Glenrothan: One of the many things I love about the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), running this year for its 50th time, is that you see films that you may not otherwise see, but also that directors and talent will show up. The city has a buzz around it, surrounding King Street by Roy Thompson Hall and Princess of Wales theatre. I was lucky enough to go to both theatres on Thursday night. For the audience, you see the movie and then afterwards the talent come out to speak about it and answer questions from the audience. It provide a really interesting perspective into the film you just watched on the screen.

So first the movie, which starred Brian Cox (Succession) and Alan Cumming (The Good Life), which is Cox’s directorial debut. When asked about being a director, Cox admitted he never thought he would be behind the camera. The story is about estranged brothers, through 40 years being apart and geographically with Cumming in Chicago, and Cox in Scotland. The movie’s third main character is Scotland itself, as this is really a love letter to the Scottish highlands.

For me having been in Scotland in May 2024 for the first time, the breathtaking scenery brought about many fond memories. It was a magical place. The brothers are the living descendants of a family who have been distilling scotch whiskey for centuries. Older brother Sandy has been running the distillery after father had passed away about 25 years earlier. Mom had predeceased father fifteen years earlier. Father was a crusty and driven man, who as a father and husband handed out love and support sparingly. He was a hard taskmaster with his two boys. We see the results as the movie progresses and we begin to better understand the estrangement. The story continues in a predictable way. I enjoyed it. I thought that Cumming was very good with a troubled grandfather, with a daughter and grand-daughter in tow heading back to a homeland that he never thought that he would revisit. He has run from his troubles for most of his life. But this is a story about family, legacy, duty, love, choices and relationships. The measure of its effectiveness for me is did you care for the characters, and what happened to them? I did. Those who are hoping to see Cox playing Logan Roy will be sadly disappointed. Funnily enough, that was more the father’s character in this movie, and it wouldn’t suit him. The movie ended and the audience erupted in applause. On came Cox, with co-stars Shirley Henderson (who forever for me will be Moaning Myrtle from Harry Potter) and Alexandra Shipp (playing Cumming’s daughter who plays peace maker). They all sit down as pictured here (I was seated in the balcony):

An audience member quickly blurts out a question (“May I ask a question?”) to which TIFF director and host says “we will take questions in a little while”. The immediate response back is “can Brian please cross his legs?” Cox wearing a kilt, and being a Scot he is naturally not wearing anything underneath. As he says “if you’re going to wear a kilt, nay on the undergarment”. He is a very good sport and the audience laughs. So the interview proceeds as follows:

I have never seen anything like this in all my years at TIFF and it was just excellent. The true character of Brian Cox is shown in an unexpected way. I am so glad that I saw this movie, and even more excited that I was part of this unrehearsed exchange. As Cox finishing commenting, sounding more like Logan Roy, “it was probably the fucking producer encouraging the wearing of the kilt to begin with…” A good laugh!

The Wizard of the Kremlin: we are living in strange times, with wars in Ukraine, Gaza, new incursions into Polish airspace by Russia and continued beliefs of foreign interference with western elections (most notably the US Presidential election, where current President Trump continues to deny he lost in 2020). I am painfully aware, and this movie makes more aware that I know so very little about Russian President Putin. But he and his countrymen are well engaged in many of these current hotspots within the world of 2025. This movie directed by Frenchman Olivier Assayas (who attended this screening) is based upon the book by Giuliano da Empoli (not read by me). The movie has a dream cast with Paul Dano playing Vadim Baranov (the wizard), Jude Law as Putin, Alicia Vikander as Ksenia, and Jeffrey Wright as an American researcher and writer in Russia.

This is a advertised as a political thriller and comedy. There are some laughs within it, but it a much more serious story with a history lesson of the fall of the Soviet Union and the emergence of Russia with their version of democracy, freedom, oligarchs and later a new authoritarian leader in Putin. Divided into various stages, we see the early life of the Paul Dano character. He speaks into the past after having invited Jeffrey Wright to his residence where he would speak to him about “something interesting”. There Wright hears about the early days of being in Soviet Union where Gorbachev takes over, immediately hiking the price of vodka and looking to provide freedoms. Then power transitions ultimately to Boris Yeltsin, and finally transitioning to Putin. Baranov had gone to school to be an artist, in putting on plays and expressing his new freedoms. He puts on plays effectively. Later he moves into television and creating content for a private TV station. Throughout the movie there are truisms about people, certainly the Russian people, but people generally and how they can be manipulated. There are poignant observations about battling for the minds of people and those of your enemy. We see the public TV executive persuading then KGB Director Putin to think about running as the leader of the country. The Putin reaction is a fascinating one, focusing on where he thinks he can have an impact, and how he can retain any power he is given, not ever wanting to lose it. This is where he seeks the assistance of Dano’s character. Time and again, Dano’s insight into a situation provides the tools for Putin to move forward in a confident and self-assured manner. World events are spoken about between the Wright character and Dano.

I am very glad that I saw this. It gives a perspective for actions taken by Putin now and in the past, without a western spin. A few years back at TIFF I saw the movie Kursk later renamed The Command, which spoke about the sinking of a nuclear submarine in the North Sea and those Russian sailors aboard her and their families. It was heart-breaking and moving. This movie addresses that as an early test to the Putin leadership as he was summering in Sochi while it was taking place, refusing any help from Western countries. The Putin regime is committed to staying in power and ensuring that what they felt was the dissolution of the great Soviet state will be reversed. Ukraine is living proof of this commitment. I come away feeling as though I need to learn more about this man Putin, and those who advise him. It was noted at the beginning of the film that this is a work of fiction. Director Assayas mentioned that the Baranov character was a complilation of other people for the book, which then was taken further within the movie.

This was a tour de force roll for Dano, who is the focal point. His paints the picture of a calm and collected man, who had started out so wild and full of life. As he becomes more deeply involved in the Putin administration he looks to pull away and lead a quieter life. At the same time, he wants to be known as we all do in some way. This is someone who has quietly become a most powerful person, unexpectedly, but embraces it and regards himself as a professional who can organize events like opening ceremonies at the Sochi Olympics in 2014, but also manipulating the internet to serve the Russian purpose as being seen as the country controlling it. Perception is reality, whether true or not. This is definitely worth checking out for those who wish to better understand the world we live in.