Environmental lawyer Aurora (Noëlle Schönwald) has sought out refuge in Canada after her husband is mysteriously killed. She flees across the border from Columbia and then, after some additional information is explained about Aurora’s backstory, the film fast-forwards to the refugee’s contemporary lifestyle in Toronto. Despite finding new roots and separating herself from the past, recent sightings of her late husband around the city have Aurora second-guessing her identity.

So Much Tenderness is quietly meditative for the most part, but Columbian-Canadian writer/director Lina Rodriguez (Señoritas) injects her story with thrilling spurts. The reappearance of her late husband is intriguing (especially when Aurora subtly tracks him from the subway through the city’s busy streets), and the movie starts out strong as we observe Aurora’s tense escape. However, the filmmaker indulges exaggerated silences and redundant conversations that either stall the story or a character’s development.

**********

So Much Tenderness screens at TIFF on:

Saturday, September 10 at 6:30 p.m. @ TIFF Bell Lightbox
Thursday, September 15 at 3:30 p.m. @ TIFF Bell Lightbox
Friday, September 16 at 3:40 p.m. @ Scotiabank Theatre (Press & Industry)

Language: English, Spanish
Runtime: 118 minutes

For more information on the festival, visit the official TIFF webpage here.

Buy tickets here.

Do You Tweet? Follow These Tweeple:

TIFF: @TIFF_NET
Addison Wylie: @AddisonWylie