FILMS/
THE TOE TACTIC
New Directors
USA, 2008, 84 minutes
SHOWTIMES
Sat, Apr 26 / 3:45 / Kabuki / TOE26K
Wed, Apr 30 / 5:45 / Kabuki / TOE30K
Fri, May 2 / 9:15 / Kabuki / TOE02K
CREDITS
- dir
-
Emily Hubley
- prod
-
Jen Small, Jason Orans
- scr
-
Emily Hubley
- cam
-
Andrij Parekh
- editor
-
Ray Hubley
- mus
-
Yo La Tengo
- cast
-
Lily Rabe, Xander Berkeley, Don Byron, Kevin Corrigan, David Cross, Sakina Jaffrey, Daniel London, John Sayles
- source
-
Tactical Toe, LLC, 476 Broadway, 8M, 10013 New York, . EMAIL: jen@orchardpictures.com
Film’s unique ability to blend fantasy and reality, imagination and intellect, is one of the reasons we flock to movie theaters in our hunger for stories. When the speed on the blender gets turned up, and reality gets puréed by the dual blades of animation and live-action, things just get that much juicier. In her feature film debut, writer/director/animator Emily Hubley brings not just her distinctive hand-drawn style but an entire artistic community to this offbeat cinematic hybrid that plays both melancholically and mischievously on the themes of time, memory, loss and yearning. Several years after the death of her father, Mona Peek (Lily Rabe, daughter of actor Jill Clayburgh and playwright David Rabe) has her grief reawakened when her childhood home is sold. A physical artifact she unearths there as a keepsake unwittingly sparks a metaphysical connection to another dimension, where a cabal of colorful, card-playing cartoon canines (voiced by the likes of Eli Wallach, Marian Seldes and Andrea Martin) begin commenting on—and meddling in—Mona’s life. Their humorous rhymes and a bit of reason ultimately reveal the power of human connection that will revive Mona from her despair. Suddenly, important strangers appear and chance encounters (featuring cameos by Jane Lynch, Mary Kay Place, John Sayles and others) occur with regularity, including one with Mona’s own animated alter ego reflected in windows and waving from old photographs. Edited by brother Ray Hubley, with music by sister Georgia’s indie rock band Yo La Tengo, The Toe Tactic is a true extension of the legacy of their parents, independent animation icons Faith and John Hubley.
—Joanne Parsont
Presented in association with ASIFA. West Coast Premiere. Sponsored by Esurance.
