San Francisco Frontiers - Michael Mann's 'Ferrari' gets pulses racing in Venice

The latest from director Michael Mann -- known for stylised and glossy thrillers like "Heat", "Collateral" and "Miami Vice" -- zooms in on a difficult period in the 1950s for the Italian mogul as he tries to keep his company and relationships alive.

Driver gives a typically charismatic performance in the lead, alongside Penelope Cruz as his hard-nosed wife and business partner.

The film also delivers high-octane racing action, including one of the most shocking crashes ever put on screen.

There were some strong early reviews, with Variety calling it a "gripping and masterful drama" and The Hollywood Reporter saying "admirers of the director's high-intensity, muscular filmmaking will not go unrewarded".

Driver is one of the few stars able to attend the Venice festival, since most are barred from publicity work due to the ongoing strike by Hollywood writers and actors.

"Ferrari" was given an exemption by the unions as it was made outside the studio system.

"We stand in total solidarity with the actors and writers guilds," Mann told reporters in Venice.

"Why is it that a smaller distribution company like Neon and STX International (who funded 'Ferrari') can meet the dream demands of what (the Screen Actors Guild) is asking for... when a big company like Netflix and Amazon can't?" said Driver.

- Pinochet the vampire -

Venice also saw the premiere of Netflix film "El Conde", a biting satire that reimagines Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and British prime minister Margaret Thatcher as bloodthirsty vampires.

It is directed by Chile's Pablo Larrain, known for biopics of Jackie Kennedy ("Jackie") and Princess Diana ("Spencer").

He said the horror-comedy approach was the only way to tackle Pinochet, who oversaw a brutal regime of executions, torture and corruption between 1973 to 1990, and was a close ally of Thatcher.

"If you avoided the satire, it could easily take you to some form of empathy and that's not acceptable," Larrain said.

It is one of several Netflix productions at the festival, which also include a short Roald Dahl adaptation from Wes Anderson, "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar", premiering on Friday, and David Fincher's "The Killer" with Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton on Sunday.

There are 23 films competing for the Golden Lion at Venice, now in its 80th edition.

The world's longest-running film festival has become a favoured launchpad for Oscar hopefuls in recent years.

But the strikes by actors and writers in Hollywood -- primarily over pay in the streaming era and the threat of AI -- has caused several major stars including Emma Stone and Bradley Cooper to cancel their appearances.

- Besson's 'Dogman' -

Also premiering at the festival on Thursday is "Dogman" by French director Luc Besson ("The Fifth Element", "Leon").

The tale of an abused boy finding refuge with a pack of dogs and a drag show is said to feature a stand-out performance from Caleb Landry Jones, who won best actor at Cannes two years ago for "Nitram", about a mass shooting in Australia.

Besson, 64, is hoping for a comeback after a massive flop with 2017's "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets" that all but bankrupted his production company, EuropaCorp.

The losses wiped out the fortune it had made with the "Taken" series and knocked Besson's hopes of competing with the Hollywood behemoths.

He has also been fighting a rape allegation since 2018, which was finally thrown out by prosecutors in June.

C.Diaz--SFF