"The Whale" premiered at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on Sunday. In it, Hollywood great Brendan Fraser plays a 700-pound English professor who seeks solace in compulsive eating after the death of his lover. The film is about self-acceptance and shame - and is already one of the highlights of the cinema year even before its release.

Lead actor Brendan Fraser appears to have done his job very well, as after the premiere the actor received a minute-long ovation that prevented him from leaving the room. Visibly touched, Fraser thanks the audience and doesn't seem to really know what's happening to him.

Numerous media, including "Variety", write that Fraser has a serious chance at an Oscar with this film. "Variety" also attributes the standing ovations and the emotionality of the audience to the apparently heartbreaking end of the film.

Fraser had to suffer a lot for "The Whale" - because he himself doesn't even come close to the weight of the man he embodies. For his role, he wore different so-called fat suits ("Fatsuits"), which according to "Variety" weighed between 50 and 300 pounds. The creation often took more than six hours, it is said.

In an interview, Fraser said: "The torso was almost like a straitjacket with sleeves that were hand airbrushed to look exactly like human skin, right down to the hand punched hair. I developed muscles that I know didn't know I had it."

The exact theatrical release of the film is not yet known. In the US, "The Whale" starts in early December. The film also stars "Stranger Things" star Sadie Sink, "Downsizing" actress Hong Chau and Golden Globe winner Samantha Morton.

Quelle: Variety, Twitter