Earlier today, Deadline reported that Todd Phillips’ “Joker: Folie à Deux” was “widely anticipated” to have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September. It’ll be released in theaters just a month later, on October 4.
The first “Joker” made $1 billion dollars worldwide. The fact that this sequel is a semi-musical, starring Lady Gaga, makes it a far riskier statement. Phillips seems to be, creatively speaking, swinging for the fences with this one — some of his influences for ‘Folie à Deux’ include Coppola’s “One from the Heart” and Scorsese’s “New York, New York.” You can’t fault Phillips for lacking ambition.
It remains to be seen whether, like its predecessor, ‘Folie à Deux’ will be in Venice competition. I would assume it will be, especially after “Joker” winning the top prize when it premiered there five years ago.
Director Lucrecia Martel was President of the Jury when the prestigious Golden Lion was awarded to “Joker” at Venice 2019. Roman Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy” was awarded the Grand Jury Prize (second place).
What else was in competition at Venice that year? The most noteworthy films were Polanski’s “An Officer and a Spy,” Roy Andersson’s “About Endlessness,” and Noah Baumbach‘s “Marriage Story.”
Despite the pushback, Martel has defended, numerous times, the ‘Joker’ win, calling it “incredible.” It was definitely a wild pick, especially at a festival known for honouring arthouse films.
Although the “Joker” win angered many, including, and especially, in the United States, where it was attacked as an “incel” movie, I find the Venice win was actually well-merited. I still stand by the positive review I wrote for the film at TIFF that year — I found a lot to admire in “Joker.”