And The Winners Are...

Ang Lee, winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival

We were fearing the worst could happen. In the corridors of the Casinò and in the press room, a rumour was spreading that Nikita Mikhalkov had won the Golden Lion. Dismayed at the prospect of such a conservative and cowardly verdict, the journalists take notes for the polemic articles they will have to write a few hours later. But all’s well what ends well: in the end Mikhalkov has won a Goldon Lion, yes, but the Special Lion for Overall work. The “real” Golden Lion now rests in the hands of Ang Lee, who triumphs at Venice Film Festival with Lust, Caution - for the second time in a row (the first back in 2005 with Brokeback Mountain).

Lee’s espionage intrigue cum love story cum Kamasutra manual bowled us over right from the start.
It has deservedly held the attention of the jury (a peculiar jury indeed, made up entirely of directors) thanks to Lee who has transferred the complex script into images, and to his sensitivity in depicting a young and confused woman who, under the surface of a revolutionary warrior, is more womanly and human than she thought.

Perfectly acted by Tony Leung and beautiful Tang Wei, aesthetically stunning, full of languid atmospheres and a warm palette of colours, Lust, Caution will certainly conquer a large audience in the UK.

The Silver Lion went to Redacted by Brian De Palma, partly due to the common trend of awarding politically engaged films (see Ken Loach and Michael Moore’s recent victories in Cannes), but also because Redacted is actually a great, compelling and moving piece of cinema.

With a simple and sparse mise en scene that breaks the barrier between reality and fiction, the film speaks a lot about the power of media, war and human stupidity.

And then there is the Special Prize of the Jury, awarded to two directors ex aequo: Abdellatif Kechiche for La Graine Et Le Mulet and Todd Haynes for Bob Dylan’s abstract biopic I’m Not There.
Two very different films, the first traditional and lively, the second innovative and meditative; but equally good: a couple of examples of how the magic of cinema can still work in several ways and on many emotional levels.

Part of the merit goes to the two actresses that brighten the screen with their magnificent performances: Hafsia Herzi as high-spirited belly dancer Rym, animated by a genuine good nature and altruism; and Cate Blanchett, unbelievably believable in the part of Jude, an alter-ego of Bob Dylan.

The pair were awarded respectively the Mastroianni Prize for young actors, and the Coppa Volpi for the best actress.
The other Coppa Volpi for the best actor went to Brad Pitt for his portrayal of Jesse James in Andrew Dominik’s Western psychological saga: at last Brad has proven that he is not just a pretty face.   

It was quite shocking to see great Italian maestro Bernardo Bertolucci (Last Tango In Paris, The Last Emperor, The Sheltering Sky)  climb on -stage helped by a wheel-walker to receive his Golden Lion of the 75th Anniversary – another award for a Lifetime Achievement, but with a different name.

The great director seems to be seriously ill and the whole film industry hopes he will get better soon.
As for the UK, the only prize awarded to an English film was the Osella for Best Screenplay to Paul Laverty for It’s A Free World… by Ken Loach.

This year, the Festival was, overall, disappointing: the awarded films were the only good works amidst a sea of average arthouse movies or wannabe blockbusters that didn’t deserve to compete for the Lion.

This is one more reason to hope that Festival director Marco Muller is not going to leave Venice but will organize a far better Competition next year. He owes it to all his fans and people who follow the Festival with passion.

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