Oasis Bring Swagger to Venice as Documentary Celebrates Their Reunion

Liam Gallagher pumped his fist and Noel Gallagher flashed a victory sign as Oasis arrived by water taxi at the Venice Film Festival. They came ahead of a documentary chronicling the band’s blockbuster reunion tour.

Asked how it felt to be in Venice, Liam replied, "Biblical man, biblical." Noel offered a more Italian verdict: "Bellissimo." Liam later challenged photographers who were shouting for their attention. "Why all the shouting? Is this what you do at the Venice Film Festival? Scream at people?" he asked.

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Biblical man, biblical.

The Manchester band helped define 1990s rock with its anthems before the brothers’ feud tore it apart. They reunited last year for a tour across Britain, Ireland, North and South America, Asia and Australia. The film, "Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger," follows the gradual repair of one of music’s most famous fractured relationships, from weeks of rehearsals to months on the road.

Director Dylan Southern said viewers saw the reconciliation happen on stage in front of the world. But the thaw began awkwardly. At his first rehearsal, Liam did not acknowledge anyone around him and left without saying goodbye. Noel also revealed that their children had never met before the tour, then quickly became close friends.

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Bellissimo.

By the film’s end, Noel calls Liam "delightful," a word he says he never expected to use about his brother. Southern and Will Lovelace deliberately kept the cameras unobtrusive during rehearsals, allowing events to develop naturally. As filming moved into stadiums, the focus expanded to fans, whose affection became part of the brothers’ rapprochement.

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From the beginning, we wanted to make this a film about reconciliation, redemption and forgiveness.

Writer Steven Knight said the filmmakers could not know whether the reunion would succeed, but hoped it would become a story of forgiveness. "From the beginning, we wanted to make this a film about reconciliation, redemption and forgiveness," he said. He added that the brothers were unlikely to show emotion openly: "They're British working-class men, so they're not going to high-five or hug or cry."

Knight, who is writing the next James Bond film, said the real tour was more compelling than anything he could have scripted. "This is better than any fiction that you could write," he said. Southern added, "And no one could play Liam Gallagher except Liam Gallagher." The documentary is screening out of competition at the festival, which runs until September 12.

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This is better than any fiction that you could write.