GOOD FILMS, QUESTIONABLE AWARDS
The 64th Venice Film Festival can be proud of this year’s film selections, but watching the award ceremony from the press room is indicative. The prizes provoked anger, embarrassment, and everything in between. Ang Lee took home his second Gold Lion in three years for Lust, Caution [pictured above], and was roundly booed, as was Brad Pitt, named Best Actor for The Assassination of Jesse James. Last year it was difficult to accept Ben Affleck and Best Actor appearing in the same sentence, and the jury’s preference for Brad Pitt’s somnolent, ponderous faux-heroic performance over some truly remarkable actors provoked the same sensation. Brian De Palma, whom many believed should have taken home Best Picture for Redacted, favored by the press, had to make do with Best Director, about which he was more than gracious. There was near-unanimity about the choice of Cate Blanchett as Best Actress for her role in the Bob Dylan film, I’m Not There, and Nikita Mikhalkov’s superb film 12 was a favorite for Best Picture. In Venice’s tradition of often creating awards to appease those left out, Mikhakov received a “Special Lion for his body of work,” and Abdellatif Kechiche was given a Special Jury Award for his La Graine et le Mulet. And other films that deserve recognition, for their skill in portraying the horrors of war and injustice, like The Valley of Elah, It’s a Free World, Michael Clayton, and more—what will be their fate at U.S. box offices where their subject matter may count more than their quality?
