Venice (AFP)

Paolo Sorrentino, Jane Campion: Netflix, which has become a leading power in the cinema economy, trusts the race for the Golden Lion on Thursday with two of the most anticipated auteur films at the Venice Film Festival.

"The power of the dog", which will be screened under the gold of the great hall of the Palais du Cinéma, on the second day of the competition, marks the return to the feature film by Jane Campion, for the first time since 2009.

Netflix offers the services of a director who was the first to win the Palme d'Or, almost three decades ago, in 1993, for "The Piano Lesson".

Two stars share the bill, Briton Benedict Cumberbatch, who alternates author films and Marvel blockbusters, and Kirsten Dunst, ten years after her coronation in Cannes for her role with Lars Van Trier ("Melancholia").

Adapted from a book by Thomas Savage, the film features the confrontation of two brothers who are opposed to everything, on a ranch in Montana, after one of them returns home, accompanied by his new wife.

With this film, the streaming giant, founded less than a quarter of a century ago, hopes to have bought a winning ticket in the prestigious race for the Lion d'Or, the oldest film competition in the world.

British actor Benedict Cumberbatch in October 2019 in New York Angela Weiss AFP / Archives

The platform had already marked the spirits in 2018 by winning the Golden Lion for "Roma" of Alfonso Cuaron, which was then awarded at the Golden Globes and the Oscars.

The stakes are high, because if the platforms, and Netflix in particular, have emerged very strengthened from the pandemic against the large historic studios, rallying legions of new subscribers during the closing of theaters, the group of Reed Hastings is still in quest for respectability.

And seeks to make people forget his image as a content tap.

Alfonso Cuaron wins the Golden Lion for the film "Roma", September 8, 2018 at the Venice Film Festival Alberto PIZZOLI AFP / Archives

Especially since if Amazon has paid for the legendary James Bond studio, MGM, to better compete with it, Netflix is ​​still depriving itself of access to the largest and renowned of all the festivals, Cannes, because its films do not come out. in theaters in France.

- Autobiographical Sorrentino -

La Mostra does not hesitate to play the Netflix card in the struggle for influence waged by major international festivals.

A policy long decried by a part of the world of cinema, which fears the power of the platform.

On Thursday, Netflix also presents "The Hand of God", the latest opus from Paolo Sorrentino, 51, one of the most talented Italian filmmakers of his generation.

The director consecrated by "La Grande Belezza" (Oscar for best film in a foreign language in 2014) and the series "The Young Pope" finds his favorite actor, Toni Servillo, but in a completely different, very autobiographical register.

The Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, September 1, 2019 at the Venice Film Festival Alberto PIZZOLI AFP / Archives

The film traces the story of his childhood, and the birth of his vocation as a filmmaker in tragic circumstances, in Naples, when the Argentine footballer Diego Maradona wore the colors of the city.

In France, where a strict media chronology supposed to protect cinemas applies, "La Main de Dieu" can only be discovered on the small screen, on December 15 on Netflix.

The site has also acquired the rights to another film in competition, "The Lost Daughter", which marks the transition to directing from actress Maggie Gyllenhaal (online December 31).

American actress Maggie Gyllenhaal, July 17, 2021 in Cannes Valery HACHE AFP / Archives

And the debate around streaming, which goes beyond the case of Netflix, could continue the next day, with the world premiere of the blockbuster "Dune", by Denis Villeneuve, with Timothée Chalamet.

The Canadian director is not angry with Warner's decision to also broadcast his film, eagerly awaited by fans and theater operators, online in certain countries.

"Watching + Dune + on television is like piloting a speedboat in your bathtub. For me it's ridiculous", he again declared, shortly before the opening of the Mostra, in the press. American.

© 2021 AFP