di Anna BIELAK

The epic monumental production Baaria directed by Giuseppe Tornatore have opened this year’s Venice International Film Festival ran at Venice Lido from September 1^st to 11^th. On the spot movie triggered out intense discussions concerned in art enclosed with politics.

            Film has been shoting for about six months in Sicily and Tunisia; it's budget amounts to 25 milion euro, nearly two hundred actors were performing, more or less thousand extras. Indeed, it was like Hollywood feature with Ennio Morricone’s music and Margareth Madé as one of the leading ladies. Silvio Berlusconi called Tornatore’s movie an outstanding work of art, that all Italian should see. Only Italians? viewers should ask. That is a shame.

            An epic story about three generations living in Palermo suburbs were meant to give an outline of wide horizon of social and political issues, which had shaped general values in Italy. “We have lost our sense of the importance of civil passion”, declared Tornatore. “It would be great if we could regain it and realize how important our relationship with society at large is.” Nevertheless, movie is closed in hermetic circle of recipients raised up with respect for tradition and historical Italian values. Surely it is the reason, that large group of international film critics focused on reproaching Tornatore for unfortunate attempt to make repetition of his previous success with Cinema Paradiso (1988). Yet, I am still convinced that film does not loose a lot just because Monica Bellucci almost unnoticeably crosses the Baaria street like Malena used to do.

            On the other hand, negation of meta-quotations was run down by amazing Todd Solondz movie Life During Wartime, that won Special Jury Award and was appreciate in critics’ ranking. Even though the director stressed out that the starting point of his following movie is not situated at the end of Happiness (1998) and he did not want to make a simple continuing of the stories of characters, associations with previous plot are inevitable. Watching the newest Solondz’ movie without reminiscences of Happiness is devoid of double game sense. “I wanted to be free in re-construct my characters and be able to play a new game with them”, the director claimed. He made changes; wanted to provoke as much as tried to pictured his intimate world.

            However, the rest of awarded film brought into focus political issues, they equally outline a subjective way of experience reality. The Golden Lion Winner Lebanon directed by Samuel Maoz is a story regarding twenty-four hours from soldiers lives during first Lebanon war in 1982. At the same time it mirroring what the Maoz went through, when in June that year at 6.15a.m. had faced the war’s violence. After seriously world denial, he made his mind up to show the truth honestly and without compromises. Helping with self-liberation from trauma, the feature also evoked heavyweight discussions in Lebanon and Israel.

            Parallel positive catalyst social and political changes became persistently provocative Iranian cinema related to rebellion against patriarchate. Two years after awarded at Berlinale and San Sebastian short film Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame (2007), the youngest from Makhmalbaf family – Hana, came to Venice with new document Green Days. Perhaps the excess of emotions prejudge that jury qualify Shirin Neshad movie Women Without Men to competition instead of Hana’s film. In episodic narration composed of three parallel stories, Shirin Neshad was telling about eventful summer 1953, when revolutionary hopes were repressed. The Silver Lion feature like The Day I Became a Woman (2000) Merzieh Meshkini's tried to touch a sore spot for Iranian culture – feminism. Moreover, it demonstrates that power game is not a single incident.

            Nevertheless, the issue of gradually revealing the truth of inner matrix that determines world’s shape were permanent theme of the festival. So after docudrama Erin Brockovich (2000) and Che (2008) Steven Soderbegh in the newest film The Informant! is telling a story about a mythomaniac, manager of industrial company – Marc Whitacre (Matt Damon). He made an effort to prove that “lying performs an important function. If we all went around telling the truth eventually someone would kill you. What we have to determine for the society we operate in is the scale.”

            Meanwhile, Jon Ronson – writer and a co-screenwriter Grant Heslov’s movie The Men Who Stare at Goats (screened out of competition) claims that sixty percent of the plot is based on authentic events and U.S army research into developing psychic powers for military advantage by staring at goats. After the screening Ronson added, that everything what seems to be truth – is the truth. Even if I am firmly opposed to this, I am absolutely convinced that Grant Helsov, known from his performances in Good Night and Good Luck (2005) or Enemy of State (1998) this year made one of the best festival comedies with fantastic George Clooney and Ewan McGregor in leading roles.

            Finally, festival was also place, where multicultural stories come across. With a few contemplative stories like Café Noir directed by Sung-il Jung, Venice offers wide range of different films, which create broad outline of nowadays problems concerning political issues and ordinary people surrounded by history, authority, art and unexpected life rotations.

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