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Toronto Stories Directors: Sook-Yin Lee, Sudz Sutherland, David Weaver, Aaron Woodley Producer: Jennifer Jonas Genre: Art house film of social injustice. Cast: Sook-Yin Lee, Tygh Runyan, Gil Bellows, KC Collins, Carly Pope. By: Don Young Four segments by four skilled directors makes for an interesting trip through Toronto, with a medley of directing styles. This film records the movement of a young boy (Toka Murphy), who never speaks English and only communicates at the very end. His travels are the thread that binds the stories together. The film begins with him arriving at the Toronto airport, without documentation or any indication of where he came from. He’s the typical young child in an ill-fitting suit that turns women’s hearts to mush and sets the stage for a pleasant tale. And what a tale it becomes, although it is not his, but the stories of those he touches in his travel to the heart of the city. The first tale, Shoelaces, is about two children, Jacob, who has a loving mother, and Kale, who lives with her abusive dad. Jacob meets the boy in a ravine and they travel through the Riverdale farm together. When Jacob goes to Kale’s house, the boy disappears. Kale and Jacob ride their bikes to a culvert where it is said a monster lives. They are threatened by a group of bullies, but Kale strikes out at the leader and they escape. They plan to return, to see if the monster exists, at midnight. They do sneak out, and explore the tunnel. Aaron Woodley crafts an interesting look in the lives of two children that has overtones of “Stand By Me”, right up to the discovery of a body on the sidewalk as they return home. Next comes “The Brazilian,” an insight into dating in the city and the problems of establishing a meaningful relationship. Sook-Yin Lee writes, directs and stars in this segment, perhaps a slice of her life and the insecurity of living in a big city. It is entertaining. Boris, the object of her affection, seems strangely detached. She leads him along on dates and they eventually have sex, although Boris appears to be satisfied without it. The nudity and suggested sex in this segment preclude the movie from being a suitable fare for children. Still, the violence of other segments may be much less suitable, although that may be a social argument not addressed in this film. She meets the boy in the library, by now hungry and not really sure of where to go. Before she can get him assistance, he has disappeared again. She has another date with Boris, and her enthusiasm as opposed to his detachment causes her to ask, “Are you interested in a romantic relationship?” To which he answers, “No.” Windows is the Sudz Sutherland’s segment, which begins after the boy steals an apple from a small market. Elton, a window cleaner, is getting his life together after getting out of prison. His friend, Doug, comes to him for help, which Doug offers, in spite of his wife’s impending birth of their first child. Doug asks about his past girlfriend, although he has little interest in her. Later, Elton learns that Doug has escaped from prison, and is not on parole. Doug calls with a problem: he’s being rejected by the girlfriend he was no longer interested in, so is holding her under gunpoint in her father’s home. Elton lies to his wife about needing to work and rushes over to the upper class neighbourhood, in hopes of diffusing the situation before someone gets hurt. The problem escalates, shots are fired and the trio run out onto the driveway, where the police wait. Elton is excused and he returns home to his wife, less the ice cream he promised to bring her. Lost Boys is the final segment, by David Weaver. The young boy shows up in Union Station, and meets Henry, a crack addict chess player that haunts the station until rousted by security. Before Henry can get help, the boy is lead off by a shadowy figure, and nobody is willing to help recover him. Henry takes it upon himself to rescue the boy, returning to his estranged wife to plead for money. She surely had the same request many times before, but she eventually gives in, although there must be concerns in her mind that he will buy drugs with it. And buy drugs, he does. But only to trade for information from a guy who looks like a male prostitute, in search of the likely pedophile who has taken the boy. Once he has the location, he tries to convince two police officers to investigate, but his past is a stronger influence than his presence, causing the officers to tell him to move on. Henry convinces the officers to chase him, and he leads them to the boy. They save him before anything serious happens and arrest Henry. But the young boy, through a translator, proclaims Henry’s innocence and the story ends with the boy in suitable care. All’s well that ends well, yet nothing is resolved other than the young boy connecting with a social agency. All of the issues of child bullying, physical and perhaps mental abuse of children, the plight of the homeless, the lack of psychiatric assistance to the incarcerated, suicide, prostitution, drug abuse, pedophilia, violence, social inequality and the lack of connection between people, are passed by and not resolved, except in the case of one young boy. Does this movie suggest that we can solve all these problems, but only one case at a time? Toronto Stories demonstrates the skills of a few of the young talented directors in Toronto. It’s an art house film, and probably will see more play in film classes than in theatres. But that is the nature of the genre and perhaps the purpose of its creation. Often the most amazing part is that it did get produced and completed. If a person has the opportunity, this is an excellent movie to see. 
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