Reviews – Financial Times
Luc Besson at Venice screening
VENEZIA 80 COMPETITON
The Promised Land, dir: Nikolaj Arcel
Dogman, dir: Luc Besson
La Bête, dir: Bertrand Bonello
Hors-Saison, dir: Stéphane Brizé
Enea, dir: Pietro Castellitto
Comandante, dir: Edoardo de Angelis (opening night film)
Maestro, dir: Bradley Cooper
Priscilla, dir: Sofia Coppola
Finalmente L’Alba, dir: Saverio Costanzo
Lubo, dir: Giorgio Diritti
Origin, dir: Ava DuVernay
The Killer, dir: David Fincher
Memory, dir: Michel Franco
Io Capitano, dir: Matteo Garrone
Evil Does Not Exist, Ryusuke Hamaguchi
The Green Border, dir: Agnieszka Holland
Die Theorie Von Allem, dir: Timm Kroger
Poor Things, dir: Yorgos Lanthimos
El Conde, dir: Pablo Larrain
Ferrari, dir: Michael Mann
Adagio, dir: Stefano Sollima
Woman Of, dirs: Malgorzata Szumowska, Michal Englert
Holly, dir: Fien Troch
The festival head has give Roman Polanski a safe festival berth for his new movie The Palace at Venice, in a selection that is likely to spark debate alongside the inclusion of Woody Allen’s Coeur de Chance.
Fiction
Coup de Chance, dir: Woody Allen
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, dir: Wes Anderson
The Penitent, dir: Luca Barbareschi
L’Ordine del Tempo, dir: Liliana Cavani
Vivants, dir: Alix Delaporte
Daaaaaal!, dir: Quentin Dupieux
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, dir: William Friedkin
Aggro Dr1ft, dir: Harmony Korine
Hit Man, dir: Richard Linklater
The Palace, dir: Roman Polanski
The Palace will make for a starry red carpet with its ensemble cast featuring Oliver Masucci, Fanny Ardant, John Cleese, Joaquim De Almeida, Luca Barbareschi, Milan Peschel, Bronwyn James, Fortunato Cerlino, Michelle Shapa and Mickey Rourke.
Snow Leopard, dir: Pema Tseden
Short
Welcome to Paradise, dir: Leonardo Di Costanzo
Non-Fiction
Hollywoodgate, dir: Ibrahim Nash’at
Amor, dir: Virginia Eleuteri Serpieri
Ryuichi Sakamoto Opus, dir: Neo Sora
Frente a Guernica (Version Integrale), dirs: Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci Lucchi
Enzo Jannacci Vengo Anch’io, dir: Giorgio Verdelli
Menus Plaisirs – Les Troisgros, dir: Frederick Wiseman
Series
D’Argent et de Sang (episodes 1-12), dirs: Xavier Giannoli, Frederic Planchon
I Know Your Soul (episodes 1&2), dirs: Alen Drljevic, Nermin Hamzagic
Special Screening
La Parte del Leone: Una Storia della Mostra, dirs: Baptiste Etchegary, Guiseppe Bucchi
HORIZONS EXTRA
Bota Jone, dir: Luana Bajrami
Forever Forever, dir: Anna Buryachkova
The Rescue, dir: Daniela Goggi
In the Land of Saints and Sinners, dir: Robert Lorenz
Day of the Fight, dir: Jack Huston
Felicita, dir: Micaela Ramazzotti
Pet Shop Boys, dir: Olmo Schnabel
Stolen, dir: Karan Tejpal
L’Homme d’Argile, dir: Anais Tellenne
HORIZONS
A Cielo Abierto, dirs: Mariana Arriaga, Santiago Arriaga
El Paraiso, dir: Enrico Maria Artale
Behind the Mountains, dir: Mohamed Ben Attia
The Red Suitcase, dir: Fidel Devkota
Tatami, dirs: Guy Nattiv, Zar Amir Ebrahimi
Paradise Is Burning, dir: Mika Gustafson
The Featherweight, dir: Robert Kolodny
Invelle, dir: Simone Massi
Hesitation Wound, dir: Selman Nacar
Heartless, dirs: Nara Normande, Tiao
Una Sterminata Domenica, dir: Alain Perroni
City of Wind, dir: Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
Explanation for Everything, dir: Gabor Reisz
Gasoline Rainbow, dirs: Bill Ross, Turner Ross
En Attendant la Nuit, dir: Céline Rouzet
Housekeeping for Beginners, dir: Goran Stolevski
Shadow of Fire, dir: Shinya Tsukamoto
Dormitory, dir: Nehir Tuna
The Winners
Film4 celebrate success for Yorgos Lanthimos’ POOR THINGS following Golden Lion prize win at 80th Venice International Film Festival
POOR THINGS marks Film4’s fourth collaboration with director Yorgos Lanthimos after backing THE FAVOURITE, THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER and THE LOBSTER, each of which enjoyed impressive festival runs and awards successes. Film4 developed the screenplay for POOR THINGS with Lanthimos’ regular producers Element Pictures and co-financed the film with Searchlight Pictures, who also co-financed Lanthimos’ Bafta and Academy Award winning THE FAVOURITE with Film4.
The highly anticipated POOR THINGS tells the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
Following its UK premiere next month at the London Film Festival on 14th October, POOR THINGS will be released in UK cinemas on 12 January 2024 by Searchlight Pictures.
Full list
Official Awards (Biennale)