Venice at Home: Day 9 – Best Actors of Festivals Past

by Cláudio Alves

Neither Vahid Jalilvand nor Andrew Dominik is a newbie when it comes to the Venice Film Festival. Though the Iranian director never before competed for the Golden Lion, his films have won many prizes at the Lido, screening within the festival's parallel sections. Maybe Beyond the Wall can repeat the feat and nab some trophy from Julianne Moore's jury. As for Andrew Dominik, his adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' Blonde is already the topic of much controversy. Critics are divided regarding the movie's depiction of sexual exploitation – some see it as a ruthless dissection of celebrity culture, and others lament another voyeuristic desecration of Marilyn Monroe's personhood, intimacy, her legacy. 

For the Venice at Home program, let's remember two instances when these cineastes directed their leading men towards acting prizes. No Date, No Signature won Navis Mohammadzadeh the Venice Horizons Award in 2017. Ten years before that, Brad Pitt earned the Volpi Cup for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford…

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Venice Diary #08 - "The Son", "Beyond the Wall", and "Dreamin' Wild"

by Elisa Giudici

Today on the menu in Venice, there is only one option: crying your heart out. You can choose which missing son and worried parent will tear your heart in pieces, though.

THE SON by Florian Zeller
Who is 'the son' of the title? That's debatable. There is the troubled teenager Nicholas (Zen McGrath) that Peter (Hugh Jackman) had with his ex-wife Kate (Laura Dern). Peter also has a newborn son he is raising with his new partner Beth (Vanessa Kirby). Maybe Peter himself is the titular character? He's learning some hard lessons in being a father while struggling with what it means to be the son of Anthony (Sir Anthony Hopkins). I would say the latter, considering how this movie works best as a reminder of Hugh Jackman’s considerable acting skill...

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