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Article: Who dares, wins. (Venice Film Festival)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- September 23, 1989
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1989 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Who dares, wins
THIS year's Venice Film Festival, a curious mishmash of good, bad and indifferent films, was redeemed by one impressive thing: the courage of the jury. At some festivals, it is customary to shrug off the jury awards as cowardly compromises; but this Venice panel (which included a Soviet director, Andrei Smirnov, and the cinema critic of The Times, David Robinson), actually saved the festival's honour.
The Golden Lion winner from Taiwan, Hou Xiaoxian's "A City of Sadness", was not a popular choice, although Mr Hou is one of the greatest film-makers in Asia. Venice audiences do not respond readily to difficult, contemplative films. "A City ...