Synopses taken from the catalogue of the 65th Venice International Film Festival
published by Electa
Darren Aronofsky
The Wrestler
Back in the late Eighties, Randy “The Ram” Robinson was a headlining professional wrestler. Now, twenty years later, he ekes out a living performing for handfuls of diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey and neighboring states. Estranged from his daughter and unable to sustain any real relationship, Randy lives for the thrill of the show and the adoration of his fans. But when he suffers a heart attack in the middle of a match, Randy’s doctor tells him he needs to stop wrestling forever, or the next time his heart might not start again. Forced into retirement, Randy begins to evaluate the state of his life. He tries to reconnect with his daughter and strikes up a romance with an aging stripper, but the allure of the spotlight and the passion for his art threaten to pull him back inside the ring.
Guillermo Arriaga
The Burning Plain
The Burning Plain is a drama that explores the mysterious connection between several characters separated by time and space: Mariana, a 16-year-old girl trying to put together the shattered lives of her parents in a Mexican border town; Sylvia, a woman in Portland who must undertake an emotional odyssey to burnish a sin from her past; Gina and Nick, a couple who must deal with an intense and clandestine affair; and Maria, a young girl who helps her parents find redemption, forgiveness and love.
Pupi Avati
Il papŕ di Giovanna
Bologna 1938. Michele Casali has a serious problem. His only daughter, Giovanna, has just killed her best friend in a bout of jealousy. The girl, who is still an adolescent, is declared to be non compus mentis and is committed to a psychiatric hospital. During the time she spends in almost total isolation, the only person who looks after her is her father. This further strengthens the already strong father-daughter relationship from which Delia, the girl’s mother, has always been excluded. Sergio, who is a police inspector and a close friend of Michele’s, is witness to the terrible events. He is also secretly in love with Delia. In the winter of 1953, in a Bologna which is still recovering from the horrors of the war, Delia and Giovanna’s eyes lock in the darkness of a small cinema: Giovanna is by now much better and still in the company of her doting father. Her mother no longer has any doubts: this is the start of a new life, this time, together.
Marco Bechis
BirdWatchers
Mato Grosso do Sul (Brazil), today. The fazenderos are leading their wealthy life in boredom. They have transgenic plantations that stretch as far as the eye can see and spend their evenings in the company of the Birdwatchers, tourists who have come to watch the birds. On the borders of their land, the malaise of the Indians is growing. Forced to live in reservations, the natives – the legitimate inhabitants of that land – lead a life with absolutely no future whatsoever; many of them, the young in particular, commit suicide. It is another suicide that sparks off the rebellion. Following the guidance of the leader Nadio and a shaman, a group of Indians sets up camp outside one of the properties to demand the restitution of their land. Two conflicting worlds thus confront one another. The metaphoric confrontation soon turns into a real conflict but, even during the hostilities, the two worlds do not stop studying one another. The young people in particular do not stop being curious “about the other”, not even during the fighting. It is this very curiosity that will give way to a profound relationship between Osvaldo, a young shaman apprentice and the daughter of a fazendero.
Patrick Mario Bernard, Pierre Trividic
L’Autre
Anne-Marie leaves Alex. Unlike him, who would like to lead a real married life, she wants to protect her freedom. They split up without any problems and continue to see one another. However, when Anne-Marie finds out that Alex has a new woman, she is madly jealous. And she plunges into a troubling world that is full of signals and threats.
