BIENNALE CINEMA 2023 - ROUNDUP OF THE 80TH VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
This year’s edition was supposed to open with Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers, but it got pulled out late June because of the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes which would have prevented the actors to appear on the red carpet. Which also meant this edition saw less Hollywood stars on the red carpet, and more attention given to the directors of American films in this year’s edition.
It was replaced with Edoardo De Angelis‘ Comandante a jingoistic WWII drama made in collaboration with the Italian navy. Personally, I would’ve bumped up Michael Mann’s Ferrari as the opening film.
Top 5:
Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos)
I’ve read and heard many criticism towards this film, calling it problematic because of its depiction of Bella (Emma Stone), but to me, I found it a portrayal of a possibility of being in a world without any pre-conditioned behaviours and roles in society, and to always be curious and seek knowledge, and most importantly, joy and satisfaction.
“Bella discover happy when she want.”
Ferrari (Michael Mann)
A melancholic film that’s more about family grief than the legacy of the brand Ferrari. A stand-out performance by Penelope Cruz as Laura Ferrari, I expect it will be recognised during awards season. Extra points for a very foxy silver haired Patrick Dempsey.
“…our deadly passion, our terrible joy.”
The Killer (David Fincher)
An observation of a hired assassin in an age of surveillance, Amazon, WeWork. He is meticulous, minimalist, health conscious, and only listens to The Smiths. But one day he misses his target. The product placements are as deliberate and pointed as the assassin’s bons mots, “There are 1,500 McDonald’s in France. A good enough place to grab ten grams of protein for a euro, alongside the other 46 million they serve each week.”
Is it better to stand out, or fit in?
In the beginning, the assassin says “Whatever it takes, make sure you’re one of the few, not one of the many.”
In the end, he settles for a very different mantra.
Hit Man (Richard Linklater)
I’ve never really paid much attention to Glenn Powell before, but that’s changed after watching him in this film. A sexy and funny modern day noir, and one of the best experience of watching a film in a packed theatre. One particular scene received an enthusiastic applause by all of us.
Unlike The Killer, this hired hit man doesn’t actually kill. He’s an undercover agent for the New Orleans police, a philosophy teacher by day and master of disguise by night. Things take a morally ambiguous turn when he tries to help a woman from her abusive boyfriend.
A Netflix film that I hope will get a wide theatrical release first before getting lost online where mostly mediocre Netflix films exist. This should’ve been in the Competition section, and perhaps should’ve been the festival’s opening film.
Evil Does Not Exist (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
Living a modest life that’s close to nature is under threat when inhabitants of a small village are told about a construction of a ‘glamping’ site that will impact their water supply. A film that is more meditative compared to typical community vs evil real estate developers plot, and an ending that I still can’t figure out or stop thinking about.
Also liked:
Bastarden / The Promised Land (Nikolaj Arcel)
The Beast (Bertrand Bonello)
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (William Friedkin) - Dubai makes an appearance on a map.
City of Wind (Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir)
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Ariane Louis-Seize)
Making Of (Cédric Kahn)
Malqueridas (Tana Gilbert)
Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros (Frederick Wiseman)
Priscilla (Sofia Coppola)
Hollywoodgate (Ibrahim Nash’at)
Out of Season (Stéphane Brizé)
The Universal Theory (Timm Kröger) “I have become death, destroyer of worlds” - A good double bill with Oppenheimer.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Wes Anderson)
Honorable mentions:
Coup! (Austin Stark, Schuman Joseph)
Hoard (Luna Carmoon)
Unexpectedly made me tear:
Gasoline Rainbow (Turner Ross, Bill Ross IV)
Wish I watched:
Bye Bye Tiberias (Lina Soualem)
Day of the Fight (Jack Huston)
Following the Sound (Kyoshi Sugita)
Melk (Stefanie Kolk)
One From the Heart: Reprise (Francis Ford Coppola, 1982)
The Red Suitcase (Fidel Devkota)
Sidonie in Japan (Elise Girard)
Wish I skipped:
The Order of Time (Liliana Cavani)
Pet Shop Days (Olmo Schnabel) - after I finished watching the film, I overheard a woman describing it to someone as, “It has rich kid written all over it”.
Favourite needle drops, besides the ones in The Killer and Priscilla:
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Ariane Louis-Seize)
Emotions - Brenda Lee (Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person)
Changes - Antonio Williams & Kerry McCoy (Gasoline Rainbow)
Let Me Be Your Fantasy - BabyD (Hoard)
In Corpore Sano - Konstrakta (Housekeeping for Beginners)
Paso Doble - Yilberking (Malqueridas)
Lowdown - Boz Scaggs (The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial)
Wall of Scathing Reviews:
I always enjoy walking by this, and reading people’s thoughts (at least what I can understand).
Below are ones that stood out for me, and gives you another perspective of people’s sentiments about the films and the festival that may not be reflected in the usual festival reviews.
Other highlights:
Audience members booing Gennaro Sangiuliano, the Minister of Culture during his speech on the pre-opening night.
Heard a loud “Pay the writers” when a Netflix logo appeared on the screen.
Hanging out with Glenn Kenny, Madeleine Molyneaux, and Joost Broeren and speculating with him who will be Berlinale’s next Artistic Director.
The beach.
Creepy marketing:
This was outside my hotel room door and on the doors of all the other rooms too. When I took a closer look, I realised it is marketing for Roman Polanski’s latest film The Palace. There was a QR code on the other side linked to the trailer.
The complete list of films I watched:
Pre-Opening Night:
Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina (Orson Welles, 1958)
The Wayward Wife / La provinciale (Mario Soldati, 1953)
Venice Classics
The Exorcist (William Friedkin, 1973)
Harmonica (Amir Naderi, 1974)
Moving (Shinji Sōmai, 1993)
Competition
Bastarden / The Promised Land (Nikolaj Arcel)
The Beast (Bertrand Bonello)
The Commander (Edoardo De Angelis)
Dogman (Luc Besson)
Out of Season (Stéphane Brizé)
El Conde (Pablo Larraín)
Evil Does Not Exist (Ryusuke Hamaguchi)
Ferrari (Michael Mann)
Green Border (Agnieszka Holland)
The Killer (David Fincher)
Lubo (Giorgio Diritti)
Maestro (Bradley Cooper)
Memory (Michel Franco)
Origin (Ava DuVernay)
Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos)
Priscilla (Sofia Coppola)
The Universal Theory (Timm Kröger)
Woman Of… (Michał Englert, Małgorzata Szumowska)
Out of Competition - Fiction
Aggro Dr1ft (Harmony Korine)
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (William Friedkin)
Coup de chance (Woody Allen)
Hit Man (Richard Linklater)
Making Of (Cédric Kahn)
The Order of Time (Liliana Cavani)
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (Wes Anderson)
Out of Competition - Non Fiction
Amor (Virginia Eleuteri Serpieri)
Frente a Guernica (Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci Lucchi)
Hollywoodgate (Ibrahim Nash’at)
Menus-Plaisirs Les Troisgros (Frederick Wiseman)
Orrizonti Competition
City of Wind (Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir)
Gasoline Rainbow (Turner Ross, Bill Ross IV)
Housekeeping for Beginners (Goran Stolevski)
Waiting for the Night (Céline Rouzet)
Orrizonti Extra
Pet Shop Days (Olmo Schnabel)
Biennale College Cinema
Lumbrensueño (José Pablo Escamilla)
Giornate Degli Autori / Venice Days
Coup! (Austin Stark, Schuman Joseph)
Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (Ariane Louis-Seize)
Settimana Internazionale Della Critica / Critics’ Week
Ender’s Line (Gabriele Biasi)
Group Picture (Tommaso Frangini)
Hoard (Luna Carmoon)
Love Is a Gun (Lee Hong Chi)
The Lost Memories Of Trees (Antonio La Camera)
Malqueridas (Tana Gilbert)