Special Presentations
There’s something perversely enjoyable about watching a group of French actors, do French material with a very Quebecois slant to it all and still have it play reasonably well on a universal level.
It’s Only The End of The World is an emotional and powerful drama where a writer, after a 12 year absence decides to come home and announce his impending death. Sadly this family reunion goes the same route that many do as years of resentment and unspoken feelings overwhelm any attempts at empathy and compassion.
Canadian wunderkind Xavier Dolan returns with a quality piece of drama that allows for some memorable moments but floats a little too much as it doesn’t quite know what to do with itself from a tonal level.
Dolan evokes some impassioned performances from his ensemble but they get over done by too many stylistic close-ups and melodramatic beats where he took it all far too seriously. The movie never plays in any kind of resolutions but exactly the opposite of that. These people all love each other, but they also don’t necessarily understand each other either, which is something that translates universally across all languages.
Ultimately, It’s Only The End of The World will end up ranking somewhere in the middle of the Xavier Dolan canon. He’s quite good at building tension and getting a story from A to B, but he lacks the ability to let the material occasionally breathe on its own and not take itself too seriously.
David Voigt is a Toronto based writer with a problem and a passion for the moving image and all things cinema. Having moved from production to the critical side of the aisle for well over 15 years now at outlets like Examiner.com, Criticize This, Dork Shelf (Now That Shelf), and to.Night Newspaper.
He’s been all across the continent; serving on the FIPRESCI Jury at the Festival Du Nouveau Cinema in Montreal, covering festivals out side of Toronto like Calgary Underground Film Festival, CUFF Docs, Slamdance, Fantasia, SXSW, DOC NYC, Santa Barbara Film Festival, New York Asian Film Festival and many others
However, In the uncertain world of modern film journalism, David also knew that he needed to have a hand in writing and cementing his own contributions on the global film scene.
Having eclipsed the 10 year anniversary of his own outlet, In The Seats, where he’s been striving to support film (and TV) from all walks of life and his podcast “In The Seats With…” where after 5 & ½ years and over 750 episodes he’s talked with a wide variety of filmmakers, actors, behind the scenes artisans and so much more on the art of storytelling for the screen, which is spawning the launch of a new show in the Spring of 2026. “ITS: Soundtracks” will focus on the use of soundtrack and score in film which he believes is a combination that is the cinematic equivalent of Peanut Butter and Chocolate.
All this as well as hosting and moderating a variety of big screen events around the city, covering film in all its forms is just a way of life for him.
