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| Flee |
Following on my last blog, here are some of the Oscar nominated feature films you may have otherwise missed. As of this writing many of them are on demand or on streaming, and the ones that aren't should be soon. As is usually the case, many of these are among the year’s best in general and could easily compete with the likes of the Best Picture nominees. However, not only did a few of them manage to beat the odds and secure major nominations, but one of them actually did get nominated for Best Picture, which is all the more reason to see it. Now, I’d normally start with the International and Documentary nominations, but given the number of nominations some of these films have received, I’ve decided to spotlight them first.
The first film I’d like to bring up is Japan’s Best International Feature entry Drive My Car, which is not only nominated for Best International Feature Film, but also Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and even Best Picture, and I definitely think it deserves all those nominations and even possible wins. Don’t be intimidated by the film’s massive runtime. This is one of the best films of the year by far. A wrenching meditation on regret, the film follows stage actor and director Yusuke Kafuku, who attempts to direct a multilingual production of Uncle Vanya two years after his wife’s unexpected death. While he can drive, he is required to have a chauffeur, and so his car is driven by Misaki Watari. Due to the extended length of the film and where the story goes, I won’t reveal too much. This was an incredible work that in my opinion lived up to all the acclaim it had received. It’s very rare that a film can have scenes that run for more than ten minutes on end and still keep me captivated. You should definitely check this one out before the winners are announced, as it is a massive contender.
I first saw Flee during its virtual Sundance premiere and spent the next year talking about it to everyone I knew and who would listen. Now, it’s made Oscar history by being nominated for Best Documentary, Best International, and Best Animated Feature all at the same time, and it deserves every nomination. It is an animated documentary about Amin, an Afghan refugee, as he shares his story. However, he prefers to keep his identity a secret. In order to address that, almost the entire movie is told though animation. A wrenching and inspiring testament to the power of perseverance, and a reminder of what animation can accomplish, this was one of my absolute favorite things of this year. I’d predict it for a win, but I can’t because the competition is just too equally strong in all three categories to guarantee. However, I’ll save that for next week’s blog.
The Worst Person in the World
In The Worst Person in the World, Julie is wandering through potential life paths in Oslo when she meets Aksel, an older acclaimed comic artist. The two begin a relationship, but Julie is unsure of starting a family with him. When she meets Eivind, who is in a relationship of his own, her question of what to do with her life becomes even more complicated. I’ll leave the premise at that. This film gave me the biggest laughs I’ve had at the movies recently while still managing to touch my heart. Some of the best material in the movie comes from the film’s more satirical elements, including an ongoing thread about how transgressive art is treated in today’s world. In addition, the movie is narratively playful, using an offbeat chapter-driven structure and occasionally mixing omniscient third-party narration. There are also some impressive setpieces, including a run through the streets of Oslo, frozen in time, and one sequence mixing in heavy practical effects and animation. In addition to receiving a nomination for Best International Feature Film, it is also deservedly nominated for Best Original Screenplay.
I saw Parallel Mothers as such an awards season juggernaut, and certainly a contender for the Best International Oscar, that I failed to even notice it wasn’t submitted for the awards in the first place. Nevertheless, it managed to still succeed in getting not one, but two nominations. The new movie by Pedro Almodóvar, the film is about Janis, a photographer who is working to excavate a mass grave containing her great-grandfather’s remains and ends up sleeping with Arturo, the man responsible for the excavation. Months later, she gives birth at the same time as Ana, a teen mother, and both raise their children as single mothers. To say more would be criminal, and the plot goes in several directions I did not expect in the slightest. What starts out as a seemingly innocent drama about motherhood becomes something darker and more poignant. Penelope Cruz is nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance as Janis, and I felt it was deserved, as was the nomination for Best Original Score.
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
Now, I’d like to bring up the remainder of the specialty nominations. First, here are two other films nominated for Best International Feature. Every year, films get nominated that I initially miss under the assumption that the Academy will ignore them. Many of these end up being pleasant surprises. This year, Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, Bhutan’s International Oscar entry, beat several odds to get made. Shot on cameras charged with solar lamps on a shoestring budget, with the director unable to even review footage, in a village without electricity, and with nonprofessional actors who had never even seen a movie, the resulting film is something truly special. Ugyen is tired of his government mandated training to be a teacher, wishing to move to Australia to be a singer. When he’s assigned to the most remote school on the planet, he reluctantly heads from his life in Bhutan’s capital to the mountain village of Lunana (which requires an eight-day hike just to get to). Ugyen soon warms up to the idea of teaching the children of Lunana, finding inventive ways to educate them with limited means. Sweet and funny, this one was a pleasant surprise and I’m glad it got nominated. The characters are likable, the performances are great, and it carries a powerful message. One of the reasons I love cinema is to witness new perspectives I might not otherwise, and this was a great example of that. Oscar-winner Paolo Sorrentino returns to the Oscars with The Hand of God, a film based on his own youth and the sports event that literally changed (and saved) his life. Fabietto (Filippo Scotti, in an excellent breakout role) lives in Naples with his parents in the 1980s. However, a sudden family tragedy forces Fabietto into the start of his coming of age. I enjoyed this movie a lot and thought it was very funny and heartfelt. However, I don’t see this winning against the competition. It was a good movie, but not great.
Summer of Soul (or...When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
Now, here are the other Best Documentary Feature films. In 1971, Woodstock won the Oscar for Best Documentary. This year, one of the biggest contenders examines a similar event from the same summer, and with similar attendance 100 miles away, that time unfortunately forgot. Summer of Soul (or…When the Revolution Could Not be Televised) is Questlove’s chronicle of the 1969 Harlem Culture Festival. Held in Mount Morris Park in Harlem over four weeks, it presented a wide range of black performers to an audience of nearly 300,000. The whole thing was filmed but sat shelved for over 50 years. If Questlove had merely presented the raw footage as is a la Amazing Grace, this would’ve been a great concert film. Instead, he went further and made one of the best films of this year, documentary or otherwise. Questlove deftly combines the performances with other footage of the period and new interviews, both with those who were there and those who came later (including fellow Oscar nominee Lin-Manuel Miranda, who delivers a lesson on Spanish Harlem with his father) to paint a powerful portrait of a period of immense social change. However, the real draw here is the music. This wasn’t referred to as the “Black Woodstock” for nothing, after all (including some intersection with that landmark festival). The shockingly well-preserved footage comprises a stunning lineup of African-American musical greats, including Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, and an immensely powerful appearance by Nina Simone. Above all, the film carries a message of the power of representation, both live and onscreen. This is an absolute must-see movie and may end up taking home the Best Documentary Oscar.
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| Ascension |
MTV returns to the Oscars with Ascension, a stunning and thought-provoking documentary dissection of the “Chinese Dream”. Told in three parts, this film goes from the bottom of the top of the social ladder, from factory workers to social media influencers to China’s leisure class. The promise of hard work leading to success, and the all-encompassing desire for consumption hovers over every frame. The film uses no narration and no interviews, with the only indication of a filmmaker’s point of view being through what is shown and how it is edited. The resulting material is breathtaking and sometimes harrowing, and may have you thinking about the world we live in as a whole. I will say that I typically don’t do well with impressionistic films like this, and this is definitely at the lower end of my predictions for the Best Documentary Oscar, but some of what I saw will definitely stay with me. I also have to mention Dan Deacon’s score for the film, which perfectly compliments the imagery onscreen.
Attica is Stanley Nelson’s chronicle of the infamous Attica prison riot, from the issues that led to it, to the long negotiation process, to the horrific conclusion. Featuring harrowing interviews from multiple sides and using a wealth of archival footage, the documentary is a scathing indictment of prisoner dehumanization and the consequences of pursuing law and order at any cost. Writing with Fire is a reminder of the power of journalism and a story of overcoming how others see you. The film follows reporters for India’s Khabar Lahariya. Initially the first newspaper in India to be started by Dalit women, the lowest members of India’s social structure, it has decided to evolve into YouTube journalism as well. The women of Khabar Lahariya brave many obstacles in their attempts to cover corruption and violence that others won’t address, eventually reporting against the backdrop of increased Hindu nationalism, while reflecting on the struggles they had to get through in their lives. An incredible story of journalistic perseverance that demonstrates the need for a free press.
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| The Eyes of Tammy Faye |
Finally, I wanted to cover a film
that received a lackluster reception but that I really enjoyed. The Eyes of
Tammy Faye is a film based on the documentary of the same name about
televangelist Tammy Faye Baker. Now, I usually consider films based on
documentaries redundant, especially since the best documentaries are the ones
that would seem inconceivable as dramas. However, director Michael Showalter’s
history in comedic works made me extremely interested in this film, and in my
opinion, he did not disappoint. Showalter delivers a film that is
simultaneously fittingly tongue in cheek while playing it as straight as
possible. The movie avoids caricature, treating its subjects with respect. It
would’ve been easy to paint controversial elements like Jerry Falwell and Pat
Robertson as villains, but instead they are given straightforward and
non-condemning portrayals. (Although, nothing Showalter could’ve written
would’ve been more over-the-top than some of what they’ve actually said in real
life.) Jessica Chastain does an amazing job as Tammy, who is portrayed as
someone who just wanted to use her faith to help people, even when her desire
to help contradicted dogma. The performance earned Chastain a nomination for
Best Lead Actress, and I’m so glad she received it. The film is also deservedly nominated for Best Makeup and Hairstyling.
Next week is the last week before the Oscars, and I’m going to give my predictions on all the categories.
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