Martin Koolhoven's Violent Feminist Western 'Brimstone' at Venice Film Festival

Martin Koolhoven's 148-minute feminist western 'Brimstone' premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival. The film is structured in four chapters titled after Old Testament books (Apocalypse, Exodus, Genesis, Punishment) and features Dakota Fanning as Liz, a woman subjected to male cruelty and torture by a fanatical preacher played by Guy Pearce. The narrative critiques the West as a male-colonized land ruled by brute force, with no room for female emancipation. The film's extreme violence aims to provoke indignation about historical and ongoing injustices against women in metaphorical 'Wests' worldwide.