In Chloé Zhao’s ‘Hamnet,’ something emotional this way comes

TORONTO (AP) — “Why are you making me cry?”

It’s an ironic question for Chloé Zhao , of all people, to be asking the morning after premiering “Hamnet” at the Toronto International Film Festival . On the festival circuit this fall, no film has spawned more of an outpouring of emotion than “Hamnet,” a speculative drama about William Shakespeare, his wife, Agnes, and the death of their 11-year-old son.

Since first playing at the Telluride Festival, Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed 2020 novel has left a trail of weeping moviegoers, moved to tears by its tale of love, grief and art. The fall festivals bring all sorts of harbingers for the movie season to come, but one of the clearest portents this year is that “Hamnet” will wreck you.

“When you love something so much —