The first trailer has been unveiled for “Walls” (“Mur”), actor-turned-filmmaker Kasia Smutniak’s directorial debut that will world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, leading to a mass exodus of refugees seeking asylum across Europe. Among the European countries offering aid and refuge, Poland was particularly generous but the country had also simultaneously commenced the construction of Europe’s most expensive wall along its entire border with Belarus to deter further refugees from entering.
A strip of land known as the red zone running parallel to the Belarusian border prevents anyone from approaching and seeing the construction of the wall. Smutniak undertakes an uncertain and risky journey into the red zone, where access is not allowed to the media, with the help of local activists and minimal technical equipment. The director’s journey begins and ends with two walls.
The first wall rejects migrants arriving...
In 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, leading to a mass exodus of refugees seeking asylum across Europe. Among the European countries offering aid and refuge, Poland was particularly generous but the country had also simultaneously commenced the construction of Europe’s most expensive wall along its entire border with Belarus to deter further refugees from entering.
A strip of land known as the red zone running parallel to the Belarusian border prevents anyone from approaching and seeing the construction of the wall. Smutniak undertakes an uncertain and risky journey into the red zone, where access is not allowed to the media, with the help of local activists and minimal technical equipment. The director’s journey begins and ends with two walls.
The first wall rejects migrants arriving...
- 8/21/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl wins Queer Lion
Veteran director Marco Bellocchio’s Blood Of My Blood (Sangue Del Mio Sangue) has won the Fipresci Award at the 72nd Venice Film Festival (Sept 2-12).
The film is a vampire-themed period drama starring Alba Rohrwacher, who won last year’s Volpi prize for best actress with her performance in Hungry Hearts, as a 17th-century noblewoman who becomes a nun and seduces a young army officer and his twin brother. The film is sold by The Match Factory.
Venice’s ‘Collateral Awards’ - prizes assigned independently by film critics and cultural associations - also saw the Queer Lion Award go to Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl, starring Eddie Redmayne as Danish artist Lili Elbe, one of the first known recipients of sexual reassignment surgery.
The film, which receives its North American premiere at Toronto tonight (Sept 12), is a hot contender for the upcoming awards season.
Fipresci AwardBest...
Veteran director Marco Bellocchio’s Blood Of My Blood (Sangue Del Mio Sangue) has won the Fipresci Award at the 72nd Venice Film Festival (Sept 2-12).
The film is a vampire-themed period drama starring Alba Rohrwacher, who won last year’s Volpi prize for best actress with her performance in Hungry Hearts, as a 17th-century noblewoman who becomes a nun and seduces a young army officer and his twin brother. The film is sold by The Match Factory.
Venice’s ‘Collateral Awards’ - prizes assigned independently by film critics and cultural associations - also saw the Queer Lion Award go to Tom Hooper’s The Danish Girl, starring Eddie Redmayne as Danish artist Lili Elbe, one of the first known recipients of sexual reassignment surgery.
The film, which receives its North American premiere at Toronto tonight (Sept 12), is a hot contender for the upcoming awards season.
Fipresci AwardBest...
- 9/12/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Steve McQueen talks about modern slavery as 12 Years A Slave wins best film; Cate Blanchett dedicates her BAFTA to Philip Seymour Hoffman; Barkhad Abdi says Greengrass believed in him before he believed in himself.Click here for the full list of winners
Host Stephen Fry welcomed the star-studded crowd by saying the BAFTAs are “the greatest night of the British film calendar, if there is such a thing.” He joked that there were “faces so familiar you want to lick them.”
He welcomed guests including Prince William, President of the Academy, into “the plush womb of the resplendent Royal Opera House” in Covent Garden, London.
Fry got Leonardo DiCaprio to blow a kiss into the camera.
Tinie Tempah and Laura Mvula kicked off the show with a duet of Heroes, and Tempah set the mood for a lively evening by high-five-ing Prince William.
Outstanding British Film
Oprah Winfrey, nominated for The Butler, presented the Outstanding...
Host Stephen Fry welcomed the star-studded crowd by saying the BAFTAs are “the greatest night of the British film calendar, if there is such a thing.” He joked that there were “faces so familiar you want to lick them.”
He welcomed guests including Prince William, President of the Academy, into “the plush womb of the resplendent Royal Opera House” in Covent Garden, London.
Fry got Leonardo DiCaprio to blow a kiss into the camera.
Tinie Tempah and Laura Mvula kicked off the show with a duet of Heroes, and Tempah set the mood for a lively evening by high-five-ing Prince William.
Outstanding British Film
Oprah Winfrey, nominated for The Butler, presented the Outstanding...
- 2/16/2014
- by wendy.mitchell@screendaily.com (Wendy Mitchell)
- ScreenDaily
Rome – The Italian cinema industry was in mourning Thursday after the death of 57-year-old Carlo Mazzacurati, the director whose films screened in competition in Locarno, Rome and Venice and whose 1994 comedy about two friends who try to steal and sell a bull, Il Toro, won Venice’s prestigious Silver Lion for best director. Mazzacurati died late Wednesday in his birth city of Padua, near Venice, following a long illness. Details were not made available. He directed nearly 20 films, but no feature films since another comedy, 2010's The Passion (La passione), which also screened in competition in Venice.
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- 1/23/2014
- by Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This morning, the lineup for the 2012 Venice Film Festival arrived with a selection worthy of a once over. The non-Toronto titles of note include Olivier Assayas' Something in the Air, Ramin Bahrani's At Any Price starring Dennis Quaid and Zac Efron, Amos Gitai's Carmel, Harmony Korine's Spring Breakers and the two I'm most upset won't be playing Toronto, Susanne Bier's Love Is All You Need and Brian De Palma's Passion. Spike Lee, Jonathan Demme and jury president Michael Mann all arrive with documentaries; Mann with Witness: Libya, Demme with Enzo Avitabile Music Life and Lee with his Michael Jackson documentary, Bad 25, taking a look at the making of Jackson's 1987 album "Bad" 25 years later, which includes appearances by Martin Scorsese, Usher Raymond, Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Quincy Jones, Cee-Lo and Sheryl Crow. Name titles that will also play Toronto include Terrence Malick's To The Wonder,...
- 7/27/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
With the line-up for the Toronto International Film Festival dropping a few days ago and the list for Venice out today, the festival circuit has arrived!
The lead stories for the Venice line-up aren't nearly as exciting as those coming out of Toronto. Harmony Korrine's "Spring Breakers" with James Franco and Selena Gomez will make its debut, as will Brian De Palma's "Passion" with Noomi Rapace and Rachel McAdams.
Perhaps the biggest headline here is the absence of Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master," a film that was expected to appear here. Skipping Venice is just more proof that the rumors of a Fantastic Fest debut may be true.
Check out the full line-up (via The Playlist) after the jump!
Opening Film (Out Of Competition)
"The Reluctant Fundamentalist," Mira Nair (U.S.,Qatar)
Competition
"To The Wonder," Terrence Malick (U.S.)
"Something in the Air," Olivier Assayas (France)
"Outrage:Beyond,...
The lead stories for the Venice line-up aren't nearly as exciting as those coming out of Toronto. Harmony Korrine's "Spring Breakers" with James Franco and Selena Gomez will make its debut, as will Brian De Palma's "Passion" with Noomi Rapace and Rachel McAdams.
Perhaps the biggest headline here is the absence of Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master," a film that was expected to appear here. Skipping Venice is just more proof that the rumors of a Fantastic Fest debut may be true.
Check out the full line-up (via The Playlist) after the jump!
Opening Film (Out Of Competition)
"The Reluctant Fundamentalist," Mira Nair (U.S.,Qatar)
Competition
"To The Wonder," Terrence Malick (U.S.)
"Something in the Air," Olivier Assayas (France)
"Outrage:Beyond,...
- 7/26/2012
- by Kevin P. Sullivan
- MTV Movies Blog
The complete lineup for the 69th Venice Film Festival has been announced! Despite rumors, Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master will not be playing at the festival, but the slate remains just as exciting, with new entries from Assayas, Kitano, de Palma, Korine, Ramin Bahrani, and Kim Ki-Duk—plus Raúl Ruiz's second "last film" of the season (Lines of Wellington, completed by his widow and longtime editor Valeria Sarmiento) and the infamously meditative Terrence Malick's second feature in two years.
In Competition
Something in the Air, Olivier Assayas (France)
At Any Price, Ramin Bahrani (Us, UK)
Dormant Beauty, Marco Bellocchio (Italy)
La Cinquieme Saison, Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth (Belgium-Netherlands-France)
Fill The Void, Rama Bursztyn and Yigal Bursztyn (Israel)
E' stato il figlio, Daniele Cipri (Italy)
Un Giorno Speciale, Francesca Comencini (Italy)
Passion, Brian De Palma (France-Germany)
Superstar, Xavier Giannoli (France-Belgium)
Pieta, Kim Ki-duk (South Korea)
Outrage: Beyond,...
In Competition
Something in the Air, Olivier Assayas (France)
At Any Price, Ramin Bahrani (Us, UK)
Dormant Beauty, Marco Bellocchio (Italy)
La Cinquieme Saison, Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth (Belgium-Netherlands-France)
Fill The Void, Rama Bursztyn and Yigal Bursztyn (Israel)
E' stato il figlio, Daniele Cipri (Italy)
Un Giorno Speciale, Francesca Comencini (Italy)
Passion, Brian De Palma (France-Germany)
Superstar, Xavier Giannoli (France-Belgium)
Pieta, Kim Ki-duk (South Korea)
Outrage: Beyond,...
- 7/26/2012
- MUBI
The Venice Film Festival announced its lineup today, and it has something for everyone: Hollywood A-listers, Disney Channel darlings, a host of foreign films, a Dragon Tattoo alumna — and that’s just what’s in competition for the Golden Lion trophy.
Notable premieres include Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep, which stars Redford as a Weather Underground member exposed by a young reporter (Shia Labeouf), and Spring Breakers, a film about restaurant-robbing college girls that stars Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, and James Franco. Rachel McAdams shows up twice, first alongside Noomi Rapace in Brian De Palma’s thriller Passion,...
Notable premieres include Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep, which stars Redford as a Weather Underground member exposed by a young reporter (Shia Labeouf), and Spring Breakers, a film about restaurant-robbing college girls that stars Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, and James Franco. Rachel McAdams shows up twice, first alongside Noomi Rapace in Brian De Palma’s thriller Passion,...
- 7/26/2012
- by Nolan Feeney
- EW - Inside Movies
Following the Toronto International Film Festival line-up earlier this week, the 69th Venice Film Festival has weighed in with their choices this morning. Outside of films also premiering at Tiff — including most notably Ramin Bahrani‘s At Any Price and Terrence Malick‘s To the Wonder – they have a strong batch of films not at that fest. We have the highly anticipated next feature from Olivier Assayas (Summer Hours, Carlos), titled Something In The Air, as well as Brian De Palma‘s sensual thriller Passion with Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace.
Then things get a little silly with Harmony Korine‘s James Franco and Selena Gomez gangster/party film Spring Breakers. Rounding out the other major titles are Susanne Bier following up her Oscar win with Love Is All You Need and Spike Lee’s Michael Jackson documentary Bad 25. The lack of Paul Thomas Anderson‘s heavily rumored The Master...
Then things get a little silly with Harmony Korine‘s James Franco and Selena Gomez gangster/party film Spring Breakers. Rounding out the other major titles are Susanne Bier following up her Oscar win with Love Is All You Need and Spike Lee’s Michael Jackson documentary Bad 25. The lack of Paul Thomas Anderson‘s heavily rumored The Master...
- 7/26/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
This week sees the line-up announcement of not one but two of the year’s biggest events in the film industry. Toronto International Film Festival’s line-up was officially announced earlier this week, and was absolutely fantastic, and now the Venice International Film Festival have officially announced their line-up, featuring some incredibly anticipated films as well.
The festival will run from 29th August to 8th September, and will be opened by Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, making its world debut and premiering out of competition. Heading up the most notable films among the announcement are Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers, with James Franco, Selena Gomez, and Vanessa Hudgens; Brian De Palma’s Passion, with Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace; Ramin Bahrani’s At Any Price, with Zac Efron, Dennis Quaid, and Heather Graham; Takeshi Kitano’s Outrage: Beyond, with Tomokazu Miura, Ryo Kase, and Fumiyo Kohinata; Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep,...
The festival will run from 29th August to 8th September, and will be opened by Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist, making its world debut and premiering out of competition. Heading up the most notable films among the announcement are Harmony Korine’s Spring Breakers, with James Franco, Selena Gomez, and Vanessa Hudgens; Brian De Palma’s Passion, with Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace; Ramin Bahrani’s At Any Price, with Zac Efron, Dennis Quaid, and Heather Graham; Takeshi Kitano’s Outrage: Beyond, with Tomokazu Miura, Ryo Kase, and Fumiyo Kohinata; Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep,...
- 7/26/2012
- by Kenji Lloyd
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Apichatpong Weerasethakul, winner of the Palme d'Or at last year's Cannes for "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Loves," will head the jury for the Venice Film Festival's Orizzonti (Horizons) sidebar. The section focuses on cutting edge international cinema. Weerasethakul competed in the festival's main section back in 2006 with "Syndromes and a Century." In other jury announcements, Italian director Carlo Mazzacurati, whose "La Passione" competed in Venice last ...
- 6/16/2011
- Indiewire
Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul will chair the Orizzonti Jury at the 68th Venice International Film Festival which will run from August 31 –September 10, 2011.
Orizzonti is a section dedicated to new currents in international cinema; the Jury in this section will award four prizes: Orizzonti Prize (for feature-length films), the Special Orizzonti Jury Prize, the Orizzonti Short Film Prize, and the Orizzonti Medium-length Film Prize.
Weerasethakul won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2010 for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. His film Syndromes and a Century was at Competition in Venice in 2006.
Venice International Film Festival also announced that Italian director Carlo Mazzacurati will chair the Jury for “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film. The Jury for this award will select the winner among all the debut feature-length films in the various competitive sections of the festival (Official Selection and Independent Parallel Sections), which will be awarded 100,000 Usd,...
Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul will chair the Orizzonti Jury at the 68th Venice International Film Festival which will run from August 31 –September 10, 2011.
Orizzonti is a section dedicated to new currents in international cinema; the Jury in this section will award four prizes: Orizzonti Prize (for feature-length films), the Special Orizzonti Jury Prize, the Orizzonti Short Film Prize, and the Orizzonti Medium-length Film Prize.
Weerasethakul won the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2010 for Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives. His film Syndromes and a Century was at Competition in Venice in 2006.
Venice International Film Festival also announced that Italian director Carlo Mazzacurati will chair the Jury for “Luigi De Laurentiis” Venice Award for a Debut Film. The Jury for this award will select the winner among all the debut feature-length films in the various competitive sections of the festival (Official Selection and Independent Parallel Sections), which will be awarded 100,000 Usd,...
- 6/16/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Last week saw the annual London Italian Film Festival showcase a week of exciting new Italian cinema at Ciné Lumière. This year’s raft of 10 titles was picked by Irene Bignardi and two Film London’s Adrian Wootton. They chose well. Very well, indeed. The festival continues throughout March at the Italian Cultural Institute with an homage to Federico Fellini and Mario Monicelli and a series of screenings focused on film and food.
Film-goers were treated to Passion (dir: Jon Turturro), We Believed (dir. Mario Martone), And Peace On Earth (dirs: Matteo Botrugno & Daniele Coluccini), Lost Kisses (dir. Roberta Torre), Basilicata Coast To Coast (dir. Rocco Papaleo), Angels of Evil (dir. Michele Placido), Sorelle Mai (dir. Marco Bellocchio), The Passion (dir. Carlo Mazzacurati), A Quiet Life (dir. Claudio Cupellini) and Gorbaciof (dir. Stefano Incerti).
One thing is for sure, all the films shown deserve to be seen and distributed in the UK.
Film-goers were treated to Passion (dir: Jon Turturro), We Believed (dir. Mario Martone), And Peace On Earth (dirs: Matteo Botrugno & Daniele Coluccini), Lost Kisses (dir. Roberta Torre), Basilicata Coast To Coast (dir. Rocco Papaleo), Angels of Evil (dir. Michele Placido), Sorelle Mai (dir. Marco Bellocchio), The Passion (dir. Carlo Mazzacurati), A Quiet Life (dir. Claudio Cupellini) and Gorbaciof (dir. Stefano Incerti).
One thing is for sure, all the films shown deserve to be seen and distributed in the UK.
- 3/9/2011
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
In keeping with the current turmoil and unrest running amok in the world, Italy finds itself in a very confused state. Partly resigned, partly in denial, Italians have looked on as the recent recession has made worse what was a "not-really-thriving" situation already in terms of occupation, education reforms, and the political landscape in general.
Things have now somehow reached the point of non-return, and while the country's being forced to answer questions of "What exactly is wrong with your Prime Minister" from the whole civilised world, young generations think about their future as a bit of a gamble.
It is therefore both a remarkable and surprising challenge the one the Italian Film Festival is planning to take on when it opens in London on the 1st of March 2011. Remarkable, as the event will provide a rare chance for the UK public to watch new and mostly non mainstream Italian films by talented filmmakers who,...
Things have now somehow reached the point of non-return, and while the country's being forced to answer questions of "What exactly is wrong with your Prime Minister" from the whole civilised world, young generations think about their future as a bit of a gamble.
It is therefore both a remarkable and surprising challenge the one the Italian Film Festival is planning to take on when it opens in London on the 1st of March 2011. Remarkable, as the event will provide a rare chance for the UK public to watch new and mostly non mainstream Italian films by talented filmmakers who,...
- 2/26/2011
- by Daniel Green
- CineVue
The Italian Film Festival 2011 will kick off on 1 March 2011 with a concert at London’s Cadogan Hall by Nicola Piovani, winner of the Academy Award for the score of Roberto Benigni’s Life Is Beautiful in 1998. The festival, due to become an annual event, is organized by the Italian Cultural Institute in London and Cinecittà Luce in Rome.
The festival’s programme includes ten new Italian films: a selection of eight titles made by Italian film critic Irene Bignardi and a special choice of two by Adrian Wootton of Film London. The screenings at Ciné Lumière will be followed by Q&A sessions with directors and actors.
The event will offer an opportunity for London audiences to see Italian films most of which have yet to be screened in the UK, and a rare opportunity for British film distributors to catch up with brand new, cutting edge Italian cinema. The...
The festival’s programme includes ten new Italian films: a selection of eight titles made by Italian film critic Irene Bignardi and a special choice of two by Adrian Wootton of Film London. The screenings at Ciné Lumière will be followed by Q&A sessions with directors and actors.
The event will offer an opportunity for London audiences to see Italian films most of which have yet to be screened in the UK, and a rare opportunity for British film distributors to catch up with brand new, cutting edge Italian cinema. The...
- 2/22/2011
- by Martyn Conterio
- FilmShaft.com
Another title In Competition for Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival 2010.
Next project that we’re going to talk about is movie titled La Passione or if you prefer The Passion from Italian director Carlo Mazzacurati who was in charge for the script as well, together with Umberto Contarello, Doriana Leondeff and Marco Pettenello.
Check out the La Passione synopsis: “When you’re over fifty, it becomes increasingly difficult to be an up-and-coming director. Gianni Dubois knows this only too well. He hasn’t made a film for years, and now that he has the chance to direct a young TV star he can’t even think up an idea for a story.
As if this wasn’t enough, a leak in his apartment in Tuscany has ruined the 16th-century fresco in the chapel next door. To avoid being sued and publicly shamed, Gianni must accept the bizarre proposal of...
Next project that we’re going to talk about is movie titled La Passione or if you prefer The Passion from Italian director Carlo Mazzacurati who was in charge for the script as well, together with Umberto Contarello, Doriana Leondeff and Marco Pettenello.
Check out the La Passione synopsis: “When you’re over fifty, it becomes increasingly difficult to be an up-and-coming director. Gianni Dubois knows this only too well. He hasn’t made a film for years, and now that he has the chance to direct a young TV star he can’t even think up an idea for a story.
As if this wasn’t enough, a leak in his apartment in Tuscany has ruined the 16th-century fresco in the chapel next door. To avoid being sued and publicly shamed, Gianni must accept the bizarre proposal of...
- 9/11/2010
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
Venice – "Ovsyanki" (Silent Souls), Russian director Aleksei Fedorchenko's in-competition drama of a factory worker's poetic and folkloric farewell to his dead wife, was among the Saturday highlights at the Venice Film Festival.
The festival also featured the world premiere of Carlo Mazzacurati's comedic drama "La passion" (The Passion), one of four Italian films in competition. It was the second film in three years on the Venice Lido for the 54-year-old Mazzacurati, following the 2008 success of "La giusta distanza" (The Right Distance), which won Venice's Gugliemo Biraghi collateral prize.
And Saturday also saw the world premiere of "Jean Gentil," from Laura Amelia Guzman and Israel Cardenas, the moving story of a Haitian immigrant's struggles in the neighboring Dominican Republic. The film, which screened in Venice's Orizzonti sidebar, is the first-ever Dominican film to screen on the Lido.
But it was "Ovsyanki" that created the most buzz Saturday, immediately sparking...
The festival also featured the world premiere of Carlo Mazzacurati's comedic drama "La passion" (The Passion), one of four Italian films in competition. It was the second film in three years on the Venice Lido for the 54-year-old Mazzacurati, following the 2008 success of "La giusta distanza" (The Right Distance), which won Venice's Gugliemo Biraghi collateral prize.
And Saturday also saw the world premiere of "Jean Gentil," from Laura Amelia Guzman and Israel Cardenas, the moving story of a Haitian immigrant's struggles in the neighboring Dominican Republic. The film, which screened in Venice's Orizzonti sidebar, is the first-ever Dominican film to screen on the Lido.
But it was "Ovsyanki" that created the most buzz Saturday, immediately sparking...
- 9/4/2010
- by By Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Are you guys ready for the oldest film festival in the world? Yeah, sure you are! Who’s crazy enough to miss all that glamour, great movies, and well-known faces? Guess nobody!
This year’s Venice Film Festival runs from September 1- 11th and some great titles will compete for Leone d’Oro, or if you prefer Golden Lion, indeed!
Just in case you don’t trust us, check out a list of all the films playing in competition:
In Competition
Black Swan, Opening Night Film (dir. Darren Aronofsky – U.S.) Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder
La Pecora Nera, (dir. Ascanio Celestini – Italy) Ascanio Celestini, Giorgio Tirabassi, Maya Sansa
Somewhere, (dir. Sofia Coppola – U.S.) Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Benicio Del Toro, Michelle Monaghan, Laura Chiatti, Simona Ventura
Happy Few, (dir. Antony Cordier – France) Marina Fois, Elodie Bouchez, Roschdy Zem, Nicolas Duvauchelle
The Solitude of Prime Numbers,...
This year’s Venice Film Festival runs from September 1- 11th and some great titles will compete for Leone d’Oro, or if you prefer Golden Lion, indeed!
Just in case you don’t trust us, check out a list of all the films playing in competition:
In Competition
Black Swan, Opening Night Film (dir. Darren Aronofsky – U.S.) Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, Winona Ryder
La Pecora Nera, (dir. Ascanio Celestini – Italy) Ascanio Celestini, Giorgio Tirabassi, Maya Sansa
Somewhere, (dir. Sofia Coppola – U.S.) Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Benicio Del Toro, Michelle Monaghan, Laura Chiatti, Simona Ventura
Happy Few, (dir. Antony Cordier – France) Marina Fois, Elodie Bouchez, Roschdy Zem, Nicolas Duvauchelle
The Solitude of Prime Numbers,...
- 7/30/2010
- by Fiona
- Filmofilia
The full lineup for this year's Venice film festival has been announced – but there's a no show for the new Terrence Malick
The full programme for this year's Venice film festival has been announced and, as predicted, many film-makers whose films weren't quite ready for Cannes will debut on the Lido. Somewhere, a Hollywood-set drama from Sofia Coppola, is amongst the premieres, likewise Vincent Gallo's Brown Bunny sequel, Promises Written in Water, apparently a black-and-white tale of a girl with a terminal illness.
Julian Schnabel's Miral, which follows Hind Husseini's efforts to set up an orphanage in Jerusalem after the 1948 partition of Palestine, also finds a home. However, Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, which many had predicted would screen at the festival, is not on the list; nor that for the Toronto film festival, which directly follows Venice.
Other hotly tipped titles include Meek's Cutoff, Kelly Reichardt...
The full programme for this year's Venice film festival has been announced and, as predicted, many film-makers whose films weren't quite ready for Cannes will debut on the Lido. Somewhere, a Hollywood-set drama from Sofia Coppola, is amongst the premieres, likewise Vincent Gallo's Brown Bunny sequel, Promises Written in Water, apparently a black-and-white tale of a girl with a terminal illness.
Julian Schnabel's Miral, which follows Hind Husseini's efforts to set up an orphanage in Jerusalem after the 1948 partition of Palestine, also finds a home. However, Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life, which many had predicted would screen at the festival, is not on the list; nor that for the Toronto film festival, which directly follows Venice.
Other hotly tipped titles include Meek's Cutoff, Kelly Reichardt...
- 7/30/2010
- by Catherine Shoard
- The Guardian - Film News
Competition: Opening Film: Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky (U.S.) La pecora nera, Ascanio Celestini (Italy)Somewhere, Sofia Coppola (U.S.)Happy Few, Antony Cordier (France)The Solitude of Prime Numbers, Saverio Costanzo (Italy-Germany-France)Silent Souls, Aleksei Fedorchenko (Russia)Promises Written in Water, Vincent Gallo (U.S.)Road to Nowhere, Monte Hellman (U.S.)A Sad Trumpet Ballad, Alex de la Iglesia (Spain-France)Black Venus, Abdellatif Kechiche (France)Post Mortem, Pablo Larrain (Chile-Mexico-Germany)Barney's Version, Richard J. Lewis (Canada-Italy)We Believed, Mario Martone (Italy-France)La passione, Carlo Mazzacurati (Italy)13 Assassins, Takashi Miike (Japan)Potiche, Francois Ozon (France)Meek's Cutoff, Kelly Reichardt (U.S.)Miral, Julian Schnabel (U.S.-France-Italy-Israel)Norwegian Wood, Tran Anh Hung (Japan)Attenberg, Athina Rachel Tsangari (Greece)Detective Dee and the Mystery of Phantom Flame, ...
- 7/30/2010
- Hindustan Times - Cinema
And the film I'm most looking forward to seeing (like I'm going to be there) is Vincent Gallo's Promises Written in Water. Someone send me a screener, asap! What else?
Black Swan by Darren Aronofsky.
Somewhere by Sofia Coppola.
13 Assassins by Takashi Miike.
Full list after the break.
In Competition
"Black Swan," Darren Aronofsky, U.S. (Opening Film)
"La Pecora Nera," Ascanio Celestini, Italy
"Somewhere," Sofia Coppola, U.S.
"Happy Few," Antony Cordier, France
"The Solitude of Prime Numbers," Saverio Costanzo, Italy, Germany, France
"Silent Souls," Aleksei Fedorchenko, Russia
"Promises Written in Water," Vincent Gallo, U.S.
"Road To Nowhere," Monte Hellman, U.S.
"Balada Triste de Trompeta," Alex de la Iglesia, Spain, France
"Venus Noir," Abdellatif Kechiche, France
"Post Mortem," Pablo Larrain, Chile, Mexico, Germany
"Barney's Version," Richard J. Lewis, Canada, Italy
"We Believed," Mario Martone, Italy, France
"La Passione," Carlo Mazzacurati, Italy
"13 Assassins," Takashi Miike, Japan, U.
Black Swan by Darren Aronofsky.
Somewhere by Sofia Coppola.
13 Assassins by Takashi Miike.
Full list after the break.
In Competition
"Black Swan," Darren Aronofsky, U.S. (Opening Film)
"La Pecora Nera," Ascanio Celestini, Italy
"Somewhere," Sofia Coppola, U.S.
"Happy Few," Antony Cordier, France
"The Solitude of Prime Numbers," Saverio Costanzo, Italy, Germany, France
"Silent Souls," Aleksei Fedorchenko, Russia
"Promises Written in Water," Vincent Gallo, U.S.
"Road To Nowhere," Monte Hellman, U.S.
"Balada Triste de Trompeta," Alex de la Iglesia, Spain, France
"Venus Noir," Abdellatif Kechiche, France
"Post Mortem," Pablo Larrain, Chile, Mexico, Germany
"Barney's Version," Richard J. Lewis, Canada, Italy
"We Believed," Mario Martone, Italy, France
"La Passione," Carlo Mazzacurati, Italy
"13 Assassins," Takashi Miike, Japan, U.
- 7/29/2010
- QuietEarth.us
Yesterday the official line-up for Toronto Film Festival was unveiled and, today Venice Film Festival have revealed the twenty-two films that will be vying for the Golden Lion award at this year’s 67th ceremony. The festival, which will run from September 1 – 11, will open with Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller, Black Swan, and close with Julie Taymor adaptation of Shakespeare’s acclaimed play, The Tempest.
Competing for the Golden Lion this year are:
Somewhere, directed by Sofia Coppola Meek’s Cutoff, directed by Kelly Reichardt Three, directed by Tom Tykwer 13 Assassins, directed by Takashi Miike Happy Few, directed by Antony Cordier Barney’s Version, directed by Richard J. Lewis Black Swan, directed by Darren Aronofsky Promises Written in Water, directed by Vincent Gallo Black Venus, directed by Abdellatif Kechiche Noi Credevamo, directed by Mario Martone La Pecora Nera, directed by Ascanio Celestini Detective Dee and the Mystery of Phantom Flame,...
Competing for the Golden Lion this year are:
Somewhere, directed by Sofia Coppola Meek’s Cutoff, directed by Kelly Reichardt Three, directed by Tom Tykwer 13 Assassins, directed by Takashi Miike Happy Few, directed by Antony Cordier Barney’s Version, directed by Richard J. Lewis Black Swan, directed by Darren Aronofsky Promises Written in Water, directed by Vincent Gallo Black Venus, directed by Abdellatif Kechiche Noi Credevamo, directed by Mario Martone La Pecora Nera, directed by Ascanio Celestini Detective Dee and the Mystery of Phantom Flame,...
- 7/29/2010
- by Jamie Neish
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The Afflecks will celebrate on the Lido together - both actor-turned-directors are featured in the Out of Competition line-up (see below) and will surely jet back to Tiff together with The Town and the Phoenix doc - though those chances are indeed slim. Speaking of Toronto, the Ooc also features Anurag Kashyap's That Girl in Yellow Boots and Andrucha Waddington's Lope (Tiff claims they have the World Premiere, but I think we might see a correction on that later on). Takashi Miike gets celebrated, so does Asian 3D films, and John Turturro feels at home with his first Italian language docu feature. Finally, the Golden Lion for his career will go to John Woo - who is presenting Reign of Assassin. Opening Night Tribute to Bruce Lee "The Return of Chen Zhen," Andrew Lau (China, Hong Kong) Opening Night Midnight Movie "Machete," Robert Rodriguez (U.S.)Closing Night: "The Tempest,...
- 7/29/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
The stars at night are big and bright, deep in the heart of... festival season. Two days ago Toronto announced a big chunk of its line-up, and now the Venice Film Festival has unveiled its own. Joining Darren Aronofsky ballerina drama "Black Swan," announced earlier as the opening night film, are Sofia Coppola's Hollywood saga "Somewhere" (trailer); Takashi Miike's samurai tale "13 Assassins" (trailer); "Meek's Cutoff," Kelly Reichardt's new film, once again starring Michelle Williams; Vincent Gallo's long-awaited follow-up to "The Brown Bunny" "Promises Made In Water," reportedly a 16-millimeter black-and-white tale of a girl with a terminal illness; "Road to Nowhere," a thriller from Monte Hellman (!); and "Three," the latest from "Run, Lola, Run"'s Tom Tykwer, about how the two halves of a middle-aged couple fall in love with the same man.
Out of competition, the Affleck brothers will screen Ben's "The Town" and Casey's Joaquin Phoenix mockumentary,...
Out of competition, the Affleck brothers will screen Ben's "The Town" and Casey's Joaquin Phoenix mockumentary,...
- 7/29/2010
- by Alison Willmore
- ifc.com
This morning the Venice Film Festival announced the line-up for their 2010 Festival which will run from September 1-11, and a lot of hot titles and directors are set to be on hand including the already announced festival opener Black Swan from Darren Aronofsky and closer, The Tempest from Julie Taymor. In competition, Aronofsky's feature is joined by titles from Sofia Coppola, Vincent Gallo, Julian Schnabel, Francois Ozon, Abdellatif Kechiche, Takashi Miike and Tom Tykwer. Also, making a midnight Lido appearance will be Robert Rodriguez with his grindhouse thriller Machete. One other notable title is the inclusion of the Casey Affleck-directed Joaquin Phoenix mockumentary I'm Still Here, which will be screening out of competition.
Unfortunately I won't be able to cover this one, but one of these years I would like to find a way to pull a triple play and cover Cannes, Venice and Toronto in the same year...
Unfortunately I won't be able to cover this one, but one of these years I would like to find a way to pull a triple play and cover Cannes, Venice and Toronto in the same year...
- 7/29/2010
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
New movies from Sofia Coppola, Darren Aronofsky, Vincent Gallo and Julian Schnabel will be slugging it out on the Lido. This year’s Venice Film Festival will take place September 1-11. Twenty two films will be competing for the Golden Lion. Among the name European and Asian directors are Germany’s Tom Tykwer and Japanese directors Takashi Miike and Anh Hung Tran. Terrance Malick’s The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt and Sean Penn, was expected to be In Competition too. Venice says that one more title will be added to the line-up on September 6. Movies screening Out of Competition include Robert Rodriquez’s Machete, Ben Affleck’s The Town and his brother Casey Affleck’s Joaquin Phoenix documentary I’m Still Here. The Competition 13 Assassins, Takashi Miike, Japan Attenberg, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Greece Barney’s Version, Richard J. Lewis, Canada/Italy Black Swan, Darren Aronofsky, USA Black Venus,...
- 7/29/2010
- by TIM ADLER
- Deadline London
The line-up for the 67th Venice Film Festival has finally been announced and we've handily posted the runners and riders below...
The Italian cinematic shindig, which runs from September 1-11 and features the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo Arriaga, Arnaud Desplechin, Danny Elfman, Luca Guadagnino and Gabriele Salvatores on the competition jury, has pulled out all the stops this year with some very exciting flicks.
Top on our list of must-see movies includes Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, Vincent Gallo's Promises Written In Water and Anh Hung Tran's Murasaki adaptation Norwegian Wood.
The films to be shown at the 67th Venice Film Festival are...
Black Swan, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel.
La Pecora Nera, directed by Ascanio Celestini and starring Ascanio Celestini, Giorgio Tirabassi and Maya Sansa
Somewhere, directed by Sofia Coppola and starring Stephen Dorff,...
The Italian cinematic shindig, which runs from September 1-11 and features the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo Arriaga, Arnaud Desplechin, Danny Elfman, Luca Guadagnino and Gabriele Salvatores on the competition jury, has pulled out all the stops this year with some very exciting flicks.
Top on our list of must-see movies includes Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, Vincent Gallo's Promises Written In Water and Anh Hung Tran's Murasaki adaptation Norwegian Wood.
The films to be shown at the 67th Venice Film Festival are...
Black Swan, directed by Darren Aronofsky and starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Vincent Cassel.
La Pecora Nera, directed by Ascanio Celestini and starring Ascanio Celestini, Giorgio Tirabassi and Maya Sansa
Somewhere, directed by Sofia Coppola and starring Stephen Dorff,...
- 7/29/2010
- Screenrush
Rome -- Sofia Coppola's comedic drama "Somewhere" and "Road to Nowhere," a romantic thriller from veteran director Monte Hellman, were among the highlights of the main competition lineup for the 67th Venice Film Festival, which was released Thursday.
Other in-competition films include Vincent Gallo's "Promises Written in Water"; "Meek's Cutoff," a western from Kelly Reichardt; and Athina Racehel Tsangari's drama "Attenberg."
Artistic director Marco Mueller said that -- notwithstanding the presence of the 78-year-old Hellman -- the competition lineup was the youngest ever in the storied history of the festival, with the average age among the directors of the 22 in-competition films just 47.
"I think this is evidence of a new and dynamic kind of cinema that is being produced," Mueller told a standing-room-only crowd of reporters and industry players at Rome's Excelsior Hotel Thursday.
All told, the festival will include 79 world premieres, including the entire in-competition lineup for...
Other in-competition films include Vincent Gallo's "Promises Written in Water"; "Meek's Cutoff," a western from Kelly Reichardt; and Athina Racehel Tsangari's drama "Attenberg."
Artistic director Marco Mueller said that -- notwithstanding the presence of the 78-year-old Hellman -- the competition lineup was the youngest ever in the storied history of the festival, with the average age among the directors of the 22 in-competition films just 47.
"I think this is evidence of a new and dynamic kind of cinema that is being produced," Mueller told a standing-room-only crowd of reporters and industry players at Rome's Excelsior Hotel Thursday.
All told, the festival will include 79 world premieres, including the entire in-competition lineup for...
- 7/29/2010
- by By Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Knowing Quentin Tarantino's appreciation for films that are "out there": if I had to do some really early predictions here, I'd say that the Gold and Silver Lion front-runners are in Alex De La Iglesia's bizarro fantasy film A Sad Trumpet Ballad, Pablo Larrain's Post Mortem or Athina Rachel Tsangari's Attenberg (a filmmaker we recently profiled in our American New Wave 25 series - she spent more than a decade in Austin's film scene). I'd also add put Abdellatif Kechiche's Black Venus high up on any awards list, especially the Lido - it's a film I've been pegging for Venice since the film went into production. Added to Aronofsky's Black Swan, the U.S is repped by Monte Hellman and his comeback film, Road to Nowhere, Julian Schnabel's Miral, indie female helmers Kelly Reichardt (Meek's Cutoff) and Sofia Coppola (Meek’s Cutoff), and the Coppola-...
- 7/29/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Now that all bets are off on Terrence Malick showing up on the Lido, and Wong Kar-wai's The Grand Master appears to be on the same no-show list (the fest have announced that Andrew Lau's The Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen has their second opening night flick celebrating the anniversary of Bruce Lee’s 70th birthday). Among the other films with odds against, I'm not seeing the Coens (True Grit), Eastwood (Hereafter), Boyle (127 Hours) and Oscar contender The Fighter was according to it's star, no going to tour the fest circuit. Just announced today, Head Jury member Quentin Tarantino's buddy Robert Rodriguez's Machete will be the third opening film - it'll screen at midnight, and I think it'll be in good company genre-wise with some of the genre titles below. Here are some titles (ranging from almost guaranteed to only minimal chance...
- 7/29/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Venice Critic's Week have released their seven film (plus two) slate and have managed to lasso Swedish actress Pernilla August's highly anticipated directorial debut Svinalängorna, or what I'll now be calling by the simpler title of Beyond. A mostly European group of seven, the section is modeled much in the same way as Cannes Critic's Week: promising works from first-time filmmakers. The opening film, Carlo Mazzacurati's Notte Italiana is actually a 1987 flick that must be a silver year anniversary kind of presentation and the closing film comes from the Philippines in Gutierrez Mangansakan II's Limbunan. Last year the most "noteworthy" title from the sidebar was an out of competition showing of Erik Gandini's Videocracy which would receive a preem in Toronto, but this year I'd say more than one title has a chance at crossing over to Tiff. Here is a quick listing of the titles,...
- 7/22/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
While there are no mentions of Terrence Malick, Variety are confirming the obvious (view my predictions) in Aronofsky's Black Swan, Reichardt's Meek's Cutoff, Corbijn's The American, Schnabel's Miral, Coppola's Somewhere, Kechiche's Black Venus, Ozon's Potiche, Tykwer's Three and Cordier's Happy Few all making it to the Lido this year, but they've added a couple more brow lifters that I'll delve into below. Among the titles that are being mentioned for Venice, and which I thought were strictly Tiff items, they and several sources mention Ben Affleck's The Town will hit the Lido first, and they say the same as well for Tom Hooper's The King's Speech, and Iciar Bollain's Even the Rain - which I saw more as Tiff and San Sebastian double booking. And if Canadian film Richard J. Lewis' Barney's Version turns out to be gold, then people might question why it wasn't the opener in Toronto,...
- 7/21/2010
- IONCINEMA.com
Chicago – We’re back with our look at week two of the The 12th Annual EU Film Festival at the Siskel Film Center, one of the best film events of the year in the Windy City. If you missed part one and want to relive the best of the first seven days of the fest, check it out here. On to week two…
This year’s edition, running from March 6th to April 2nd, includes high profile films from world renowned filmmakers like Peter Greenaway, Francois Ozon, Agnes Varda, Nicholas Roeg, Shane Meadows, Olga Malea, and Olivier Assayas, along with some movies that probably won’t be seen outside of the EU in the Windy City.
The 12th Annual European Union Film Festival includes 59 feature films, all of which are making their Chicago premiere. If you’re interested in seeing something off the beaten path, the EU is the fest for you.
This year’s edition, running from March 6th to April 2nd, includes high profile films from world renowned filmmakers like Peter Greenaway, Francois Ozon, Agnes Varda, Nicholas Roeg, Shane Meadows, Olga Malea, and Olivier Assayas, along with some movies that probably won’t be seen outside of the EU in the Windy City.
The 12th Annual European Union Film Festival includes 59 feature films, all of which are making their Chicago premiere. If you’re interested in seeing something off the beaten path, the EU is the fest for you.
- 3/11/2009
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
RomaCinemaFest
ROME -- Carlo Mazzacurati's The Right Distance may not be the director's best film, but is stronger and tighter than what he's produced in the last decade. An inconsistent director, Mazzacurati does warm to making movies about marginalized characters without dipping too far into the syrupy posturing that passes as small-town nostalgia in much of today's Italian cinema. Despite overreaching ambitions, word-of-mouth and positive local reviews could help boost figures as it carves out an arthouse niche for itself. Released in Italy by 01 Distribution on October 20, the day after its RomeCinemaFest screening, it modestly grossed under half a million euros in its first week.
This film opens with a spectacularly sunny and sweeping shot of the lush countryside along the banks of the River Po, the best camerawork by an otherwise underused Luca Bigazzi. It then homes in on a bus carrying -- we are told through a young man's voiceover -- Mara (Valentina Lodovini), the pretty elementary school substitute teacher who will change his life forever, to his sleepy town of Concadalbero.
A loner who recently lost his mother, 18 year-old Giovanni (Giovanni Capovilla, making an impressive feature debut) tells us about his first "adult" crush on 30 year-old Mara, along the way providing background information on Concadalbero and its inhabitants.
Giovanni is a budding journalist obsessed with a recent rash of serial dog killings. He lands a job writing anonymously for a local paper, whose stereotypically cantankerous editor (Mazzacurati regular Fabrizio Bentivoglio) tells him to always keep the "right distance" between himself and a story -- not too far so as to lose empathy, not too close so as to become emotionally involved.
The story then shifts to Mara, who in emails to a friend back in Florence exalts the peace of rural living but complains that pickings are slim among the local men. The Only Ones interested are philandering tobacconist Amos (Giuseppe Battiston, who picked up a best acting award at the Fest for his performance) and Hassan (Ahmed Hafiene), a Tunisian mechanic who spies on Mara from the woods by her house, and is in turn spied on by Giovanni.
After catching Hassan in the act, Mara first scorns him but is won over by his gentle shyness and they begin dating. He falls hard, yet she is just passing through, en route to more gratifying work in Brazil.
Just when you think that apart from their personal drama, and the disturbing canine slayings, nothing much happens in Concadalbero -- even the racism endured by many immigrants in Italy seems relatively benign here -- an unexpected brutal murder turns the film into a whodunit in the third, and weakest, act.
Throughout the music by San Francisco acoustic chamber trio Tin Hat is appropriately haunting but Distance ultimately stretches itself thin. Two of its plot threads -- the poignant tale about growing up in Anytown, Italy and the unfulfilled love story -- are almost overshadowed by a facile courtroom drama and investigation that belie the emotional realism of the first two thirds of the film. Which is a shame, because what lies beneath is a compelling story on how human triumphs and tragedies stem, in equal measure, from our inability to maintain the right distance in life.
THE RIGHT DISTANCE
Fandango, RAI Cinema
Credits:
Director: Carlo Mazzacurati
Writers: Carlo Mazzacurati, Doriana Leondeff, Marco Pettenello, Claudio Piersanti
Producer: Domenico Procacci
Director of photography: Luca Bigazzi
Production designer: Giancarlo Basili
Music: Tin Hat
Costume designer: Francesca Sartori
Editor: Paolo Cottignola
Cast:
Giovanni: Giovanni Capovilla
Mara: Valentina Lodovini
Hassan: Ahmed Hafiene
Amos: Giuseppe Battiston
Bencivegna: Fabrizio Bentivoglio
Bolla: Roberto Abbiati
Franco: Natalino Balasso
Guido: Stefano Scandaletti
Running time -- 107 minutes
No MPAA rating...
ROME -- Carlo Mazzacurati's The Right Distance may not be the director's best film, but is stronger and tighter than what he's produced in the last decade. An inconsistent director, Mazzacurati does warm to making movies about marginalized characters without dipping too far into the syrupy posturing that passes as small-town nostalgia in much of today's Italian cinema. Despite overreaching ambitions, word-of-mouth and positive local reviews could help boost figures as it carves out an arthouse niche for itself. Released in Italy by 01 Distribution on October 20, the day after its RomeCinemaFest screening, it modestly grossed under half a million euros in its first week.
This film opens with a spectacularly sunny and sweeping shot of the lush countryside along the banks of the River Po, the best camerawork by an otherwise underused Luca Bigazzi. It then homes in on a bus carrying -- we are told through a young man's voiceover -- Mara (Valentina Lodovini), the pretty elementary school substitute teacher who will change his life forever, to his sleepy town of Concadalbero.
A loner who recently lost his mother, 18 year-old Giovanni (Giovanni Capovilla, making an impressive feature debut) tells us about his first "adult" crush on 30 year-old Mara, along the way providing background information on Concadalbero and its inhabitants.
Giovanni is a budding journalist obsessed with a recent rash of serial dog killings. He lands a job writing anonymously for a local paper, whose stereotypically cantankerous editor (Mazzacurati regular Fabrizio Bentivoglio) tells him to always keep the "right distance" between himself and a story -- not too far so as to lose empathy, not too close so as to become emotionally involved.
The story then shifts to Mara, who in emails to a friend back in Florence exalts the peace of rural living but complains that pickings are slim among the local men. The Only Ones interested are philandering tobacconist Amos (Giuseppe Battiston, who picked up a best acting award at the Fest for his performance) and Hassan (Ahmed Hafiene), a Tunisian mechanic who spies on Mara from the woods by her house, and is in turn spied on by Giovanni.
After catching Hassan in the act, Mara first scorns him but is won over by his gentle shyness and they begin dating. He falls hard, yet she is just passing through, en route to more gratifying work in Brazil.
Just when you think that apart from their personal drama, and the disturbing canine slayings, nothing much happens in Concadalbero -- even the racism endured by many immigrants in Italy seems relatively benign here -- an unexpected brutal murder turns the film into a whodunit in the third, and weakest, act.
Throughout the music by San Francisco acoustic chamber trio Tin Hat is appropriately haunting but Distance ultimately stretches itself thin. Two of its plot threads -- the poignant tale about growing up in Anytown, Italy and the unfulfilled love story -- are almost overshadowed by a facile courtroom drama and investigation that belie the emotional realism of the first two thirds of the film. Which is a shame, because what lies beneath is a compelling story on how human triumphs and tragedies stem, in equal measure, from our inability to maintain the right distance in life.
THE RIGHT DISTANCE
Fandango, RAI Cinema
Credits:
Director: Carlo Mazzacurati
Writers: Carlo Mazzacurati, Doriana Leondeff, Marco Pettenello, Claudio Piersanti
Producer: Domenico Procacci
Director of photography: Luca Bigazzi
Production designer: Giancarlo Basili
Music: Tin Hat
Costume designer: Francesca Sartori
Editor: Paolo Cottignola
Cast:
Giovanni: Giovanni Capovilla
Mara: Valentina Lodovini
Hassan: Ahmed Hafiene
Amos: Giuseppe Battiston
Bencivegna: Fabrizio Bentivoglio
Bolla: Roberto Abbiati
Franco: Natalino Balasso
Guido: Stefano Scandaletti
Running time -- 107 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 11/2/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Now in only its 2nd edition, Rome has whipped up quite the festival. A mention-worthy selection of titles, some U.S pics for glam and a jury process that I especially like not 5 or 6 but a group of 50 - this year No Man's Land director Danis Tanovic serves as the jury head for 50 international cinema-goers. Notables are Francis Ford Coppola's Youth Without Youth.Below you'll find the complete stats on the fest that begins in less than 3 weeks from now. When: October 18th to 28th, 2007 Counting Down: updateCountdownClock('October 18, 2007'); Where: Rome, Italy Official Website: www.romacinemafest.orgNot just a great city, but the city of cinema par excellence, will host the Fest which will transform its centre - the Auditorium Parco della Musica - in the Parco del Cinema for nine days. The second edition of Cinema. Festa Internazionale di Roma - RomeFilmFest will be held from
- 9/28/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
- Pictured above: Laurence Kardish (MoMa) Antonio Monda (Nyu), Giampoalo Letta (Medusa Films), Salvatore Ferragamo (Ferragamo), and Mario Sesti (Film Critic) MoMA has done it again. Another tribute to Italian Cinema has arrived at the Museum of Modern Art. Following the tribute to Antonio Capuano and the tribute to Gianni Amelio, MoMA has hooked up with Medus Films and Salvatore Ferragamo to celebrate Medusa Film’s 10th Anniversary. As I was sitting in at the press conference for this event, I looked on stage and saw Ettore Scola. I turned to my right and saw Dario Argento. I look behind me and saw Paolo Sorrentino. I looked in front of me and saw Stefano Accorsi. It was the who’s who of Italian Cinema yesterday and today. To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the production and distribution company Medusa, the president of Medusa donated 14 of their most popular titles to
- 1/20/2006
- IONCINEMA.com
TORONTO -- Just in case the title doesn't say it all, An Italian Romance is indeed a big, glossy romance set in fascist Italy.
And that's the problem.
Everything about the Italian-French co-production has a warmed-over, been-there-done-that quality. Carlo Mazzacurati's film is certainly easy on the eyes, but the banal storytelling and uninteresting characters add up to a production that's as generic as its English-language title.
Meet Giovanni (Stefano Accorsi), a bank clerk who travels by train each day to his job in Livorno, a town that brings back old memories of a steamy interlude he once had with a blonde on the beach.
Meet Maria (Maya Sansa), the blonde in question who's now a brunette. Giovanni doesn't recognize her right away, but pretty soon he's making up for lost time, and the fact that he's got a wife and kid at home doesn't seem to be slowing either of them down.
While the performances are fine, the characters just aren't that interesting. Since Giovanni's being married and having a family doesn't seem to faze him in the least, his character is devoid of a conscience, robbing the story of some much needed conflict. Even the onset of World War II seems to be more about giving Giovanni an excuse to look good in a uniform rather than creating any real tension.
Director Mazzacurati may be saying that when two people are crazy in love, nothing else around them really matters. That's fine for them, but the onlookers need something more substantial than lush lighting and scenic vistas.
And that's the problem.
Everything about the Italian-French co-production has a warmed-over, been-there-done-that quality. Carlo Mazzacurati's film is certainly easy on the eyes, but the banal storytelling and uninteresting characters add up to a production that's as generic as its English-language title.
Meet Giovanni (Stefano Accorsi), a bank clerk who travels by train each day to his job in Livorno, a town that brings back old memories of a steamy interlude he once had with a blonde on the beach.
Meet Maria (Maya Sansa), the blonde in question who's now a brunette. Giovanni doesn't recognize her right away, but pretty soon he's making up for lost time, and the fact that he's got a wife and kid at home doesn't seem to be slowing either of them down.
While the performances are fine, the characters just aren't that interesting. Since Giovanni's being married and having a family doesn't seem to faze him in the least, his character is devoid of a conscience, robbing the story of some much needed conflict. Even the onset of World War II seems to be more about giving Giovanni an excuse to look good in a uniform rather than creating any real tension.
Director Mazzacurati may be saying that when two people are crazy in love, nothing else around them really matters. That's fine for them, but the onlookers need something more substantial than lush lighting and scenic vistas.
- 10/12/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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