From July 14 – July 31, TIFF Bell Lightbox will showcase Masks and Faces: The Films of John Cassavetes, who is largely recognized as the “father of American independent cinema.” If you are seeking a Hollywood ending to lift your spirits, this ain’t it, sister. Cassavetes’ films are raw, stripped of glamour, and frighteningly turbulent, just like real life.

Fed up with picket fences and suave good looks, Cassavetes turned his camera on the bruised and uncomfortable. His close ups focus on the twitch, as opposed to the starry eyed. Regarded by some as a visionary and others a rebel, he turned on the big studios when he declared, “…the only happy way to make films is to use your own money.” Balls.

On Thursday July 14, prepare yourself to be rocked to the core when a restored print of A Woman Under the Influence (1974) kicks off the retrospective. But that’s not all. Gena Rowlands will be in attendance for screening. Rowlands received an Academy Award nomination for her performance as Mabel, the mentally ill working-class housewife whose psychotic, dangerous, and intensely disturbing behaviour forces her husband Nick (Peter Falk) to make the unimaginably difficult decision to send her away for hospital treatment. He then unsuccessfully balances the care of three small children with his demanding job as a city emergency water line worker.

Hard-hitting is an understatement. This film will rip your heart out and smash it through a window. It’s touching and loving while also deeply disturbing, but Richard Dreyfuss explained it best. “The most incredible, disturbing, scary, brilliant, dark, sad, depressing movie. I went crazy. I went home and vomited.”

Yeah. I had to turn the volume down at parts, but A Woman Under the Influence is a must see for anyone who claims to be a cinephile, and aspiring actors and filmmakers. Phenomenal acting, the most accurate depiction of blue collar life in 1970s USA and an honest portrayal of a family in crisis.

A Woman Under the Influence screens at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Thursday July 14 at 8:45 p.m.
See trailer here
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The Cassavetes line-up:
Faces (1968) – Friday July 15 at 6:30 p.m. Gena Rowlands also in attendance.
Shadows (1959) – Saturday, July 16 at 8:00 p.m.
A Child is Waiting (1963) – Sunday, July 17 at 6:45 p.m.
Husbands (1970) – Monday, July 18 at 6:30 p.m.
Too Late Blues (1961) – Tuesday, July 19 at 8:45 p.m.
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976) – Friday, July 22 at 6:30 p.m.
Minnie and Moskowitz (1971) – Sunday, July 24 at 7:30 p.m.
Gloria (1980) – Thursday, July 28 at 8:45 p.m.
Opening Night (1977) – Friday, July 29 at 9:15 p.m.
Love Streams (1984) – Sunday, July 31 at 7:30 p.m.

For more info or to purchase tix, go to TIFF Bell Lightbox site.