The Big Question at Venice 2025: Are People Understanding the Films?

Have we lost the ability to actually comprehend and understand cinema? This was a question that came to mind often while spending 2 weeks covering the 2025 Venice Film Festival in Italy. I’ve been attending film festivals for the last 20 years, from Sundance to Cannes to Venice and back every single year; always watching new films, discussing & debating them, analyzing what is good or not, having conversations about cinema, and beyond. During Venice this year, there were a handful of movies that it seems many people did not quite understand. It is not a difference in opinion, or different feelings about the films. Nor is it a other interpretations, which happens often. It’s straight up misunderstanding – and it’s rather strange so many people were confused about what was being said in these films. Not every film is incredibly complex or hard to understand, many do have very obvious stories to follow (and that’s all good). But a few are being unfairly misinterpreted entirely and I think it’s time we talk about that. We’re in an era of anti-intellectualism where critical thinking is shunned – unfortunately this means some are missing the point of the films they watch. // Continue Reading ›