Fifty years have passed since 1968. Let's review some of the main images of that year: the war in Vietnam is raging and, in Europe and the United States, the season of protest begins; Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy are assassinated; Olympics, with massacre of civilians, in Mexico City; Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia; Richard Nixon is elected and NASA completes the Apollo mission. The following year, between July 20 and 21, a man set foot on the moon for the first time.
All this to commemorate an important cinematic anniversary which, moreover, introduces us to the theme of this beginning of the season: precisely in 1968 it was released in theaters 2001 A Space Odyssey by Stanley Kubrick. There are many who consider this film a milestone, among the absolute masterpieces in the history of the big screen. The story, inspired by a story by Arthur C. Clarke, takes us into science fiction, into the worlds of artificial intelligence (a rich literature has flourished on the on-board computer, Hal). Let us mention a little curiosity revealed by a cryptographer: the letters that make up this name are the precedents of IBM, the well-known IT giant that will play such a large part in space missions), in philosophy, in religion, in technological innovations as never before in the same film. The international success that the film immediately met was fully inserted in the context of the tension that in that period the whole world was experiencing on the eve of the beginning of the great human adventure on the Earth's satellite. Kubrick has been able to collect and dramatically amplify visions, imaginative expectations, and for some even hopes, for the future of man in space. Screenplay, special effects, post-production and editing certainly make it a film to watch again and again (the recently restored version presented at Cannes and with unreleased sequences is available on DVD or Blu Ray) with a notepad next to it for taking notes.
More speaking of anniversaries we mention two films: the remake, or a tribute as the director stated, by Suspiria by Dario Argento, released in Italian theaters in 1977 and now re-proposed at Venice Film Festival (from 29 August to 8 September) directed by Luca Guadagnino. At that time, the film was met with conflicting opinions from the critics: some appreciated its great merits (Grazzini) while others panned it mercilessly (Kezich). We'll see if the director of Call me with your name, which has also been so successful, will be able to replicate its qualities.
The second film which will also be presented in Venice as part of the special screenings is The Other Side of the Wind, unfinished work by Orson Welles. It is a work signed by the great American director in his late life (he managed to complete the shooting but not the editing) together with other friends of him such as John Huston, Peter Bogdanovich, Norman Foster. It is a film that resembles, in many respects, a 8 and ½ by Federico Fellini, where the professional and human decline of a director at the end of his life is told. It is interesting to note that this title, and the work that was necessary to re-propose it, it was financed by Netflix which will have the exclusive distribution rights.
Let's go back to Venice, the oldest film festival, and to space adventures: the 2018 review it will be opened by a film that takes us back to the moon landing: Il primo uomo (First man) directed by Damien Chazelle with Ryan Gosling as the main protagonist. Three Italian directors in the competition: Luca Martone with Capri-Revolution, What you gonna do when the world's on fire? by Roberto Minervini and the aforementioned Luca Guadagnino with Suspiria. The complete program of films, both in competition and in the special sections, seems to encompass a vast panorama of highly topical subjects and proposals. All the big issues in the public eye today in terms of civil rights, politics, the environment as well as simple entertainment and big show are embraced.
We will closely follow the Festival. Happy start of the film season!
