Venice Prizes for La La & Lav
Saturday, September 10, 2016 at 4:44PM The 73rd annual Venice Film Festival came to a close today and with that comes jury prizes. Here's the list
Lav Diaz new film "The Woman Who Left" is inspired by Tolstoy's book "God Sees the Truth, But Waits". It's four hours long and took the top Venice prize.
Main Competition Jury (Jury President Sam Mendes)
Golden Lion: The Woman Who Left (Lav Diaz)
Grand Jury Prize: Nocturnal Animals (Tom Ford)
Silver Lion (Best Director): [tie] Amat Escalante for The Untamed and Andrei Konchalovsky for Paradise
Volpi Cup Best Actress: Emma Stone for La La Land
Volpi Cup Best Actor: Oscar Martínez for The Distinguished Citizen
Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor: Paula Beer for Frantz
A FEW NOTES on the winners after the jump...
To make things extra confusing Lav Diaz's four hour black-and-white Venice winner is NOT the Lav Diaz film that's one of The Philippine's finalists for their Oscar submission in 2016. The black and white Lav Diaz "movie" (he's really making miniseries, let's call them what they are!) that Philippines might submit this year is The Lullaby of the Sorrowful Mystery which is 8 hours long. (For those who'd like a comparison, last year's Golden Lion went to Desde Alla / From Afar which is Venezuela's Oscar entry this year with the Silver Lion going to Argentina's Oscar entry last year The Clan and the Grand Jury Prize to Anomalisa.)
Trivia freaks take note: The Volpi Cup for Best Actress rarely aligns with Oscar nominations (most recently 10 years ago with Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There) and has only thrice corresponded to the eventual Best Actress winner:
1932 Helen Hayes for The Sin of Madelon Claudet
1951 Vivien Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire
2006 Helen Mirren in The Queen
Could Emma be the fourth?
Horizons (Orizzonti Jury)
Film: Release Me (Federica Di Giacomo)
Director: Fien Troch for Home
Jury Prize: Big Big World (Reha Erdem)
Actress: Ruth Díaz for The Fury of a Patient Man
Actor: Nuno Lopes for Saint George
Screenplay: Bitter Money by Wang Bing
Short Film: La Voz Perdida (Marcello Martinessi)
Liev & Naomi were at Venice for the Liev Schreiber tribute
Miscellaneous Prizes
Best Debut Film: The Last of Us (Ala Eddine Slim)
Documentary on Cinema: The Graduation (Claire Simon)
Restored Film: Break Up, the Man With Balloons (Marco Ferreri)
Lifetime Achievement: Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jerzy Skolimowski
Glory to the Filmmaker Award: Amir Naderi
Vistionary Talent Award: Liev Schreiber
Reader Comments (52)
YAY!!!!!! Emma Stone wins a Volpi Cup!!!!!
Oscar likes them young and/or conventionally hot so these 3 are total locks:
- Emma Stone La La Land
- Amy Adams for either entry but it's starting to smell like Nocturnal Animals because OMG let's never reward an actor for a contact movie.
- Natalie Portman (if Jackie is that good whoever picks it up is totally releasing this year)
Yavor - she won't get nominated for Nocturnal Animals. It's not a strong or even a showy part - she just basically reacts in closeup to reading the title book (the movie within the movie) and gets frustrated with her romantic life.
If she's nominated it will be one of the worst scenarios of default player ever.
I'm actually kind of surprised. It is still hard for me to believe Stone could win the oscar against heavyweights but maybe she can. Liability can be very important when it comes to winning and Stone has that in spades.
My gold standard for semi-recent movie musical female performances are:
Lead > Amy Adams in Enchanted
Supporting > Marion Cotillard in Nine
AND neither of them were even nominated! We'll see...
Wow. From Superbad to Best actress at Venice. Congrats to Emma.
Nathaniel, hopefully Arrival then ;)
I saw Nine again and Cotillard is leading there. She is the heart of the movie. Limited screentime, yes, but it's the only part we care about!
Superbad was awesome! Although I admit I am surprised that 2 Oscar nominees came from that movie. And both got 2 nominations (I am assuming Emma gets the 2nd one this year)
Forget SUPERBAD. imdb is telling me that the director of TANGO AND CASH just won the Best Director prize!
@Nathaniel, so does that mean you didn't care for Amy's performance in Nocturnal Animals? Also how was Jake? Thanks.
I don't think it's fair to say Lav Diaz's films are really miniseries — its length aside, 'A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery' is wholly cinematic in style and structure, and it's hard to see how it could be broken down episodically. I don't like the film at all, but there is something bravely and necessarily monolithic about the whole thing.)
!, I respect Nathaniel but I wouldn't put too much stock into his opinion on an Amy Adams performance. He has shaded her quite a bit in the past and lowkey likes to hate on her.
For example, he's not a fan of her performance in The Master in which she was FANTASTIC in and easily deserved the Oscar for.
Just because she got nominated over Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy.
@ Tim, let's agree to disagree, I finally saw The Master last year AKA had the chance to allow the buzz & tectonics of opinion to fade away from my memory and... I really didn't enjoy the film.
It opens with Phoenix delivering one of the greatest performances ever only for the character to become completely dull halfway through and entirely predictable by the end.
Amy Adams had 2 scenes at best where she actually mattered. Her and Jacki's slots should've gone to Kidman and Smith that year.
That being said, I do think she's overdue, she's easily my favorite thing about Doubt, she was wonderful in American Hustle and The Fighter. She should win soon or it'll get boring. But then, that can be applied to Annette Bening and Jessica Chastain as well. And they're both contenders this year.
I'll be happy with a Stone win only if she's Blue Jasmine brilliant, otherwise I'll bitch for some time.
Our Oscar selection committee have been known to consider late entries every now and then. So them considering "The Woman Who Left" this year is possible. HOWEVER, I would rather they try building up the momentum for it for NEXT year's Oscars so buzz can build around it at the festival circuit.
Love Miss Stone! Congratulations
@ Yavor- I completely agree with everything you said. I thought I was the only one who thought Adams was the best in Doubt. I also agree with your take on The Master. It kind of felt like a wasted potential.
Amy Adams' casting in The Master dates the movie. She'll become one of those actresses where she was ubiquitous only to become a trivia question for award fans.
Wow do not see that Stone win woohoo! Cant wait to see Nocturnal Animals. Both tom ford movies have won prizes in venice now
There wouldn't be any Doubt, without Adams to resist rocking (Streep) the boat (PSH).
Have to say, I share the sentiments of Guy regarding Lav Diaz. I haven't seen much of his work, but he makes movies for the cinema. From everything I've heard, the 8hr film from Berlin wasn't just eight episodes of TV strung together (Like, say, the OJ Simpson documentary that people are foolishly claiming is a movie and should be Oscar eligible).
Tim -- that is incorrect. I don't judge a performance based on whether or not it shut out another performance come Oscar nom time because I see all the movies BEFORE the nominations and have already arrived at my decisions. Was i hurt that everyone nominated for supporting actress that year wasn't as strong as Nicole Kidman in The Paperboy? Sure. I believe the best should be honored. But I'd already made up my mind by then.
ftr i think Adams is spectacular in Junebug and The Fighter, good to pretty great in Enchanted and Arrival and American Hustle. But otherwise meh. She's boring in The Master with an underwritten part and a weak link in Doubt and super dull in Julie & Julia and the weak link in Nocturnal Animals (but to be fair she has the dullest role in the latter.... most everyone else gets juicy/weird or at least intense stuff to play)
so she's uneven for me is all. She's definitely a good actress.
JACKIE WON BEST SCREENPLAY RIGHT?! Portman seems to be a lock for me now.
A strong actress year as usual with strong comebacks from both Portman and Weisz
Guys, this is TFE, which is known for its actressing, so let's do some serious Asian actressing, shall we? The Woman Who Left is the comeback film of Charo Santos, one of the best Asian actresses ever. She's known for starring in several Filipino classics like Itim (Black, 1976) and Kisapmata (1981). She's been absent from film for many, many years -- and the Lav Diaz is her comeback, a very major one from the looks of it.
Here's a CNN Philippines article on the film: http://cnnphilippines.com/life/entertainment/film/2016/09/09/lav-diaz-charo-santos-cover.html
@Yavor, do not compare a great actress like Annette Bening to Jessica Chastain. Chastain is a basic dull actress. She will never be in the same company as Annette.
I won't judge until I see Nocturnal Animals and from the outset I get a burgeoning sense of anticipation over her performance there. But Nathaniel is right, if Adams were to be nominated it will be for Arrival as she is a sole lead with a meaty arc there. However I disagree that she's an uneven actress, I think she gives consistently good to divine work with a few mediocre ones in between. I am actually more aggrieved that Weaver got in instead of Kidman that year for supporting actress.
I'm intrigued To see Lav Diaz's The Woman Who Left but I'm not sure if I can sit thru nearly 4 hrs. Hopefully next year Oscars will reflect greater diversity, not just Blacks, by Asians and Latinos too. So excited for the upcoming slate of films in the next few months!
Oh my freaking god the Venice Film festival was already around in 1932?!!?!!?!?!
Also: I love the Amy Adams love that's recently started welling up in the comments section here
Couldn't be more excited to see her two performances this year.
i don't understand the amy adams love, even right from her debut in junebug. she's so charmless and flat and soulless. plus obviously she makes films to get oscar nominations. i can't wait for her to disappear like marsha mason eventually did.
Lol, you wish she'd disappear like Marsha Mason. Amy Adams aka Slayme Adams is here to stay baby! Living for her banner year and how pressed it's making her haters. I've always thought she was a fantastic actress and I cannot wait to watch both of her movies.
Lol you wish Adams becomes the next Mason. She's one of the best working actresses and is here to stay baby! Living for her banner year and how pressed it's making her haters.
Goran -- right? 1932 was its very first year!
Oh boy! Oscar wars seem to be shaping up to be a total massacre this year. Many overdue actresses with ardent fans are up for the big prize. Bening, Chastain, Adams. Add to that the alwars reliably intense Portman fans, the newly formed superfandom of Emma Stone (in a musical no less) and of course the army of Viola Davis. I'm terrified.
@ Tony T:
Chastain is not overdue. Due, maybe. Maybe. ;-)
@ Paul Outlaw, the more I think about 2012 and Amour the less impressed I am with Riva's significance as a lead. The film is in fact more about the husband than the wife, similar to the manner in which The Curious Case of Benjamin Button transitions into the story of Daisy in those final heartbreaking 30/40 minutes of the journey.
Why am I saying all of this?
Oh yeah, Jessica Chastain should've won Best Actress in 2012 ;)
She should've been nominated for A Most Violent Year in supporting.
The gal's overdue.
I feel so uncomfortable where Chastain stands with the industry. Her loss to you know who has instantly Glenn Close-ed her in my book. And her low nomination count is frightening. She's like Kidman without the Oscar.
Hi. This is the first time I comment on this site but I have been reading it for five years. It´s a very good site with really good articles and I love the focus on actresses and feminism. But when it comes to Amy Adams (and Hillay Swank) the site and Nathaniel show a very ugly side.
I got the same impression as Tim that there is a horrible bias against this actress after getting the nomination for The Master. She was good in it (with very few scenes and she could have been better) and she can´t take responsibility for the lack of a nomination for Kidman. There have been many comments hating on her for the number of nominations she has in comparison to Kidman´s as if that was her fault. And I sadly agree with Tim that I can´t take any negative comment from Nathaniel regarding Adams seriously or any positive comment from him about Kidman seriously as well. I mean, her performance in Rabbit Hole is good but ¿best of the year? Her face rarely moved.
It´s Ok. We like some actresses and hate others and it´s natural to overpraise some and not be willing to admit the good job from others. But if I were a film critic being invited to film festivals and voting at the critic´s choice awards I would make an effort to be more professional/ethical about my approach to film crtiticism. Also I would try to possess more self-awareness and self-criticism if someone mentions my shortcomings instead of getting defensive/condescending and mocking the readers and Nathaniel usually does that (I know I will be attacked for this comment but I needed to say it).
Since 2014 there have been two posts exclusively dedicated to hate on the fact that she is regularly invited to the Hollywood Reporter Roundtable (not one, two). In one, she is called wallpaper for not being entertaining. Nathaniel threw a fit when she was nominated for a Bafta for Big Eyes claiming she was going to be a default nominee at the Oscars (and she was quite good in that movie) which she wasn´t. The trolls here and the owner of the site are constantly undermining her achievements. She either gets coattail nominations (as if it were a crime to star in movies the academy likes), is a default nominee (as if she were blackmailing the academy voters), slept around with every director (a comment met with silence/approval from Nathaniel), should die/disappear from Hollywood (again silence from Nathaniel. But you can´t mention here that Kidman uses botox) or she owes everything to her agent (a comment celebrated by Nathaniel).
Every actress has good and bad performances but instead of celebrating that she ís a successful American actress in her 40s (How many others are out there?) every achievement has to be underestimated. And we all have different tastes in performances. What´s ¨meh¨or ¨dull ¨for some people just mean understated for others. And no, she doesn´t pick every project to be nominated for an Oscar. And if she did, what´s the problem with that? Sorry for the impassioned long commentary. I am sure we can all respectfully disagree.
I love Amy Adams, and she is excellent in Junebug, Enchanted, The Fighter and The Master. Can'y wait to see Arrival and Nocturnal Animals.
Jessica Chastain overdue? Let's say that Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Joan Allen, Laura Linney and Amy Adams are overdue, not Jessica.
The Best Actress of 2012 : Marion Cotillard in Rust and Bone. Wait! She wasn't nominated ! So, between the nominees, Naomi Watts in The Impossible.
The contenders for this year in Best Actress category ? Adams, Davis, Portman, Stone, Streep. (alt. : Bening, Negga)
Sorry : :" can't wait "... and "among the nominees ..."
Well, if we are going to pit redheads together, here it goes!
Stone: Prior to this year, Stone has given two arguably nominee worthy performances (Easy A and Birdman).
Chastain: Has given 3 arguably nominee worthy performances - Zero Dark Thirty, Take Shelter and A Most Violent Year; one of which (Zero Dark Thirty) was win-level quality (meaning top tier performance; even if it would not have been #1 in that year). Note: Have not seen Eleanor Rigby.
Adams: Has given 4 arguably nominee worthy performances - American Hustle, The Fighter, Junebug and Catch Me If You Can; two of which were were win-level quality (The Fighter & Junebug).
Tally:
Best # of awesome performances: Amy Adams at 4
Best # of win-level quality performances: Amy Adams at 2
Best actual performance: Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty
Over-nominated by Academy: Adams nominated 5 times when only worthy 4x
Under-rewarded by Academy: Adams as she has not won yet has given 2 win-worthy level performances.
Best Actress: To be determined. I consider the # of win-worthy performances to be more important than the number of nomination level performances (which is one reason I LOVE certain actresses that get a lot of hate like Portman and Hathaway, because when they are on they are ON. I don't care if they are bad 4 times out of 5 if that fifth performance is amazeballs terrific). By that metric, Adams is "ahead" of Chastain right now BUT Chastain also has the best performance of the bunch in Zero Dark Thirty and that matters too.
oh, i totally forgot about Enchanted. You can bring Amy's tally up from 4 to 5; which is impressive.
If anything I think the hate she gets is often for her getting awards attention for the wrong films (see Doubt and The Master); which is sad. That is not her fault.
Chastain and Adams are not overdue. Only Viola is.
Distinguishing between "due" and "overdue" as well as the issue (nomination or win) is important. ;-)
Christian Bale was "overdue" for a nomination when he got his first, for The Fighter. And voters clearly thought he was "due" for a win.
Amy Adams is only "overdue" for a win if you think that getting multiple nominations without winning entitles you to something; but as others have mentioned, see Close, Bening, Deborah Kerr, Thelma Ritter, Barbara Stanwyck, ROSALIND RUSSELL.
Jessica Chastain has arguably only been a major player for five years and in that time she's been a reliable performer, but her filmography doesn't scream "due" for a win and certainly not "overdue" for a win. It does, however, give her a leg up on getting nominated. (And her age makes her statistically "in the red zone," but that's another topic.)
The unintentionally hilarious trend of this comment thread is that Amy Adams is generating a much more passionate reaction than the actual news being reported from Venice and, at the same time, she's being accused of being dull!
"Due or overdue" polemic aside the point is that this is shaping up to be a pretty intense internet oscarwatching season because a lot of actresses are involved that fans feel very strongly about. I have been following the oscars since The English Patient year and I'm currently 31 so I started at a pretty young age. But my appreciation and understanding of the award has shifted significantly. I remember hanging my hopes and dreams on my favorites early on and it felt like them getting recognition was anything I cared about. I remember being very emotional when Nicole Kidman won for The Hours and Cate Blanchett won for the Aviator. My perspective on the award has shifted significantly since. Thanks mostly I think to Jennifer Lawrence. Here is an all American blonde girl who gives fun performances who was being just showered with Oscar love. I mean there is absolutely nothing to justify the love she received for Silver Linings Playbook. And her American Hustle performance borders on an SNL skit at times. And then Joy! Who loves Joy? Have you actually seen an interview with any of the Hollywood players where anyone proclaims Jennifer Lawrence as impressive? She's goofy and fun and charming and always up for a good joke. But Best actress nominee she is not. Yet she's always in the conversation. Because the oscars are really an American sport. People watch them like they watch the NFL. You tube is full of videos of rabid fans in tears after DiCaprio won last year. Actual talent and worth have nothing to do with it. Any intelligent adult understands that. So to get emotional over any of those wins is just weird at this point.
I think for us moviegoers who appreciate the movies for what they are, I think they work best as a coronation. When someone like Julianne Moore or Daniel Day Lewis or Cate Blanchett or Meryl Streep gets an oscar, it's worth it to see a true professional veteran get a well deserved standing ovation and deliver a well studied expert speech. But when it comes to Emma Stone vs Jessica Chastain vs Amy Adams vs .... it's hard to care too much. Good for them for making movies that matter and creating captivating performances but oscar glory is for the glorious. The closest anyone is to that this year is Anette Benning who has been at it for a while.
Pablo -- i would never "approve" of the comments you say i'm approving but i cannot and would not and will never be able to (or even want to) respond to each and every comment. None of the comments here should be read as being endorsed by me. Everyone is responsible for their own statements and opinions. The comments section is about you guys, not me.
I am only responsible for my own statements just as you are only responsible for yours. let's be reasonable.
@TonyT - I get what you are saying but have to disagree to an extent. Honorary oscars work better for Coronation awards. Using the acting awards to coronate someone or award a cumulative batch of very good performances over the years is just as bad as giving it to someone for being likable/popular.
If Hilary Swank came back next year and gave the best performance of the year, I say let her win a 3rd oscar! That is what the awards are about. If Bening or Adams never give another win-worthy performance, then they should never win, even if they continue to be nominated a bunch more times.
Yes we should celebrate the fact that Amy Adams, who is over 40, is still getting plum roles (and killing most of them)not unlike Cate Blanchett and Kate Winslet and to a lesser extent Nicole Kidman. I want her to keep doing that. But most importantly, i want this to extend to actresses of Color over 40 too.
In the case of Jlaw, I thought she deserved the nominations for Winters Bone and Joy, and as much as I love her in American Hustle, I'm Glad she did not win. The MVP of that film was really Amy who did proper character work and fleshing out her arc. I didn mind her nomination for Silver Linings but Miss Riva should have won.
I do love Lav Diaz's films even though they can be hard to get through, so I am glad he won. It's kind of crazy that the person who helped write Insurgent won the screenplay award.
Can we please celebrate the year of the redhead? Stone, Huppert, Adams and Chastain are all out here prospering and I love it. Adams is fantastic and brings it more often than the major actors born in the same year as her such as Cruz, Phoenix and Dicaprio. Only Leo gets dissected as much. Plus, she has been the best in her respective Oscar categories three times and was great in Her and Enchanted.
As for Emma Stone, I love the fact that she is the first American actress to win the Volpi cup since Julianne Moore. She is very talented but at the beginning of her career (which she still is in) I didn't think she would be the type to gain critical attention like this, so it's good to see. Also, if her Irrational man performance was in a different movie or at least a different WA movie, it would have gotten more attention.
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Nathaniel: sorry if I overreacted. You can´t read every comment or be responsible for them. But I did notice that when people wrote mean or sexist things about Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore you have immediately jumped at their defence. On the contrary, when someone insulted Hillary Swank (calling her horseface) or Amy Adams you have never responded, and you have usually responded other comments on the same post, which means you have red them and CHOSE to turn a blind eye. You even once stated that it´s ok to be bitchy towards actresses because it meant you were talking more about them than about male actors. Isn´t it more reasonable to defend and support all women instead of just the ones we like? Sexism and misogyny is wrong regardless of how much we like or hate the female that´s a victim to it. Then there the bad comments that you have directly celebrated, like the ones stating Adams was worthy of hatred because she has two more nominations that Kidman, as if that was her fault. That is king of childish.
I also got the impression that you have enjoyed the backlash immensely and enjoyed promoting it. Were two post about the Hollywood reporter roundtable, centered on how annoying she is, really necessary? Once wasn´t enough? Or the post bafta nominations post centered on her ¨ unfair ¨ nomination and the anticipated hatred of her non-existent 6th Oscar nomination? Or that awkward interview with Laura Dern in which you tried to make her criticise Adams performance in The Master? I am probably exaggerating and it was all done in good faith.
But one more thing I need to get off my system. Recognizing someone got the less juicy role in a movie, begrudgingly and between parenthesis, is not the same as caling them the weak link in the movie. That is dismissive and implies that her performance is so bad that she almost ruined the film and the rest of the critics, the ones that don´t hate her, are definitely not saying that so allow me to have my doubts about your reviews of her work.
PS: I love Nicole Kidman. I hope she can make a comeback.