10 Under-the-Radar Movies You Need to See at TIFF

The 2016 Toronto International Film Festival kicks off this Thursday, which means Torontonians should start getting psyched for that hallowed annual tradition: a week and a half of endless lineups downtown, sneaking selfies with anyone wearing sunglasses indoors (just in case!), and pretending to have heard about whatever cool new movie everyone’s buzzing about.

And while we can’t help you with those first two, we’ve got you covered on the last one. With almost 300 movies from 83 different countries on tap, there’s an awful lot to choose from at TIFF. But we’re guessing you’ve probably already heard about this year’s big tickets — The Magnificent Seven, Arrival, La La Land, Snowden, Deepwater Horizon, and all the other heavy hitters making a pit stop in Toronto on their way to the Oscar race.

But every year, there’s always a few movies that come out of nowhere to crash the party. Here are my picks for 10 films that are flying under-the-radar right now, but won’t be for much longer. (No chatbot necessary.)

Voyage of Time: Life’s Journey


Remember how the best part of Terrence Malick’s Tree of Life was that weird CGI dinosaur interlude about the origin of life? Voyage of Time is like if Malick ditched the mopey Sean Penn voiceovers and decided to make a feature-length IMAX documentary out of that quasi-stoner fever dream. An eon-spanning, visually-stunning tour through the history of the universe, it sounds like a better fit for a science centre than a film festival — there’s a 45-minute IMAX cut and a longer, 90-minute version — but Malick has supposedly been working on this passion project for the past four decades.

Go See It If: You’ve been looking for an excuse to hit up your local dispensary.

Mascots


OK, so maybe it’s a little tricky to call a new Christopher Guest movie “under-the-radar,” considering the Spinal Tap director’s generated quite the loyal following over the years. But it’s been almost 10 years since the comedy legend’s last mockumentary, and judging from the recently-released trailer, this one looks like another must-watch. Like Best in Show, only set at an international mascot competition and turned up to 11.

Go See It If: You’re a fan of Guest’s brand of improv-heavy mockumentaries. And/or mascot costumes. No judgment.

Colossal

Colossal

Anne Hathaway movies aren’t usually our jam (no offence to you Princess Diaries fans out there), but Colossal sounds certifiably insane, in the best possible way. The sci-fi thriller stars Hathaway as a self-destructive party girl whose tendency to get white girl wasted is discovered to have a strange connection to a giant monster wreaking havoc in Seoul, South Korea. If this flick is half as good as its premise, we might even be willing to pretend The Intern never happened.

Go See It If: You wish Pacific Rim had been a quirky indie comedy.

The Girl with All the Gifts


Yeah, we know. You’re over the whole zombie thing. But don’t make the mistake of writing off The Girl with All the Gifts just because you think The Walking Dead jumped the shark last season. The British post-apocalyptic thriller is the best evidence we’ve seen in years that zombie movies are far from dead.

Go See It If: You loved 28 Days Later, and still dress up like a zombie for Halloween.

Bleed for This


After teaming up for one of TIFF’s most buzzworthy movies in 2014 with Whiplash, Miles Teller and writer/director Damien Chazelle are both back with new movies at the festival this year. And while Chazelle’s star-studded musical is already getting heavy buzz, Teller’s inspirational boxing biopic could land him in Best Actor consideration. Just an FYI in case you want to get a head start on your office Oscar pool.

Go See It If: You can’t score a ticket to La La Land.

City of Tiny Lights

cityoftinylights-tiff

If you couldn’t get enough of HBO’s The Night Of, get in line. Then get in line for City of Tiny Lights. It’s Riz Ahmed’s first starring role after his breakout in the high-profile HBO summer drama, only with Ahmed on the other side of the thin blue line this time, playing a down-and-out London private eye in a hardboiled British crime thriller.

Go See It If: You’re still suffering from The Night Of withdrawal.

Headshot

headshot-mo-brothers
Back in 2011, TIFF uncovered the next great martial arts movie star in Iko Uwais with an unknown Indonesian action movie called The Raid. Now, he’s back with the bone-crunching Headshot. Sure, it’s got a plot straight out of the Bourne franchise — Uwais plays an ass-kicking amnesiac — but we’re not really here for the story.

Go See It If: You were bored by this summer’s lacklustre crop of action movies.

Moonlight

Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight already has critics gushing after its debut at the Telluride Film Festival, but expect that buzz to turn deafening once it hits Toronto. It seems like every year there’s an underdog drama that uses TIFF as a springboard into the Oscar race. Last year, it was Room. This year, don’t be surprised if it’s Moonlight.

Go See It If: You want to see what the fuss is all about.

Una

Una

Starring former Oscar nominee Rooney Mara and future nominee Ben Mendelsohn, Una’s the type of movie that can easily get overlooked amid the festival’s 300-odd offerings. But don’t sleep on Mendelsohn. Once Rogue One comes out later this year, the Australian character actor ought to finally go from “Oh, that guy!” status into a household name. And it’ll be long overdue.

Go See It If: You want to jump on the Mendelsohn bandwagon before seats fill up.

Elle


Paul Verhoeven isn’t exactly known for making light, fluffy movies. And his latest, Elle, is no different. The Basic Instinct and Showgirls director’s first French-language film is a rape revenge thriller that’s practically designed to stir up controversy and get people talking. Here’s what we’re hearing so far: critics are already hailing Isabelle Huppert’s performance as one of the festival’s best.

Go See It If: You want to be able to weigh in on what’s sure to be one of the festival’s more divisive offerings.