Woody Allen’s Coup de Chance Receives Five-Minute Standing Ovation at Venice Film Festival

Divisive filmmaker Woody Allen returns to Venice. Sixteen years have passed since the now 87-year-old filmmaker journeyed to the Venice International Film Festival back in 2007 (following several controversies). Nevertheless, those in attendance at this year’s event responded favorably to his new movie, Coup de Chance. And the writer/director’s latest big-screen effort received a five-minute ovation. Check out the footage below courtesy of Deadline’s X account, formerly Twitter:

Allen’s greatest box office success was, in terms of financials, Midnight in Paris (2011), which brought in $152 million globally. Midnight in Paris was but one of several movies the filmmaker shot abroad, but Allen is certainly open to making another movie in Manhattan. The writer/director said in an interview at this year’s Venice Film Festival (per Deadline):

“I have a very good idea for New York. And if some guy steps out of the shadows and says, ‘I’ll finance your film in New York.’ And [if] they obey all my terrible restrictions: Read the script, give me the money and then go away. [Then] I’ll make a film in New York.”

Related: Woody Allen’s Best Movies, Ranked

Woody Allen Has Become a Controversial Figure

Woody Allen’s last romantic comedy shot in the Big Apple was A Rainy Day in New York (2019), which did well internationally with $24 million. However, allegations that Allen sexually abused his daughter Dylan Farrow, which Allen has repeatedly denied, led to Amazon cutting ties with the one-time prince of Manhattan.

The official synopsis for Coup de Chance reads: “Coup de Chance is about the important role chance and luck play in our lives. Fanny (Lou de Laâge) and Jean (Melvil Poupaud) look like the ideal married couple – they’re both professionally accomplished, they live in a gorgeous apartment in an exclusive neighborhood of Paris, and they seem to be in love just as much as they were when they first met. But when Fanny accidentally bumps into Alain (Niels Schneider), a former high school classmate, she’s swept off her feet. They soon see each other again and get closer and closer…”

Allen said in the same interview at the Venice Film Festival:

“Twenty or thirty years ago I was playing the parts that I wrote, so I wrote for myself. But I was always able to write better, more interesting parts for women… I don’t know why. Maybe because the writers and filmmakers who influenced me most were Ingmar Bergman and Tennessee Williams — and these people wrote for women.”

Allen is certainly accurate when he discusses his ability to pen a part for actresses to sink their respective teeth into. Many of the roles he wrote went on to win Oscars for a number of talented performers. Diane Keaton won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of the titular character in Annie Hall, and Cate Blanchett also accomplished the same feat for her work in Blue Jasmine. Dianne Wiest won two Best Supporting Actress Oscars for her Allen collaborations in Hannah and Her Sisters and Bullets Over Broadway.

Meanwhile, Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) and Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite) each took home supporting actress Oscars, too. Love him or hate him, Woody Allen remains a filmmaker at heart. Coup de Chance begins its theatrical run in France on September 27, and fans can check out the movie trailer below.