Blonde: why watch the most applauded film of the Venice Film Festival
Ana de Armas’ film received a 14-minute standing ovation. We tell you why you have to see it.
Blonde is one of the most controversial movies on Netflix ,in the first place, it took years for Andrew Dominik to finish it, and this was due to problems such as not finding the right actress, or the platform to release it.
A few months ago, it was revealed that the project was finally going to be realized, and that Dominik had chosen Ana de Armas ,a Cuban actress known for films like Blade Runner 2024 and No Time to Die ,to give life to his version of Norma Jean, based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates.
The film was produced by Brad Pitt and explores some of the key moments, good and bad, in the life of the legendary Marilyn Monre, albeit with a sticky angle, where Oates presents complicated, painful a,nd disturbing moments (the film is said to have features a sexual assault that’s hard to watch), and that’s part of what has critics divided, though the leading lady even earned recognition from Marilyn Monroe’s Estate, which defended her from the negative comments that began to surface.
A 14-minute standing ovation (with mixed reviews)
Blonde had its official premiere during the Venice Film Festival , where movies like The Whale and Bones and All were also shown , and, as is tradition, its success was measured with a round of applause at the end.
The Banshees of Insherin , with Colin Farrell, became the most applauded film receiving a 13-minute ovation, but Blonde topped it with a 14-minute round of applause that left Ana de Armas on the verge of tears, according to the critics. reports.
And why does this matter? The applause means that the audience, made up of guests, actors, journalists and more, liked what they saw and that the film has the seal of approval of one of the most important film festivals.
Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe
The Cuban actress has already played a hologram, a Bond Girl and an assassin, and now she has to give life to a movie legend with one of the most complex stories.
The first photos confirmed that, despite coming from different places in the world, de Armas and Monroe have a great resemblance, but the role of the actress goes much further. According to many critics, the actress manages to perfectly capture the fragility and humanity of the film legend, creating a human character full of contrasts and contradictions, who had to live through an extreme situation, marked by mental health problems. , abuse and control.
Many of the criticisms of Ana de Armas are unfounded, since many of them have to do only with her nationality and the fact that she is not white, but they do not have much to do with her ability as an actress or the great work she has done. , according to his same film companions, managed to create.
A fictional story that leads to reflection
Joyce Carol Oates ‘ novel is based on the true story of Monroe, although many of the moments that appear were fictionalized and are not an exact reflection of what happened.
The interesting thing is that it is a story that talks about the way in which Marilyn was turned into a product to sell and sell, her image was exploited for the benefit of others and she had to suffer in silence so that that façade of perfection would not be destroyed.
There are those who say that this story continues with that exploitation, but in reality it is a tribute to the actress and a way to lead us to reflect, to see the other side of the story, and to be able to empathize with a figure that seemed unattainable, but who in He was actually very vulnerable. And her story reminds us of others like Robin William and Heath Ledger, so we can realize that we really don’t know what others are living behind closed doors.