September 12, 2023
THE EIGHTIETH EDITION of the Venice Film Festival was stacked, strong, and, gratifyingly, a place where ambitious work was rewarded rather than the few white elephants. With awards chatter (somewhat) muted as the SAG-AFTRA strikes kept actors away, there was no choice but to pay attention to the films. The jury, a formidable group led by Damien Chazelle, awarded the Golden Lion to Poor ThingsâYorgos Lanthimosâs gloriously ribald, eye-boggling voyage of discovery that, in its first minutes, w...