Yesterday’s final screening of Matthew Michael Carnahan’s Mosul marked the inevitable – and ever-so-slightly soggy – end of the 44th Toronto International Film Festival. After nearly a fortnight of varied cinematic fare (and weather) and 245 features under our collective belts, we thought it would be a good time to take a look back at some of the memorable movie soundtrack moments from this year’s slate of festival films.
To generously paraphrase the Kingsmen, music often maketh (or breaketh) the movie. A carefully chosen tune can elevate a moment, a scene, or even an entire movie from the ordinary to the sublime. It can underscore an emotion, discomfort or jar the viewer, illustrate a plot point, or sometimes just really rock everyone’s world. Think “Where Is My Mind?” in Fight Club, “Perfect Day” in Trainspotting, or “Tiny Dancer” in Almost Famous. Moments where the song becomes synonymous with the scene.
From the pitch perfect (The Beatles’ “Komm, gib mir deine Hand” plays over Jojo Rabbit‘s opening titles) to the expensive (Knives Out‘s use of “Sweet Virginia” by The Rolling Stones) to the questionably chosen (Todd Phillips went with Gary Glitter to accompany his Joker), this year’s selection of TIFF films had no shortage of notable music/movie pairings to choose from. Join us below as we take a trip back over the past eleven days by revisiting some of our favourite featured tunes and tracks.
And fear not, there are zero spoilers ahead!
Our TIFF 2019 Playlist:
- “Komm, gib mir deine Hand” by The Beatles (featured in Jojo Rabbit).
- “Proud Mary” by Tina Turner (performed in Rocks).
- “Royals” by Lorde (featured in Hustlers).
- “True Love Waits” by Radiohead (featured in Waves).
- “Northern Sky” by Nick Drake (featured in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood).
- “Dream Baby Dream” by Bruce Springsteen (featured in Jungleland).
- “The Man I Love” by Billie Holliday (featured in La Belle Époque).
- “Being Alive” from Stephen Sondheim’s Company (performed in Marriage Story).
- “Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 8, RV 315, “Summer” (L’estate)” by Vivaldi (featured in Portrait of a Lady on Fire).
- “Rock ‘n’ Roll (Part 2)” by Gary Glitter (featured in Joker).
- “Money, Money, Money” by ABBA (featured in Greed).
- “Lullaby” by Shawn Mullins (featured in The Climb).
- “Luché contra la ley” by Loquillo Y Los Trogloditas (featured in Chicuarotes).
- “The Passenger” by Iggy Pop (featured in The Whistlers).
- “Moonlight Desires” by Gowan (featured in Black Conflux).
- “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” by The Flaming Lips (similar to the unreleased version featured in Lucy in the Sky).
- “Western Stars” by Bruce Springsteen (featured in Western Stars).
- “Sweet Virginia” by The Rolling Stones (featured in Knives Out).
- “Helden” by David Bowie (featured in Jojo Rabbit).