TIFF15 and its Tongue-Twisting Titles

Looking for Grace

Every year at TIFF, there is a strange confluence of movie titles that sound very much alike. It is a real test of the true cinéaste to be able to sort out your syllabic similarities and know your names! Here are some of this year's tongue-twisting titular teasers.

We have Rams and we have Lamb, and be sure to catch the 7 Sheep. There's Bird Hearts, Sparrows and Peacock and The Chickening and Men and Chickens.

Ma Ma,  Maman and My Mother will be there and if you see him, don't forget to Honor Thy Father!

You can find out About Ray, (Otto) and Benjamin. But you're fresh out of luck if you've expected a Carol! And if you're Looking for Grace, you might run into Violet or Victoria. After the screening? Catch the party for Ivy. On 25 April, she'll be 45 Years.

There's The Danish Girl and the Missing Girl, The Final Girls and Girls Lost.  But The Girl in the Photographs just might be Janis: Little Girl Blue.  And those Beeba Boys will tell you the Phantom Boy is just a Boy.

Watch out for The Dressmaker and The Women He's Undressed, and don't let The Assassin, Kill Your Friends or Black will be Black Mass.  

You can be Born to Be Blue or Born to Dance -- and rehearsal is In the Room. And speaking of Room, just so you know, The Forbidden Room is The Green Room.

There's a Beast and Beasts of No Nation, and As I Open My Eyes, I turn my Eye to the Sky. There's The Reminder, The Mind's Eye and A Copy of My Mind.

If you're searching for London Fields, go past London Road to Bleak Street.  And be sure to see Mountain before those Mountains May Depart!

There's Sunset Song and Song of Songs and though This Changes Everything, Every Thing Will Be Fine. Being Ap and Being Charlie are probably Je Suis Charlie's friends.

There's The Wait and The Waiting Room and The Wave and Waves '98 and Wavelengths come in all sizes and shapes. The River of Grass is Downriver from River.

If you see Francofonia in February, you've likely Forsaken Frenzy, Freeheld and Fugue. You could catch up to Jack and James White and a Youth in Young Patriot.

Join those Journey of a Thousand Miles: Peacekeepers or just Journey to the Shore.  There's Love and Much Loved and if you're needing more, there's A Tale of Love and Darkness and A Tale of Love, Madness and Death.

There's Paradise and Paradise Suite, but when I say I Miss You Already, It's Not You that I mean.

Cemetery of Splendour

Laurie Anderson might tell you the Heart of a Dog is A Heavy Heart and neither of these is Murmur of the Hearts. That Dog kept An Old Dog's Diary: it says don't Starve Your Dog. Remember also that Dogs Don't Breed Cats. 

The White Knights may take you for Five Nights in Maine, or take 3000 Nights to see all those Arabian Nights. When all that is done, May We Sleep Soundly? Sure! But beware the Sleepwalker on the loose out there. Also, just so you know, Eva Doesn't Sleep. Neither does Eva Nova!

Casualties of Modernity

Make sure you don't mix up Families with The Family Fang or you may find yourself afoul of El Clan. Lolo and Yolo are not really French Blood; it's better to see them as Blood of My Blood.

Fire Song is not Fireworks and if you're starting to be confused, it could be there's A Fire in My Brain that Separates Us. 

What does this all mean? Well... in searching title Truth, settle instead for A Flickering Truth. After all, titles like Cemetery of Splendour may just be one of those Casualties of Modernity.