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Day 9- September 7: Movie Cells
Dealing with the subconscious in a quite different way is Ed Harris's directorial debut Pollock, featuring Harris himself as Americas's first "art star", the great painter Jackson Pollock, who revolutionized the world of art in the 40s with his "splash and drip" technique. Undaunted, Harris took to painting to wield the brush and the pot by himself in the film. "It's preposterous to think I could ever paint as he did" the actor declared. "And yet I had to paint in the film. The most challenging part of all that was gaining enough confidence to paint for myself in the style in which he painted... to be committed first to myself as a painter, to try and keep my focus on creating art and not recreating someone else's." With several paintings under his own belt, one may wonder if Harris would be tempted to follow the sirens of art recognition. But unlike his model, he remains sober. "Pollock's need for approval bordered on the psychopathic. Yet, he fought fiercely to be true to himself. he did not separate himself from his art. It is that aspect of his being - desperately needing approval and yet only offering truth to be approved - that drew me to him."
At the beginning of the last century, Turin was the true capital of the Italian film industry with 12 production companies and 73 cinemas. One of the most famous films produced at the time was Cabiria, a peplum that introduced the tracking shot (courtesy of Spanish pioneer Segundo de Chomon) and Maciste to the world. During the century, many great Italian filmmakers chose Turin to make their films: Giuseppe de Santis made Bitter Rice there in 1949 with Silvana Mangano, Antonioni made Cronaca di un Amore, and giallo-veteran Dario Argento walked David Hemmings all over the town for the classic Deep Red. The rediscovery of Turin's and Piedmont's glorious past has resulted in the creation of the Turin-Piedmont Commission Foundation, which willl aim at promoting and stimulating film, television and audiovisual production throughout the region. So if you happen to walk into the press office before the end of the festival, don't be surprised to find a cocktail table at the entrance, with pretty hostesses ready to regale you with local culinary treats. Promotion has begun, and you will see many a journalist smile in front of his computer with a glass of wine at hand. Too bad I am a teetotaller. Talking about journalists,
Filmfestivals.com will introduce you tomorrow to Tiziano Sossi, the author
of a Dictionary of Women Directors. Tomorrow's competition screenings
are O Fantasma by Joao Pedro Rodrigues, Durian Durian
by Locarno's Silver Leopard Fruit Chan, and La Lingua del
Santo by Carlo Mazzacurati. |
Tarsem's
in town! Tarsem is short for Tarsem Dhandwhar, the visionary Indian director
who brought you music videos such as R.E.M.'s Losing My Religion, Deep
Forest's Sweet Lullaby, and many commercial spots for Levi’s, Nike, Reebok,
Coca-Cola,... The 38 year-old award-winning director joins the Biennale
this year for the promotion of his first feature, The Cell,
screened off-competition. This New Line production stars Jennifer Lopez
(back in film after a successful stint in music) as a scientist exploring
the mind of a dangerous schizophrenic psychopath (Vincent d'Onofrio) in
order to save his latest prey. With influences spanning Dali, Lynch and
Caravaggio, Tarsem pulls out all the stops in the psychic sequences, but
fails to convince in the realism department. Although it met with a rather
lukewarm reception at Venice, the Cell will certainly appeal to fans of
the buxom Lopez, who can be seen wearing all kinds of exotic costumes
and ornaments.
Although
Venice does not boast any major Japanese production in its official competition
section - unlike Cannes with Nagisa Oshima's Taboo and Locarno
with Naomi Kawase's Hotaru - it does have a few gems in
the sidebar store such as