Arnold
Venice winners, Lee takes the Golden Lion
This years Venice Film Festival may have proven to be the festival to be at. Generating more buzz and controversy that any festival thus far this year (though Toronto is looking really good as well), especially considering the wanning influence of Cannes and the increaingly boring nature of the commercial Sundance festival.
As this years Venice festival draws to a close it makes me wonder to what extent this festival can remain on the cutting edge. The festival is definitely attempting to draw some high profile figures in the film world to the festival, and there are certainly no underdog champions this year, yet they seem to have still been able to select edgy controversial films to represent the best of the festival.
Ang Lee's Lust, Caution took home the Golden Lion this year, his second (he won his first for Brokeback Mountain. The film has gotten diverse reviews, and Ang Lee isn't really an obscure selection for the Golden Lion, but the film remains a somewhat edgy selection because of the nature of the film's production. Ang Lee hasn't attmpted to garner lots of buzz and gimmicks to draw attention to the film. And, I think, most importantly this seems to bee Lee and James Schamus' baby, recieveing a NC-17 rating, in America, didn't phase them in the least.
They didn't try to appeal the rating, or change the film in order to make the film more accessible to audiences and theaters. They've refused to really make any comment or change a frame of the film, they've stood by the film as it stands, and for a high profile director, who could potentially make a lot of any film released, this was quite a stand.
Another selection that is saturated in big names, yet seems to be carrying some indie clout is Todd Haynes' I'm Not There, which shared the Special Jury Prize and was teh vehicle for Cate Blanchett's Best Actress win. The film has been well received, yet all of the critics have said the film is bound to upset some Bob Dylan fans and that American audiences might not respond well to it's achronological fictionalization of Dylan's life. Though the film has made every effort to attract attention for having Blanchett portray a young Dylan and has generated more online buzz before it's release than most superhero movies, which seem to draw geeks across the internet out of their shells to spread rumors.
The last surprise was Brian De Palma's win for Best Director. He's always been a popular director, but he's always fallen in with a more studio crowd of directors, talented but generally doesn't create films that generate buzz, let alone any controversy, at the major festivals. But his Redacted, a film meditating on the Iraq War, has generated more controversy than about any festival film this year.
Most critics have blasted it as being distasteful and sophmoric, but he has stood by his film from the beginning and the judges at Venice must have seen something in the film that merited priase. But it is not always the habit of the festival to pick films which generate this particular brand of controversy from within the festival, they like the type of controversy that generates outside of the festival against the art form. Also surprising here is that nearly all of the major victories went to American films, Lust, Caution has heavy ties to American money and writers, Redacted and I'm Not There are both American as is The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford which took home a Best Actor award for Brad Pitt. Outside of Lee's film the only non-American film was a French film which sahred the Special Jury Prize with the Dylan biopic.
It's hard to say if these films are really edgy, or if they are merely self-generating an appearance of edgy-ness for Venice audiences. Also the selection of so many American films for awards is certainly not a radical move, but the reports seem to indicate that the films were worthy of the praise received. And the festival has seen more press time in film circles than Cannes or Sundance this year, though Sundance's influence has been faltering for years, Cannes has remained a steady force in the major festivals. The Toronto Festival seems to poised to make the same sort of impact that Venice has this year, which makes me wonder, is the power shifting? Of the major 7 will Cannes and Sundance fall from their thrones? I hope so, maybe it will make the directors of these festivals reconsider how commercial the fests have become and maybe they'll rexamine their selection process' so that major studio films, that don't hold up against other films in the fests, are no longer recieving so much press, or even being screened.
As this years Venice festival draws to a close it makes me wonder to what extent this festival can remain on the cutting edge. The festival is definitely attempting to draw some high profile figures in the film world to the festival, and there are certainly no underdog champions this year, yet they seem to have still been able to select edgy controversial films to represent the best of the festival.
Ang Lee's Lust, Caution took home the Golden Lion this year, his second (he won his first for Brokeback Mountain. The film has gotten diverse reviews, and Ang Lee isn't really an obscure selection for the Golden Lion, but the film remains a somewhat edgy selection because of the nature of the film's production. Ang Lee hasn't attmpted to garner lots of buzz and gimmicks to draw attention to the film. And, I think, most importantly this seems to bee Lee and James Schamus' baby, recieveing a NC-17 rating, in America, didn't phase them in the least.
Another selection that is saturated in big names, yet seems to be carrying some indie clout is Todd Haynes' I'm Not There, which shared the Special Jury Prize and was teh vehicle for Cate Blanchett's Best Actress win. The film has been well received, yet all of the critics have said the film is bound to upset some Bob Dylan fans and that American audiences might not respond well to it's achronological fictionalization of Dylan's life. Though the film has made every effort to attract attention for having Blanchett portray a young Dylan and has generated more online buzz before it's release than most superhero movies, which seem to draw geeks across the internet out of their shells to spread rumors.
The last surprise was Brian De Palma's win for Best Director. He's always been a popular director, but he's always fallen in with a more studio crowd of directors, talented but generally doesn't create films that generate buzz, let alone any controversy, at the major festivals. But his Redacted, a film meditating on the Iraq War, has generated more controversy than about any festival film this year.
It's hard to say if these films are really edgy, or if they are merely self-generating an appearance of edgy-ness for Venice audiences. Also the selection of so many American films for awards is certainly not a radical move, but the reports seem to indicate that the films were worthy of the praise received. And the festival has seen more press time in film circles than Cannes or Sundance this year, though Sundance's influence has been faltering for years, Cannes has remained a steady force in the major festivals. The Toronto Festival seems to poised to make the same sort of impact that Venice has this year, which makes me wonder, is the power shifting? Of the major 7 will Cannes and Sundance fall from their thrones? I hope so, maybe it will make the directors of these festivals reconsider how commercial the fests have become and maybe they'll rexamine their selection process' so that major studio films, that don't hold up against other films in the fests, are no longer recieving so much press, or even being screened.
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