Al Pacino didn’t travel to the Venice Film Festival for the premiere of “Father Joe,” but he sent a video message with well wishes to his collaborators on the movie.
“Father Joe,” starring Sutherland, Pacino and Ever Anderson, takes place in 1990s Manhattan’s Little Italy and revolves around a priest who clashes with a mob boss. The action thriller was written and produced by Besson and marks the directing debut of Barthélémy Grossmann. Grossmann has referred to “Father Joe” as a “modern fable about faith, redemption and the complexity of human nature.”
Sutherland said he was drawn to the project — which he called a meditation on “good vs. evil” — because of Besson’s involvement.
Besson is the influential French director of “The Fifth Element,” “Lucy” and most recently, a “Dracula” remake starring Caleb Landry Jones and Christoph Waltz. He one of the first prominent figures in France to face sexual assault allegations in the #MeToo era. He was accused of rape by Belgian-Dutch female actor Sand Van Roy, though Besson was eventually cleared of all charges.
Besson described a hands-off style as a producer on “Father Joe.”
“The good thing is I’m also a director. I don’t want to be bothered when I’m a director so I tried not to bother,” Besson said. “I’m on the back of Barthélémy. As long as he doesn’t have a problem, I’m not there.”
