Hollywood veteran Al Pacino was unable to attend the Venice Film Festival for the premiere of his latest film Father Joe, but sent a video message wishing his co-stars and collaborators well as the action thriller screened at the prestigious festival. “I wish I was there with all of you in Venice, which is great and lovely. I’ve had films there. I’ve been there. I’ve experienced it,” Pacino said in the recorded message. The 86-year-old actor also gave a shoutout to writer-producer Luc Besson and his co-star Kiefer Sutherland before signing off with his best wishes.
The reason for Pacino’s absence was not disclosed. Father Joe screened at Venice’s Sala Grande late Saturday as part of the festival’s Out of Competition programme. The 106-minute film stars Sutherland, Pacino and Ever Anderson.
Priest takes on mob
Set in Manhattan’s Little Italy, Father Joe follows a priest who wages a secret battle against organised crime, dismantling criminal operations while confronting a powerful underworld network. Sutherland plays the titular priest, while Pacino portrays a crime lord whose empire puts him on a collision course with Father Joe.
Anderson plays a young woman caught between danger and redemption as the priest’s campaign against the criminal underworld intensifies.
The film is directed by Barthélémy Grossmann from a screenplay by Besson, who also serves as a producer alongside EuropaCorp and Sutherland. Grossmann has described the film as a modern fable exploring faith, redemption and the complexities of human nature while drawing on the action cinema he grew up watching.
Sutherland praises Besson
Sutherland, meanwhile, spoke about his admiration for Besson, saying he had long wanted to work on the kind of films associated with the French filmmaker. “I was a huge, huge fan,” Sutherland said, adding that he had watched Besson make films he himself wished he had appeared in.
The actor said he was delighted when Besson eventually approached him with the idea for Father Joe.
The movie marks another major festival appearance for Pacino, whose career spanning more than five decades includes classics such as The Godfather, Serpico, Scarface, Heat and Scent of a Woman, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor.
Though absent from Venice this time, Pacino made clear in his message that his memories of the festival remained strong. “I wish I was there,” he told the Father Joe team before wishing them well for the screening.