Italian director Paolo Sorrentino presented a lush portrait of decadence and excess in contemporary Rome at Cannes Tuesday in a film reviewers said echoed the classic "La Dolce Vita". "The Great Beauty" (La Grande Bellezza) tells the story of ageing writer-dandy Jep Gambardella, played by the much-praised Toni Servillo. Orgiastic parties hosted by Jep in his fabulous rooftop flat overlooking the Colosseum only briefly interrupt his search for meaning in his twilight years, recalling themes in Federico Fellini's immortal 1960 tragicomedy.

Italian director Paolo Sorrentino presented a lush portrait of decadence and excess in contemporary Rome at Cannes Tuesday in a film reviewers said echoed the classic "La Dolce Vita". "The Great Beauty" (La Grande Bellezza) tells the story of ageing writer-dandy Jep Gambardella, played by the much-praised Toni Servillo. Orgiastic parties hosted by Jep in his fabulous rooftop flat overlooking the Colosseum only briefly interrupt his search for meaning in his twilight years, recalling themes in Federico Fellini's immortal 1960 tragicomedy.

By Alexandria Sage CANNES (Reuters) - Paolo Sorrentino's "The Great Beauty," a nostalgic, melancholic ode to the eternal city Rome, is one of several films that touch on the unraveling of contemporary Italy in official selection at the Cannes film festival this year. Also competing for the prestigious Palme d'Or award to be handed out on May 26 is "Un Chateau en Italie" ("A Castle in Italy") by Franco-Italian director Valeria Bruni Tedeschi about the demise of an aristocratic family.

Oscar-winning Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci will lead this year's Venice film festival jury, organisers said on Thursday, defining the filmmaker as "one of the most influential in cinema history". Bertolucci, 72, the author of "The Conformist", "Last Tango in Paris" and "The Last Emperor" among many others, will decide on the Golden Lion prize at the festival which begins on August 28.