Robert Redford & Jane Fonda talk sex at 80, raising kids, and growing old at Venice Film Festival

Robert Redford & Jane Fonda - Octogenarians at Venice Film Festival

(Venice, Italy) Jane Fonda will be 80-years-old in November. Robert Redford is 81. They are here in Venice to receive the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award, and to promote their new Netflix film, Our Souls at Night, a poignant love story that Redford said he made because very few films are geared toward an older audience, and "I wanted to do another film with Jane before I died."

Both stars radiate youthful energy. They have known each other for more than 50 years, and have played lovers in four films, the most famous being Barefoot in the Park in 1967. Jane Fonda, feisty as ever, said: "I wanted to fall in love with him all over again. I've been in love with him in every movie we've done." She thought the director, Ritesh Batra, cut the sex scene too soon (so did I). "I live for sex scenes with him. He's a great kisser."

I found a YouTube clip of a slice of the press conference where they talk about sex and older love. (Fonda: "So my skin sags. So does his.") The beginning of the clip is a little bit scratchy, but hang in there. And if you don't want to know how the movie ends, stop watching at about 7:30:



Since both stars have been known for their political activism, they were asked several questions about US and global politics, which Redford mostly avoided. However, when asked what the most important issue was today, Fonda said: "Save the planet." Redford agreed: "We must do whatever we can to preserve the planet."

Our Souls at Night is about two older people who begin a relationship, which grows more serious, only to have it interrupted by their adult children. Fonda said, speaking about herself personally and her character, that you never get over the fact that you have not been the best parent, and that she had to seize the chance as a mother and a grandmother to make up for what she didn't do.

Barefoot in the Park (1967)

I grew up with Jane Fonda and Robert Redford always there in the background, Jane Fonda protesting against the war in Viet Nam, inspiring millions of women with her exercise videos, marrying Tom Hayden and then Ted Turner(!) -- Robert Redford exploding on the scene in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, melting the hearts of young and old, then proving he was not just a pretty face when he started up Sundance -- so it was a great privilege to be in the same room with them and hear them speak. Even though their bodies were older, their internal energy -- their souls -- seemed the same, but more refined, like pearls. It was almost as if the two stars had become White People Elders, grown older and wiser, come down off the mountain to bring a message of hope for the future.

Jane Fonda said, "If you're brave, you can make the leap and become what you were meant to be, even if you've never been that before."

Our Souls at Night will debut on Netflix at the end of the month, and have a limited theatrical release in New York and Los Angeles.

Ciao from the Venice Film Festival,
Cat Bauer
Venetian Cat - The Venice Blog