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Venice Festivals by Year: Prizes, Juries, Favorites Other Fests: Cannes / Chicago
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Jurors: Dante Ferretti (president), Ah Cheng, Claire Denis, Amos Gitai, Edgar Reitz, Emilíana Torrini, Christine Vachon
 Competition Films I Have Seen:Ranked in order of preference My Golden Lion: Brokeback Mountain (USA, dir. Ang Lee) - Lensing, score make pushy points of how "spare" they are; too coffee-table for its subject, but moving perfs by leads, Maxwell, and Mara Heading South (France/Canada, dir. Laurent Cantet) - Sometimes so scared of exoticizing it grows too aridly detached, but an intriguing, vinegar approach to potentially seamy story Gabrielle (France, dir. Patrice Chéreau) - Unabashed plunge into grand gestures; in memory, a tad too ripe, but while watching, I was rapt enough; Chéreau in operatic Margot mode The Constant Gardener (UK/Brazil, dir. Fernando Meirelles) - Weisz and Fiennes work admirably hard for it, but Meirelles makes gimmick of himself (very! fast! edits!) and solemn upshot doesn't jell Good Night, and Good Luck. (USA, dir. George Clooney) - One wants to admire it, but is maxi-sheen photography serving a purpose? Too much news footage? Why are secondary characters so wobbly? Proof (USA, dir. John Madden) - Paltrow and Hopkins hint at what makes them special, but movie feels like charity intervention, trying to rouse them from career slumps The Brothers Grimm (USA/UK, dir. Terry Gilliam) - Ledger's twitchy fun proves powerless before this ghastly monolith; bad or unclear ideas grow ever huger, like monster, rotting squashes  Sidebar Films I Have Seen:Ranked in order of preference Drawing Restraint 9 (USA/Japan, dir. Matthew Barney) - Adjacent to Cremaster films but not identical. Odd, thrilling study of tensions—cultural, sexual, audiovisual. The Descent (UK, dir. Neil Marshall) - Horror thriller constructs exquisite suspense even before the beasties show up. Each cut and camera is right in place. Corpse Bride (USA, dirs. Tim Burton & Mike Johnson) - A reinvigoration for Burton after years of spinning wheels. Fun parts are fun, macabre elements have kick. Fun tunes. Into Great Silence (Germany, dir. Philip Gröning) - Not clear how hard the documentarians are working; certainly they might have cut more. Still, it's illuminating. Bubble (USA, dir. Steven Soderbergh) - Will success spoil Steven Soderbergh? He's building back indie cred, without Full Frontal-type stars. Funny, bitter, minor. The Exorcism of Emily Rose (USA, dir. Scott Derrickson) - Hollywood hogwash, where exotic ooga-booga experts are court witnesses. But scary, and not quite empty. Cinderella Man (USA, dir. Ron Howard) - No disaster, but it's an expensive, box-checking Inspirational Drama, spending millions to stand with little people. Competition Films I'm Curious to See: Ranked in order of interest; more on this year's lineup here (opens in a new window) Mary, Italy/France/USA, dir. Abel Ferrara Regular Lovers, France, dir. Philippe Garrel Lady Vengeance, South Korea, dir. Park Chan-wook Persona non grata, Poland, dir. Krzysztof Zanussi Don't Tell, Italy, dir. Cristina Comencini Everlasting Regret, Hong Kong, dir. Stanley Kwan Romance & Cigarettes, USA, dir. John Turturro Magic Mirror, Portugal, dir. Manoel de Oliveira Garpastum, Russia, dir. Aleksey German The Second Night of Marriage, Italy, dir. Pupi Avati Sidebar Films I'm Curious to See: Listed alphabetically 13 Tzameti, France, dir. Géla Babluani The Dignity of the Nobodies, Argentina, dir. Fernando Solanas East of Paradise, France/Poland, dir. Lech Kowalski Edmond, USA, dir. Stuart Gordon Four Brothers, USA, dir. John Singleton First on the Moon, Russia, dir. Aleksei Fedorchenko The Secret Life of Words, Spain, dir. Isabel Coixet Seven Swords, China/Hong Kong, dir. Tsui Hark The Wild Blue Yonder, Germany/France, dir. Werner Herzog Workingman's Death, Austria/Germany, dir. Michael Glawogger |
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