VENICE 2021: Competencia Oficial
VENICEOne type of genre that is seldom seen in the main competitions of prestigious film festivals is comedy. More often than not, they either end up being shown out of competition because of their more mainstream appeal or they go directly to theatres to be swallowed whole by the distributing machine. It is refreshing to see something like Competencia Oficial actually be shown in the Official Competition at the Venice Film Festival.
Gaston Duprat and Mariano Cohn are no strangers to making satirical, biting comedies that poke fun at the art world, and with Competencia Oficial they destroy the pretentiousness of actors and directors, as three individuals with different personalities clash as they try to make a film for a wealthy, elderly Spanish businessman. Penelope Cruz plays unconventional filmmaker Lola Cuevas, who hires a smug actor (Oscar Martinez) and international superstar (Antonio Banderas) to play brothers.
As one might expect, many hijinks and shenanigans do ensue – and they were all so much fun to witness. No aspect of filmmaking leaves unscathed here and everyone is ridiculed in good fun: the director comes up with increasingly more elaborate ways to put the performers outside of their comfort zone, the actors are too afraid to let go of their different forms of ego, and the producer is clueless as to what makes a film good.
It is a riot from beginning to end, often bordering on the parodic, managing to create a consistent stream of rapturous belly laughs and applause from the audience. Maybe that is a sign of festival goers embracing something lighter for a change, or maybe it really just is that the script, direction, and performances are very strong and calculated.
There is a surprising amount of twists, turns, reveals, and backstabbing that keep the entire film fresh, even if, in its final 15 minutes, it does feel like too much of a good thing. Still, Competencia Oficial lit up the Lido by criticising the world of cinema and film festivals, and, while it is unlikely that it will win any awards during the closing ceremony, it will have more staying power than more self-serious projects.