Golden Lion winner Roy Andersson Photo: CFP

Best Actress award winner Alba Rohrwacher Photo: CFP

With his A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, 71-year-old Swedish filmmaker Roy Andersson managed to win the  71st Venice Film Festival's biggest award, the Golden Lion, during the festival's closing ceremony Saturday. 

Similar to his 2007 work, You, the Living, A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence consists of a series of short scenes lasting from several seconds to several minutes in length.

The film follows two itinerant merchants who sell amusing toys as they visit different people door to door. The concept of time is also broken down by the director, as events taking place in the 12th and 18th century are mixed in with scenes taking place in modern times. 

While the film is an absurd comedy, Andersson actually started his career with realism and storytelling films. "But after 15 years I was so tired of this storytelling and realism that I found what I call abstraction. I call it fragments from existence, from life. It's fragments about us living beings," Andersson said in an interview with Reuters before the awards. 

Adam Driver and Alba Rohrwacher swept the Best Actor and Best Actress awards for their roles in Hungry Hearts, in which the two play a young couple who begin to distrust each other after having a baby.

The festival's Silver Lion for Best Director went to 77-year-old Russian director Andrej Koncalovskij for his film The Postman's White Nights. A fictional feature about an isolated Russian village that can only be reached by boat, the postman becomes the sole connection between local people and the outside world.

Wang Xiaoshuai's Red Amnesia, the only Chinese film taking part in the competition section of the festival, came away with nothing, despite early positive feedback about the film. While a bit disappointing for Chinese audiences, commercial film The Golden Era and its lead actress Tang Wei has managed to capture quite a bit of attention. 

Lisa Li, a reporter at the Venice Film Festival, told the Global Times that A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence and Hungry Hearts' win didn't come as a surprise, as both films were well received among audiences despite the former's lack of a coherent story and the latter's unique visual cinematography .

"Although  A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence lacks a complete story, you can still see a central philosophy amongst all the absurdity and humor," Li commented, adding that this was only the fifth feature film that Roy Andersson has produced over the past 44 years. 

"When the results were announced, everyone in the media applauded and cheered. I believe this is the best positive feedback these two films could receive," Li said.

Kang Yixiong, a Chinese film critic who frequently attends film festivals in Europe, however, holds a different opinion. "The most disappointing thing for Chinese audiences was that Lü Zhong didn't win the best actress award," he told the Global Times in a phone interview.

"Lü left a strong impression on media outlets both at home and abroad after the screening of Red Amnesia. Many [foreign reporters] asked whether she was famous in China. A lot of people also feel that Red Amnesia is a better work than any of Wang's previous films such as 11 Flowers."

By comparison, Kang explained that Alba Rohrwacher and her sister Alice Rohrwacher have had a good relationship with Cannes and Venice for a long time now.

 "Alice Rohrwacher just took the Grand Prix with The Wonders at Cannes this May. Some people suspect that Alba Rohrwacher won because of this good relationship."

Awards for the 71st Venice Film



Golden Lion for Best Film:

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence by Roy Andersson (Sweden, Germany, Norway, France)

Silver Lion for Best Director:

Andrej Koncalovskij for the film The Postman's White Nights (Russia)

Grand Jury Prize:

The Look of Silence by Joshua Oppenheimer (Denmark, Finland, Indonesia, Norway, United Kingdom)

Coppa Volpi for Best Actor:

Adam Driver in Hungry Hearts by Saverio Costanzo (Italy)

Coppa Volpi for Best Actress:

Alba Rohrwacher in Hungry Hearts by Saverio Costanzo (Italy)

Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress:

Romain Paul in Le Dernier Coup de Marteau by Alix Delaporte (France)

Award for Best Screenplay:

Rakhshan Banietemad and Farid Mostafavi for Tales by Rakhshan Banietemad (Iran)

Special Jury Prize:

Sivas by Kaan Müjdeci (Turkey, Germany)

Source: Official website of the Venice Film Festival