Venice Film Festival: In Competition

26 August 2008

Rate this article

This year twenty one movies from all over the world will be fighting it out for the Golden Lion as European film making takes centre stage as only five American movies make the prestigious shortlist, this being blamed on the writers strike earlier this year.

The twenty one pictures represent a range of countries and directors, from the unknown to the established talents of Darren Aronfsky and animation giant Hayao Miyazaki.

Here are a selection of films that are the highlights of this category

The Wrestler

Directed by The Fountain's Darren Aronofsky The Wrestler follows Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a 1980s-era pro wrestler, has become a burnt-out shell of his former self.

After he has a heart attack during a small-time match, a doctor tells him he could die if he fights again.

In an effort to build a new life, Robinson takes a job at a deli, moves in with an aging stripper and tries to build a relationship with her son.

But the prospect of a rematch with his old nemesis, the Ayatollah, proves too tempting to resist, even if it means risking his life.

Rachel Getting Married

Directed by Jonathan Demme Rachel Getting Married is a contemporary drama with an aggressive sense of humor about the return of an estranged daughter to the family home for her sister's wedding.

Kym's (Hathaway) reemergence throws a wrench into the family dynamics, forcing long-simmering tensions to surface in ways both hilarious and heartbreaking.

Rachel Getting Married paints a colorful, nuanced family portrait and is filled with the rich characters that have always been a hallmark of Jonathan Demme's films.

Gake no ue no Ponyo (Ponyo on the Cliff)

Directed by Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki the film follows five year-old Sosuke lives high on a cliff overlooking the Inland Sea. One morning, while playing on the rocky beach below his house, he discovers a goldfish named Ponyo with her head stuck fast in a jam jar.

Sosuke rescues her and keeps her in a green plastic pail. Ponyo is fascinated by Sosuke and Sosuke feels the same about Ponyo. He tells her: 'Don�t worry, I�ll protect you and take care of you'.

But Ponyo�s father Fujimoto once human, now a sorcerer who lives deep under the sea forces her to return with him into the ocean depths. 'I want to be human!', Ponyo declares. Determined to become a little girl and make her way back to Sosuke, Ponyo escapes.

But before she does it, she empties the Water of Life, Fujimoto�s precious store of magical elixir, into the ocean.

The sea waters rise. Ponyo�s sisters are transformed into enormous fish-shaped tidal waves that climb as high as Sosuke�s house on the cliff. The chaos of the ocean world envelops Sosuke�s little town making it sink beneath the waves. (la Biennale di Venezia)

Un Giorno Perfetto

Emma and Antonio, married with two children, have been separated for nearly a year. Antonio is living alone in the house where he used to live with his wife, while Emma has gone back to her mother, taking the children with her.

Then, one night, a flying squad is called to the palazzo and the police burst into the apartment where gunshots have been heard. In a rapid succession of events, Un giorno perfetto describes the twenty-four hours before this moment, the simple but unique life of a group of people who are shadowed every step they take.

Camilla turns seven, her brother Aris is sitting an exam at university, Emma loses her job in a call-center, her daughter Valentina meets a boy she likes, the honorable Elio Fioravanti is doing the round of election rallies, Maja, his beautiful wife finds out she is pregnant, young Kevin is invited to an extravagant party, the teacher, Mara, is meeting her lover and Antonio sees his wife for the last time.

The stories interweave on the great stage of a frenetic, disquieting Rome that seems to be heading towards tragedy, although the slightest gesture, just one word, would be enough to change the path of destiny.

Un giorno perfetto describes a passionate love, separating and uniting Emma and Antonio with irony, emotion and compassion. It portrays worlds diverse and distant, that then meet, as if in an unrelenting thriller. (la Biennale di Venezia)