Editor’s Note: Vanyaland film editor Nick Johnston is back in Canada this week covering the 50th Toronto International Film Festival. And as usual, we wish we were up there with him! Check out our continuing 2025 coverage, get rolling with our official curtain-raiser, and revisit the complete Vanyaland coverage archives from past TIFF editions. Edward Berger’s Ballad of a Small Player can be best compared to the savory “elevated” cotton candy served as an amuse-bouche at high-end restaurants. This tale of a down-and-out gambler and con artist confronting … Continue reading TIFF50 Review: ‘Ballad of a Small Player’ has awful luck