Venice Dispatch. 4.

Lasse Hallström's out-of-competition entry, Casanova, is clearly bound for awards elsewhere at least, notably for its costumes, art direction and script. Casanova's looking for way out of being sentenced to death for his amorous adventures. He needs a wife or maybe a new perspective. He finds it under the tutelage of Francesca (Sienna Miller), a young Venetian who writes under the name of Bruno Guardia. Jeremy Irons plays the inquisitor, Pucci, searching for both Guardia and Casanova (Heath Ledger). Lena Olin (Hallström's real-life wife) plays Francesca's mother, and Oliver Platt, the colorful lard merchant from Genoa, Paprizzio.

Scenes poking at the Vatican's dictates on morality drew affectionate laughter from the Italian crowd and the film presents a modern take on the battle of the sexes; nothing short of equality is the goal. At the same time, Casanova is reminiscent of The Merchant of Venice; an obligatory extra falls in the smelly lagoon, for one thing, but moreover, a woman disguised as a man attempts to reason with the men of her time. Only as a man can she be heard, but Casanova, the libertarian, is more than willing to hear Francesca out. The pace works until the lengthy buildup to the finale. There are too many threads to tie up but all's well and the landing's soft.

The press conference was predictably packed for such a star-studded and Hollywood-financed production (Touchtone Pictures) and there was, as usual, little time to do justice to the complexities of the film. Questions were even posed by a former Miss Universe, entertainment personality Cecilia Bolocco of Chile, wife of the ex-president of Argentina, Carlos Menem. At any rate, Hallström's latest has to be this year's favorite out-of-competion film so far.

In Drawing Restraint 9, Matthew Barney and Björk set out on a Japanese vessel, the only factory ship in the world that processes whale meat. In an elaborate and lengthy ritual, the two passengers are partially transformed into whales - both have blow holes and eventually sprout fins. They are more than appropriately dressed for the metamorphosis, thanks to Barney's eclectic costume design and props - shellfish, fur, organic matter and variously bizarre accoutrements. As part of the transformation, Björk loses her eyebrows and Barney the hair on the top of his head. The materials are original, imaginative and include an organic white substance which the ship crew slices into sections with large knives. The gooey sounds you may have heard in Barney's Cremaster Cycle are here - and more. Björk has created a fabulous soundtrack and it seemed only a matter of time before we'd see and hear some sort of synergy of their visual and acoustic creativity.

Barney said his cinematic origins are in horror films and Björk is resigned to learn to like them. Still, at the press conference, he said that it was a natural process that led them to work together. Barney told me he is aware that his films are difficult to find and see, but he hopes that his being in Venice will bring his work to the attention of a wider audience.

The surprise film of the competition yesterday was Takeshi Kitano's Takeshis, a film that the Japanese director revealed may be his last in a cycle of films. The story is basically an assemblage piece about auditioning for acting roles. Kitano's answers to questions about his work were primarily metaphorical. He described his body of work as perhaps "the last thread on a screw"; his yakuza films poke fun at violence "like a lion with a stick." He admitted that he hasn't been very good at depicting women but will maybe give it a try in his next cycle. The two main female characters in the film include a giggling bimbo and an uptight middle-aged woman, and the audience cheered when Kitano punches her, so I told him I'm looking forward to that next cycle. In Takeshis, Kitano plays Kitano and an alternate character, someone very unlike Kitano - a clown, a convenience store clerk, a shy nerd with blonde hair who sports a gaudy jacket.

There are several iconographic flashbacks to Kitano the yakuza warrior, the shooter, the hitman. I asked him why he needs to translate images we can easily recall so literally. His answer: A brain surgeon told him that when he laid a wet towel on the throat of a sleeping man, the man dreamed of his throat being cut. But the visuals in Takeshis did not prod such vivid associations. They conjured what was already there. For some strange reason, the film seems to have been received as a masterpiece. But no, a masterpiece it wasn't. There were instances of good cinema, but perhaps the dressing down of Kitano, the relegation of this onscreen icon to an everyday man resonated with many. As he said himself, "I don't think of myself as a success." Even so, he has never fantasized about who he would be if he weren't Takeshi Kitano. The film is on its way to Toronto, so heads up.

Posted by dwhudson at September 3, 2005 4:23 PM