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Venice's Lido is a favorite venue for stars from Hollywood but as the
red carpet is rolled out for this year's festival, the flavour is
distinctly Asian, from a martial arts-themed opening to Japanese cartoons.
And after a blunder-prone, overloaded 2004, organisers of the world's
oldest cinema competition say they have a sleeker line-up which will
appeal to art house film buffs and star-watchers alike.
The 62nd Venice Film Festival opens on Wednesday, promising 11 days of
showbiz parties and glamour.
"We had to be even more selective than last year," the festival's
director Marco Muller said on Tuesday at the seafront Palace of Cinema, as
workers bustled around him putting finishing touches to the venue.
"We are happy with the results," he told Reuters.
From last year's nearly 80 films, a number of them big-budget U.S.
productions, the festival has slimmed down to 56, with 19 movies competing
for the top prize, the Golden Lion.
Tipped as highlights are George Clooney's
black-and-white, McCarthy-era "Goodnight and Good Luck," the Terry Gilliam
extravaganza
"The Brothers
Grimm" and the final episode in Korean director Park Chan-wook's revenge
trilogy, "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance."
Kicking off the festival will be out-of-competition "Seven Swords," an
epic marking the revival of the "wuxia," or martial chivalry genre, by the
flag-carrier of Hong Kong action movies,Tsui Hark.
"We'll have to see the quality of the films, but I think a wuxia,
martial-arts themed opening party gives the festival an intriguing
flavour," said Variety critic Nick Vivarelli.
Other top Asian offerings include Stanley Kwan's "Everlasting Regret,"
starring pop diva Sammi Cheng and, out of competition, Peter Ho-sun Chan's
"Perhaps Love."
"Films that are made in Hong Kong, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo and Bangkok
tend to feed off each other and multiply the potential of Asian cinema,"
said Muller, himself a China expert.
Venice organisers are also showcasing a range of Chinese classics from
the 1940s, restored by a specialist who recently worked on Charlie
Chaplin's movies.
Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki will be honoured with a life-time
achievement award.
Last year, controversial films including Mike Leigh's "Vera Drake," the
story of a 1950s abortionist, reaped the top awards. This year gay
cowboys and female sex tourism are on the agenda with Ang Lee's "Brokeback
Mountain" and Laurent Cantet's "Vers le Sud."
"Mary," about an actress obsessed with Mary Magdalene, is also bound to
ruffle some feathers. It is directed by Abel Ferrara, the U.S. film maker
notorious for violent movies such as Driller Killer and Bad Lieutenant.
The festival is being held amid tight security in the wake of the
London bombings. Visitors must go through security checks for the first
time ever.
(Reuters) | 
Updated: 2005-09-01 09:42
