Venice Dispatch. 11.

This just in. One day before the Leone d'Oro, "Arca Cinema Giovani" confirmed my own enthusiasm for a few of the films that were the best in the competition with three awards that will be presented tomorrow at the Golden Lion ceremony:

• Prize for the movie that has best treated the theme "Passagi d'Occidente: encounters, diversities, contrasts" (my sentiments exactly!): Fernando Meirelles's The Constant Gardener, "for having chosen such a difficult and up-to-date subject; for the intense elaborated artistic direction."

Meirelles told me that cinematographer César Charlone basically could have directed the film. I agree. His handheld camera works wonders, translating the story in an exquisitely colorful and imaginative iconography. The decision to be small was made in order to capture contrasts in Kenya instead of hauling in a bunch of trucks and working with hundreds of extras.
• Prize for Best Italian Film: Cristina Comencini's Don't Tell, "for having harmonized the stories of every character and managing to soften the dramatic aspects of the plot with elements of irony".

• Prize for New Trends: Park Chan-wook's Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, "for having treated successfully the delicate subject of vengeance with class in a sophisticated and epic way. This is the form that the modern Korean cinema imposes as the new cinematographic trend for the future."

Hayao Miyazaki received the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement in a special ceremony at the Sala Grande this afternoon. In a completely packed theater, the animation master was cheered and applauded for a good ten minutes, and then took the time when he took his seat for the screening of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind to thank everyone seated in the room, bowing to all sections. What a fantastic director - and moving ceremony. Miyasaki hopes to take a walk around Venice before going home to continue working on three films.

Posted by dwhudson at September 9, 2005 11:57 AM