Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem’s new film Bunker received a mammoth 15-and-a-half-minute standing ovation at Venice Film Festival – the most enthusiastic reaction of the festival so far. The real-life couple play a married pair in director Florian Zeller’s psychological thriller, which also stars The White Lotus’s Patrick Schwarzenegger and Little Miss Sunshine actor Paul Dano. The movie received its premiere at the annual film festival on Tuesday (8 September) night, where – according to Variety – Cruz broke into sobs as she kissed her husband during the standing ovation.
The Volver actor then mouthed “thank you” to fans and stopped to shake hands with somebody who was sitting behind her, the publication adds. When the leading stars finally made their exit, Cruz paused to say “ciao!”. The lengthy response is just two minutes shy of the longest standing ovation in recent Venice Film Festival history – a 17-minute applause for Pedro Almodovar’s The Room Next Door in 2024.
Bunker sees Bardem play an architect named Miguel, who agrees to a project building a survivalist bunker for a tech billionaire Andrew (Dano). The job sparks a rift between Miguel and his wife Sofia (Cruz), who begins working with an American novelist, Jeremy Gray (Schwarzenegger). French playwright-turned-filmmaker Florian Zeller’s previous big screen projects include The Son (2022) and The Father (2020).
The rapturous response to his new film comes after John Malkovich fought back tears as his Oscars-tipped film Wild Horse Nine – a black comedy action thriller written and directed by Martin McDonagh – received a 13-minute standing ovation in Venice. New subscribers only. £9.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled.
This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent. Plenty of Hollywood stars have descended on the floating city for its annual film festival, with the likes of Florence Pugh, Ben Affleck and Maggie Gyllenhaal also hitting the red carpet. Liam and Noel Gallagher also made an appearance at the festival on Saturday, ahead of the premiere of their new documentary, Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger.
The film, directed by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, features a behind-the-scenes look at the band’s triumphant 2025 reunion tour – and speaking in Venice, Noel fuelled rumours Oasis could be back on stage later this year. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
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