Venice 2024: Jury of One

by Elisa Giudici

As the Venice Film Festival draws to a close, the time has come to reflect on the competition, predict who will claim the prestigious Golden Lion, and consider which films will carry momentum into Oscar season. Above all, it's time to think about what will truly remain from this year's edition.

Overall Festival Impressions

Last year’s festival lacked consistency, with a mix of standout films and titles that induced sheer embarrassment. This year, however—thanks in part to a much stronger and more compelling Italian contingent—the competition has been far more solid, with only a couple of notable failures and several standout films. In fact, considering the lackluster showing at Cannes this year, Venice could very well take the title of Festival of the Year. The event is anchored by The Brutalist by Brady Corbet, a monumental work operating on a level unmatched by any other film this year. Almodóvar, Guadagnino, Salles, and Bing have also impressed...

Click to read more ...

Venice '24: "The Room Next Door"

By Elisa Guidici

THE ROOM NEXT DOOR

There’s no living storyteller with a more profound, intimate understanding of death than Pedro Almodóvar. I call him a "storyteller" because, in the 2020s, that’s become his most defining identity. His first English-language feature—set in an alternative, upper-class, hyper-cultural, Almodóvarian version of the United States—once again showcases his incredible narrative talents...

Click to read more ...

My first meeting with Gena Rowlands

by Cláudio Alves

The dedication at the end of Pedro Almodóvar' ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER (1999).

Yesterday, as The Film Experience's first foray into honoring Gena Rowlands drew to a close, I asked the readers: Can you remember how you first encountered her?

It's an interesting query since the introduction to an artist can set so much of one's relationship with them going forward. Personally, it's a matter of fascination because I remember so well when and where I first met the goddess that Cassavetes immortalized in his films. At least, I know the moment I became aware of Rowlands as someone I should pay attention to and treasure. It wasn't through any of her works, not directly. Instead, this brush with my actressexual fate came at the end of a tomato-red melodrama beset by maternal madness and a Spanish twist. Yes, I discovered Gena Rowlands through the dedication at the end of Pedro Almodóvar's All About My Mother...

Click to read more ...

Venice Main Competition Round-Up (plus London and NYFF Openers)

by Nick Taylor

BLITZ (2024) Steve McQueen

So many film festivals the past few days have come to make an announcement! Steve McQueen’s Blitz, about Londoners trying to survive a bombing during WWII starring Saoirse Ronan and Harris Dickinson, has been named the opening film for the London Film Festival. Meanwhile, the New York Film Festival will open with Nickel Boys, an adaptation of Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel helmed by Hale County This Morning, This Evening director RaMell Ross.

A lot of films have been announced for TIFF, and will presumably keep being announced until the festival starts in September. We’ve also received word of the full lineup for the 81st Venice Film Festival, and since they’ve got much fewer releases than TIFF, I’ll be doing a quick run-down of which titles are most exciting to me personally. While I won’t be able to attend Venice, you can still see me watching them take off from the sidelines, like a 20th century mother waving to her children as they set sail on a voyage to a new country, hoping for the absolute best but steeling myself to be strong, just in case of disaster...

Click to read more ...

A Penélope Cruz Top Ten

by Cláudio Alves

The Merry Month of May is upon us, but first, there's still some April business to attend. Specifically, Penélope Cruz turned fifty last weekend and celebrated a big party that included such names as husband Javier Bardem, auteur par excellence Pedro Almodóvar, former scene partner Salma Hayek, and many more. Happy belated birthday to the Spanish star! 

Here, at The Film Experience, the best way to mark such occasions is surrendering to list-mania, so let's consider this Oscar winner's extensive filmography and sing her praises. Excluding TV and with honorable mentions woven into the write-ups, here are my top ten favorite performances from Penélope Cruz…

Click to read more ...