Presenting Italy’s first Golden Lion contender, the cannibal road love story “Bones and All,” at the Venice Film Festival Friday, Timothée Chalamet said that the dictatorship of social media makes life today hard.
“Being young today is not at all easy for my generation, you’re always under the judgement of people with social media, so it was a relief to play characters who are fighting an internal dilemma without the possibility of going on Instagram or TikTok to see how you adapt,” said teen idol Chalamet, 26.
He said that Luca Guadagnini, the Palermo-born 51-year-old Italian director, had been”like a father to me” since they made the Oscar winning gay coming of age story “Call Me By Your Name” five years ago. “The collapse of society is in the air,” the New York born actor went on, saying, “I think this film can shed light on this theme too”.
Chalamet plays Lee, a young cannibal who flees his family and eventually meets up with kindred spirit Maren (Taylor Russell), an 18-year-old on the road for the same reason. “Together, they try out the possibility of living the impossible,” said Guadagnino who has previously made four films with Tilda Swinton including “A Bigger Splash” and a remake of the Dario Argento slasher classic “Suspiria”.
Chalamet adds: “It’s a heart-rending, tragic, very strong love story”. Asked if love saves all, the star replied, disappointing millions of fans, “I’m still much too young for love”.
Guadagnino’s is the first of five Italian contenders for Venice’s best picture prize, and his first shot in America, all in the MidWest. “I’ve dreamed of the American landscape from the start, it’s part of my development as a filmmaker, and this script was a chance to live it as a director”.
F”ive Italian films are in the running for the Golden Lion at the 79th Venice Film Festival, which runs from August 31 to September 10. They are Il Signore delle Formiche” (The Lord of the Ants) by Gianni Amelio, “Bones and All” by Luca Guadagnino, “Chiara” by Susanna Nicchiarelli, “Monica” by Andrea Pallaoro and Emanuele Crialese’s “L’Immensita'” (Immensity) starring Penelope Cruz.
