The Venice International Film Festival will go ahead this week amid the persisting SAG-AFTRA strikes that continue throughout the U.S. From cold-blooded killers to illustrious composers, the stories of complex characters will shape this year’s awards; here are our picks for the top five films you can’t afford to miss.
Founded in 1932, the Venice International Film Festival is one of the oldest and most prestigious awards shows for the best movie releases of the year. Venice, alongside Cannes and Berlin, is one of three cities considered to be the “Big Three”, and serves as a precursor for the opulence and class of the Oscars in Hollywood.
Held on the historic Lido di Venezia, the festival is considered to be one of the more artistic leaning awards shows, and showcases a diverse range of international films, including feature films, documentaries, and shorts, across a multitude of genres.
Venice serves as a platform for both established filmmakers and emerging talents to present their latest works to a global audience, although this year, on the 80th anniversary of the Festival, the proceedings have been blemished by persisting SAG-AFTRA strikes happening throughout the U.S.
But the event is going ahead as planned, with some actors and directors permitted a special exception to promote their works at this year’s awards.
In this Venice International Film Festival article:
Maestro (2023)
Everyone’s talking about Maestro, the dramatic biopic of legendary composer Leonard Bernstein, directed by and starring Bradley Cooper.
Cooper’s performance is already being tipped for Best Actor at this year’s Oscars, with many claiming the Hangover star is the favourite ahead of Cillian Murphy and his starring role in Oppenheimer.
Famed directors Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese have joined Josh Singer as producers of the film, but make no mistake, for Bradley Cooper, a life-long admirer of Bernstein and his work, Maestro is a passion project that’s been decades in the making.
Ferrari (2023)
Calling all Formula 1 fans, and fans of the Italian stallion, the rather aptly named Adam Driver will be taking on the iconic role of one of the sport’s most notorious men, Enzo Ferrari.
Ferrari is directed by Michael Mann, the American filmmaker best known for the suspenseful thriller Collateral and the biopic for one of the world’s ever greatest sportsmen, Ali, with Will Smith in the titular role.
Set during the summer of 1957, the film will follow the life of Enzo Ferrari through his early days with the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team as the world’s premier motorsports mogul, and explore his turbulent relationship with his wife, Laura Ferrari, played by Penélope Cruz.
Fans will be pleased to know that SAG-AFTRA has granted Ferrari an Interim Agreement that permits its actors to attend this year’s Venice Film Festival, which was almost in jeopardy amid the ongoing strikes.
The Killer (2023)
From Zodiac and Se7en to Fight Club and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, David Fincher’s iconic filmography is brimming with cult classics that have garnered widespread critical acclaim throughout the last three decades.
Fincher’s next release, The Killer, is a psychological thriller starring Michael Fassbender in the titular role, a seasoned assassin named Christian, who is struggling with his psyche and the crippling loneliness that comes with being a gun-for-hire.
Expect Finsher to return to the thriller genre at his masterful best in this suspenseful adaptation.
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023)
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial will be one of the most sought-after spots for this year’s Venice Film Festival, as, sadly, it will be the late director William Freidkin’s final picture entered following his death in August 2023; he was 87.
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial follows the story of a naval officer who is standing trial for orchestrating a mutiny on a ship from a captain he believes is acting in an unstable way.
The late Lance Reddick, known for iconic roles in John Wick and The Wire, also features as Captain Luther Blakely in one of his last roles before his untimely death.
Hit Man (2023)
Fresh off the global success of Top Gun: Maverick, Glen Powell moves the crosshairs towards action-comedy in one of the more jovial titles to make the list at this year’s Venice Film Festival, Hit Man.
Inspired by the incredible true story of a Texas police officer who went undercover in the 1990s to capture criminals, Hit Man follows the story as the hired gun attempts to help a woman escape from an abusive relationship… doesn’t exactly sound like a barrel of laughs.
Hit Man stars Adria Arjona, best known for her role in Disney’s critically acclaimed original Star Wars series, Andor.