38th Toronto International Film Festival Coverage: Day Nine

Friday, September 13th, 2013 by Ian Evans

We’re looking at a couple of films which had premieres today, Bright Days Ahead and Cold Eyes.

Bright Days Ahead, from director Marion Vernoux, stars French cinema icon Fanny Ardant as a married retiree who falls into a torrid relationship with a man half her age. Is she throwing her marriage away or merely looking for a reawakening in her life? Ardant see her character as a woman who had the set life — marriage, career, children — and suddenly finds herself with the gift of freedom.

Cold Eyes, a South Korean thriller from directors Cho Ui-seok and Kim Byung-seo, follows a high-tech team of police surveillance experts as they try to follow and capture a sophisticated bank robbing organization.

This was the sort of premiere that really shows what a multicultural city Toronto is, as screaming Korean fans lined up for hours to get a glimpse, a photo, and perhaps an autograph from their region’s top stars, Sol Kyung-gu, Jung Woo-sung, Han Hyo-joo and Lee Junho. Lee Junho had the girls in the crowd screaming like mad as the relatively new actor is also a member of the Korean boy band 2PM.