Day 4- September 2: Brother Bedazzles Venice Crowd

More celebrities sailed into Venice this weekend, keeping the star-gazing lively here in Lido. Cate Blanchett, Christina Ricci, and Johnny Depp are in town for Sally Potter's The Man Who Cried; Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford arrived yesterday to promote What Lies Beneath, a thriller about a seemingly perfect couple who are haunted by an infidelity. Many of the cast and crew from The Isle took some time to unwind last night at the lavish party thrown by the Korean group Coalition for Cultural Diversity in Moving Images. The Isle is the hot topic here at Lido and the film received some extra attention when, in one screening, a woman passed out during a graphic scene.

Harrison Ford, Robert Zemeckis, and Michelle Pfeiffer were cool and relaxed at the press conference today, a sign of their years of industry experience. Ford chatted about last month's "rescue mission," in which he flew his private helicopter to save a girl trapped in the mountains near his summer home. He joked that he had already sold the rights to the story, and that his part would be played by a "much younger and better looking" actor. When one journalist called Ford an artist, he was quick to correct: "I've always considered what I do to be a craft or a skill and if there is art involved, it's on the part of the writer or director. I consider myself to be fortunate to be working with so many artists." Pfeiffer was equally gracious and said that she was inspired by Drew Barrymore's performance in Scream, noting that Barrymore reached a level of fear she herself had not tried to match until this project.

Takeshi Kitano's first English language film, Brother, screened last night out of competition and people are still discussing its gritty violence. Set in Los Angeles, the film depicts a Japanese gangster (Takeshi Kitano) who heads to LA to find his brother, and there befriends a crook (Omar Epps). Nearly one gunshot per minute is the norm in this film, not to mention a few gory scenes without guns (one in which a man's finger is chopped off). Epps called his work with Kitano a "blessed experience" and he and British producer Jeremy Thomas (The Last Emperor) both mentioned how team-oriented the Japanese film crew were.

The Italian film Denti, from Gabriele Salvatores, also screened yesterday. Denti is a love story between Antonio (Sergio Rubini), whose jealousy causes a terrible fight with his lover Mara (Anita Capriola) that sends him on a journey of self-discovery. Although there are five Italian films here in competition (compared to none at this year's Cannes), so far no Italian film has caused a stir.

In the Cinema del Presente section, theatre director Gregroy Mosher made his film debut with The Prime Gig, starring Julia Ormond. He credited his smooth transition from stage to screen with his cinematographer - "all my friends told me to make sure I got a good one," he said, noting that Sam Mendes secured legendary Conrad Hall for American Beauty -- a choice which clearly did not hurt the film. He praised Ormond's drive to be in the picture, explaining that "she fought for this part, she tested for the part, and she is not an actress who needs to screen test."

Also screening today in competition is The Goddess of 1967, from Clara Law with Rose Byrne. Goddess is the story of a Japanese man who goes to Australia to buy a 1967 Citroen ds - the goddess -- only to discover that its owners have been killed. Tonight, The Man Who Cried screens along with What Lies Beneath; festival-goers await tomorrow's screenings of Merci pour le chocolat from Claude Chabrol and Before Night Falls (also starring Johnny Depp) from Julian Schnabel. So far no film seems the clear contender for the Golden Lion. Seom (The Isle) and Dr. T and the Women should have strong hopes, but with more than a week to go, it is still too early to tell.

Kerry Shaw