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U.S. comedy, Israeli war movie lead race in Venice
Fri Sep 11, 2009 9:19am EDT
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By Mike Collett-White and Silvia Aloisi VENICE (Reuters) - A dark U.S. comedy, Michael Moore's attack on capitalism and a harrowing Israeli war movie are among the critics' favorites to win the coveted Golden Lion for best film at the Venice festival on Saturday.
Film festival juries are notoriously difficult to second-guess, and juries and critics often disagree, but Venice 2009, with 25 movies in the main line-up, has generally been seen as a better year than the disappointing 2008.
And with George Clooney, Matt Damon, Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Isabelle Huppert, Viggo Mortensen and Egyptian veteran Omar Sharif walking the red carpet, the world's oldest cinema festival has had its fair share of stars.
"A definite improvement over 2008, which was a very difficult year for all the festivals," said Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter. "Speaking as a critic, the films are definitely something to watch this year."
Todd Solondz struck a chord with his dark comedy "Life During Wartime," a sequel of sorts to his acclaimed "Happiness" that follows the dysfunctional Jordan family through a tale of abuse, pedophilia and suicide using biting satire and humor.
The Hollywood Reporter called the American "the true heir to Woody Allen," and when asked about the comparison Solondz told Reuters: "If I looked like Tom Cruise they just wouldn't say such a thing."
Also uniting opinion was "Lebanon," in which Israeli film maker Samuel Maoz seeks to recreate the claustrophobia and fear of being a 20-year-old conscript soldier during the 1982 conflict by shooting most of the action from inside a tank.
Maoz was so traumatized by his memories that it took him 25 years to muster the strength to make the movie, which the New York Times called "an astonishing piece of cinema."
FORD AND FIRTH CHEERED
Michael Moore drew laughter and applause with "Capitalism: A Love Story," an excoriating attack on what he sees as rampant greed on Wall Street which helped bring the world's economy to its knees and condemned millions to poverty and joblessness.
And journalists cheered designer Tom Ford's debut feature "A Single Man," adapted from a Christopher Isherwood novel and starring Colin Firth as a gay professor mourning his lover's death. Firth has been named as a favorite for best actor.
Several competition films also seen as contenders for the main prize when director Ang Lee, Golden Lion winner in 2005 and 2007, announces the awards, have divided critics.
"The Road," an adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's bleak, post-apocalyptic novel, drew mixed reviews, while "Lourdes," directed by Austria's Jessica Hausner, was praised for the restraint with which it dealt with themes of miracles and faith.
Iran played a leading role at the annual cinema showcase, with "Women Without Men" in competition and "Green Days," featuring footage of the recent protests in Tehran, premiering outside the main lineup.
Screen International described as "richly atmospheric and for the most part riveting" French entry "White Material," starring Huppert as a matriarch determined to keep her family's coffee plantation in Africa going, come what may.
Fatih Akin's comedy "Soul Kitchen" was popular while four Asian movies drew mixed reactions: "Between Two Worlds" from Sri Lanka; Japan's "Tetsuo the Bullet Man"; "Lola" by Filipino director Brillante Mendoza and "Accident" from Soi Cheang. Continued...
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