FO R E I G N
F E S T IV A L S
5 0 a M OSTRA DEL CINEM A Dl VENEZIA AUGUST-SEPTEMBER, 1993 PETER
MALONE
“ ^ ^ i e s Irae” was the title for a retrospective selection of films screened at the Venice Film Festival. It means “Day of Wrath” , a biblical term for a time of suffering and judgement. It is also the title of Carl T. Dreyer’s austere 1943 film, which was included in the retrospective. The reason for this was that 1993 marks the 50th anniversary of the Mostra Cinematografica (cinema showcase) and a fitting way to mark the occasion was the screening of films which were released in those days of wrath of World War If. Continental directors represented were Jacques Becker, Claude Autant-Lara, Helmut Kautner, Gustaf Molander, Luchino Visconti, D reyerand Nikolai Avdeenko and Julia Solntseva (Bitva za nashu Sovietskuyu Ukrainu ( The Fight for Our Soviet Ukraine)). The British choice was Millions Like Us (Frank Launder), The Man in Grey (Leslie Arliss) and The Gentle Sex (Leslie f
Howard). The U.S. selection was more diverse: H itler’s Children (Edward Dmytryk), Cabin in the Sky (Vincente Minnelli), Watch on the Rhine (Herman Shumlin) and This Land is Mine (Jean Renoir). The Festival programme consisted of six sections: the films in Competition (18) and five others which were given as much attention but which were screened “out of Competition”. The latter were mainly American films, Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg), The Age o f Innocence (Mar tin S corsese), M anhattan M urde r M ystery (Woody Allen), A Bronx Tale (Robert De Niro) and ErmannoOlmi’s IISegretodelBosco Vecchio (Secret o f the Old Forest). There was the “Panorama Italiano” , seven features and five shorts by younger Italian film makers. “Finestra Sulle Immagine” (Window on
The daily “Press Conferences” usually had
Images) included features, documentaries and
representatives from the main films screened,
shorts, mainstream; and experimental, and pro
but attention was focused on the celebrities.
grammes filmed on video (including Brownlow
There were 2,500 journalists accredited to the
and G ill’s series on D. W. Griffith and Robert
Festival and swarms of photographers. As they
ABOVE: NICK HOPE AS BUBBY IN ROLF DE HEER’S BAD BO Y BUBBY, WINNER OF SEVERAL PRIZES A T VENICE, INCLUDING THE FESTIVAL JURY AWARD, THE CIAK JURY AWARD AND THE BRONZE PLAQUE FROM OCIC, AS WELL AS SHARING (WITH SHORT CUTS) THE INTERNATIONAL CRITICS’ AWARD.
Altm an’s Black and Blue). “Special Screenings”
rushed Robert De Niro for yet another session,
included Johnny Guitar (Nicholas R ay,1954),
chair Gideon Bachman remarked, “The Invasion
and moving; Maria Luisa Bemberg’s De eso no
Pursued (fla o il Walsh, 1947) and small-budget
of the Body Snatchers” . They were excessively
se habla (Argentina), with Marcello Mastroianni
.films like The Hollow Men (Joseph Kay and John
in evidence at the awards evening staged at the
making his love for a fifteen-year-old dwarf ab
Yorick) and Joe Com erford’s High Boot Benny
Palazzo Ducale, which, from an audience point
solutely believable; Dove Siete? lo Sono Qui
froth Ireland. For those who enjoy the mainstream, there was the “Venetian Nights” , m a in lf U.S. films: In
Sandrine Blaricke that made the events credible
of view, was little better than a ‘scratch concert’
(Where are You? I am Here, Italy), a surprisingly
- presenters confused, talking over voice-overs
mainstream film from Liliana Cavani about the
- but a cheerful evening nonetheless!
hearing-impaired, a film of great feeling.
jth e Line o f Fire (Wolfgang Petersen), § J ie fu g i
In watching the films in Competition, one was
tive (Andrew Davis), Dave (Ivan Reitm an),
struck by their emphasis on individuals and
Rolf de Heer’s Bad Boy Bubby, with a powerful
Kalifornia (Dominic Sena), Posse (¡¡¡Irio V fn
groups who were ¡marginalized. Many of them
performance by Nick Hope as a middle-aged
Perhaps the big surprise of the Festival was
Peebles), Boxing Helena (Jenjnifer: Chambers
v ^ re f intense: Aline Isserman’s fine Ombre de
baby-man, kept locked away from people, who
Lynch) apd What’s Love Gotitg:DoljWith It (iria n
^ u t e (France), tacpling incest in a French mid-
eventually gets out, mirrors the society he en
dle-liassffam ily with a performance by the young
counters and em erges from hiis mental and
g | H o | ).
m
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