Fashion fans may be disappointed, but so far in Venice critics do not seem to be so interested in Rodarte's costumes for Black Swan, but in the actual film. I find this almost refreshing, since it means the film may be judged – at least in Venice – for what it’s worth and not for its fashionable connections.
Film journalists are currently waiting to see if director Marco Muller did the right thing when he decided to turn down as the opening film the thriller "The American" directed by Anton Corbijn and featuring George Clooney, shot in a post-earthquake Abruzzo (well, “post-earthquake” is actually a big word since the earth is still shaking in the region…).
For the time being Black Swan has gained more enemies than fans, though: film lovers are accusing Aronofsky of having copied Satoshin Kon's Japanese anime Perfect Blue (1998, though the latter revolved around the world of pop music and not ballet – mind you, Aronofksy already pilfered some parts of it in Requiem for a Dream), while the director denied connections with Herbert Ross' The Turning Point (1977), and described the film as a gothic tale with hints of Hitchcock, Joseph L. Mankiewicz's All About Eve and Roman Polanski's The Tenant with the retouched screenplay of The Understudy (2008).
Though this sounds like a cinematic Frankenstein monster, I must admit that at the moment I’m more concerned about the main actresses actually dancing and the rather cringing dialogues reserved to dance master Vincent Cassel (who often sounds like a psychotic sex maniac…).
Anyway, there will be plenty of fashionable moments in the next few days in Venice. First there is the Louis Vuitton sponsored party that will follow the screening of Somewhere by Sofia Coppola, who collaborated with Vuitton on a small line of handbags and shoes.
Unfortunately the film includes a few APPALLING Italian 'actors/actresses' in minor/cameo roles, check out embarrassingly useless Valeria Marini around 1:11 in the trailer (even in the trailer? I can already hear the audience booing – this is extremely embarrassing…) dancing next to the protagonist in a TV programme broadcast by a channel owned by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Now, if that's meant to be a parody of Italian TV/film awards in Fellini's Ginger & Fred style, well I'm all with you, Sofia; if that was done to get a little bit more of financial support from Berlusconi's Medusa, well, excuse me but I may have to puke.
StyleStar will instead celebrate its first Venetian anniversary with a new programme featuring seminars and lectures on the fashion and technology theme and on new advertising strategies based on cinematic campaigns.
Though the atmosphere will be more sober – which means cocktails rather than luxuriously useless parties, given the slightly lower budget compared to last year’s (“only” €12,000,000 compared to the 2009 budget that amounted to €12,700,000) – stars will undoubtedly give also to this edition the much-needed glamour the Lido needs since the place is a bit of a mess because of the building site around the new Palazzo del Cinema (that should be finished in 2011).
Yet this edition won’t be all about glamour: the police trade union is indeed expected to use the red carpet to stage a protest against the right wing government’s wage cuts and the treatment reserved to those police officers who launched inquiries against the corruption of public figures. Cardboard silhouettes of policemen stabbed at the back will appear today on the red carpet from 5pm.
But police officers aren't the only ones in revolt: the Lido inhabitants will probably join in to protest against the concrete slowly and relentlessly swallowing the entire place.
Actually, it’s a shame the festival is opening only now and not a couple of days ago and that Venice is so far removed from the clownish atmosphere Berlusconi and Colonel Gaddafi brought over Rome.
The Italian capital was indeed turned in the last few days into Gaddafi’s playground, with horse shows and conferences on Islam open only to a female (paid) audience (wearing high heels, tight dresses/trousers and low cut tops, not to mention Gaddafi’s medals…somebody call the fashion police plus a few assorted human rights associations…) hired from a hostess agency (or was it an escort agency?). Otherwise it would have been good to use the red carpet to organise a political and feminist demo.
Luckily, apart from the red carpet protests, politics will reappear on the big screen with Julian Schnabel’s Miral, taken from Rula Jebreal’s book. The film starts with the story of Hind Husseini who established an orphanage – that later on became the Dar Al-Tifel Institute – in Jerusalem after the 1948 partition of Palestine and the creation of the state of Israel. The focus then shifts to Miral, one of the girls educated at the orphanage, who grows up in a safe environment until, at 17, she is assigned to teach at a refugee camp. Miral is soon divided between Hind Husseini's teachings, her people's struggles and her love for political activist Hani.
Hopefully this compelling story will find more fans than sensually dark ballerinas with murderous instincts dancing in gothic designer costumes. Guess we can leave them to young fashionistas and style bloggers, no? Let the protests – or rather the 67th Venice Film Festival – begin then.
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I love to see all these films. It is great to be in Venice right now.