The first of five Italian films in competition at the 81st Venice Film Festival, Campo di Battaglia, debuted on Saturday.
Gianni Amelio’s Campo di Battaglia (Battlefield), set during World War One, is the first to premiere. “It’s not a war movie, which often becomes an adventure at the cinema, but a film on war,” said the director.
Amelio described it as “an extremely emotional film where the three protagonists experience a very strong story.” The movie stars Alessandro Borghi, Gabriel Montesi, and Federica Rosellini.
Other Films Competing for Awards
Films making their Venice Film Festival debut on Saturday included The Order by Justin Kurzel, featuring Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult. The film is inspired by the true story of criminal actions by a white supremacist group led by Robert Jay Mathews in the 1980s. Another contender is Leurs Enfants Après Eux, a social drama by French siblings Zoran and Ludovic Boukherma. It’s based on the novel by Nicolas Mathieu, which won the 2018 Goncourt Prize.
Out of Competition Films
Why War, directed by Amos Gitai, screens Out of Competition. It explores the correspondence between Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud about the roots of war and the reasons behind the cruelty of conflicts.
Nicole Kidman’s New Film Receives Acclaim
On Friday night, Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson starred in the premiere of Halina Reijn’s Babygirl. In the film, Kidman plays a powerful CEO secretly involved with her intern, played by Dickinson. The audience at the Sala Grande Theatre erupted into a standing ovation as the film’s end credits rolled.
