During festival Q&A, Venice chief endorses Joaquin Phoenix-starrer movie.
Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera has had plenty to ponder in the festival’s first week. There have been strong receptions for flagship movies such as Joker, Marriage Story and Ad Astra, on-going debate over the scarcity of women in competition and drama when jury president Lucretia Martel had to clarify comments she made about Roman Polanski at the opening presser.
We sat down with Barbera at the festival’s halfway point to discuss potential Oscar candidates (the festival has launched three of the past five Best Picture winners), the jury prospects for Polanski’s movie An Officer And A Spy, a female-directed film he wished was here and his own future at the festival.
Good morning. How are you feeling about the festival so far?
Alberto Barbera: I feel very good so far. It seems most of the movies have had good responses.
Joker was very strong. It was potentially a risk for Warner Bros to bring it to a festival. But the response has been excellent…
I think they made a good choice. The right choice. The film deserves the reception it is getting. It goes beyond the boundaries of the genre. Joaquin Phoenix’s performance is outstanding and Todd Phillips did a great job.
What are its Academy prospects, do you think? Even at this early stage, I expect it to be in the running in at least three-four categories, including Best Picture…
They’re very good. Absolutely, it will be in the running.
There are potential points of contention, however. The messaging on mental health, and the issue of copy-cat killings, for example. Do you foresee any issues there?
I don’t think so. The way it deals with those elements is intelligent. It’s not a simplistic view. Social factors, and other external factors, combine with the character’s state of mind to make it a complex picture. That’s a strength of the film. It’s a strong, unexpected and original film. Even if there are references to The King Of Comedy and Taxi Driver, it’s a very original movie.
I saw Joker and then Nate Parker’s film back-to-back. Combined, it was a dark view of America today…
Joker is a dark movie. It’s a dark vision of the contemporary world. Nate’s movie is provocative. It’s a polemic.
Other than Joker, which movies could feature at the Oscars?
It’s hard to say. It’s so unpredictable and there’s a long way to go. Joker for sure. Noah Baumbach’s film Marriage Story had a very warm response from the press. I think it’s his best film so far. The performances are pretty amazing and the script is excellent. This could play a role.
– Courtesy: Deadline
