Michaël R. Roskam (The Drop) has managed to find a new angle with his Le Faux Soir, which takes us into a surprisingly comical act of defiance against the Nazis. Fascists hate being laughed at. We should do so all the time. ... >>