The public gave the rousing Western The Sister Brothers a five-minute standing ovation following its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.
After the premiere, actor John C. Reilly, director Jacques Audiard, and composer Alexandre Desplat congratulated each other–and the appreciative audience.
The film’s co-stars Joaquin Phoenix and Jake Gyllenhaal were not present at the screening.
The cast also includes Riz Ahmed, Rebecca Root, Rutger Hauer, and Carol Kane.
Earlier in the day, The Sisters Brothers also received an enthusiastic response at a press screening, where some members of the audience cheered as the credits rolled.
At the news conference, Audiard called on film festivals, including Venice to have better representation of women, even though The Sisters Brothers itself has hardly any female characters, and not a single one in a major role. As a genre, the Western has always been male-dominated, not doing much for women.
Reilly acknowledged that disparity, but contended that the film itself addresses “masculinity and the gender balance” and noted that half of the movie’s crew members were women.
