Venice Rounds Off the 82nd Edition of the Festival with “Chien 51”
The last day on the Lido, and as tradition dictates, the Festival ended with a special screening in the Sala Grande. This year it was Chien 51, the new film by Cédric Jimenez, a dystopian thriller set in a future Paris divided into castes and ruled by an artificial intelligence called Alma. After the death of its creator, a police officer and an outcast join forces to unravel a mystery that calls the entire system into question. A dark sci-fi story, but one with a sharp eye on the present.
Before the screening, however, it was the red carpet that drew all the attention. Under the flashes, the stars of Jimenez’s film made their entrance: Adèle Exarchopoulos, magnetic and essential in total black, Louis Garrel in a refined grey, singer Lala &ce walking the carpet in a full masculine look, and Gilles Lellouche, unbuttoned and decidedly at ease among the photographers. Then came Thomas Bangalter, Olivier Demangel and Stéphane Bak. The rich cast also includes Valeria Bruni Tedeschi.
All together, they sealed with elegance and lightness the final act—well, the penultimate one, since the parade took place before the official awards ceremony—of the Festival. The Mostra thus comes to a close, between applause and that suspended atmosphere that always accompanies the last night in the Lagoon: a mix of celebration and nostalgia, with cinema at the center until the very last frame.
Text: Germano D’Acquisto
Photos: Ludovica Arcero
