Exploring treasures of the Criterion Closet at TIFF 50

It was Christmas in September for cinephiles at #TIFF50, as the mobile @CriterionCloset made its first Canadian visit during the opening days of the Toronto International Film Festival. I was the lucky first of some 900 people who visited this sanctum of physical cinema, which was parked outside #TIFF Lightbox. In my allotted three minutes I managed to snag Wong Kar Wai’s melancholic romance “In the Mood for Love” (4K version!), Stanley Kubrick’s apocalyptic satire “Dr. Strangelove” (which seems even more urgent in 2025) and, completely at random but with much joy, John Schlesinger’s hustler odyssey “Midnight Cowboy,” the first X-rated movie I ever saw, and will soon see again. Thanks, Criterion! 📽️