We’ve entered the fifth day of the Venice Film Festival. What’s clear so far is the acceptable and defensible quality of the films. In fact, brilliant films have been shown by different directors over the past few days. Original Competition, which was a remarkable work, was one example. Also, the film Dog’s Power by Jane Campion, praised by British critics and criticized by Italian critics. And of course, Paolo Sorrentino, noticed and welcomed by the Italian press.
Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon
A film by Ana Lily Amirpour called Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon was screened today. This is the third film from this director. who is of Iranian descent and lives in the United States. The director’s works are such that the viewer either likes them or can not cope with them at all. It is usually a bipolar view with no middle ground. Unlike the director’s previous two films, Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon is a more fictional film. This makes it easier to relate to the characters. The film is full of surprises and shows the author’s storytelling prowess. There are also beautiful and brilliant illustrations, and of course, cinematography and special effects, which have given the film acceptable technical power, accompanied by a perfectly matched score. This is almost the best work she has produced in recent years. Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon is a well-made and somewhat unconventional film that uses elements from the thriller and horror genres.
Last Night in Soho
Another film of the festival was a work by Edgar Wright called Last Night in Soho, which also falls into the horror genre. The film is about a girl who suffers from schizophrenia and is involved in her mother’s suicidal adventures. She enters London because of her interest in fashion and design, and she encounters nightmares and fantasies. It was a powerful and good work from this director. However, Ms. Amirpour’s work was better at engaging the audience. Especially because of the special effects and the very good acting that pull the viewer in. Parts of the strong blackness in Last Night in Soho evoke Aronofsky’s work, creating dual contrasts that engage the viewer. The viewer will suspect that some scenes may be related to the girl’s nightmares, but over time he encounters various surprises and issues along the way and challenges the question of his own ideas in the story.
Amira
Among the films of Arab directors, one of the best of the festival was Amira, directed by Mohamed Diab, which was screened in the Horizons section. Amira follows fathers who are in Israeli prisons and send their sperm out of prison so that they can continue the family line. In this film, we encounter a story about one of these fathers that engages the viewer in the unresolved tension between Palestine and Israel. The script and acting are impressive here. Arab directors and filmmakers seem to be dealing with everyday life that may not make sense to Western viewers and may not fit the reality of their lives. But these are the realities that are happening in these countries. Amira is such a film. The story of man and his resistance to slavery also raises good questions for us as to whether the concept of father is merely genetic or something that goes beyond genetics, and whether a person who raises a child can not feel like a father. Amira also introduces the concept of being a hero in today’s world and resistance and challenging the concept of self-sacrifice.
Costa Brava, Lebanon
Costa Brava, Lebanon was another film by Arab filmmakers at this year’s Venice Film Festival. A film directed by Mounia Akl and one of the films sponsored by the Doha Film Institute. With an engaging allegorical story about political resistance and how to resist oppression. A family that finds itself without purpose because it feels like all human beings are victims of political systems and power, has isolated itself from society, and is living away from human connections. But their lives are being challenged by government forces seeking to destroy their habitat. Through the challenges that arise for this family, the director expresses his views on politics and individual resistance and asks whether individual resistance is possible in today’s world. It is a work that is not rhetorical and over time, the film conveys its information to the audience and helps them put the puzzle pieces together and find the meaning and story of the film.
Lost Illusions
The film Lost Illusions was another brilliant film that was screened in the competition section of the festival. A work by the French director Xavier Giannoli, who is a very good screenwriter and filmmaker. The film, adapted from one of Balzac’s novels, also reminds the viewer of Renoir films. Around the end of the 17th century, when freedom of the press was taking shape in France, the public spaces that Habermas spoke of emerged in that French space, making the monarchy and the bourgeois forces a major target and challenge. It is an ambitious film that reminds one of Stanley Kubrick’s lasting work, Barry Lyndon. Lost Illusions is also about a character who is not satisfied with his own historical background and in the meantime is even willing to sell his ideals to gain prestige, fame and reputation. Ultimately, what a bitter and painful fate the same character finds on the way to achieving his goal and ideal, is what is shown in this film. After all, it is a film that, more than anything else, shows the viewer how prone dreams are to backfire. It was one of the most brilliant works screened at the Venice Film Festival this year.