David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises snagged the People's Choice Awards, with my fav Juno coming in a close second. Expect both pictures to enjoy a big boost from their time here, though Juno stands to benefit more (Eastern Promises, in limited release, already saw a strong showing this weekend).

I might've forgotten to bring a better camera this year (I'll have it next time, I promise), but I did learn my lesson about sitting in the balcony. It's been another great week of movie-watching, and I'm already anxious for next year's fest. Though I must admit, I'm looking forward to a much-needed break from my month-long Canadian festival circuit. Goodbye from Toronto, I'll see you all south of the border.

Encounters at the TIFF
September 14th, 2007

With the festival coming to a close tomorrow night, most of the major stars and directors have already headed onto their next project or press circuit. Which meant the enigmatic Werner Herzog wouldn't be there for our Wednesday screening of his new documentary Encounters at the End of the World.

His latest foray into non-fiction film since the surprise hit Grizzly Man, Encounters finds Herzog traveling to the ice-covered continent for 6 weeks of odd interviews and otherworldly sights. By filming in Antarctica, Herzog can now claim to have made a movie in all 7 continents, though filling out his dance card clearly wasn't the impetus for making the trek.

Instead, the underwater footage filmed by friend Henry Kaiser and used in his sci-fi film The Wild Blue Yonder inspired Herzog to visit the South Pole for himself. What he found there, at American outpost the McMurdo research station, was an odd collection of characters and kindred spirits, all searching for something in the barren and snowy surroundings.

While Encounters can't come close to the mass-market appeal of Grizzly Man (no one central protagonist forms out of the meandering and dreamy narrative), it contains its fair share of entrancing footage and humorous distractions.

Perhaps Herzog's chief talent as a storyteller is his predisposition to look at the world as an alien land, and transmit this otherworldly vision through the lens of the camera. Whether a familiar sight or an entirely foreign one, Herzog invites us to look at everything in a new light.

To be certain, several of his interviews are tinged with mocking condescension; he makes no secret of his stance on several of McMurdo's more colorful characters. But there are moments of true wonder here, made all the more special by the monotony of daily life that invades even the most adventurous of Antarctica's inhabitants.

But perhaps the film's most poignant moment comes from a character Herzog had hoped to avoid - the cute, fuzzy penguins made popular by that other wildly successful Antarctica documentary. "I did not come down here to make another movie on penguins," he informs the audience at the beginning.

But, try as hard as he might, Herzog's attention is captured by one of these animals, which ...