Venice, 9/2.

"And would you believe, Arnaud Desplechin has come to present, for the Orrizonti (Horizons) segment of the Festival, a documentary about his family entitled L'Aimee (The Loved One)," asks Emmanuel Burdeau in Cahiers du cinéma's Venice diary. "A beautiful film. Simple and sweet. Ethereal.... Fifteen years, we've been following the man, welcoming each film like a sudden rise in temperature, like a dialog, man to man, about posterity; like an affirmation of strength, like an enigma... At the same time, having finished filming his Conte de Noel (Christmas Story), which also takes place in Roubaix, it probably goes without saying that the story will not be complete until we've seen that film as well.... It's simple. No, it's complicated. It's extremely clever. For example this film, in which Desplechin directs himself for the first time, is also the one in which he seems the least present."

"Exodus features 25 nonactors who were given speaking roles, and more than 800 extras. All are from Margate, Kent, which thrived when Turner painted there but which today is defined by unemployment, drugs, crime and asylum-seekers." Dalya Alberge talks with writer-director Penny Woolcock for the London Times.

"Only those already won over by recent Shinji Aoyama will coddle to Sad Vacation, the prolific helmer's latest overlong, confused meditation on family and abandonment," writes Jay Weissberg for Variety. "Uncertain whether to argue for the weakness or strength of parental ties, pic ultimately takes both sides, reducing any insightfulness as it stumbles over a multiplicity of characters. As usual, Aoyama weaves together interesting threads but has difficulty harnessing them to something cohesive."

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Covering the coverage: Venice 07. Index.

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Posted by dwhudson at September 2, 2007 1:28 PM