67th Venice International Film Festival
By Moira Sullivan
The 67th Venice International Film Festival ran from 1 -11 September. Sofia Coppola took home the highest award, the Golden Lion for her film Somewhere. It stars Stephen Dorff as an errant and popular film director Johnny Marco who spends his time on partying and women. When his13 year old girl Cleo played by Elle Fanning shows up he is forced to look as his life. The film is set in a series of hotels, which Coppola said were common dwellings when she was on the road with her father Francis Ford Coppola. Family friend and director/actor Vincent Gallo didn't provide any pre-publicity for his new film Promises Written in Water, in the official competition along with Sofia’s film but it certainly fulfills this festival’s vision for innovative and genre breaking cinema. This new film stands out from the crowd for the official competition and is an achievement that lingers for a long time. It should encourage young filmmakers to do something different, not something that has been done again and again - with their cameras, dialogue, editing and sound.
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| Robert Rodrigues, Jessica Alba, Danny Trejo - Machete |
The 67th Venice International Film Festival ran from 1 -11 September. Sofia Coppola took home the highest award, the Golden Lion for her film Somewhere. It stars Stephen Dorff as an errant and popular film director Johnny Marco who spends his time on partying and women. When his13 year old girl Cleo played by Elle Fanning shows up he is forced to look as his life. The film is set in a series of hotels, which Coppola said were common dwellings when she was on the road with her father Francis Ford Coppola. Family friend and director/actor Vincent Gallo didn't provide any pre-publicity for his new film Promises Written in Water, in the official competition along with Sofia’s film but it certainly fulfills this festival’s vision for innovative and genre breaking cinema. This new film stands out from the crowd for the official competition and is an achievement that lingers for a long time. It should encourage young filmmakers to do something different, not something that has been done again and again - with their cameras, dialogue, editing and sound.
Vincent Gallo took home a best actor award however from
another film: Essential Killing.
The midnight film on opening
day was Robert Rodriguez’ and Ethan Maniquis’ Machete. With a
face that looks like he might have had too many close encounters with a sharp
instrument, Danny Trejo plays Federale Machete, and courts the bad
guys and the likes of Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez and Lindsay
Lohan. This rock n' roll extravaganza spared no details in providing adrenaline-rushing
entertainment. Highlights are the machine gun toting Lindsay Lohan
dressed as a nun (playing the daughter of a drug dealer), the punchy ICE agent
Sartana (Jessica Alba) and resistance fighter Luz, (Michelle Rodriguez).
Danny Trejo, Robert Rodriquez and Jessica Alba were in town for the world premiere.
John Woo said he was pleased to receive the Lifetime Achievement
Award at the Festival. When festival director Marco Mueller
called him with the news he admitted to being shocked, but Mueller convinced
him that his avantgarde style really fit at Venice.
At a panel discussion held on
September 3, Woo was joined by the cast and crew of a film that he
produced that opened at the festival: Reign of the Assassins, starring Michelle
Yeoh. The film directed by Chao-Bin Su is the story of the origins of
Kung Fu in China. Michelle Williams as Emily Tetherow is the middle
ground behind Meek's Cutoff a film directed by Kelly Reichard in the
official competition. It is
about three covered wagons with settlers trying to make it across the rough in
Oregon, in what was later to be called "Meek’s Cutoff".
Numerous shots position the
wagons and the bonneted women, and the landscape for a good part of the
introduction to the film. But when Emily spots "The Cayuse" (Rod
Rondeaux), a Native American, while gathering firewood the settlers go
after him and tie him up. Emily Tetherow knows he can bring the settlers to
safety.
Swedish actor/director Pernilla
August presented her film Beyond at
International Critics Week. The film is based on a novel by the Finnish
author Susanna Alakoski. The Swedish title is an expression
used for housing areas in Ystad in Southern Sweden composed primarily of
Finnish immigrants and referred to as "pigsties".
The
story is about a Finnish couple whose relationship is troubled due to
alcoholism. Finnish actors Ville Virtanen and Outi Mäenpää play the
parents.Young Leena is played by (Tehilla
Blad) who takes care of her younger brother Sakari (Junior Blad) The
film critically looks at adult children of alcoholics with insights into how
such a childhood leaves emotional wounds that take years to heal. Noomi Rapace and
Tehilla Blad play the younger and older Leena and were both featured in
the Millennium Trilogy based on the novels by the late Stieg Larsson.
Next week more from the Venice
Film Festival.
For Movie Magazine this is Moira
Sullivan, Venice
© 2010 - Moira Sullivan - Air Date: 09/05/10
Movie Magazine International
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