Must See Movies At Venice Film Festival

by Helen Earnshaw | 23 August 2014

Birdman

Next week sees the 71st Venice Film Festival get underway, and there are some terrific movies to watch out for, both in and out of competition.

There are fifty-five movies screening at the festival this year, and we have picked out handful that we are the most excited about.

- Birdman

Birdman is the film that is set to open the festival, and it is already one of the most anticipated films of next year: it will be released in the UK at the beginning of January.

The movie marks the return of Alejandro González Iñárritu to the director's chair, and the comedy/drama has gem written all over it.

Birdman is a black comedy that tells the story of an actor (Michael Keaton) - famous for portraying an iconic superhero - as he struggles to mount a Broadway play.

In the days leading up to opening night, he battles his ego and attempts to recover his family, his career, and himself.

Michael Keaton is in the lead role, and is joined on the cast list by Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, and Naomi Watts.

I am already excited about this movie, and we are going to be seeing a fair bit of it on the festival circuit.

- Manglehorn

Manglehorn is another exciting film showing at Venice, as Al Pacino is back.

In recent years, director David Gordon Green has been best known for his comedy work, but 2014 sees him return to drama: Manglehorn some hot off the heel of Joe this summer.

Manglehorn will play In Competition at the festival, before going on to be screen at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

AJ Manglehorn is an aging, ordinary guy in a small town. He nurses his sick cat, squeezes out a conversation with the local bank teller every Friday, and eats at the same place every day.

But there is more to Manglehorn than meets the eye: he’s an ex-con who, 40 years ago, gave up the woman of his dreams for a big ‘job’. He now obsesses daily over the choices he made. After a dramatic effort to start over, Manglehorn faces a terrifying moment and is unmasked as a guy with a very, very dark past.

Chris Messina, Holly Hunter, and Harmony Korine all join Pacino on the cast list for what should be an interesting drama.

- 99 Homes

Andrew Garfield is an actor who has seen his star rocket in the last couple of years, but 99 Homes will be the first time we have seen him on the big screen outside of the Spider Man franchise.

99 Homes is another In Competition movie, as Ramin Bahrani is on writing and directing duties: this is his first feature film since At Any Price back in 2012.

It is exciting to see Garfield getting the chance to sink his teeth into a new dramatic role and he is joined on the cast list by Michael Shannon, Laura Dern, and Tim Guinee.

99 Homes follows a father who struggles to get back the home that his family was evicted from by working for the greedy real estate broker who's the source of his frustration.

Garfield and Shannon are two of the most exciting actors around, and I cannot wait to see them share the screen.

- Good Kill

We have seen plenty of Ethan Hawke on the big screen this year, and now he is set to return with Good Kill.

Good Kill sees Hawke reunite with Gattica filmmaker Andrew Niccol, in what will be his first film since The Host back in 2013.

The movie will compete for the Golden Lion at the festival, and is one thriller that I am excited to check out.

Hawke takes on the central role in the film, while Zoe Kravitz, January Jones, Jake Abel, and Bruce Greenwood are also on board.

Hawke will play a drone pilot who begins to question the ethics of his job. Should be a good watch that raises some interesting issues and ideas.

- The Look Of Silence

One of the most hard-hitting films at the festival comes in the form of documentary The Look Of Silence, which looks at the Indonesian killings of 1965-66.

Joshua Oppenheimer grabbed everyone's attention with his last film The Act of Killing, and now he is set to explore the same topic from a different angle. The Act of Killing went on to win the Best Documentary Oscar earlier this year.

This time around, the film focuses on a family who survived the genocide in Indonesia and confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.

The Act of Killing is one of the most powerful documentaries I have seen for some time, and The Look of Silence promises to be just as good.

- She's Funny That Way

There is also some comedy to enjoy at the festival; with She's Funny That Way being one of the highlights.

She's Funny That Way is one of the out of competition movies to watch out for, as Peter Bogdanovich is back in the director's chair.

If you are looking for a great ensemble to get out, then this is it as Imogen Poots, Jennifer Aniston, Owen Wilson, Lucy Punch, and Rhys Ifans are just some of the names on board.

She's Funny That Way follows a married Broadway director falls for a prostitute-turned-actress and works to help her advance her career.

There are not too many mainstream comedies on show at Venice this year, and it looks like She's Funny That Way is going to be a bit of a rare treat.

- The Sound And The Fury

James Franco is on screen and in the director's chair with his new project The Sound And The Fury.

The Sound And The Fury is a big screen adaptation of the novel by William Faulkner, and it will screen as part of the out of competition line-up at the festival.

The movie follows the trials and tribulations of The Compson siblings, living in the Deep South during the early part of the 20th century.

Franco has brought together a great cast as Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Jon Hamm, Jacob Loeb, and Tim Blake Nelson will star alongside him.