A South Korean film, “Pieta,” took the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday while Paul Thomas Anderson took the Silver Lion for “The Master" as the awards got underway amid shifting jury votes.
An individual close to the awards told TheWrap that "The Master" had taken four awards in Venice, including Best Actor for Joaquin Phoenix, and that the jury decided not to give the Golden Lion to the Paul Thomas Anderson film so as not to disqualify it from the other awards.
The Golden Lion instead went to Korean director (pictured) Kim Ki-Duk's "Pieta."
Also read: Toronto Film Fest Day 2: Ben Affleck Flies Commercial, Paul Thomas Anderson Gets Creepy
The individual said the jury led by American director Michael Mann intended to award the Golden Lion to "The Master," but that would have disqualified the film from the other awards, which included a critics award and top acting prize to Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays the title role.
The much-anticipated movie about a charismatic, cult-like leader modelled after Scientology's L. Ron Hubbard debuted at the Toronto Film Festival on Friday night and screened again on Saturday to admiring comments but mixed reactions from indie film veterans.
Reviews have been mainly positive if tinged with circumspection for the much-respected Anderson.
The Guardian wrote: "It is a movie that may alienate and exasperate some, but its audacity, its formal daring and Joaquin Phoenix's performance, make it simply unmissable."
"'The Master' is undeniably impressive, and undeniably confounding," wrote TheWrap's Steve Pond, and as Time's Richard Corliss noted, "The problem with 'The Master' is that it doesn't extend or expand Anderson's artistic journey."
The Weinstein Company, which is releasing the film this fall, made a daring choice to unveil the film both at Venice and in Toronto.
Here is the full list of Venice winners:
Golden Lion (Best Picture)
"Pieta,"Kim-Ki Duk
Silver Lion (Best Director)
Ulrich Seidl – "Paradise: Faith"
Volpi Cup – Best Actor
Joaquin Phoenix & Philip Seymour Hoffman – "The Master"
Volpi Cup – Best Actress
Hadas Yaron – "Fill The Void"
Special Jury Award
Paul Thomas Anderson – "The Master"
Mastroianni Award – Best Young Actor
Fabrizio Falcone – "Dormant Beauty," "It Was The Son"
Best Screenplay
Olivier Assayas – "Something In The Air"
Technical Achievement
Daniele Cipri – "Il Stato E Figlio,"
Luigi De Laurentiis Award (Best First Feature)
"Kuf: Mold," Ali Aydin
Orrizonti: Best Feature
"Three Sisters," Wang Bing
Orrizonti: Jury Prize
"Tango Libre," Frederic Fonteyne
FIPRESCI Award (Competition)
"The Master," Paul Thomas Anderson
FIPRESCI Award (Orizzonti/Critics' Week)
"The Interval," Leonardo Di Constanzo
SIGNIS Award
"To the Wonder," Terrence Malick
SIGNIS Award (Special Mention)
"Fill the Void," Rama Burshtein
Audience Award (Critics' Week)
"Eat Sleep Die," Gabriela Pilcher
Label Europa Cinemas Award
"Crawl," Herve Lasgouttes
Leoncino d'Oro Agiscuola Award
"Pieta," Kim Ki-duk
Leoncino d'Oro Agiscuola Award (Cinema for UNICEF mention)
"It Was the Son," Daniele Cipri
Pasinetti Award
"The Interval," Leonardo Di Constanzo
Pasinetti Award (Documentary)
"The Human Cargo," Daniele Vicari
Pasinetti Award (Best Actor)
Valerio Mastandrea, "Gli Equilibristi"
Pasinetti Award (Special)
"Clarisse," Liliana Cavani
Brian Award
"Dormant Beauty," Marco Bellocchio
Queer Lion Award
"The Weight," Jeon Kyu-Hwan
Arca CinemaGiovani Award (Best Film of Venezia 69)
"The Fifth Season," Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth
Arca CinemaGiovani Award (Best Italian Film)
"The Ideal City," Luigi Lo Casco
Biografilm Lancia Award
"The Human Cargo," Daniele Vicari; "Bad 25," Spike Lee
CICT-UNESCO Enrico Fulchignoni Award
"The Interval," Leonardo Di Costanzo
CICAE Award
"Wadjda," Haifaa Al Mansour
CinemaAvvenire Award (Best Film of Venezia 69)
"Paradise: Faith," Ulrich Seidl
CinemAvvenire Award (Diversity)
"Wadjda," Haifaa Al Mansour
FEDIC Award
"The Interval," Leonardo Di Costanzo
FEDIC Award (Special Mention)
"Bellas Mariposas," Salvatore Mereu
Mimmo Rotella Foundation Award
"Something in the Air," Olivier Assayas
Future Film Festival Digital Award
"Bad 25," Spike Lee
Future Film Festival Digital Award (Special Mention)
"Spring Breakers," Harmony Korine
P. Nazareno Taddei Award
"Pieta," Kim Ki-duk
P. Nazareno Taddei Award (Special Mention)
"Thy Womb," Brillante Mendoza
Magic Lantern Award
"The Interval," Leonardo Di Costanzo
Open Award
"The Company You Keep," Robert Redford
La Navicella-Venezia Cinema Award
"Thy Womb," Brillante Mendoza
Lina Mangiacapre Award
"Queen of Montreuil," Solveig Anspach
AIF-FORFILMFEST Award
"The Interval," Leonardo Di Costanzo
Mouse d'Oro Award
"Pieta," Kim Ki-duk
Mouse d'Argento Award
"Anton's Right Here," Lyubov Arkus
UK-Italy Creative Industries Award
"The Interval," Leonardo Di Costanzo
Gillo Pontecorvo-Arcobaleno Latino Award
Laura Delli Colli
Christopher D. Smithers Foundation Award
"Low Tide," Roberto Minervini
Interfilm Award
"Wadjda," Haifaa Al Mansour
Giovani Giurati del Vittorio Veneto Film Festival Award
"The Company You Keep," Robert Redford
Giovani Giurati del Vittorio Veneto Film Festival Award (Special Mention)
Toni Servillo
Primio Cinematografico Award
"Terramatta," Costanza Quatriglio
Green Drop Award
"The Fifth Season," Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth