The Special Screenings section at Tokyo International Film Festival is largely made up of films that will soon be opening in Japan anyway, but there are still a few hot tickets this year. With "Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away," TIFF has scored the world premiere of this 3-D spectacle featuring the much-loved circus troupe, produced by James Cameron, and written/directed by Andrew Adamson of "Shrek" fame.
In the World Cinema section, see my recommendations on page 19, but Monty Python fans (I know you're out there) should also quickly grab a ticket for "A Liar's Autobiography — The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman." The film is an over-the-top fake biography of the late comedian featuring — with trademark irreverence — "five Pythons, including the dead one!" Different animators tackle each chapter of the book.
Also in the section is Chilean director Dominga Sotomayor's "Thursday Till Sunday," which took a Tiger Prize at Rotterdam this year and certainly looks promising: a beautifully shot, laconic road movie in which a pair of children on vacation watch their parents' marriage unravel. The always infuriating Harmony Korine ("Gummo") is back with "Spring Breakers," which looks like a trashier, nastier version of a "National Lampoon" flick, starring Selena Gomez and James Franco.