Among all the characters created by Tim Burton, the protagonists of Beetlejuice, the film directed by the Californian filmmaker in 1988 (which has a forgettable Italian subtitle, Spiritello porcello), were the ones that fans around the world insisted they wanted to see back on screen. And so the sequel that Burton made after years of attempts has today opened the 81st edition of the Venice Film Festival out of competition. The director also brought with him the cast composed of Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O’Hara, who were already the stars of the first film, along with new entries Monica Bellucci, who has since become his partner, the very young Jenna Ortega, whom Burton had previously cast as Wednesday in the eponymous Netflix series, Justin Theroux, and Willem Dafoe.
“For many years, I wondered how those characters could have changed and how I have changed – explains the director – and over time the project took on a more private and personal form. I didn’t make this film for money, but with my heart. In recent years I have lost faith in the cinema world, I felt I had lost my soul, a bit like Lydia in the film, the character played by Winona. Sometimes, as we age, we realize that our life has taken a direction different from what we wanted. There was a strong desire to return to doing what I love with the people I love. And there was no need to rewatch the first film; it was enough to evoke its spirit. I felt a great sense of liberation.”
In Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which Warner Bros. will release in theaters on September 5, we find three generations of the Deetz family who return home to Winter River after an unexpected family tragedy. Lydia, an ex-teenager, now the mother of a similarly dark young girl, is still haunted by the irreverent spirit played by Keaton. Her life is once again turned upside down when her rebellious daughter, Astrid, discovers the mysterious model of the town in the attic, and the portal to the afterlife is accidentally opened, allowing the mischievous demon to return to the land of the living, unleashing chaos once more. Like the 1988 film, this one, which among its executive producers includes Brad Pitt, tells a coming-of-age story involving dealing with grief, heartbreak, the need to come to terms with the past, and discovering aspects of our parents that reveal them in a new light.
Playful, carefree, grotesque, lacking the mechanisms that trigger real fear, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is certainly not one of the director’s most successful titles, but it once again serves as the manifesto of his free, extravagant, imaginative, visionary cinema, full of affection and compassion for the “different” who populate an American province obsessed with conformity at any cost. And while the film speaks to those who loved the first Beetlejuice in 1988, making it a cult film, the young people who spent the night sleeping next to the red carpet at the Lido to ensure a front-row seat for the arrival of the director and cast for the official screening have evidently carried forward a torch from the previous generation, thanks in part to Ortega, who captivated them in the role of the little dark lady of the Addams Family. “All the actors – continues the director – contributed to creating their characters through improvisation, straying from what was written in the script to also follow the mood of the moment. We decided to use practical special effects; we may not win an Oscar, but this was part of the project’s DNA, and we had a lot of fun together.”
Monica Bellucci plays Delores, Beetlejuice’s ex-wife, who returns from the land of the dead to reclaim what belongs to her. “I am honored to have entered Tim’s world, a true artist. Delores is a monster, or rather, a creature that I loved very much and is literally putting herself back together. I like her duality: she is beautiful and dangerous, a metaphor for life, where we all have emotional wounds but are ready to rise again. Tim knows well how to create fantastic, comedic, and emotional situations.” Keaton, who reprises his iconic role from 36 years ago, adds: “There are really few opportunities for an actor to be part of an original, unique project born from great inspiration. In Beetlejuice we discover new aspects of his past, but we can’t say he’s ‘matured.’ When Tim and I talked about his evolution, we couldn’t help but laugh. How will Beetlejuice be after so many years? But elegant and sensitive as always!”.