Venice screens French thriller on nuclear brinkmanship

A French thriller called *Jupiter* has brought nuclear anxiety to the red carpets of Venice, with director Alexandre Smia insisting his scenario is not unrealistic, the Guardian reports. The film imagines Russia detonating a nuclear warhead over the Black Sea in retaliation for an assassination attempt on the Russian president, with Germany and Italy urging restraint while the United States declines to respond.

Smia told the Guardian that the premise, though extreme, reflects a plausible geopolitical trajectory. The film's depiction of NATO under strain — with far-right politics reshaping alliances from within — has made it one of the most talked-about entries in this year's festival programme.

The Guardian's report frames *Jupiter* as a work of speculative political cinema that taps into current fears about nuclear escalation and the fragility of the transatlantic alliance. Smia's scenario places European powers — including Italy — in the role of moderating voices, urging restraint against a backdrop of American withdrawal and internal NATO divisions. The director's insistence on the story's realism gives the film an uncomfortable edge, blurring the line between thriller and warning.

Venice has long served as a platform for politically charged cinema, and this year's edition has seen directors using the festival to address the world's tensions directly. Wim Wenders clarified this week that he does not believe film-makers should stay out of politics, while May el-Toukhy, a competitor for the Golden Lion, criticised the industry's veneration of male directors. *Jupiter* extends that engagement into the realm of geopolitical fiction, inviting audiences to consider how quickly diplomacy could unravel.

For Italian viewers, the film's premise carries particular weight: the Guardian's plot summary places Italy among the European nations urging restraint, a role that mirrors the country's real-world position within NATO as a frontline southern member. The foreign press has noted Italy's strategic exposure in any confrontation across the Mediterranean or the Black Sea, and *Jupiter* dramatises the diplomatic tightrope such a crisis would demand.

The film's reception in Venice will be watched closely by distributors, as the festival remains a key market for European political thrillers. Smia's willingness to court controversy — depicting a NATO in disintegration and a US that refuses to retaliate — has already generated debate among critics, with the Guardian's coverage suggesting the film is likely to provoke as much discussion about its politics as its craft.