Well, Father Geek will be brief, I've got to run to the Tarantino Film/fun fest at the ol' Alamo for PIMP NITE with THE MACK, SAINT JACK, THE CHINESE MACK and many many related trailers, etc... Buuuuut 1st here's Ozy from Dublin with a report from his crew at the wonderful VENICE FILM FESTIVAL...
Ozymandias here with a new report from Venice...
Our man at the Venice Film Festival has decided to unmask himself for his own unknowable reasons (always thought it'd be weird to have a Colin in Italy but there you have it....)
Our man at the Venice Film Festival has decided to unmask himself for his own unknowable reasons (always thought it'd be weird to have a Colin in Italy but there you have it....)
The second day of The Venice Film Festival was quite interesting. Even if i am very critical with italian cinema and directors, today we discovered a great movie: The Hundred Steps, by Marco Tullio Giordana. We also saw Sade (with a great Daniel Auteuil) and other movies less interesting. First, some bad news. Martin Scorsese won't be at the Festival with his documentary Il Dolce Cinema, dedicated to the history of italian cinema. He has no time to finish his work because he's too busy with Gangs of New York. We won't see at Venice Johnny Depp and Hugh Grant as well.
Space Cowboys, press conference (08/30/2000)
Even in this movie we can listen to jazz songs. Will you make another movie about jazz as Bird?
Clint Eastwood: in Space Cowboys we have also country music. But that's true, i love jazz. I don't know if i'll direct some other movie about jazz. Now i have two or three projects in mind, but i prefer to not reveal anything.
How can you be so relaxed, even when you're shooting a movie? That' the idea we get by seeing the documentary Eastwood - Out of the Shadows.
C.E.: I appreciate the director that are always quiet and that don't get upset. In my private life, i adore simple things. I don't like to be, as italians say, "nervoso".
Why do you started a political career in the '80? And what do you think about the attacks of Liebermann, the vice of Gore, to Hollywood?
C.E.: i wanted to do something for people. But i'm not so ambitious as other politicians. I was very interested in that period. But later it became too much difficult and demanding for me.
Donald Sutherland: I always smile when i listen to these theories. The american movies are seen in every part of the world. But in Japan they are 90 killings a year, 130 in England, 150 in Canada and 9000 in The United States. But the movies are the same! More seriously, the real problem is the number of weapons in our country.
Is it true you're gonna retired?
C.E.:Absolutely not. I have so many movies to make.
Usually in Hollywood the men finish their career when they arrive at 50 years. But everyone of you seems in a great shape.
C.E.: Thank you to remember us we are old. We are honoured because we worked in the industry so many years. The most important thing is to change. I always changed in my life and this helped my career.
The Hundred Steps, directed by Marco tullio Giordana, in competition (review by Francesco Alò)
Cinisi, Sicily, Italy, 1977. Life and death of Giuseppe-Peppino-Impastato. >From his childhood with his father connected to the Mafia till the years of political struggles against Cosa Nostra. Unfortunately, he was killed for his ideas by the boss Tano Badalamenti (a wonderful interpretation by Tony Sperandeo). This is the best movie of Marco Tullio Giordana, that has directed some years ago an other biographic movie about a mysterious death, Pasolini - Un delitto italiano, concerning the writer and director Pier Paolo Pasolini. If you know the political movies of the 70' by Francesco Rosi as Salvatore Giuliano you can understand the courage of The Hundred Steps. But it's not just a movie about mafia. The difficult relationship between the father and the son is worth a bergmanian melodrama. And what can i say about the young protagonist Luigi Lo Cascio? He was almost unknown till today and now he is a serious contender for the Coppa Volpi (the prize for the best actor). I don't know if The Hundred Steps will have a large international distribution, but if it will arrive at the theater near you, don't miss it.
Uttara, by Buddhadeb Dasgupta, in competition (review by Giovanni Colucci)
This is a very strange movie. Two friends are passing their days together practising wrestling. But their relation is ruined when one of them marries a lady that's loved by the other one. We meet also a priest who adopted a child and a community of dwarfs. Three hindu extremists will destroy this paradise with their violence. They will kill everyone, except the child. We can appreciate the great technique of the director Dasgupta and congratulate with his cinematographer Asim Bose. And for people who likes surrealism this could be a very interesting movie. But there's some difficult to not be disappointed with the ingenuousness which the director speaks about some problems as racism and women condition in India. And the definite division between good and evil is too simple. I can accept the lack of realism; but what do you think when you see a woman breathe, even she is supposed to be death?
Sade, by Benoît Jacquot, in Sogni e Visioni (review by Giovanni Colucci)
Benoît Jacquot faces a difficult moment in the history of France, by telling some months of the life of the most scandalous man of his age. Sade (who passed a third of his life in prison for his extreme ideas and actions) was a notorius libertine and atheist. The violence of his books fascinated many artists (he was the favorite writer of Luis Buñuel and was one of the influences of the surrealism, and many actors as Klaus Kinski and Robert Englund interpretated the marquise). The originality of this movie is to highlight the humanity of Sade. The marquise is described as a materialist and an enemy of obscurantism. Auteuil is simply perfect to show the ambiguity of the fascination of Sade. To understand completely this movie, just listen to the director: "the violence of one man is freedom; the violence of the mass is sadism". And also "my movie would be a mix between a rose and a whip". A good movie, even if it's not so extreme as i thinked.
Press conference of Sade
Why you decided to realize an adaptation of the Serge Branly novel La terreur dans le Boudoir?
The director Benoît Jacquot: first, i have to say that i wouldn't make an adaptation, but to create a character for the cinema. That's very diffucult to talk about the development of the project, because that was a work made by three people, me, the actor Daniel Auteuil and the producer Patrick Godeau.
What's the most interesting side in the life of Sade?
B.J.: I was very interested to represent an history when we can reflect about the paradox of the word "sadism". That's our protagonist who gives birth to this word, but in reality he lived in a brutal and violent era, where they were made crimes much more serious than theirs. So, we tried to surprise the public and to restore the real truth.
What do you think is the difference between the violence of a single man and the violence of the mass?
B.J.: The individual violence is a demonstration of freedom, while the collective violence is an expression of sadism.
What do you do to create your character?
Daniel Auteuil, Sade in the movie: i read all his letters and i found so many interesting things. In his letters we can find the spirit of a man much more human than people can think. The worst mistake that we can do is confuse his books with his personality. Sade wasn't a brutal man.
Do you think you added something to the concept of sadism?
B.J.: no, we have learned more about this theme and we tried to eliminate some prejudices. That's interesting to note how much is changed the meaning of the word "sadism". The sadism that we hear from television isn't that of the marquis. But we tried also to make a movie that people can easily understand.
So, what's your opinion about Sade? I don't think he was a wicked man. Simply, he fighted the hypocrisy of his age.
Palavra and Utopia, By Manoel De Oliveira, in competition (review by Francesco Alò)
The history of father Antonio Vieria. His childhood near the indios in Brasil, the problems with spanish Inquisition in 1663, the transfer in Rome and in Sweden, where he become a good friend of the queen. He'll finish his mission where he started: in Brasil. Who loves the cinema of Manoel de Oliveira won't be disappointed by this movie. But for people who don't like the fondness of the portuguese director for long shoots Palavra and Utopia is fucking boring. The most difficult part are the sermons of father Vieria. The actors are impressive, but their speeches are interminable. And that's very difficult to speak about art direction because the most part of the shootings were made in empty churches. That's very interesting to see movies like this in a festival. You can feel the suffering of the audience by their breathing and by their continuous looks at their watches. But when the lights turn on, everybody starts to applaud. So, congratulations to Palavra and Utopia. Sincerely :-)
For tomorrow: reviews of Dr.t and the women (we already have seen it and it was very disappointing. More informations in the next daily), the corean Seom, the Prime Gig by Gregory Mosher, Denti by Gabriele Salvatores, Brother by Takeshi Kitano (we have an exclusive interview with him!) and What Lies Beneath. And also some press conference and a lot of trailers
See you
Robert Bernocchi - La Finestra sul Cortile: CLICK HERE TO ACCESS!!!
