Notes from the 82nd Venice Festival: Lanthimos is a candidate for the grand prize...

Is Lanthimos a humanist or a misanthrope?

Both!...

Some say—and they're not entirely wrong—that the unhinged Greek director, who can shoot faster than his shadow, has hit the jackpot this time. And he's masterfully caught a very elusive jackpot. Difficult, because "Bugonia," once again enhanced by the extraordinary interpretations of Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons, is a remake—a remake, to use the more common English term.

In 2003, South Korean Jang Joon-hwan directed the sci-fi film "Saving the Green Planet," which was planned to be remade by the same director in Hollywood in the early 2020s. Ultimately, the project was commissioned by Lanthimos, who has adapted to major American productions without losing his identity, and who has produced award-winning, box-office-receiving films. And it turned out very well.

Perhaps the future masterpiece of the inventive director whose films have often been met with mixed reactions, "Bugonia" explores the tragedies of those poisoned by products marketed by pharmaceutical and chemical giants, or those used as guinea pigs for the price of a penny to test dangerous new drugs, as well as the lives of their loved ones. Furthermore, the film explores a wide range of subthemes, from the proliferation of conspiracy theories to the succumbing to the urge for revenge while seeking to punish "criminals," to the succumbing to the urge for revenge, thanks to Ari Aster's involvement as producers, Lanthimos has been given the freedom to work with ample dark humor.

"Bugonia," which can be summarized as "A major pharmaceutical company executive (Emma Stone) is kidnapped and held captive by a sharp-witted young man and his naive cousin, whose mother falls into a coma while testing a new drug. They believe she's an alien sent from outer space to destroy our world." It's pointless to describe. It's a film that deserves to be seen and pondered. It contains so many topics and subthemes that it's a darkly humorous film that many will undoubtedly want to watch it again and again.

Having won the Golden Lion in Venice two years ago with his film “Poor Things”, also starring Emma Stone, Yorgos Lanthimos (1973) was already a candidate to win this major award for the second time from the very first day...

CORRECTION:

The photo used in yesterday's article did not specify that the jury, chaired by French director Julia Ducournau, was the jury for the "Orizzonti" (Horizons) section, the festival's second official competitive selection. Correction, and our apologies.