“The Laundromat”
Cast: Meryl Streep, Gary Oldman, Antonio Banderas, Sharon Stone, Jeffrey Wright, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alex Pettyfer, James Cromwell
Synopsis: Filmmaker/busy beaver Steven Soderbergh dramatizes the Panama Papers saga.
What You Need to Know: Soderbergh releases his second Netflix title for 2019 with “The Laundromat,” a starry drama about the offshore tax controversy that indicted a Panama-based law firm with illegal dealings that spanned the globe. One of the quickest and most efficient filmmakers working, Soderbergh could find himself back into the Oscar race for the first time in some time (2000’s “Traffic” won him Best Director, but he hasn’t been nominated since), but having folks like Streep, Oldman and Banderas, a likely 2019 Best Actor nominee, alone could jog the Academy’s memory to his largely wonderful, consistent career. The subject material also fits right in the director’s comfort zone. We’re curious if the inclusion of comedic actors David Schwimmer, Will Forte, Melissa Rauch, Larry Wilmore, and Chris Parnell hints at a lighter tone, akin to his 2009 effort “The Informant.” Regardless, it’s great to see Soderbergh squarely in awards season again, with his latest (another collaboration with screenwriter Scott Z. Burns) sure to be a must-see. – CW
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1052953738413977600
“The Truth”
Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche, Ethan Hawke
Synopsis: Exploring lies, pride, regrets, sadness, joy, and reconciliation, “The Truth” offers a poetic reflection of the mother-daughter dynamic, with said mother a French movie star who “reigns amongst men who love and admire her.”
What You Need To Know: Director Hirokazu Kore-eda continues to reap the rewards from last year’s Palme d’Or-winning film “Shoplifters,” and rightfully so. A little over a year after capturing Cannes Film Festival’s top honor, the esteemed filmmaker is back with a new project, starring Ethan Hawke, alongside Juliette Binoche and Catherine Deneuve. “The Truth,” Kore-eda’s first film set outside of Japan, was chosen over the likes of “Ad Astra” & “Joker” to open up this year’s festival, which has caused a few eyebrows to be raised. But with an emotionally sweeping masterpiece like “Shoplifters” Kore-eda has more than earned his shot to set the stage for what is turning out to be one of the more exciting lineups in Venice film festival history. With “The Truth,” Kore-Eda’s highly-anticipated drams production marks the end of a six-year run of Hollywood productions opening the prestigious festival. Similar to Kore-eda’s last film, “The Truth, ” expands upon themes of truth, lies, and questions regarding what makes a family—family. – Kyle Kohner
“The Perfect Candidate”
Cast: Mila Alzahrani, Dhay, Nourah Al Awad, Khalid Abdulrhim
Synopsis: A determined young Saudi doctor’s surprise run for office in the local city elections sweeps up her family and community as they struggle to accept their town’s first female candidate.
What You Need To Know: The Venice Film Festival has done a lot of things right with their new-and-improved programming in the last two-three years, but the lack of female filmmakers in competition in this year’s Lido line-up is nearly embarrassing. There are only two female filmmakers in competition at Venice this year and one of them is Saudi Arabian film director Haifaa al-Mansour. She made major waves in 2012 with “Wadja,” a film that was much loved around The Playlist. The film was selected as the Saudi Arabian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 86th Academy Awards and set al-Mansour off on a great path. She stumbled, however, right after that with her English-language debut “Mary Shelley” starring Elle Fanning. But she is unbowed obviously and quickly directed the Netflix romantic comedy “Nappily Ever After” showing her versatility and range. After two American mainstream efforts, she’s turning back to her Saudi roots with something that sounds a more piercing and timely, and an examination of patriarchic society in Saudia Arabia. Keep an eye on this one. – Rodrigo Perez
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1156927724960698369
“The Burnt Orange Heresy”
Cast: Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki, Mick Jagger, Donald Sutherland
Synopsis: Hired to steal a rare painting from one of most enigmatic painters of all time, an ambitious art dealer becomes consumed by his own greed and insecurity as the operation spins out of control.
What You Need To Know: Art world drama alert! But this time the genre collides with the underworld in what is being described as an elegant and erotic neo-noir thriller. “The Burnt Orange Heresy” is directed by Giuseppe Capotondi and he’s best known for ‘” The Double Hour” which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2009. His latest isn’t in competition this year, but it does turn heads because of the sexy leads of Claes Bang (“The Square“) and Elizabeth Debicki(“Widows,” and Christopher Nolan‘s upcoming “Tenet“) and it has nabbed the closing night spot of Venice this year. The gist is, a powerful art collector (played by Mick Jagger) want the dup to steal a piece of art from a painter known as the reclusive J.D. Salinger of the art world (Donald Sutherland). It, of course, all goes South very fast with a mix of intrigue, sex, murder, and deception. – RP
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1153272260712529922
“An Officer and a Spy”
Cast: Jean Dujardin, Louis Garrel, Emmanuelle Seigner, Mathieu Amalric, Vincent Grass, Melvil Poupard
Synopsis: In 1894, French Captain Alfred Dreyfus is wrongfully convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment at Devil’s Island.
What You Need To Know: Roman Polanski is arguably one of the greatest directors of all time, having directed unassailable classics such as “Chinatown” and “Rosemary’s Baby,” as well as lesser-seen but equally indelible gems like “Cul-de-Sac,” “Knife in the Water” and “The Tenant.” He’s also a rapist, sex criminal, and irredeemable sleazebag who’s been living more or less in exile for the last four decades. The question of how one reconciles these two halves of Polanski’s persona is one that cinephiles have been grappling with for decades now. As is the case with Woody Allen, however, there are still actors who are willing to work with Polanski, in spite of the director’s mounting infamy in the #MeToo era. “The Artist’s” Jean Dujardin, Mathieu Amalric (who starred in “Venus in Furs”) and Emmanuelle Seigner, the director’s spouse, star in his latest, “An Officer and a Spy” (originally titled “J’accuse,” though it retains that title in France). The film posits Polanski in the espionage thriller wheelhouse— a genre he’s no doubt comfortable in— and while a coveted Golden Lion seems unlikely, the film will at least be in competition when it premieres at Venice .- NL
https://twitter.com/ThePlaylist/status/1154740435866140672
Honorable Mentions:
Nate Parker‘s “American Skin” was a late addition to the festival, but considering we’ve already got Polanski in our main list, that’s probably enough men accused of doing horrible things in a “most-anticipated” list. Spike Lee is endorsing the film and the director, however, so whatever way you slice it, eyes will be on the film. Also playing at the festival of note and worth checking out if you’re privileged enough to be there, Lou Ye‘s “Saturday Fiction,” hit or miss Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan with “Guest of Honor,” Swedish filmmaker Roy Andersson‘s “About Endlessness,” Costa-Gavras‘ “Adults In The Room,” the documentaries “45 Seconds Of Laughter” (Tim Robbins) and “Citizen K” (Alex Gibney), “The Kingmaker” (Lauren Greenfield), “State Funeral” (Sergei Loznitsa) and restoration and retrospective screenings around films like “Eye Wide Shut,” “Irreversible,” Dennis Hopper’s “Out of The Blue” and Bernardo Bertolucci‘s forgotten fascist opus from 1970, “The Spider’s Stratagem.” Happy festival-going if you’re there, otherwise look for our festival coverage starting Wednesday, August 28.
