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A ponderous Italian wartime drama and Pablo Larraín’s one-joke General Pinochet satire threatened to sink the actors’ strike-hit 80th Venice film festival – until Michael Mann’s racing thriller hit the gasThis year’s Venice may turn out to be a test case for auteur power. The US actors’ strike means that Hollywood stars are unlikely to appear on the red carpet, leaving the directors’ names to pull in the crowds – and ensuring that non-American faces get the lion’s share of the flashbulb action. Some films, nevertheless, have secured interim agreements with actors’ union Sag-Aftra, notably Ferrari, starring Adam Driver – who was certainly here for the film’s press conference – and Sofia Coppola’s biopic Priscilla.But, at the time of writing, it’s not yet clear who else may show up, which means that it’s down to the behind-the-camera names to stir up the interest. That should not be too much of a stretch, given that this year’s official selection includes revered directors such as Yorgos Lanthimos, Ava DuVernay and David Fincher – not to mention Woody Allen and Roman Polanski, whose inclusion has predictably furrowed many brows, and the late William Friedkin. Continue reading...