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🇮🇹 Italy /Culture & Society

A day of cinematic masters in Venice, with Herzog and McDonagh

From ANSA · () Italian

Translated from Italian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The 83rd Venice Film Festival featured new films by Werner Herzog, Martin McDonagh and Gianni Amelio.
  • Martin McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine,” starring John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi, emerged as a possible Oscar contender.
  • Herzog returned to fiction with “Bucking Fastard,” while Amelio presented “Nessun dolore” out of competition, addressing migration through the story of a Roman bookseller.

Venice offered a day built around major filmmakers, from Werner Herzog to Martin McDonagh and Gianni Amelio. McDonagh’s “Wild Horse Nine,” a thriller, spy story and black comedy, immediately generated talk of possible Oscar nominations. The film stars John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell and Steve Buscemi.

People have always talked very little about everything the CIA agents have done, the terrible things perpetrated around the world. The film explores this.

· Martin McDonaghMcDonagh explained the political subject of his film “Wild Horse Nine.”

The story follows CIA agents Chris and Lee, played by Malkovich and Rockwell, who travel from Santiago to Easter Island on orders from their section chief, MJ, played by Buscemi. The mission unfolds shortly before Chile’s 1973 coup. McDonagh said the film examines what CIA agents have done around the world, including actions in Guatemala, Congo and the Bay of Pigs. He argued that audiences know much more about the KGB than they do about questioning the CIA.

We know a lot about the KGB, but we never question the CIA as much as perhaps we should.

· Martin McDonaghMcDonagh contrasted public scrutiny of the KGB and CIA.

Herzog competed with “Bucking Fastard,” his return to fiction after several years making documentaries. Kate and Rooney Mara play sisters inspired by British twins Freda and Greta Chaplin, who became known in the 1980s for their troubled relationship with the same man. Herzog dedicated the film to David Lynch, saying they had a deep understanding of each other’s work despite their differences.

We had a very deep understanding of each other’s work even though we were very different, and I would have wanted him to be my first audience.

· Werner HerzogHerzog explained his dedication of “Bucking Fastard” to David Lynch.

Amelio, after eight appearances in competition and four jury roles, presented “Nessun dolore” out of competition. The film follows Davide, a 30-year-old bookseller in a Roman square whose life changes when a child from North Africa is suddenly left with him. A series of events leads him into remorse, disorientation and stark choices. Amelio described migration as today’s biggest problem and criticized the influence of the current U.S. president’s approach on the wider world.

Today I believe migration has become the problem of problems.

· Gianni AmelioAmelio discussed the migration theme in “Nessun dolore.”
About this summary

Originally published by ANSA in Italian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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