Keith Simanton's Ten Films I Want to See in Venice
by keithsim | created - 8 months ago | updated - 8 months ago | PublicIt's the 80th anniversary of the Venice Film Festival, also affectionately known as the "Mostra" (meaning "Exhibition), although the math is a little squishy. The first year the festival claims is 1932. But, as Paolo Baratta, former President of La Biennale di Venezia, wrote in the forward to Peter Cowie's succinct and clear-eyed "Happy 75th" book, "the number...is not actually a perfect indication. There were years in which the Biennale Cinema organized activities, some were called Mostre but fell under a sort of demnatio memoriae (1940 - '42), some were not called Mostre and were not attributed a number." Regardless, here are the 10 films I want to see during this historic anniversary. - Keith Simanton
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1. Poor Things (2023)
R | 141 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An account of the fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter.
Director: Yorgos Lanthimos | Stars: Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef
Votes: 253,634
Director Lanthimos was last in Venice with my favorite film of 2018, THE FAVOURITE. This one looks more like THE LOBSTER or SACRED DEER but odds are it will be unconventional, disturbing & memorable.
2. DogMan (2023)
R | 115 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A boy, bruised by life, finds his salvation through the love of his dogs.
Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Caleb Landry Jones, Jojo T. Gibbs, Christopher Denham, Clemens Schick
Votes: 10,911
I've been waiting since ANTIVIRAL in 2011 for Caleb Landry Jones to cash in on his talent and get noticed more widely. I'm hoping this fairly familiar Besson plot lets him do it.
3. The Killer (2023)
R | 118 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
After a fateful near-miss, an assassin battles his employers and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell, Arliss Howard
Votes: 183,370
I've missed Fassbender (the last acting credit we have for him is '19's DARK PHOENIX) & would love to see Fincher back with a hit, or at least a hoot.
4. Ferrari (2023)
R | 130 min | Biography, Drama, History
Set in the summer of 1957, with Enzo Ferrari's auto empire in crisis, the ex-racer turned entrepreneur pushes himself and his drivers to the edge as they launch into the Mille Miglia, a treacherous 1,000-mile race across Italy.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Adam Driver, Shailene Woodley, Giuseppe Festinese, Alessandro Cremona
Votes: 42,792
Mann's last directed film was BLACKHAT in 2015. Let's thank God that 1) BLACKHAT will not be the capstone on his career & 2) he's back and Driver seems like an apt companion, even though I couldn't give two figs about Enzo Ferrari.
5. Maestro (2023)
R | 129 min | Biography, Drama, History
This love story chronicles the lifelong relationship of conductor-composer Leonard Bernstein and actress Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein.
Director: Bradley Cooper | Stars: Carey Mulligan, Bradley Cooper, Matt Bomer, Vincenzo Amato
Votes: 60,898
The last time a Cooper-directed film was in Venice it was A STAR IS BORN, 2/3rds of one of the best films 2018 (& 1/3rd one of the worst). Let's hope for a complete 3/3. Netflix sure seems to think it's great, which is a good sign.
6. Priscilla (2023)
R | 113 min | Biography, Drama, Music
When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a vulnerable best friend.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Cailee Spaeny, Jacob Elordi, Ari Cohen, Dagmara Dominczyk
Votes: 35,126
Sofia Coppola returns with a major festival contender. Her last film, ON THE ROCKS, was a diverting vehicle for Bill Murray & Rashida Jones which was knee-capped by COVID in 202. Cailee Spaeny plays the young Priscilla, who was very young when she met & was wooed by Elvis Presley, putting us firmly in Coppola's THE BEGUILED territory and working once again with her DP for that film & ROCKS, Philippe Le Sourd.
7. El Conde (2023)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Fantasy, History
After living 250 years in this world, Augusto Pinochet, who is not dead but an aged vampire, decides to die once and for all.
Director: Pablo Larraín | Stars: Jaime Vadell, Gloria Münchmeyer, Alfredo Castro, Paula Luchsinger
Votes: 13,361
It's my sincere hope that the material lets Larrain get loose like NO, and not like SPENCER & JACKIE.
8. Evil Does Not Exist (2023)
106 min | Drama
Takumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a camping site near Takumi's house offering city residents a comfortable "escape" to nature.
Director: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi | Stars: Hitoshi Omika, Ryô Nishikawa, Ryûji Kosaka, Ayaka Shibutani
Votes: 3,520
Hamaguchi follows up the international success of DRIVE MY CAR with this film, a full hour shorter than his last.
9. Society of the Snow (2023)
R | 144 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The flight of a rugby team crashes on a glacier in the Andes. The few passengers who survive the crash find themselves in one of the world's toughest environments to survive.
Director: J.A. Bayona | Stars: Enzo Vogrincic, Agustín Pardella, Matías Recalt, Esteban Bigliardi
Votes: 132,176
As a huge fan of J.A. Bayona (save FALLEN KINGDOM) I'll muscle through what is sure to be an unpleasant tale, but if it can approach Frank Marshall's underappreciated, ennobling ALIVE, it will be worth it.
10. The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023)
TV-14 | 108 min | Drama, War
Follows a naval officer who stands trial for mutiny after taking command from a ship captain he felt was acting in an unstable way, putting both the ship and its crew in danger.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Clarke, Jake Lacy, Monica Raymund
Votes: 4,165
Friedkin's last film and an enduring classic tale. I am waiting to watch Kiefer Sutherland absolutely kill as Caine. "Strawberries...strawberries"
11. The Palace (2023)
100 min | Comedy, Drama
A drama set on New Year's Eve 1999 in a luxurious Swiss hotel where the lives of hotel workers and various guests get intertwined.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Oliver Masucci, Fanny Ardant, John Cleese, Bronwyn James
Votes: 2,370
Okay, this is actually the 11th but the last Polanski film I saw in Venice was the excellent AN OFFICER AND A SPY.
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