Category Archives: Venice International Film Festival

VENICE FILM REVIEW: Jimmy Carter doc ‘The Man From Plains’

Posted on October 29, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE, Italy — Winning the Nobel Peace Prize does not automatically visit sainthood upon the recipient as Tom Lehrer observed while noting that satire died the day Henry Kissinger became laureate, but it looks pretty good on … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: Brian De Palma’s ‘Redacted’

Posted on September 10, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett Filmmaker Brian De Palma turns 67 on Tuesday so being handed the Silver Lion as best director for “Redacted” at the Venice International Film Festival was s timely gift. The director faces a lot of flack for his … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: Ang Lee’s ‘Lust, Caution’

Posted on September 9, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE – Ang Lee’s lugubrious spy epic “Lust, Caution” (Se jie)  brings to mind what soldiers say about war: that it’s long periods of boredom relieved by moments of extremely heightened excitement. There’s an extended and nasty … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: Jose Luis Guerin’s ‘In the City of Julia’

Posted on September 6, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE – Virtually a silent movie apart from the everyday sounds of the French city of Strasbourg, Spanish director Jose Luis Guerin’s lyrical tale of forlorn love, “In the City of Sylvia,” is a treat for romantics … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: Nikita Mikhalkov’s ’12’

Posted on September 6, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE, Italy — Sidney Lumet turned Reginald Rose’s fine play “12 Angry Men” into a splendid movie in 1957 and it has been revisited on stage and television but never better than in Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov’s … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: Johnny To and Wai Ka-Fai’s ‘Mad Detective’

Posted on September 6, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE – Most really smart sleuths in crime fiction pick up on external clues, but Kowloon cop Bun (Lau Ching Wan, pictured) in “Mad Detective” identifies villains by recognising a person’s inner personality or personalities, as the … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: Woody Allen’s ‘Cassandra’s Dream’

Posted on September 3, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE, Italy — Woody Allen’s “Cassandra’s Dream” is a humourless misfire that wastes the talents of some fine actors including Ewan McGregor, Hayley Atwell and Tom Wilkinson as it continues the mystery of Colin Farrell’s appeal to … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: Ken Loach’s ‘It’s a Free World’

Posted on September 2, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE – Few countries have a handle on matters of immigration, but a combination of free market profit-seeking and nanny-state regulations has resulted in a singular mess in Great Britain, as Ken Loach illustrates in his tough-minded slice-of-life picture … Continue reading →

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VENICE FILM REVIEW: Joe Wright’s ‘Atonement’

Posted on August 30, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE – “Atonement,” Ian McEwan’s best-selling novel of love thwarted by juvenile fantasy, ranks among the best novel adaptations of recent times. With compelling, charismatic performances by Keira Knightley and James McAvoy (pictured)  as the lovers and a stunning … Continue reading →

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‘Atonement’: Striking all the right notes in Venice

Posted on August 29, 2007 by admin

By Ray Bennett VENICE – Composer Dario Marianelli has created a wonderfully inventive score for Joe Wright’s new film “Atonement,” which features the tapping of typewriter keys as percussion. It’s a very effective device that plays off the title and it … Continue reading →

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