“Poor Things,” directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, was awarded the Golden Lion for best film at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on Saturday by a competition jury headed by Damien Chazelle. The film stars Emma Stone in a virtuoso performance as a woman with a rudimentary childlike understanding of the world that came to him through a sexual and philosophical journey.
Bella Baxter, the main character in the film, “wouldn’t exist without Emma Stone,” Lanthimos said. “This movie is him, in front of and behind the camera.” Stone previously collaborated with Lanthimos on “The Favourite,” which won the festival’s Grand Jury Prize in 2018.
Like many other actors in films screened at the festival, Stone did not attend, as the strike by SAG-AFTRA, the union representing television and film actors, continued.
Set in a slightly surreal 19th-century Europe, “Poor Things” follows Bella (Stone) on her eye-opening adventures in Tony McNamara’s adaptation of Alasdair Gray’s 1992 novel. The film also includes Willem Dafoe as Bella’s doctor father, Ramy Youssef as her assistant and her lover, and Mark Ruffalo as a lascivious lawyer.
Lanthimos said the film took “quite a few years” to come about, before “the world, or our industry,” was ready for its story. The announcement of the award was met with a roar of applause.
The 80th edition of the festival opened with “Comandante,” a historical drama about an Italian submarine that rescued Belgian sailors during World War II. Other notable films include “Maestro,” “Priscilla,” “The Killer,” “Ferrari,” “Hit Man,” “Origin,” “El Conde,” “Aggro Dr1ft,” “Coup de Chance,” “Dogman” and William Friedkin’s last film, “The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial.”
The latest edition received widespread acclaim despite early speculation that the SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strike in Hollywood could affect the festival’s impact. The stars are almost non-existent. However, there are exceptions, including Adam Driver and Jessica Chastain, thanks to temporary agreements reached with SAG-AFTRA; both actors expressed support for the strikes. But the filmmakers didn’t disappoint: Before the award ceremony, people shouted “Yorgos! Yorks!” when the director walked the red carpet.
The Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize went to “Evil Does Not Exist,” the new film from Ryusuke Hamaguchi, whose film “Drive My Car” won an Academy Award. His latest feature centers on a small Japanese town trying to evict a planned glamping site.
Immigration was a recurring theme among the prize winners. The Silver Lion for best director went to Matteo Garrone for the immigration drama “Me Captain.” The Special Jury Prize went to Agnieszka Holland for “Green Border,” her multifaceted look at immigration in Poland.
The Volpi Cup for best actress was awarded to Cailee Spaeny, who played the titular role in Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla,” the story of Priscilla Presley’s relationship with Elvis Presley. The best actor award went to Peter Sarsgaard for his role as a man with dementia accused of past abuse in Michel Franco’s “Memory.” In his acceptance speech, Sarsgaard spoke passionately against the threat of artificial intelligence. Seydou Sarr won the Marcello Mastroianni Award, given to an outstanding emerging actor, for “Me Captain.”
The best screenplay award was given to “El Conde,” a vampiric reimagining of Gen. Augusto Pinochet, the Chilean dictator, written by Guillermo Calderón and Pablo Larraín, who also directed. “Love Is a Gun,” directed by Lee Hong-Chi, received the Lion of the Future award for best debut feature. “Thank You Very Much,” a playful look at Andy Kaufman, won the Venice Classics award for best documentary in cinema.
For the Orizzonti section, another record of the festival’s competition, the top prize went to “Explanation for All,” a sweeping work from Hungarian director Gabor Reisz. “El Paraiso,” a mother-daughter drama, also won two awards in this section: Margarita Rosa de Francisco won for best actress, and Enrico Maria Artale won for best screenplay. Interestingly, a Mongolian film, “City of Wind,” was honored for best actor (Tergel Bold-Erdene).
This year’s Golden Lions for lifetime achievement went to Tony Leung Chiu-wai, a star of Hong Kong cinema, and director Liliana Cavani, whose film “The Order of Time” played out of competition. The Glory to the Filmmaker Award went to Wes Anderson, whose short film “The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar” played out of competition.
