Award launches star's comeback

2008-09-08 13:59

Venice - Hollywood outsider Mickey Rourke capped his big screen comeback on Saturday when The Wrestler, in which he plays a lonely, washed out fighter, won the Golden Lion for best film at the Venice festival.

Directed by Darren Aronofsky, the moving tale poignantly echoes Rourke's own troubled life in and out of the boxing ring and film studio, and critics are tipping the star for an Oscar nomination early next year.

"Darren Aronofsky came here a couple of years ago and fell on his ass," Rourke told the packed Sala Grande theatre where the awards were handed out. He was referring to the director's critical flop The Fountain which premiered in Venice in 2006.

"I am glad he had the balls to come back. I don't think he wanted to come. I said, 'You've got to come'."

"This is for a film with a truly heartbreaking performance in the very sense of the word, and if I say heartbreaking, you know I am talking about Mickey Rourke," added German director Wim Wenders, president of the seven-member jury.

Wenders suggested Rourke, who looked dishevelled with his collar open, tie undone and cigar in hand, could have also won the best actor prize in Venice, but the festival does not allow a Golden Lion winner to pick up best acting awards too.

Not paid

The Wrestler, for which Rourke said he was not paid, was one of 21 films in the main competition line-up, and the awards ceremony wound up 11 hectic days of screenings, interviews, press conferences and red carpet glamour.

Rourke was accompanied on Saturday by his ageing dog, which posed for photographers alongside the star.

"I brought my dog because my dog is very old, she is 16 and she is not going to be around for long so I want to spend every moment with her."

The 51-year-old star of 1980s hits 9-1/2 Weeks and Angel Heart told Reuters this week that The Wrestler was "the best ... movie I've ever made".

"Well I had a lot of time, I was out of work for about 15 years so I had a lot of time to think about things," Rourke replied when asked what he thought about people who came back from the brink.

"It shows how simple a movie can be, when you have someone who is honest in front of the lens," Aronofsky added.

The Silver Lion for best director was won by Russia's Alexei German jnr for Paper Soldier, set on the windswept steppes of Kazakhstan and centring on the 1960s Soviet space programme.

The best actor award went to Italy's Silvio Orlando for his role in Il Papa di Giovanna (Giovanna's Father), the story of an overprotective father and his mentally deranged daughter.

The best actress prize was won by France's Dominique Blanc in L'Autre (The Other One), a haunting tale of a woman who becomes dangerously obsessed with a young ex-boyfriend.

- Reuters