Yesterday the topics of the film critics were unanimous: The winners of the Venice Film Festival. Kim Ki-duk‘s film Pietà won the main prize and will thus hopefully make it to our cinemas soon.
Paul Thomas Andersons new feature The Master was also celebrated by the critics and awarded by the jury with prices for both leading actors, Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman and director Anderson. Apparently the jury wanted to simply give all available awards to The Master, but as that was against the Venice rules, Pietà got lucky!
Here are the trailers of both films, which are surely fantastic and I cannot wait to see and subsequently discuss further!
The Master (R: Paul Thomas Anderson, USA 2012)
Even before any critic had seen this film there was already plenty of talk about The Master. This is mainly due to the topic (Scientology) and its origin (Hollywood), because as we all know the cult has plenty of influential followers in L.A. The careful approach and translation of the facts into a fictional story are thus possibly not purely artistic choices.
Returning from World War II Freddie (Joaquin Phoenix) is looking to find a way back to normal life. When he meets Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman) he joins the charismatic leaders religious following and becomes one of their core figures. But as the new faith begins to gain more and more followers he starts questioning both his beliefs and his mentor.
Pietà (R: Kim Ki-duk, KR 2012)
One day a woman (Cho Min-soo) , claiming to bet he mother who left him at birth, shows up at the doorstep of brutal debt collector Lee Kang-do (Lee Jeong-jin). In fact the lady is the mother of one of the men he has killed, waiting only to take revenge once she has taught Kang-do to feel emotions like remorse or shame.
