Day 10 - 69th Venice International Film Festival

The last day of the festival and all films in main competition have been screened, at least to the press. Is time to close this festival that seemed so promising in paper, before started, as gave the impression that was "different". Indeed was quite different but in my opinion the difference strongly tilted to the not-positive side after the second day. Hope that next year organizers review the fest to re-formulate the structure of the oldest festival in the world. Now I'm really curious to find what will happen with the Rome Film Festival and soon enough, November 9, all of us will find out.

As you know in previous posts the two Autonomous Sections closed today and some awards have been already announced. I'm still curious to find who wins what as no matter what happens with fest a Lion in any color plus la Copa Volti are still great honors in the cinema industry.

Venezia 69

Passion by Brian De Palma

Obviously must be seen for me as I see everything with Noomi Rapace and well, older films by De Palma are good so there is always hope that he does something different to his latest films. My concern is that film is a remake of a film by Alain Corneau, Crime d'Amour with two of my favorite actresses, Kristin Scott Thomas and Ludivine Sagnier.

When I leaned about this film, long before Venice fest, was very difficult for me to imagine Noomi playing the role Ludivine played; but harder was imagining Rachel McAdams playing Kristin Scott Thomas role! I do not particularly like any of the Rachel McAdams performances I have seen and on top can't imagine she acting beside a great actress like Noomi. I know both were already in one film but both were terrible and as far as I remember they had no scene together.

Perceptions started to get better when I learned that De Palma changed the story, good as literal remakes are always awful. But still have problems imagining Rapace and McAdams together. Will be until after seeing movie that will know if these two actresses have chemistry, as will be indispensable for the steamy scenes but also for the whole film.

As reviews have started to appear I learned that some are mildly positive while others are mildly negative. Key word is mild. Seems no one is excited enough to be positive or negative. Not really full-reading reviews but since I know the story, did peak a little to find what they say. There is one headline that made me laugh out loud "It's very much a film for women"; funny headline, but then if I think about Corneau's film have to agree with it. So maybe De Palma film is not that much different.

So, what do I expect from this movie? Good/great steamy lesbian interest scenes and really hope for a great Noomi Rapace performance as role and De Palma could make Noomi to do its best performance in English, up to date. Watched Noomi Rapace interview video and best news are that she's currently filming a Swedish movie! Great, miss her in any other language that is not English. Anyway the synopsis.

An erotic thriller in the tradition of Dressed to Kill and Basic Instinct, Brian De Palma’s Passion tells the story of a deadly power struggle between two women in the dog-eat-dog world of international business. Christine possesses the natural elegance and casual ease associated with one who has a healthy relationship with money and power. Innocent, lovely and easily exploited, her admiring protegée Isabelle is full of cutting edge ideas that Christine has no qualms about stealing. They’re on the same team, after all... Christine takes pleasure in exercising control over the younger woman, leading her one step at a time ever deeper into a game of seduction and manipulation, dominance and humiliation. But when Isabelle falls into bed with one of Christine’s lovers, war breaks out. On the night of the murder, Isabelle is at the ballet, while Christine receives an invitation to seduction. From whom? Christine loves surprises. Naked she goes to meet the mystery lover waiting in her bedroom...

Film will also be in Toronto soon, so more reviews will be available soon and maybe those will be more extreme and less mild. Sigh.



Un Giorno Speciale by Francesca Comencini

According to what I have seen from this film really doesn't call my attention as seems like a regular Italian film, which is not bad but is not the kind of movies that make my excited to see them. The synopsis.

Gina and Marco are both very young and are determined to be “someone.” They meet one morning in a shabby suburb at the gates of Rome. She has an appointment with a politician who could put a good word in for her and help her enter the entertainment world; he is the driver who has to take her to the meeting. It is the moment both have been waiting for: their first day of work and their entry into the adult world. But nothing goes according to plan. The politician, stuck in a never-ending parliamentary session, keeps postponing the meeting, leaving the two young people in a limbo of waiting that soon turns into a special day. It will take them from the provinces to the heart of the capital, in which the two of them will get to know each other. But the immediate future is always lying in ambush. Just when Marco and Gina have revealed their true selves and entered under each other’s skin, forgetting about everything else— including that appointment which just a few hours earlier had seemed so important to them—the eagerly anticipated phone call comes crashing down on them. Later, when Marco takes Gina back home, night has fallen and so has the silence between them. Their lives have changed.

The director's statement

I wanted to make a simple, uncomplicated and seemingly spontaneous film that looked a bit messy. In reality, it is a written and well-constructed film in which a small window was left open for any changes. I wanted to make a fi lm about two young people on the outskirts who get closer to the centre. I wanted to depict their day through delicate touches and make a film that was precise, light and quick both in its narrative arc—a single day—and in the rhythm of the story. I thought this was the only way I’d be able to capture something that lightly and rapidly takes hold of our lives, making them heavy and timeless.

News

L'Oreal Paris Award went to Giulia Bevilacqua.

Photo

Actresses Josephine de la Baume and Roxane Mesquida attend Xan Cassavettes' Kiss of the Dammed photocall today and share a kiss for the press at yesterday red carpet.