Yeah, of course, movies about "down and outs" are worthless and old hat. When 99% of the films in any festival deal with the 1% of rich North Americans and Europeans, just watch Indiewire complain about their "content." I mean really, just fuck you Lyttelton. If the characters are fucking homeless and don't even own a fucking kitchen, where is their god damn sink supposed to be? Just cause someone is poor doesn't mean their life resembles a pat Oscar baity melodrama. Movies about rich people are allowed to be dreamlike and pretentious. Movies about poor people are not allowed to be raw and poetic? Real life on the margins might be way more absurd- and FEEL more absurd- than any "kitchen sink drama." Like Kafka, or like Tsai. These are true artists. Those who spit them out of their mouth, lukewarmly trying to seem appreciative of their effort, are doing them the worst injustice.

Here's a quote from Tsai: "Everywhere we look, unemployment is increasing, homelessness is rising. Life is becoming more difficult for many, and it is those difficulties I wanted to explore."

Meanwhile, the most acclaimed films in Toronto will most certainly be exploring not only first world problems but the problems of the increasingly wealthy minority.

By the way, Tsai's 2009 movie was Face (aka Visage), not "Play."