This is one of those weird columns.
I went to a movie last night, thinking it was an early screening. It was not. The film opens this Friday.
But I watched it with the thought in my head that by having the screening at the DGA with the director in tow, it was some kind of tastemaker screening.
The movie is called Touch and it stars no one you have likely ever heard of before. The filmmaker, Baltasar Kormákur, is a name you know… or you should if you have been an active moviegoer in the last 20 years. Kormákur broke through with 101 Reykjavík 24 years ago. The film co-won the Discovery Award at TIFF, tied with George Washington, which launched the career of David Gordon Green.
Kormákur started working in “Hollywood,” in English, in 2010, but has gone back to Iceland often to work and to find stories that go back to his roots between bigger projects. I have been a fan of some of his films (The Deep… 2 Guns… Adrift) and a few not so much (Beast). But I do try to see everything he makes.
So, the movie…
Starting with Amour in 2012, we have seen The Academy embracing smaller, intimate, international dramas for Best Picture without necessarily doing big business, in foreign languages and not. Philomena, Lion, Call Me By Your Name, Roma, The Father, Minari, Drive My Car, Past Lives. I left off a few you might have expected, but I don’t want to overstate the case.
For me, Touch fits into this group comfortably. It is the tale of an aging man seeking the comfort of his past, in the form of a lost love. The movie is split between his journey as a senior (with the rise of COVID as part of the background) and his journey as a young man in his 20s, starting in Iceland, the land of his youth and now his maturity, quickly moving to London, as he had when he was young.
The easy tag line… it’s Past Lives for people over 50.
What a coincidence… The Academy is loaded with people over 50!
The movie is in Icelandic, English, and Japanese… which I won’t explain here. But you can look at the trailer if you like… but if you are considering watching it without that, you might want to skip it as it is heavy on spoilers. I really prefer having seen it without knowing where it was going.
The movie is beautiful. It is not obvious (though the trailer tells you too much). It is not rote. Kormákur allows his movie and his characters to breathe… deeply.
It’s not really a great film for most people in their 20s, as they have only experienced half of the story and are not likely as reflective on their lives as the film is. But anyone over 40 has had enough life experience to see reflections of their lives in many, many ways.
I don’t know if any of the actors are super famous in their countries of origin, but you won’t likely know them. (I didn’t.) The lead, Egill Ólafsson, is wonderful, especially once you get past the resemblance to Brian Cox and then, Kim Bodnia, and just accept Egill as Egill. Palmi Kormákur plays the character as a 20ish young man… and yes, he is Baltasar Kormákur’s son. Red flag… but it works.
The rest of the cast is also wonderful and Kormákur applies a light touch throughout. It is material that is very easy to push too far and he avoids those traps.
There are just 13 reviews listed on Rotten Tomatoes today (Fly Me To The Moon has 68), with the film opening in 2 days. Only 1 is listed as a “Rotten” review, from a young Canadian critic who complains that there isn’t enough sex and calls it a COVID movie… which is silly.
So what’s a nice movie like this doing on July 12, opening (in limited release) opposite one of the only wide-release movies skewing towards adults all summer (Fly Me To The Moon)?
I don’t know.
It’s hard to imagine that the film won’t end up on Peacock before Labor Day… which is not a route to an Oscar nomination, though I’m sure there will be hopes and a campaign for International Film.
Every studio makes decisions about what they have and how they see it. Baltasar Kormákur has had a long relationship with Focus, even having David Linde, a former head of the company, as a producing partner on a series of films. So I do think they mean the best for him.
Touch is one of those movies where you say, “Oscar,” and people either shrug or say, “You’re kidding.” I’m not kidding. There are some showy Cannes films coming into the Oscar field next month as the fall festivals roll out. So maybe they have a better shot. But this felt to me like one of those little emotional engine movies that could movies.
To be fair, there are as many who have taken serious shots at this possibility and missed in recent years as not… more. Last year, it was Perfect Days, charging hard for a Best Picture and/or a Best Actor nod(s). Didn’t get there. Lost International too… but at least it was nominated. (Last year was a truly great year for International Film nominees.)
I hope people will get out and see Touch in theaters. It is not a big show. It is not an explosive high concept. But it will touch you in a real way. And how often do we get that at the movies these days?
Until tomorrow…
Thanks for shining a light on this one, David. Now on my cinema watch list for when it opens here in the UK in August (and I definitely avoided watching the trailer - thanks for that tip-off too!)