Venice 2008-Out of competition: Two Golden Lions, two masters and lots of music news
This year's out of competition of the 65th Venice Film Festival is particularly full. The section (and festival) will open with the Coen brothers' Burn After Reading and includes an overall seven titles, along with short film and numerous older films.
The European features include Italy's Puccini e la fanciulla, a tribute by the rigorous Paolo Benvenuti to the composer of The Girl of the Golden West, Claire Denis's French/Spanish co-production 35 Rhums and the horror-noir atmospheres of Vinyan, shot in Thailand by Belgium's Fabrice Du Welz.
Agnès Varda (a previous Golden Lion winner for Vagabond) brings to the Lido the autobiographical documentary Les Plages d'Agnès. Two other Golden Lion winners feature in the section: China's Jia Zhangke, whose short film Cry Me a River includes European (French and Spanish) financing, and maestro Mario Monicelli, who in the short Vicino al Colosseo... c'è Monti tells the story of one of Rome's historic neighbourhoods.
Returning to Venice are two names beloved by cinephiles: Abbas Kiarostami with Shirin (featuring Juliette Binoche) and the indomitable Manoel De Oliveira with the seven-minute comedy Do VisÃvel ao InvisÃvel.
Music plays a large role among the discoveries. There will be a world premiere of the restored copy of Yuppi Du, a cult movie written, directed by and starring icon of Italian rock Adriano Celentano. There is also a double tribute to Domenico Modugno (Tutto è musica and Nel blu dipinto di blu - Volare) and Orfeo 9 by Tito Schipa Jr., with Renato Zero and Loredana Bertè.
A particularly unique title, screening in collaboration with the Far East Film Festival of Udine, is Japanese film Monster X Strikes Back: Attack the G8 Summit by Minoru Kawasaki, featuring the voice of Takeshi Kitano and a very special guest: French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
(Gabriele Barcaro for cineuropa)
