So far, My Favorite is "The Favourite" - 75th Venice Film Festival

Emma Stone on Red Carpet for The Favourite - photo courtesy La Biennale di Venezia ASAC

 (Venice, Italy) Trying to capture the magic of the Venice Film Festival in 500 words is a challenge, but I hope I've managed to give you a taste of it with a feature article for LUXOS.com, which is now live on their site:

The Red Carpet and Beyond - Welcome to the 75th Venice International Film Festival, where stars are born

There have been a bunch of dynamic films screening this year. The one that caused the most excitement is "A Star is Born," Bradley Cooper's directorial debut. He also co-stars with Lady Gaga, who seems to create electricity wherever she goes.

Bradley Cooper & Lady Gaga on Red Carpet - photo courtesy La Biennale di Venezia ASAC

Here is a review by Owen Gleiberman of Variety:

 “A Star Is Born” is that thing we always yearn for but so rarely get to see: a transcendent Hollywood movie. It’s the fourth remake of a story that dates back to 1932, but this one has a look and vibe all its own — rapturous and swooning, but also delicate and intimate and luminous.

I had the chance to have a long conversation with Gleiberman while we were standing in line waiting to screen "American Dharma," Errol Morris's documentary about the controversial Steve Bannon. Gleiberman is the chief film critic for Variety, the Hollywood global media company whose yearly party at the Hotel Danieli on the eve of the opening of the Venice Film Festival has become a tradition.

Gleiberman has some fascinating insights into the world at large, not just film, so if you are looking for a critic with pizzazz, read Owen. To me, he writes like a novelist.

The Favourite

The Favorite - Fox Searchlight

So far, my favorite film is "The Favourite," by Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos, and starring a female triumvirate of Emma Stone (the only American), Olivia Colman and Rachel Weisz. Set at the beginning of the 18th Century during the reign of Queen Anne, Lanthimos captured the machinations and schemes that a particular brand of women perpetrate upon each other to claw their way into positions of power.

And yes, there are lesbian love scenes, but so seamless and integral to the story that you aren't jarred out of the film, as is often the case in the hands of less skillful directors.

Here's a review by Michael Nordine from IndieWire:

“The Favourite” feels like a crowning achievement: a royal period piece led by the majestic triumvirate of Olivia Colman, Emma Stone, and Rachel Weisz in which the emperor has no clothes, duck races are the go-to entertainment, and loyalty is as strange a concept as a new-world fruit called a pineapple.

Cat Bauer in the Campari Lounge

A terrific new addition to the Venice Film Festival has been having Campari as a sponsor, who have a pop-up lounge, complete with terrace where journalists can relax and enjoy a beverage.

Sipping a Campari spritz is one of my favorite things to do in the evening, and Campari red is such a vibrant color, and the terrace has a terrific view, so I like to make a pit-stop at the lounge whenever I'm in the area, which has not been often enough!

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