Sure, the average Montrealer might prefer to spend their sunny days by the river, or drinking sangria on a patio, or relaxing at the park, but RANGE had other priorities. And of the slew of movies we feasted our eyeballs on, here are a few of our favourites. 

Lurker

(directed by Alex Russell)

Ah, the Los Angeles music industry, paragon of parasocial relationships. Lurker puts that toxic world under the microscope via Matthew — played by the inimitable Théodore Pellerin, a tour de force actor who just so happens to be Queb — an obsessive fanboy who resides at the furthest end of the psychopathic spectrum and who embodies the unchecked id of the social climber in us all. The object of Matthew’s obsession is Oliver (Archie Madekwe), a DIY popstar modelled after Kevin Abstract, Dominic Fike, Dijon and Rex Orange County — Dijon and Rex Orange County actually wrote one of the original songs for the movie (and the soundtrack is banging). When Matthew successfully manipulates his way into Oliver’s inner circle, tensions reach unexpected yet illuminating territory. It’s Phantom Thread for the boys. 

Noise 

(directed by Kim Soo-jin)

South Korea has a chokehold on horror right now. From Train to Busan (2016), Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (2018), and The Wailing (2016), the country has solidified itself as one of the best — some may even say The Best — contemporary voices in the genre. South Korea represented the highest percentage of horror selections at Fantasia by country, and Noise stood apart from all the excellent offerings. The film follows a young deaf woman (Lee Sun-bin) as she investigates the disappearance of her sister in an apartment complex that oozes bad vibes from every floor. In his debut feature film, director Kim Soo-jin takes that everyday nuisance of unwanted neighbourly noise and stretches it to its most horrifying conclusion. He also ingeniously exploits sound design, that most effective layer of horror filmmaking, to dizzying levels of intensity. One scene in particular featuring noise recognition technology was hands down one the scariest three minutes of my life.

The Forbidden City

(directed by Gabriele Mainetti)

The Forbidden City delivers the mindbending choreography chops of the John Wick franchise with the epic melodrama of 1970s martial arts fare, while blending Chinese kung fu and Italian gangster movies. It’s a novel concept, but newcomer Gabriele Mainettie pulls it off effortlessly. The success of this film can equally be attributed to its star, Yaxi Liu, known for playing Mulan’s stunt double in the Disney live action remake. Her physicality alone is worth the price of admission. But like stunt-double-turned-director Chad Stahelski of the aforementioned John Wick world, Lui proves her talents expand beyond flips and kicks. Playing a woman seeking revenge for the death of her sister in Rome, Lui brings a depth to the role. Mainetti, for his part, uses this action fueled vehicle to explore racism and xenophobia in modern day Italy. 

Messy Legends 

(directed by Kelly Kay Hurcomb & James Watts)

Messy Legends is Montreal through and through. Dizzying, eccentric, chaotic and oddly comforting. The film weaves together vignettes from an ensemble of young artists over a single night in Montreal as their lives bump up against each other in maniacal and moving ways. Frenetic in content and form, the handheld camera captures scenes surreptitiously, almost like a documentary filmed by a drunk stalker. Filmmakers Kelly Kay Hurcomb and James Watts work together in a handful of mediums, including music, and their chemistry as creative partners and literal partners shines. Their cast worked collaboratively, improvising most of the scenes from a general story outline. That authenticity and spontaneity make Messy Legends a standout cinematic experience and a truly special portrait of Montreal. 

Hello, My Name is Beaver 

(directed by Trevor Blumas)

One of the most exciting shorts of the festival, Hello, My Name is Beaver expands filmmaking as an artform in just 13 minutes. Combining mockumentary and augmented reality, this portrait of artist-musician-chef and Montreal micro-celebrity Beaver Shepphard honours the subject’s multimedia style and experimental persona. Taking cues from Ruben Östlund’s The Square (2017), Blumas uses the setting of Montreal’s cutting-edge art scene to explore the hypocrisies entrenched in such a bourgeois milieu, and Beaver, the city’s outsider-insider extraordinaire, is the perfect character to pull it off.