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China's "Still Life" surprise winner in Venice
2006-09-09
"Still Life," a Chinese film about ordinary people set against the giant Three Gorges Dam project, was the surprise winner of the Venice Film Festival's coveted Golden Lion award on Saturday. Directed by independent film maker Jia Zhang-Ke, the picture was a late entry into the main competition but swept aside hot favourites like Stephen Frears' "The Queen," Emilio Estevez's "Bobby" and Emanuele Crialese's "Golden Door." The award ceremony on the glamorous Lido beach front wrapped up an 11-day movie marathon with over 20 premieres in the main competition and dozens more being screened for the first time. Still Life ("Sanxia Haoren") was shot in the village of Fengjie, which has since been destroyed by the Three Gorges Dam, and recounts the story of people who return there during the upheaval. At a news conference earlier in the festival, Jia said he was keen to spotlight the problems associated with the dam now that media attention had faded. "Many journalists, international and national, wrote reports and questioned the Three Gorges project," he said through a translator. "But once it was completed they stopped. I know the population is still suffering from it." The award, which last year went to "Brokeback Mountain," may boost morale among Chinese directors after Lou Ye was banned from making movies for five years for submitting a film at the Cannes film festival without official approval. ALL HAIL HELEN As expected, Helen Mirren took the best actress award for her title role in The Queen, a British production about the crisis in the royal family caused by the death of Princess Diana in 1997 and Prime Minister Tony Blair's role. "It's an incredible honor to have a film take its first steps here in Venice," Mirren said at the prize ceremony. "Stephen Frears is the mother of the film. I'm just a bit of the DNA of this film." The best screenplay prize went to The Queen's Peter Morgan, who said his story was faithful to actual events but not an exact historical reconstruction. Collecting his prize, Morgan joked: "Thank you Tony Blair for timing your political disintegration with the release of our film," referring to growing speculation that the long-time leader could step down soon. Another surprise was in store in the best actor category, which went to U.S. heartthrob Ben Affleck for his performance as 1950s Superman actor George Reeves in "Hollywoodland." Veteran French film maker Alain Resnais won best director for the critically acclaimed "Private Fears in Public Places" and the special jury prize went to "Daratt," Chad's first ever entry in the prestigious competition. Golden Door, about a Sicilian family of illiterate peasants who travel to the United States in search of a better life, did not go away empty handed, but the prize for the "revelation" of the festival may disappoint critics who lavished it with praise. Estevez's Bobby failed to live up to award expectations, despite a stellar cast including Sharon Stone, Demi Moore, Anthony Hopkins and Lindsay Lohan. The ensemble piece about guests staying at the Ambassador Hotel, Los Angeles, when Robert Kennedy was gunned down there in 1968, is seen by journalists as the only film appearing in Venice with a decent chance of winning the best picture Oscar.
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