MY VENICE HIGHLIGHTS
Alex Deleon
Annette Bening jury president was regal at the closing ceremony
In a sense everybody sees a different festival depending on choices made and the fallout of the daily agenda.
My festival started out slowly but picked up steam tooward the end. Arriving late I missed many the films I wanted to see and didn't see any of the einners, but I did catch a few good ones.
The highlight of my personal festival week was George Clooney's Suburbicon with Matt Damin and Julianne Moore who received a career award?
Ozu's restired masterpiece "Ochazuke no Aji" (The flavor of Green Tea over Rice) was a classic Japanese pleasure worth revisting.
The War Room (Reconstruction of the war noom in Dr. Strangelove) and "The Prince and the Dybbuk" a dazzlimg documentary on the strange life of little known Polish director Michal Waszynski who made the prewar Yiddish classic "The Dybbuk" was a most rewarding double bill. Frederick Wiseman's doc on the New York Public Library had certain intellectial rewards, and, finally, Errol Morris' two part Netflix documentary WORMWOOD on the execution and coverup of a prominent dissident scientist was not only an eye opener but a master class in creative abstract documentary filmmaking. Frank Olson was a scientist working on fiendish American experiments with LSD during the Cold War in 1953 and had great misgivings over his participation in these grotesque experiments. Viewed as a dangerous dissident who might expose top militaty secrets he was defenestrated (thrown out of a high hotel window) with the death being passed off as a suicide, His son spent half a century trying to unearth the truth, which he did, but not to final satisfaction. Chilling and spellbinding.
At the closing ceremony British actress Charlotte Rampling who received the best actress award spoke of her early work in Italian cinema and won warm applause.
The awards this year were universally popular with no complaints.
The Golden Lion grand prix for best film went to the "The shape of water", a front runner all week long, by heavyweight (300 pounds) Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, not to be confused with Hollywood actor Benicio del Tofi, please.
French Director Xavier Legrand broke down in tears upon receiving a lion for best diector of the film "Jusqu'à la Garde".
An unusual first in festival awards went to Australisn Aboriginal director Warwick Thornton for his Aussie western "Sweet Country". Other major winners include Samuel Maoz’s Israeli drama, Foxtrot, which was awarded the Grand Jury Prize;
French director Xavier Legrand sheds tears of joy at awards ceremony
