Venice Diary #04 - "Sundown" and "Last Night in Soho" disappoint, a Spanish comedy made my night

by Elisa Giudici

Penelope Cruz and cast in "Official Competition"

One of the things I like the most about the Venice Film Festival is how audience-friendly it is (aside from the maddening ticket system for this pandemic edition). It is remarkably easy and not that pricey to enjoy the most exciting movies of the competition in screenings devoted to the general audience, a lot easier and less expensive than Cannes for example. Tourists can walk by the red carpet and see major movie stars from Hollywood.

Lido (where most of the screenings take place) is a long, narrow island in front of Venice. It's a microcosm in which one might see Marco Bellocchio carrying his wife's luggage, Paolo Sorrentino eating breakfast in the cafè next to the red carpet, Luca Guadagnino riding his bike to return to Hotel Excelsior, or wind up in a queue with behind Jane Campion, who wants to see Isabelle Huppert's latest performance -- all of the above are little, precious moments I actually experienced here...

Click to read more ...

Elisa's Venice Diary #1: Almodovar, Campion. Here are lions.

by Elisa Giudici

What a start! There's a way of saying in Italian: il buon giorno si vede dal mattino. It means you can tell if something is remarkable from the very beginning, as you can judge how a day will be by the way it begins. Well, the first day of my fifth year as a press pass holder in Venice was so amazing I am not going to tell you if I liked what I saw, but how much I enjoyed every single title.

PARALLEL MOTHERS by Pedro Almodóvar
I was unsure about the opening movie of Venezia 78 due to Pain and Glory: how to follow up such an intimate, powerful, memorable movie (the kind of film a director puts his entire life in it, and that he or she can only make once or twice in a career). How can the follow up be anything but a disappointment? Happy to report Pedro Almodóvar is far from having finished the meaningful things he wants to say while endlessly rearranging his favorite themes and actresses...

Click to read more ...

"Power of the Dog" teases. Venice here we come

by Nathaniel R

Behold the first teaser for Power of the Dog which opens in the US in limited release on November 17th followed by Netflix streaming on December 1st. Director Jane Campion has long been a favourite and I've scheduled this for my first day at my first ever Venice Film Festival (!!!) That's right, I will be joining our new regular Italian festival reporter Elisa Giudici (who you heard from at Cannes and Locarno) for this edition of the Venice Film Festival which runs September 1st through September 11th.

What should Elisa and I see? The lineups are after the jump...

Click to read more ...

Locarno Diary #5: "Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash" wins the Golden Leopard

by Elisa Giudici

"Vengeance is Mind, All Others Pay Cash" won the Golden Leopard

I did it. With your help! 

I am always so happy when the winner of something-d'Or at a Festival I attended is a movie I was able to see and review. Sometimes seeing all of the competition entries is next to impossible (though I managed at Cannes this year!) and, festival after festival, I discover it requires a special talent to sense which film you should not miss, no matter what. It's a talent/skill I am trying to develop. This time I was lucky. Not only did I see the Golden Leopard winner Vengeance is Mine, All Others Pay Cash but I scheduled it thanks to a comment I read right here on The Film Experience!  I was not able to attend the first press screenings but because of the hype generated by that comment and a little research among some Locarno connaisseurs I go to for help, I booked a ticket at the very last projection, late at night

After the first scene I knew it was the right choice, even if some major construction sites on my way home meant I wasn't able to sleep until 3 AM. After the credits I wrote this very note on my notebook: "A winner for sure, if the Jury is brave enough". It was!

Click to read more ...

Locarno Diary #4: Good cop, bad cop

by Elisa Giudici

Locarno Film Festival's symbol is a leopard: before any screening a "pardo" (italian for pard) walks across the screen roaring, just before the edition's motto appears (2021's motto is "Cinema is back"). All prizes are shapes as small, stylized felines, the most important one being Pardo d'Oro, the Golden Leopard. Pardo is for Locarno what Lion is for Venice and Palms are for Cannes...with some interesting results.

The main colours of Locarno Film Festival are yellow and black, as in pard's coat. Pard spot motif can be seen everywhere: window shops, café, restaurants. Everyone in Locarno wants to celebrate the main event of the summer season. So during the Festival there is a little "pard mania" everywhere...

Click to read more ...