Venice - Tension is building on the Lido waterfront as the
seven-member jury of the 65th International Venice Film Festival
prepares to announce its verdicts. Which film will walk off with the
coveted Golden Lion? Which actor and which actress will take the top
prize?
While the 21 films in competition have spanned a broad spectrum of
themes, many are merely mediocre in quality. On the eve of Saturday's
awards ceremony, the field of competitors remained rather tightly
packed.
The festival's final film, The Wrestler by New York-based director
Darren Aronofsky, screened on Friday and has a good chance to win. In
this melodrama, actor Mickey Rourke masterfully slips into the
magnificent role of Randy Robinson, a wrestling star past his prime.
The German entry in the competition, Jerichow by Christian Petzold,
as well as Nuit de Chien, a civil war drama directed by Germany's
Werner Schroeter that is a French-German-Portuguese co-production,
have only an outside chance of being tapped by the jury, led by German
filmmaker Wim Wenders.
To be counted among the frontrunners are Ponyo on the Cliff by the
Sea by revered Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki; the dark Ethiopian
film Teza by Haile Gerima; and Jonathan Demme's American family drama
Rachel Getting Married, which gets an outstanding performance by Anne
Hathaway.
Miyazaki has won over viewers on the Lido with his touching
animated film, so maybe he can convince the jury too. At any rate, his
new work is completely different from the other entries, as it melds
the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale The Little Mermaid with modern
Japanese daily life.
A possible disadvantage for Miyazaki, however, is that he received
a Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in 2005.
Considered a top favourite is US director Kathryn Bigelow's
harrowing The Hurt Locker. With utter intensity and her typical
dynamism, Bigelow portrays the life-threatening work of an elite US
bomb disposal team in war-torn Iraq. The film, which runs for more
than two hours, definitely has a chance to win.
The same goes for BirdWatchers, a powerfully accusatory work by
Italian-Chilean director Marco Bechis. His story: the bleak fate of
Brazilian Indians who toil slave-like for large landowners before
rising up and occupying the land that once belonged to them.
Prizeworthy films with rough edges include the somewhat too
sprawling family drama The Burning Plain. Excellently cast with Kim
Basinger and Cherlize Theron, it is the directorial debut by acclaimed
Mexican screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga.
A further candidate is the bizarre Italian story Il papa di
Giovanna by Pupi Avati, which deals with a girl who kills her best
friend out of jealousy. And both bizarre and masterly is Achilles and
the Tortoise by Japan's Takeshi Kitano, a tale about a painter who
lives only for his art.
Vegas: Based on a True Story may have a chance for the Golden Lion
as well. Directed by Iranian-American Amir Naderi, it depicts gambling
addict Eddie Parker and his wife, Tracy, who dig up their garden near
the amusement mecca Las Vegas in search of a million dollars they
believe is buried there. In the end, not only their garden is a
shambles.
Though Hollywood was scarcely present at this year's competition on
the Lido, none of the five American films has been a dud. That cannot
be said of the Italian and French entries.
Finally, young Russian director Aleksei German Jr made a splash
with a powerful story, memorable images, fresh faces, and a pleasingly
large dollop of humour. His film Paper Soldier, about preparations for
the first manned space flight, is another potential winner.
USA
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