I don't know what's with some critics (ahem, Rick Groen). Between Cannes and TIFF, I've been reading review after review that Where the Truth Lies, Atom Egoyan's latest, isn't up to snuff. It's been dragged through the mud so much I almost gave up my ticket to today's matinee showing at the Ryerson theatre.

I'm so glad I didn't.

For fans of Egoyan's work, or dare I say it for fans of quality films in general, you won't be disappointed. Aside from perhaps Capote this is the best film I've seen all week. And the viewing was double the fun because Egoyan himself showed up to introduce it and take part in the Q&A afterwards.

In Korean, Sa-kwa has a double meaning of 'apple' and 'sorry'. For first time director Kang Yi-Kwan, his film Sa-kwa plays on this double meaning following the relationship woes of a young woman, Hyun-Jung (Moon So-ri).

Hyun-Jung gets dumped by her longtime boyfriend only to quickly marry a gentleman who has pursued her relentlessly. But what exactly is the reason she married him for? Because she needed the attention he was willing to give her? To quiet the worries of her family? Does she actually love him, or was it just so she wouldn't end up alone? While Hyun-Jung makes the right decisions for herself at the time, her short-sightedness soon catches up in sacrifices, lies and selfishness.

Lucid must have seemed like a great idea at the screenwriting stage. As a finished film, it shows one of those classic disconnects between theory and practice (pre-production and production). The film seems to be predicated upon the belief that the audience cannot possibly guess its "twist" before the film deigns to tell us; more accurately, it is probably founded on the assumption that its audience will take everything that is put on screen at face value, simply by virtue of that it is on screen. That's a pretty massive error in judgment. The only way to really hide in plain sight like this is to make sure that what you're putting on screen makes absolute logical sense, so that we can't possibly guess that what we're seeing might not be real... and unfortunately, there are a few too many elements of Lucid that scream "TWIST!!!" long before the film gets around to admitting to it.

Proof

Gwyneth Paltrow received warm praise as Catherine during the London run of David Auden's play (on which the film is based), and will doubtless received further accolades for her on-screen rendition. Her subtle and deeply internal performance, given room and weight by John Madden's unobtrusive directing and equally nuanced supporting cast, defines the melancholic mood of the film.

Days 3 & 4: 5 more galas at Roy Thompson Hall.

A collective audible gasp of "ohs" as miss Theron takes the stage last night for the North American premiere of North Country. Only in Hollywood could a person like this exist. I'm trying to listen to the director's speech. I'm hoping to give you readers something, anything other than how absolutely radiant this woman is in person. I can't though. That is the star power of Charlize. Beauty that dominates a room, even one as large as Roy Thompson Hall.

After a relatively smooth run of stage setup and seating Sunday for The Three Burials of Meliquiades Estradas, Pride & Prejudice, and Revolver; and again Monday for North Country, we are on the cusp of the worst turnover for the next film, Proof. Apparently the three hundred large reserved group at the previous flick were also excited at the prospect of seeing Charlize, or were perhaps moved by the heroic story of one woman's struggle to fight sexual harassment in the mines and support her family, they decided to throw popcorn, water, and kit kat bars everywhere. We are wading ankle deep in the salty kernels. The cleaning crew nowhere to be found, and panic is setting in.

Better late than never! On this week's podcast we have a look back at the first five days of the Toronto International Film Festival - including reviews of Tideland, 50 Ways of Saying Fabulous, Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic, Les Saignantes, Battle in Heaven, Saints-Martyrs-des-Damnes, and Seven Swords - and then take a look forward at the noteworthy films for the rest of the week.

Click here to listen to the mp3!