A camping trip to see the stars. Few plans are so summery. Although, instead of the darkness, twenty girls preferred to set up their mat this morning in broad daylight. Not in an isolated forest, but in the middle of the hustle and bustle: in front of the red carpet of the Venice film festival. Hours of waiting awaited them. In exchange, they would enjoy the night of San Lorenzo of cinema: Brad Pitt and George Clooney, together. Quite an event.
It hadn’t happened since 2008, precisely at the Lido. Back then they were showing Burn After Reading, by the Coen brothers. Now Wolves, by Jon Watts, out of competition. Both are already in their sixties – Pitt stressed that he is “much younger”, although Clooney attributed “74” to his friend –. Still capable of mobilizing the very young. And the older ones, judging by the unprecedented queue before the press conference. It is clear that time passes for everyone. That is what the film is about as well. But the two have the secret to freeze it. To the journalists, unfortunately, they did not reveal it. They did, however, give away jokes, smiles, reflections on politics or on the future of the seventh art. As they would say in Hollywood, a show.
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The Brutalist, by Brady Corbet, in the official competition, also dares to challenge time, but in a different way: it dilates it. Without a doubt, it is the most monumental work of the competition so far. Its length is already unbeatable: three and a half hours. But its narrative ambition, its coherence and the themes it addresses raise a cinematic cathedral. Nothing to envy of the buildings invented in the film by the architect played magnificently by Adrien Brody: a genius, a survivor of concentration camps who fled to the USA. He is looking for a new life. Perhaps he will not find what he expected. Even the film’s production contributes to its magnitude: it was shot on celluloid, in 70 millimetres. This required a long planning to bring the 26 rolls, which weighed 136 kilos, by plane to here. And it predicts a challenge for its distribution in theatres. In any case, the Mostra experienced two events. One media-related, popular. The other, film-related. An ideal day for a competition like this.
George Clooney and Brad Pitt at the Venice Film Festival where they presented the film ‘Wolfs’.FABIO FRUSTACI (EFE)
Clooney and Pitt’s show started straight away. One wore a light blue suit, the other grey like his hair. They even took on the task that the moderator normally takes on: bouncing questions to the rest of the cast, like Austin Abrams or Amy Ryan. The first one, of course, was for them. Why are they back now?
—Money moves everything.
—In Burn After Reading I was able to shoot him in the face. It was nice.
—This time you hit me.
And so on. “As I get older, working with people I like becomes more important,” Pitt said. “We’re both producers as well. It’s very rare that you get a first draft of a script. Sometimes when you get it, you think, ‘What do we do with this? ’ But not in this case,” Clooney added. Both wanted to acknowledge the importance of Jon Watts, who was not present at Venice. Directed by the man responsible for the recent Spiderman blockbusters. Starring two Oscar winners and who knows how many sexiest men on the planet lists. And yet, Wolfs will hardly be seen in theaters.
So its screening in Venice was, in a way, also unique. After a few recent flops, Apple TV+ cut its theatrical run in the US to just a few days. Then, straight to streaming, on September 27, worldwide. Despite Pitt and Clooney’s protest. “We’re clearly in decline,” laughed the latter. But the matter, in reality, seemed serious. Like the promises they had received.
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The actors gave up part of their salaries to ensure that the film was released on the big screen. Although, at the same time, their salaries may have been part of the problem. The New York Times estimated that it was $35 million each. Clooney lowered it by “a few million” and wanted to clarify: “A salary like that would make it impossible to make films.” But he admitted that both wanted theatrical release, that there are “elements” that they still need to understand and that it is “surprising” that there is no international distribution. Both argued that streaming brings more stories, work, talent and audiences. “When Brad and I were young, there was the so-called studio system: there was a great sense of protection and guardianship, a machinery behind it that actors no longer have, but it can be positive because it brings more democratization,” Clooney said. And both ended up using the same term: “Balance,” between the benefits that platforms bring and theatrical release.
In the Wolfs, There was a few laughs. Objective achieved, for a comedy. Although the film seeks them out too much. The title is a tribute to Harvey Keitel’s character in Pulp Fiction: the man to call to resolve the worst of problems. But here, for the same mess, both appear. And that, of course, is a problem. With the formula that made the Ocean’s saga so successful and that Marvel has taken advantage of so much, Pitt and Clooney fire off more witty one-liners, barbs and intertwined jokes than bullets. The script never stops turning, almost always in the most predictable direction. At first they despise each other. Easy to imagine how they end up.
George Clooney and Brad Pitt pose for the press at the Venice Film Festival where they presented the film ‘Wolfs’. Joel C Ryan (Invision/AP/Lapresse)
The film aims to pay homage to its protagonists, with a nod to Two Men and a Destiny. But at least it also laughs at them. They symbolize the dominator of the planet for millennia: the older, straight white man. Master of mansplaining, accustomed to applause, much less to being contradicted. Or to recognizing his faults, his lack of modernity, or even his back ailments. But the kings of mambo are no longer up for dances. Their favorite recipe, based on testosterone and lack of communication, has become indigestible for most. Although Wolfs also chokes the viewer: pure, simple and, at times, even boring entertainment.
“I grew up cutting tobacco leaves for three dollars an hour. I haven’t worked much as an actor recently. I’m coming back. I’m 63 years old and I’m still doing what I enjoy,” Clooney said. It’s true that his last Oscar nomination was in 2012. And that his career as a director has had its ups and downs. Pitt is living a new golden age, with relevant roles, the 2019 statuette and a flair for producing: he is accompanying four films at the Mostra alone. Although his ex-wife, actress Angelina Jolie, was also at the Lido a few days ago. And with her the biggest shadow that hangs over the actor: in the legal battle they are having, Jolie accuses him of abuse and violence towards her and some of their six children.
No uncomfortable issues were raised, however. Except for one, perhaps: Clooney was asked what impact he thinks his article had on The New York Times calling for Joe Biden to resign to the elections against Donald Trump to make way for Kamala Harris. He replied: “I have never had to answer and perhaps this is the right time. The one to thank is a president who has made the bravest gesture since George Washington. An act that was not selfish, given how difficult it is to leave power and say: ‘There is a better way to proceed.’”
The trailer for The Brutalist is fascinating. Jewish architect László Toth crosses the ocean to escape from horrors. He is supposed to land in the place of dreams. After many difficulties, his dream even seems to come true: a strange patron commissions him to build a colossal building that will amaze and transcend. And he agrees to let the family finally join the artist. But the land of opportunity is also the land of exploitation, racism, violence or condescension. In short, of brutality. The protagonist and the film share the same firmness: faithful to their idea at all costs, without compromise. Whether it is to build the film, the palace, or life.
Add to that the grungy aesthetic that ensures the physical film. And the inspiration for The Fountainhead, the controversial 1943 novel by Ayn Rand, considered a bastion of individualism and the search for absolute freedom: it urged everyone to pursue their happiness, and saw productive success as the “noblest activity.” Corbet, of course, has been on his own from the beginning of his career as a director. In his two previous films, The Childhood of a Leader and Vox Lux, he had touched on brilliant and controversial personalities. And created ambitious beginnings. But now, instead of gradually collapsing, the structure only weakens a little, and remains solid until the end. Because of its length, and the need to change reels, the film has a 15-minute interval. The murmur that could be heard during the break turned into an explosion of applause when it ended.
Finally, the competition also included Ainda estou aquí, by Brazilian veteran Walter Salles. The filmmaker of The Motorcycle Diaries and Central do Brasil brings back a story that his country knows, and he even more: the disappearance in 1971 at the hands of the dictatorship of the former deputy Rubens Paiva, the search by his wife, Eunice, and the void left in the family. Salles was a friend of Paiva’s children. And one of them, Marcelo, was at the Lido. He wrote the book that inspired the film. The long, correct and emotional story may not remain in memory. What it tells, however, should never be forgotten.
