This is my first time participating in the Venice Film Festival. What makes this festival different is that all the series and events at the festival, including the conference hall, reception and screenings, are all held on the island of Lido, which is set up as a kind of cinema campus. It is, in fact, a collection that has been built over time, where the various spaces of the festival have been placed, creating a somewhat independent cinematic collection for itself. For example, at Cannes, the whole city is dedicated to the festival, which covers almost the entire city. But in Venice, part of the city is dedicated to cinema and festivals, and if we stray very far beyond it, there’s no sign that a festival is happening. This has both positive and negative points. Among the negative points is that, unlike Cannes, the whole city is not involved in the festival. On the positive side, the whole space related to the festival and the events that take place are in a limited and specific area. And it is much easier to move between halls and from here to there. Of course, due to the Covid-19, access to the films is very difficult this year, and it is necessary to book online the seats approximately 72 hours before the screening. On the other hand, the capacity of the halls is smaller as fewer tickets are available due to covid. In many cases, tickets are clearly difficult to access and must be booked immediately, otherwise, you will miss the film. This is the weakness of this year’s film screening at the Venice Film Festival. I will now discuss few of the highlight’s films from the festival.
Parallel Mothers
This year’s festival began with the film Parallel Mothers by famous Spanish director, Pedro Almodóvar. A work that is almost in the style of his previous dramatic films, Parallel Mothers is the story of the unexpected things that happen in a woman’s life. In this, as in most of Almodóvar’s works, we see the same familiar themes that have always been the building blocks of his cinema; Narratives of queer people and women’s issues. The film follows the same storyline as his other films. If this were one of his early works, it would be quite remarkable. But the style, features, and events that take place, and even the acting, are cut from the same cloth as his other works. This film does not represent an advancement of his career.
The Hand of God
A better film at this year’s Venice Film Festival is Paolo Sorrentino’s latest work, The Hand of God, inspired by the tragic events of the director’s personal life. Paolo Sorrentino lost his parents in an accident at the age of sixteen. They suffocated in a hut. The film takes us back to that time and place; during the era when Maradona first wanted to enter the city of Naples and play football. The name of this movie also refers to Maradona’s famous goal. The Hand of God is Sorrentino’s most personal film. A film that invites us to watch the realization of his dreams. How he goes to Rome from his hometown of Naples. The tone in the movie is reminiscent of Cinema Paradiso, with the same variety of characters, as in his previous films. A comic and exaggerated atmosphere is something that specifically engages and entertains the audience. This was one of the most acceptable works at this year’s Festival.
Spencer
Another good film at the Venice Film Festival follows the life of Princess Diana, played by Christine Stewart, and made by famous Chilean director, Pablo Larraín. If you are familiar with Diana’s life and what is happening in the English court, you’ll enjoy this film, but the film does not offer anything new about Diana’s life and does not lead our imagination to an unknown part of her life. Many feel that the English royal family has been either vilified, they look like clowns. In any case, this film makes Diana into a heroic character, confronted on all sides by ruthless, yet stupid and simple antagonists. Spencer is, after all, a film that is likely to be nominated for many Academy Awards, but it is certainly not a film to be proudly mentioned in the history of cinema.
Official Competition
Other films screened on the fourth day of the festival included Official Competition, directed by Mariano Cohn and Gastón Dupra, with the brilliant acting of Antonio Banderas, Oscar Martinez, and Penelope Cruz. The film is about a rich man who wants to do some good work towards the end of his life. And that good work turns out to be making this film. In the process, he hires Penelope Cruz as director, who then selects Antonio Banderas and Oscar Martinez for the film. The film introduces us to the process of making all of this work. The clashing and competitive egos among actors lead them to into many funny and childish situations. The film creates very good comic moments and introduces the audience to the characters very well. The Official Competition film has created fascinating meta moments. The film even mocks festivals, and in one of the fascinating moments of this film, we see that the director eats the awards of his actors and films that he has received from festivals like this one in Venice and other festivals in one meat grinder! In any case, the film was fascinating and entertaining; It introduced the viewer to the filmmaking environment and the competitions between the actors, the directors’ intellectual space, how they prepare the actors for their film, and the rest of the film making process. Official Competition is a film in which good acting plays an important role.