Pablo Larraín’s Maria Callas biopic Maria, starring Jolie in the title role, made its world premiere at the Lido in the main competition of this year’s Venice Film Festival.

Following a tradition carved by Larraín’s previous two tragic female biopics — “Spencer” starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana and “Jackie” with Natalie Portman as Kennedy Onassis – both launched from the Lido.

Based on true accounts, Maria tells of the tumultuous, beautiful and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest female opera singer, relived and reimagined during her final days in 1970s Paris.

Co-produced by Heretic, the film is written by Steven Knight (Peaky Blinders). Produced by Juan de Dios Larraín for Fabula, Jonas Dornbach for Komplizen Film and Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment. Sales are handled by FilmNation Entertainment.

“Jolie is an almost magical match for the real diva: achingly thin but still beautiful, loftily patrician, capriciously kind or selfish, tip-toeing dangerously close to madness. The actor’s commitment to this creation is obvious at every turn.”

“No director working today has a greater command of the medium than the Chilean maestro Pablo Larraín.”
“Every element in Maria speaks of that mastery: the first deep-focus shots of Callas’ lush Parisian apartment, where the light through the window is transfigured into a kind of mist; the bold and brilliant use of diegetic music, so essential to conjuring Callas’ world; and the elegant merger of past and present, dream and reality.”
Deadline

4/5 Stars
“Angelina Jolie plays the diva in magnificent stroll around the cult of Callas.”
“By the closing credits, God help us, I was hoping for an encore.”
The Guardian