Tomorrow, the 81th edition of the Venice Film Festival begins under the leadership of Alberto Barbera, when it comes to the artistic part of the fest. A new president, Pietrangelo Buttafuoco was appointed by the government last year. It will be the second time that the festival will enjoy a disapproving presence. Even though I wasn’t overly delighted with the organisation of last year’s edition, the fact is that four of my ten favourite films of 2023 were screened in Venice. The name La Biennale is still around even though the festival is a yearly event. The 2024 edition will surely be more star-filled since there is no strike stopping starlets from striking down on the red carpet.
The opening film tomorrow is Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice which may have a connection to Burton’s 1988 film Beetlejuice. The only source of interest concerning that film is that it is scored by Oingo Boingo wizard Danny Elfman. When it comes to the competition, Venice is, like other festivals, concentrating on commercial fare. Those who were hoping for the re-emergence of Lucrecia Martel, who stunned the Mostra with Zama in 2017 are out of luck. Her latest appearance at the festival was when she headed the 2019 jury which gave the Golden Lion to some Joker film (the title slips my mind).
Now the competition includes a film called Joker: Folie à Deux. I am not sure if it is a prequel, sequel, reboot or a deboot, and I don’t intend to find out. Queer is the latest film by Luca Guadagnino, starring Daniel Craig in the adaptation of William S. Burroughs’ eponymous novel about a middle-aged American expat in Mexico city, trying to break out of his loneliness. According to Barbera, the film was originally 200 minutes long, and he laments that the Venice version is “only” 135 minutes.
Pedro Almodóvar will present his first long feature in English (following the medium-length film The Human Voice) (2021). Both films star Tilda Swinton, but this time around she is joined by Julianne Moore and John Turturro. It is a film I might miss for one reason or other.
Halina Reijn made a great debut with Instinct in 2019, but then she fell into the A24 pit with Bodies, Bodies, Bodies (2022). The description of her new film, Babygirl, may point to more similarities with the former. Another factor is the fact that her own company, Man Up Film (formed with Carice van Houten) is co-producing the film. The storyline revolves around a high-powered CEO who puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much younger intern. It sounds scarily close to the tepid Queen of Hearts (Dronningen 2019), and Catherine Breillat’s even worse remake of that film, but I put some trust in Halina Reijn’s judgement.
The heaviest film in the 81th Venice Film Festival
Brady Corbet will present his third feature, The Brutalist, starring Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones. It is a chronicle about Hungarian-born Jewish architect, László Tóth, who emigrated to the United States of America in 1947. What makes it special is that it was shot in the old VistaVision format, and will be presented in Venice in 70 mm. The reels altogether are said to weigh 136 kg, which surely makes it the heaviest film during the festival. The duration is 215 minutes, and the film boasts a 15-minute intermission. There are lots of Hungarian talent involved in the film, including the editor Dávid Jancsó, the son of world famous director, Miklós Jancsó.
Other films to look forward to in the competition include Dag Johan Haugerud’s Love (Kjaerlighet) and Dea Kulumbegashvili’s sophomore effort in April. Her first film had many fans, including the aforementioned Guadagnino. Pablo Larrain, who hasn’t made a good film in ages, will be back with yet another biographical project about Maria Callas, inventively named Maria. There is a certain buzz around Siew Hua Yeo’s second film, Stranger Eyes, not least from the festival director. It is a detective story about a couple whose baby daughter disappears. Altogether, the competition comprises 21 films. The Golden Lion will be handed out by jury president Isabelle Huppert.
The selection committee of the main side section, Orizzonti, has selected 19 titles. Among them is a documentary by Alex Ross Perry called Pavements about the eponymous indie band. Other titles include Mon Inséparables by Anne-Sophie Bailly, Familiar Touch by Sarah Friedland, and Diciannove by Giovanni Tortorici.
The obvious highlight in the Venice Classics strand is the restored version of Michelangelo Antonioni’s La Notte (1961). Even if it is easily the weakest work in his famous trilogy and the only one I’ve seen less than ten times in a cinema, it is still a major event. Another film that is bound to be a highlight is Werner Schroeter’s Les Flocons d’or (1976). Other selections include Blood and Sand (1925), The Big Heat (1953), and Truffaut’s La peau douce (1964). Talking about Truffaut, the section also includes a documentary about Jean-Pierre Léaud called Le Cinéma de Jean-Pierre Léaud.
The Venice Film Festival begins on 28/8 and ends on 7/9, when the award ceremony will take place. Stay tuned for reports and reviews.