THE VENICE SYNDROME (Andreas Pichler). 82 minutes. Subtitled. Opens Friday (July 26). For venues and times, see listings. Rating: NNN
Andreas Pichler’s The Venice Syndrome takes the piss out of one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Moonlit gondola rides and quaint cafés and shops are a thing of the past, replaced by multinational stores and enormous cruise ships that clog the port and unleash hordes of tourists.
Pichler’s downbeat documentary focuses on a dozen or so long-time inhabitants, ranging from a realtor who sees prices skyrocket and foundations crumble to a gondolier reminiscing about his glory days.
Everyone living in Venice knows the end is coming. It’s estimated that by 2030 no one will be living there. Those who are there now (a mere 58,000) are dying off or leaving, forced out by exorbitant real estate prices, unemployment, the decline of public services and the 21 million visitors who crowd the canals and squares each year, causing one bitter man to call his home the new Disneyland.
Carried along by random glimpses of present-day life, the film feels rudderless at times, and Pichler often repeats himself, especially in images of those grotesque cruise ships spoiling the scenery.
But it’s hard not to feel sympathetic as the natives struggle to find the remnants of their evocative city amid the brutal march of uncontrolled capitalism.
