La Grazia opens Venice Film Festival with Sorrentino's moral drama

Paolo Sorrentino’s new film La Grazia opened the 82nd Venice Film Festival on Wednesday night on the Lido, with the Italian auteur and longtime star Toni Servillo on the red carpet and an enthusiastic reception from the crowd. The multilayered moral drama, which had its world premiere in competition, follows a fictional Italian president in the final months of his term as he weighs two clemency requests and whether to sign a bill legalizing euthanasia in Catholic Italy.

La Grazia centers on President Mariano De Santis, played by Servillo, a former judge whose circumspection and personal grief drive the film’s moral dilemmas. Anna Ferzetti co-stars as his daughter Dorotea, an adviser who pushes him toward signing the euthanasia measure. The narrative also includes two pardon petitions and an unexpected cultural thread featuring Italian rapper Guè in a cameo. The film was produced by The Apartment, Numero 10 and PiperFilm and will be released by Mubi in major territories outside Italy, with international sales handled by The Match Factory.

Festival director Alberto Barbera said the choice to open with Sorrentino’s film was surprising, calling La Grazia “a different Sorrentino from...