Best movies, performances and awards

in the Venice International Film FestivalA jury of industry professionals decide how to dispense the prizes to the movies in official competition, including the prestigious Golden Lion. This year's group of nine includes filmmakers from around the world, with French actor Isabelle Huppert serving as Jury President. But, since I was Screen Rants sole representative at this year's edition, the 81st, The Awards are mine to give.

Unlike Huppert & Co., the jury of one is not limited to what was and is not an official selection. None of the 28 movies (and one entire miniseries) I've seen in my time there is fair game. I'm also ditching the festival's categories for five more standard ones, plus one that's just for fun. That said, I will keep the tradition of awarding each film only once - If my choice for best film also has the best lead performance of the bunch, tough luck. The more prestigious prize wins out, always.

Best Screenplay: Justin Kuritzkes, Queer

Venice Jury Winner: Murilo Hauser & Heitor Lorega, I'm Still Here

Queer Review: Daniel Craig Makes Career Best in Luca Guadagnino's Deeply Surreal LGBTQ Drama

Director Luca Guadagnino and writer Justin Kuritske's first collaboration, Challengersis already one of my favorite films of the year so far, so it was only natural to expect that their second would also be quality work. But I'm excited about how completely different this is. It is once again insight into a complicated relationship dynamic, however funny is much more interested in the psychology and self-perception of its protagonistExpertly played by Daniel Craig. It excavates him subtly at first, then with increasingly ambitious abstraction, tasks us with putting the pieces together.

I think it's natural to experience funny First as a visual achievement, as Guadagnino's imagery ultimately takes over. But the depth of what the movie has to offer is there at the script level, from how the overall journey is structured to the very specific, sometimes underplayed use of language. Of all the films I saw in Venice, this is the one I have been most compelled to think aboutAnd it only blossoms with further contemplation.

Best Actress: Nicole Kidman, Babygirl

Venice Jury Winner: Nicole Kidman, Babygirl

Babygirl Review: Nicole Kidman's electrifying erotic thriller goes far beyond fun

With a future prize taking a major candidate from the board, excellent work of Nicole Kidman rises to the top. In this erotic thriller (or perhaps more of a sexual coming-of-middle-age tale) from writer-director Halina Rijn, she plays a married CEO who is secretly unsatisfied by her otherwise handsome husband, and begins an affair with Harris Dickinson's Naturally dominant. intern. I admire Baby girl For its ability to balance tones, and Reijn's vision doesn't land without Kidman there to hold everything together.

The protagonist is more than repressed, she is conflicted. The various social roles she occupies - boss, mother, wife, lover, mentor, sub - are not clearly defined hats that she can take on and off, but modes of behavior that are constantly at war within her. Baby girl Wants to drop us into that sad headspace, which means Kidman must put the war on display for us in her expression, physically, and intonation. An exciting, complex performance, worthy of recognition.

Best Actor: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Kill the Jockey

Venice Jury Winner: Vincent Lyndon, The Silent Son

Kill the Jockey Review: Argentinian sports drama presents a confounding journey worth taking

Although I really like Luis Ortega's Kill the jockey (Al Jockey), This Argentinian film would not make my Venice Top 10So this is not a case of awarding the next highest film on my list. This I found to be a really worthy performance by the film's main character, Nahuel Pérez Biscayart. Like Kidman, his performance is very difficult; The tone of the entire project hinges on his ability to embody the right feeling. The difference is that the movie metamorphoses before our eyes, and for a long time, the titular jockey is the only guide we have through the disorientation.

in mine Review, I compared his facial expressions to Buster Keaton, and I stand by it. At first, he is an excellent comic presence that nevertheless seems to contain a world of sadness. What he becomes, and the extent to which he embodies it, Is This movie. Without what he achieved, the eventual meaning of the film would never coalesce, and even if I have some complicated feelings about the work as a whole, Biscayart never puts a foot wrong.

Best Director: Walter Salles, I'm Still Here

Venice Jury Winner: Brady Corbett, The Brutalist

My best director winner is Also my second-favorite film of the festival. I'm still here (I'm still here) is a drama about the true story of Eunice and Rubens Paiva's fateful experience with the Brazilian military dictatorship in 1971, centered primarily through Eunice's perspective. The couple have five children together, and the effect of the movie hinges on how fully we understand the rhythm of the family's life before the inciting incident. The love between them, and the ease of that love, felt very deep, and what happens next becomes an open wound that we cannot just share.

There is a clarity in Salles' direction that gives him almost complete control of our emotions as we watch. I'm still here is defined by the patience with which the story unfolds, as well as the willingness to limit our perspective when necessary. Fernanda Torres' lead performance is exceptionalAlthough, really, everyone is great, including the children. A wonderful moving film.

Best Film: The Brutalist

Venice Jury Winner: The Room Next Door

The Brutalist Review: Historical drama is a colossal triumph worth every second of its runtime

Although all the movies listed here are great, The Brutalist was a clear standout for me. With a runtime of 3 hours 35 and a history of 30 years, Brady Corbet's film is great on paper, and it is truly a great experience. The structures designed by the protagonist are massive, after all. But the pursuit of size does not come at the expense of closeness to the characters. The unification of the historical forces at work in the world and the storm of feeling in each individual is of course the primary objective of the film.

This is an achievement that everyone involved can be proud of. It's impeccably directed and acted, with Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce giving potentially career-defining turns. Cinematographer Lol Crawley and editor Dávid Jancsó's efforts combine to create The Brutalists affecting visual style, and I found Daniel Blumberg's score to be not only essential, but really exciting. and, As a testament to its writing, it delivers not one, but two of my favorite endings so far this year. A true cinematic knockout.

Biggest surprise: Broken Rage

(Venie doesn't give the award, but I'm sure the jury would have agreed with me)

Broken Rage Review: Japanese action comedy needs only 62 minutes to bring down the house

A fun one to close us out, value of the movie is recognized: Broken storm Was a surprise from its first announcement. Acclaimed filmmaker Takeshi Kitano's Japanese action comedy was a late, unexpected submission to the festivalAnd as such, there is no information about it to be found online ahead of time. All I knew heading in was the director/star and that it only ran 62 minutes, so I wasn't sure what to expect.

I now know that there is no way I could have expected what we got: a fun but familiar crime movie, followed by a Airplane!-style parody of everything we've just seen. The audience (of about 1000) was on board from the beginning, but once the second half, the laughs just kept coming. It's also cleverly put together for a film so unabashedly stupidAnd I recognized that Broken storm is earning laughs in multiple ways. I was certainly surprised to find it cracking my Top 5, ahead of many of the festival's more hyped titles.

My Venice Film Festival 2024 Top 10

1. The Brutalist
2. I'm still here (Ainda Estou Aqui)
3. Baby girl
4. funny
5. Broken storm
6. The order
7. Denial
8. Vermiglio
9. The Time It Takes (I tempo che ci vuole)
10. Three Friends (Troy Amies)