A young woman struggles to heal from the aftereffects of a traumatic rape in Lumo, a moving documentary about a tragically common occurrence in the Congo, "where rape is used as a weapon of war." In Lumo's case, she develops a fistula (which makes her incontinent) and may never be able to achieve her dream of being a mother -- plus, her family shuns her. Fortunately, she's welcomed into a hospital for rape survivors, staffed by kindly doctors and counselors, and populated by other women who've been through similar traumas. Read more »

Day Five of the Toronto International Film Festival: I had to make a Bob Dylan pun above because today I saw I'm Not There, Todd Haynes' tribute to the star (focusing on the young, exciting, pre-Victoria's Secret sellout years, thankfully). There's a lot going on here -- I'm sure you've already heard about the gimmick of having several different actors play Dylan or Dylanesque characters. Read more »

Day four of the Toronto International Film Fest: So, I was wrong. Nick Broomfield's Battle for Haditha isn't a documentary. Hell, it doesn't even have any voice-over. It's a drama -- a docu-drama -- that reenacts a real-life Iraq war incident in which a roadside IED led to the death of one American solider -- and in turn, many Iraqi civilians (including children) shot to death by the fallen soldier's weary, emotional, and confused squadmates. Read more »

i just got out of a screening of George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead. I need to let it sink in before I make some big statement about it.

Tag line is a double entendre...ya think?

But I do have a question, rhetorical or otherwise: has anyone else ever noticed there are two kinds of zombie films? Read more »

Day three of the Toronto International Film Festival, and on the heels of Control comes Joy Division, a documentary about the groundbreaking (and heartbreakingly short-lived) post-punk band. Read more »