Day 5- September 3: Lido Loves The Man Who Cried

The Man Who Cried screened in competition last night and Lido is loving Sally Potter's feature. The story follows the Russian girl Fegele, whose father moves to America in 1927 to find work. Soon after, her village is nearly destroyed and she is sent by boat to England, where she is adopted by a family and raised as Suzie. Ten years later, (played by Christina Ricci) she is determined to find her father and takes a job in Paris to raise money for her mission. There, she befriends a Russian dancer (Cate Blanchett) and falls in love with a gypsy (Johnny Depp). In Paris, she learns about her cultural identity and the perils of being a gypsy or Jewish in 1930s France.

Although the film is strong, it is most exciting for the stellar performances delivered by Blanchett and Ricci. Classy Cate Blanchett seems an unlikely match for Christina Ricci's raw Gen-X spirit, but this is the film's most delightful surprise. The duo fit perfectly and both actresses deliver moving performances with exceptional accents. Today, the team received the loudest applause heard yet from journalists, starting rumors of a Coppa Volpi award (for performance) for Blanchett.

The team from Claude Chabrol's Merci pour le chocolat were also here to promote the film, which screened today out of competition. Chabrol certainly had the shortest commute of the group; he's already in Lido serving on the festival's International jury. The veteran filmmaker, who has directed more than 50 features, said that Barbera offered him the chance to present his film in competition, but he said that he is "too old for competitions" and instead opted to serve on the jury. The film's star, Isabelle Huppert, is also a "temporary local" as she is in Venice to promote La Comedie de L'Innocence (in competition here) from Raoul Ruiz.

Part of the Run Lola Run team was in town for their newest collaboration, The Princess and the Warrior, which screened today in the Sogni e Visioni section. It marks two years since Franka Potente's first Biennale experience - in 1998 she was catapulted to stardom here when Run Lola Run was screened in competition. The Princess and the Warrior, the latest from Tom Tykwer, is set in a psychiatric hospital and is a love story between the nurse Sissy (Potente) and a patient Bodo (Benno Furmann). Potente said that the cast "went crazy" during the filming, which was shot under one million watts over five weeks.

Scheduled for tonight in competition is Before Night Falls from Julian Schnabel (also starring Johnny Depp). This is followed immediately by the submarine thriller U-571 from Jonathan Mostow. Liam from Stephen Frears and Platform from Jia Zhangke screen in competition tomorrow... What a way to begin a Monday.

Kerry Shaw