Going Gothic

David Fincher, the brilliant and restless leader of post-Hollywood, returns to the Venice Competition with The Killer, a dark psychological thriller adapted from the graphic novel by Matz and Jacamon. In an eerie future, the French director Bertrand Bonello explores the dystopian world of La Bête, where Léa Seydoux pursues her own past in a society that fears emotions. In the German film Die Theorie von Allem by Timm Kröger, a scientist from the 1960s must face a genuine nightmare. Moving back to a challenging present, in the Orizzonti section, we have El Paraíso by Enrico Maria Artale, about a mother and son who are drug traffickers and passionate about dance. Then there’s the boxing drama The Featherweight by American director Robert Kolodny, and the generational story Pet Shop Days by Olmo Schnabel, starring Willem Dafoe and Emmanuelle Seigner. Serious and semi-serious vampires appear in Le Vourdalak by Parisian director Adrien Beau (SIC) and in the Canadian film Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant by Ariane Louis-Seize (GdA). It’s also the day for The Caine Mutiny: Court Martial by William Friedkin, a harsh warning against military fanaticism and a sadly posthumous tribute to the great director.