CANADIAN FILM WEEK

Filmmaker Atom Egoyan is at his best when he’s mining the traumatic past of a character, interweaving their formative suffering with a present existential crisis. It’s something he did memorably in films like The Sweet Hereafter, and it’s an effective approach in his most recent feature, Seven Veils. The concept is compelling meta: Up-and-coming theater director Jeanine (Amanda Seyfried) is asked to helm a re-staging of Salome, an opera once masterfully directed by her late mentor. As she immerses herself in the production, which Egoyan actually directed twice for the Canadian Opera Company, she begins to grapple with damage inflicted on her by her father—and potentially by her mentor himself. . – Observer

“[Atom Egoyan] could have simply filmed his latest Canadian Opera Company remounting of “Salome,” a visceral Bible extrapolation… Instead he chose to make fresh drama out of it, syncing his screen and stage passions to mesmerizing effect.” – Toronto Star

“Seven Veils” feels like a true return to form for Egoyan, almost as if “Salome” has inspired Egoyan’s entire filmography.” – The Wrap