And Alexander Payne‘s jury has blown off The Testament of Ann Lee‘s Amanda Seyfried…no Best Actress Volpi Cup! All the hipster handicappers had her taking it…the “Seyfried, Seyfried, Seyfried” drumbeat could be heard up and down the Lido.
Jim Jarmusch‘s Father Mother Sister Brother is easily his weakest, least nourishing film ever, which is why Cannes Film Festival topper Thierry Fremaux declined to debut it four months ago.
All I can figure is that Payne’s jury decided to give Jarmusch the top Venice award as a “you go, bruh” neck-massage thing…”don’t let Fremaux ratttle you, Jim…take solace in our love and respect.”
I thought The Voice of Hind Rajab, a devastating, anti-Israel docudrama that generated emotional tsunamis whenever it screened, would take the Golden Lion for sure, but assuaging Jarmusch’s ego was a more important thing.
Benny Safdie‘s helming of The Smashing Machine won the Best Director prize fair and square…he did a good job, went for the deep-down stuff.
