VENICE |
VENICE Reuters - Sofia Coppolas "Somewhere," an insiders look at the life of a Hollywood actor who becomes numb to life through drink, drugs and a string of one-night stands, won the top prize at the Venice film festival on Saturday.
The choice of the U.S. directors movie for the Golden Lion award will come as a surprise on the Lido waterfront, where reaction to the Los Angeles-based drama was mixed.
Coppola tells a story of Johnny Marco, an up-and-coming star whose days are divided between five-stars hotels, Ferraris and blonde pin-ups, but also loneliness, tiresome media attention and boredom.
Marco, played by Stephen Dorff, is finally faced with the question of where a life so enviable on the surface is ultimately heading when his 11-year old daughter unexpectedly comes to stay with him.
The daughter of director Francis Ford Coppola and an Oscar winner for her screenplay of "Lost in Translation" partly based the film on her own experiences as a young girl traveling with her father from one hotel to another.
"Thanks to my Dad for teaching me," she said at the awards ceremony.
The best director award went to Spaniard Alex de la Iglesia for "Balada Triste de Trompeta" The Last Circus, a horror movie that doubles as a metaphor for fascist Spain.
Vincent Gallo won the best actor prize for his performance in "Essential Killing," where he plays a suspected Taliban fighter on the run from U.S. forces in Afghanistan and later in Europe.
Gallo, who does not utter a single word throughout the film and has spent his time in Venice escaping the paparazzi, did not take the stage to accept the award.
"Vincent, come on, are you here?" Polish director Jerzy Skolimowski said as he took the prize in Gallos name.
Ariane Labed won the best actress prize for Greek film "Attenberg," while Monte Hellman scooped a special career award with "Road to Nowhere."
Editing by Michael Roddy
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