An inside look: the 76th Venezia Film Festival

As a junior journalist, this year I had the opportunity to accomplish one of the greatest dreams of a movie lover, that is to say going to the Venice Film Festival with my first press pass. When the VFF staff had approved my request, I was fulfilled with excitement. Since I am a freelance (yeah, unfortunately entering a registered magazine is quite difficult), I had to organize all the trip on my own. So, this is, truly, a labour of love. The one and only love of my life, the cinema screen.

But, let's start with the beginning. The Venezia Film Festival, one of the competition organized by the  Biennale artistic org. (among these, the architecture exhibition and the art expo are the most well known), the VFF is located at the beautiful exclusive island of the Lido, in the Venice gulf. 

The entrance of the VFF, strictly under the security control, was just in front of the Lido's beautiful beaches, which every year attract thousands of tourist form all over the world because of its charm. 

The Mostra Internazionale del Cinema, every year presents the premiere of some expected movies: the 76th VFF was definitely the year of Joker - plus Ad Astra and the Laundromat. And I was lucky enough to attend the newest Joaquin Phoenix's movie red carpet (on 31th august at 6.30 pm). 

The  marvelous Cate Blanchett opened the Joker's red carpet: here is she, the Queen, in an asymetrical bob-rock hairstyle, embodying an enchanting black Armani Privè. And if you look carefully behind her left elbow, there I am, in a red dress. 

And, right after, the cast. After the director Todd Phillips, the probably contended of the Oscar statuette, Joaquin Phoenix. In this pic, he was probably glancing at her fiancée and actress Rooney Mara, in a beautiful Givenchy dress, as we can imagine from the border of this pic (taken by me). 

The public premiere aired in Sala Grande (the historical theatre of the VFF), at 7.15 pm. This picture is taken from the distinguished visitor's gallery, where hosts like Cate Blanchett, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara and the Italian star Michelle Hunziker set. The movie received 8 minutes of applauses ! 

Micol Sartori 

  

DON'T WORRY movie exclusive review !

Produced by Amazon Studios, Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot (2018) is a bio-drama based inspired by the life of the cartoonist John Callahan.

The actor Robin Williams (1951-2014) knew John Callahan and, after the death of the artist, Williams decided to buy the right's of Callahan's autobiography. Williams' dream was to made out of it a nice on screen biography and to act as the main character. 

By the time Williams was working on Good Will Hunting with director Gus Van Sant, he introduced him to Callahan's book: “He wanted to create a screenplay to star in and that’s where it started. We developed a couple of screenplays and as time went by, Robin never got around to it,” Van Sant told The Hollywood Reporter at the film's premiere at the ArcLight Hollywood.

Then Callahan died at the age of 59 in 2010 and, in 2014 Williams died too. 

After William's death, Van Saint thought of finally accomplished the actor's dream. The credits of the movie, in fact, include a special thanks to Williams.

Van Saint enrolled the prized actor Joaquin Phoenix (1974 ) and the nominated actress Rooney Mara (1985).

CIAK MOVIES REVIEW.

Positive aspects of the movie:

• Joaquin Phoenix is an amazing actor. After winning the Best Actor prize at Cannes thanks to A beautiful day movie, Phoenix is proving again and again his amazing skills. And deserved the Joker role in the next Batman's series. In Don't worry he acts in a soft, equilibrate way, showing Callahan flaws as a drunker. 
• The dialogues between the characters.
• The costumes.

• The movements of the camera, that shifts fast from one face to another and is often out of focus.

Negative aspects:

• The movie is quite long and still, dialogues only with little music.
• Rooney Mara as Annu is only a frame. Van Gus should have dept more her role.

Ciak's vote: 3,5/5.

DON'T WORRY movie official site 

Hi everyone! I have just finished watching "The Discovery"... and it was... strange? creepy? I don't know, but certainly this movie is a wind of fresh air. I have tried to gather my thoughts in a review, but the truth is the movie has left me with a mixture on disclosed feelings. Let me know what you think and if you haven’t, go watch the Discovery- avoidable on Netflix.

THE DISCOVERY REVIEW

Directed and written by Charlie McDowell, “The Discovery” (2017) is a sci-fic movie; the cast stars are Rooney Mara who plays Isla, Jason Segel as Will and the legendary Robert Redford as Thomas Harbour.

The plot: The movie starts with Harbour- the man who has discovered and proved the existence of an afterlife- being interview. After his discovery, a huge amount of people has suicide and so, the interviewer asks him whether he feels responsible for this creepy growing trend. It is the 2^nd anniversary of the discovery, when Will- Harbours’ son, travels on a ferry where he meets Isla. The man said the woman looks very familiar to him, even if, apparently, they have just met each other. They begin talk and Will reveals her that once, while being dead for about a minute, he saw a boy running at a beach.  Isla and Will take different roads, to meet again the day after on a beach, where Isla is about to commit suicide and Will stops her.  Will brings Isla at his father’s residence, where people who attempt suicide are gathered in order to recover and re-enter the real life. This is the beginning of the Discovery.

Things that you will enjoy:

·         The Discovery: and, most of all, its implications. I have liked how the discovery of an afterlife would affect people’s behaviour. Feels creepy.

·         Memories: all the movie seems a complicated fragmentation of memories that spread of each character but, at the end, all gathers.

·         Isla: a out-of-scheme, freaking real person. And Rooney Mara is, once again, fantastic.

·         Isla and Will’s relationship: not a simple romance between two broken human beings.

·         The finale: love the bi/tri dimentional ending

The cinematography:

·         Love the visual expressionistic effects and the unusual angles of the camera- especially the ones in water when Isla attempts her life.

The music:

·         Puts you in the perfect status to understand the dramatic purpose of the story

Things that you might complain:

·         How does the machine work? I have liked to know more about it.

·         Will’s brother: I didn’t like much his character. He seems useless.

·         The girl and her no-real reason- shot… you are like “why the hell?”

Movie Rating: 3/5

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