As I wrote in my reflection on the Venice festival awards yesterday, the biggest surprise (and by no means a pleasant one) of the jury’s winners list was the complete lack of recognition for Jessica Hausner’s excellent, quietly subversive religious drama “Lourdes,” a favorite of critics and pundits alike.
Happily, FIPRESCI is there to set things right. The international critics’ organization, which hands out its own awards at every major festival (and many minor ones, too), has honored “Lourdes” as the best film at Venice this year.
It’s a prestigious citation, often given to films with broader arthouse appeal than those the jury might select: recent Venice FIPRESCI honorees include “The Queen,” “Good Night, and Good Luck” and “The Secret of the Grain” (or “Couscous,” to my fellow Brits). They’re not always contrarian, either: they matched the Cannes jury this year by picking “The White Ribbon.”
Anyway, “Lourdes” also picked up a host of other gongs in the festival’s many parallel awards, which you can find listed here. It’s a bewildering array … I mean, the “Pro-Life Award?” How many anti-abortion films were there in the festival?
Sadly, amid all these additional honors, there’s still no respect for my beloved “White Material.” But just so you don’t think I’m completely crazy, the Guardian’s Jason Solomons named it his favorite film of the Competition too. (Denis’s “sensual instinct for place and character is unmatched in world cinema,” he writes.) Meanwhile, in his handy festival wrap-up, indieWIRE’s Shane Danielsen gives it joint top marks with “Lourdes.” It’s nice not to be alone.
(By the way, both “Lourdes” and “White Material” screen at Toronto on Tuesday. Catch them if you can.)
Comments
6 responses to “Justice for ‘Lourdes’”
It’s always a nice feeling to see a movie you love get recognized, whether it’s relevant (FIPRESCI) or not (Pro-Life Award). I have to say, some of these films have really got my attention, but I guess that’s the point of film festivals, isn’t it?
This is also Ang Lee’s favorite film of the Competition, but he said one of the jury members pointed out a “flaw” that made him defenseless.
He said the main reason “Lebanon” won is because the director’s life experience is too special to ignore.
He also hinted that he is not a big fan of “A Single Man”. He loved the acting and screenplay, but dislike the fashion shoot feeling of it.
Where did you find this, Joy? I’m interested.
A newspaper from China that i used to work for.
Sylvie Testud is one of my favourite working actresses. Guy, if you haven’t seen her performance in “Murderous Maids” (which is best-of-decade material), I suggest you check it out or queue it. The film features an excellent performance by Julie-Marie Parmentier, as well.
I’ve never seen “Murderous Maids,” actually, so thanks for the tip.
Very fond of Testud, though.