Venice Diary Day 3: Sex and Controversy, A Pizza for Matteo, Diapers on the Red Carpet

Some Like it Hot (Some Don’t)

Friday was supposed to be all about eroticism. Or so they say. Halina Reijn’s Babygirl centers around a middle-aged, successful woman who, married with children, embarks on an intense sexual relationship with a young intern. She jeopardizes her career and family, but everything resolves itself in the end. Nothing extraordinary so far, except that the leading actress is Nicole Kidman, a slender figure of nerves and muscles whose carrot-red hair, flattened against her head, must be a wig. Between masturbation, orgasms and a screenplay that oscillates between seriousness and farce, the film reaches its conclusion. “Shame!” yells an elderly man in the audience. Applause erupts, both for the film and the protester. The audience is split.

A Pizza for Matteo

In the square adjacent to the Palazzo del Casinò, amidst bland sandwiches, Styrofoam cakes and pre-cooked foods, there is a pizzeria. Orders are called out by name. “Matteo!” the waiter shouts, and eight hungry journalists rush to the counter to fight over their lunch, each grabbing a slice. If you want to get a bite at the Venice Film Festival, it’s best not to be named Matteo.

 Diapers on the Red Carpet

Around midnight, the festival area is almost deserted when an elderly man in diapers is seen running toward the red carpet. Having escaped from a nursing home, Alfonso was only trying to reach the beach to take a swim. The few onlookers stare in disbelief.

Some Like it Hot (Some Don’t) — Part 2

Meanwhile, the biggest challenge facing most of the A-list celebs strutting their stuff on the red carpet is the sweltering heat of late summer on the Lido.  Being elaborately dressed in a gown or buttoned up in a tuxedo when the thermometer is at 92 degrees is no picnic. The weather at the festival made a number of red carpet stars look, well, a bit hot and bothered, like they couldn’t wait to have a cold shower.