This will be my last film-related post in a while, I promise. I’m getting pretty sick of it myself. Especially after the anticlimactic ceremony last night. I stayed up till 6:30 a.m. to see The Departed win for Best Picture? Shameful. As I’ve said before; what does it say about Hollywood that its best production of the entire year is a remake of a foreign film made only four years earlier? This was supposed to be the year the Oscars went international and opened up more to foreign filmmaking, with a larger number of foreign nominations than ever before. Yet, in the end, it was the same old sentiment that prevailed: we can’t understand their films, but we don’t have any ideas of our own, so let’s make them again - Hollywood style!
In a way, it made perfect sense though. 2006 really was the year of remakes, more than ever before. A whole bunch of old films had an, at best, mediocre new film made with its name on it. Here’s only a small selection: The Hitcher (original from 1986), The Omen (1976), The Wicker Man (1973), Poseidon (1972), All the King’s Men (1949), The Hills Have Eyes (1977), When a Stranger Calls (1979), The Pink Panther (1964), and the list goes on. Announced to be released within the next couple of years are remakes of genuine classics (some of them are more of cult classics, but still) such as Hitchcock’s The Birds, The 39 Steps, Evil Dead (WHY?!), 1984, Tron, Easy Rider, Footloose… Even some films that have already been remade before, such as The Fly and The Blob.
Now, I know how tiresome it is to hear this kind of endless whining, but it really makes no sense to me to make all these films all over again when there are so many original screen-writers out there dreaming of having their ideas put into production. It’s not illegal downloading that’s keeping certain films from being made (as the studios claim); it’s the lack of will to take a chance on an original story when a remake is a much safer bet. It’s exactly the same as in the music industry; why waste energy on writing new songs when you can make a fortune recycling other people’s old hits? Anyway, sorry about the tirade. Let’s get back to the Oscars, shall we?
Apart from the disgraceful best picture award, there weren’t that many surprises last night. While I don’t think Scorsese deserves an Oscar for this or any of his other recent films, I’m kind of happy for the guy. He should have won one a long time ago, but that’s an entirely different issue. Pan’s Labyrinth not bringing home the foreign film award was probably the biggest surprise of the evening. I definitely expected (and wanted) that one to win, but I’m also very happy about The Lives of Others winning. While most people already know about Pan, maybe this award will cause a few more people around the world to have a look at this great German film as well.
Helen Mirren and Forest Whitaker. Never really any question, was there? Ryan Gosling would have been a nice choice, as well, but I’m really happy for Whitaker. He’s been in the game for a long time now. Same goes for Alan Arkin; it’s nice to see solid veterans getting awarded. I love the fact that Little Miss Sunshine got a couple of awards as well. Not much else to say about the other categories, really, that I didn’t already say in yesterday’s post.
Best speech? Can’t remember many of them, but I liked the one by the winner for best short film (West Bank Story). He made some good points about why these small categories are important. Even though most of us probably don’t care about them, they are basically where new, promising filmmakers have a chance to get discovered. I just have to check out that fil, by the way. A comedy musical about the Israel-Palestina conflict. Sounds rather post-Yugoslavian, if you know what I mean.
What about Ellen DeGeneres? She was fine, I think. A bit silly, but appropriately so. Her opening monologue appeared partly improvised and was pretty funny. It’s worth noting that she’s only the second woman ever to host the Oscars. Second. In 79 years. Let’s hope she returns, because these events need something to break the male dominance. You may not think it makes any difference, but it does a lot for the overall feel of the show.
The musical acts were a real bore, though. Three Motown tunes in a row is the last thing I need when trying to stay awake late at night. I’m glad Melissa Etheridge won for best song. That American Idol reject was just terrible, and Beyoncé too.
In conclusion, I would just like to remark on the broadcast on Swedish television (Channel 9). They had this film critic in the studio, Hans Wiklund, a man I can’t stand because he never has anything relevant to say about anything (you could say the same thing about me, but hey, my opinions are free and I would never motivate giving a film a bad rating because I think the main actress is ugly). Whenever he was asked about something in the studio (where they would discuss things during the commercial breaks on American television), he was just staring at his notes, stating the most obvious facts. Not to mention he kept complaining about how Al Gore was still “campaigning for his film” even though “it’s a bit late now”. He actually seems to think Gore has only been after the Oscar all this time. Nevermind the subject matter! Jebus. I’m so hoping they’ll get rid of that guy for next year.
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Finally, the time has come to predict who gets one and who doesn’t. Last year, if I remember correctly, I was right in 10 out of 13 predictions, although I admit to being a bit vague in a couple of those predictions. This time, I’ll discuss 14 categories, but it’s more about personal preference this time than about trying to read the minds of the Academy. This has to do, of course, with the fact that I’ve seen so many of the films myself this year, and paid less attention to what other people say.
Anyway, here are my picks and tips for tonight’s Academy Awards. Films I’ve seen are written in bold letters, my personal pick in each category is marked with asterisks (*), and the nominee I predict will win the Oscar is marked with dollar signs ($).
:: BEST PICTURE ::
$*Babel*$
The Departed
Letters From Iwo Jima
*Little Miss Sunshine*
The Queen
The big surprise for me here was Little Miss Sunshine. I’d be happy to see it win, but the equally deserving Babel is probably a safer bet (I’m cheating here and selecting two personal picks, since I can’t decide which I like better). I haven’t seen Iwo Jima, but I doubt it’ll go all the way, since not many others have seen it either. The Queen is an outsider here, while The Departed better not fucking win. Sorry for being so harsh, but it’s nothing more than a mediocre remake. And how would that make Hollywood look, its best production of the year being a ripoff of a foreign film?
:: BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE ::
Leonardo DiCaprio, Blood Diamond
Ryan Gosling, Half Nelson
Peter O’Toole, Venus
Will Smith, The Pursuit of Happyness
$*Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland*$
Wow, I’ve actually seen all these. What I don’t understand, though, is why DiCaprio is considered as having a bigger role than Djimon Hounsou, who is nominated in the supporting actor category. I saw Blood Diamond last night and thought DiCaprio was pretty good, but was his Rhodesian accent believable? I couldn’t tell. Nice to see he finally grew up, though. Will Smith was good, but hardly better than Forest Whitaker or Ryan Gosling. One of those two should win this. Probably Whitaker; the Academy loves this type of role. Venus is the most unintentionally creepy film I’ve seen in a long time (a 74-year old man trying to get a 19-year old girl in bed - very tasteful), so Peter O’Toole better not win.
:: BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE ::
Penelope Cruz, Volver
Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
$*Helen Mirren, The Queen*$
Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet, Little Children
Helen Mirren, hands down. Winslet was great too, but in a pretty boring film. Cruz wasn’t as annoying as she usually is, but still not Oscar-worthy. Meryl Streep shouldn’t even be in this category. Don’t get me wrong, she was solid, but despite being the devil of the title, she was not the main character of that film.
:: BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ::
Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
Jackie Earle Haley, Little Children
*Djimon Hounsou, Blood Diamond*
$Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls$
Mark Wahlberg, The Departed
Djimon Hounsou is my favourite here. He was very believable in a strong part. Murphy seems to be the critics’ favourite, though, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins, since the Academy has always had a thing for crappy musicals. All the others were good, but had quite small roles.
:: BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE ::
Adriana Barraza, Babel
Cate Blanchett, Notes on a Scandal
Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
$Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls$
*Rinko Kikuchi, Babel*
Again, the musical performance seems to be the favourite. I’d go with Rinko Kikuchi, though. She was so believable as a deaf girl that some professional critics actually thought she was deaf herself, and I think that says something about her performance.
:: BEST DIRECTING ::
*Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Babel*
$Martin Scorsese, The Departed$
Clint Eastwood, Letters From Iwo Jima
Stephen Frears, The Queen
Paul Greengrass, United 93
Is this going to be the year Scorsese finally gets his Oscar? Many people think so, but as much as I think he deserves one for some of his earlier work, I cannot support awarding him for the mediocre remake which is The Departed. Eastwood is always popular with the Academy, but I doubt they’ll feel right about awarding him for the third time in only a few years, especially if it means snubbing Scorsese once again. Personally, I’ll be rooting for Inarritu.
:: BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM ::
After the Wedding (Efter Bryllupet), Denmark
Days of Glory (Indigènes), Algeria
The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen), Germany
$*Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno), Mexico*$
Water, Canada
My favourite category. I like all these that I’ve seen, but Pan’s Labyrinth is one of a kind. It brought even some the most reluctant English-only speakers to the cinema to see a foreign film, and that’s quite something. The Lives of Others and Indigènes were great too.
:: BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY ::
Borat - Cultural Learnings… - Sacha Baron Cohen et al
*Children of Men - Alfonso Cuaron et al*
$The Departed - William Monahan$
Little Children - Todd Field and Tom Perrotta
Notes on a Scandal - Patrick Marber
Little Children probably looked good on paper, but the finished product was something of a bore. Children of Men would be a deserving winner, but I wouldn’t be surprised if The Departed takes this one. I don’t like at all how they dumbed down the original story for this script, but that’s just me. All I can say about Borat is, WTF?
:: BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY ::
$Babel - Guillermo Arriaga$
Letters From Iwo Jima - Iris Yamashita and Paul Haggis
Little Miss Sunshine - Michael Arndt
*Pan’s Labyrinth - Guillermo del Toro*
The Queen - Peter Morgan
Very strong group of nominees here. I’d go with Pan’s Labyrinth, but Babel would work as well. Any of these could win, but my bet is that it stands between Babel and The Queen.
:: BEST ANIMATED FEATURE ::
Cars
$Happy Feet$
*Monster House*
It seems that everybody loved Happy Feet, but I found it a bore. I’d go with Monster House, but doubt that it’ll win.
:: BEST ART DIRECTION ::
Dreamgirls
The Good Shepherd
$*Pan’s Labyrinth*$
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
The Prestige
Pan’s Labyrinth, I hope. Although, this is one of those categories in which musicals usually do well, so I’ll be prepared for the worst.
:: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY ::
The Black Dahlia
$*Children of Men*$
The Illusionist
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Prestige
In case you didn’t know, I’m one of those few people who actually care about this category. In Children of Men, there’s a great long scene which looks like it was shot in one single take. Some blood spatter remaining on the lense for quite a while works to reinforce this feeling, but I have no way of telling whether or not it was really so. In any case, the camera work really adds to the general feeling of that film, and would be a worthy winner. So would Pan’s Labyrinth. The Prestige was pretty good in this sense, as well, but the others had something out of the ordinary, and were far more interesting films. I would have loved to see a nomination for Little Miss Sunshine too, though.
:: BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE ::
Deliver Us From Evil
$An Inconvenient Truth$
Iraq in Fragments
Jesus Camp
My Country, My Country
I still haven’t got around to seeing Al Gore’s film, which will probably win this. To be honest, I don’t think there’s much for me to learn from it, since I’ve been aware of these issues for many years already. I’ll make sure to see it some day though, as I hear it’s a great production. I know I’m far from being the first to say this, but it would be kinda cool if he’d announce his presidential candidacy for 2008 during his acceptance speech. Jesus Camp was well-made and incredibly disturbing, but I doubt it has a chance against Gore.
:: BEST VISUAL EFFECTS ::
*Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest*
$Poseidon$
Superman Returns
Quite a weak group of nominees this year, isn’t it? No real “wow”-moments in any of these films. Everything has been done before. I guess I’d pick Pirates. Poseidon just felt like Titanic all over again. Anything could win this.
That’s it! Check back tomorrow for comments and rants of disappointment over my favourites being snubbed. 
Comments
Cars
After an incredibly boring opening scene featuring a Nascar race (sorry, but I have no interest in cars whatsoever, not to mention racing), the film picks up and is rather enjoyable all the way. It’s definitely fun to watch, so my only objection would be that the story feels kinda old. We’ve seen this same story many times before, about the big city snob who finds himself after spending some time in a small town. The animations are great, though, and I absolutely love the way Pixar thought of all the small details. Flies in the form of VW Beetles leaving tiny tire marks on the windows is the kind of thing that gives this film that little extra something.
Happy Feet
Having heard so many positive things about this film, I was surprised to see what a sleeping pill it was. It’s slow, has too much unmotivated singing, and the tap dancing is really boring. I thought this would be about respecting people who are different, but instead, it’s implied that the reason Mumble is different from everbody else is that his father dropped his egg. Now that’s a great lesson for the kids, isn’t it? Pretty much the only good thing about this film is Robin Williams.
Monster House
A surprisingly good film. The atmosphere is a lot scarier than what’s usually the case in animated films of this sort, so it may not be appropriate for the youngest children, but personally I found it very refreshing to see an animated film free from the most childish aspects. The animations are wonderful, and the story works all the way, which is also quite unusual for these films.
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Babel
This film works on so many levels I don’t even know where to begin. Four stories about four families, all sharing a common theme of loss and lack of communication, with an undertone related to concerns of class and North-South relations. Hope that made sense, since I don’t know how to say more without ruining it for those who haven’t seen it. Just consider the different characters’ fate in the end of their respective story-line; who has a happy ending and who gets screwed? And why? There’s a clear pattern there, which, judging by other people’s comments, a lot people seem to have missed entirely. Great acting from everybody - even the kids, which is unusual. Nice also to see Brad Pitt pull off a different kind of role.
The Departed
What can I say about this? The acting is good and the premise is fairly interesting, but there is one major problem with this film: I’ve seen it all before, in a better film. It’s hard to say this without sounding like some kind of puritan fanboy, but I really don’t see why they had to re-make a film like Infernal Affairs. It was good as it was, and it sure had a better ending than The Departed. All the character depth from the original is lost in Scorsese’s adaptation (again, compare the endings), and the added love triangle really had no place in the film (I don’t know why Hollywood filmmakers keep insisting on putting these unmotivated love interests in every bloody film - it’s getting really old now). This is not a bad film, but it doesn’t add anything new, and it gets pretty boring for a while in the middle act. Can’t say I’m too fond of the overly macho dialogue, either (I thought we’d gone past the days of “fag this, fag that”, but apparently not). For a film that’s nominated for best picture, The Departed is a major letdown.
Little Miss Sunshine
I paid no attention to this film prior to its Oscar nomination because I got the idea that it was about beauty pageants - an American phenomenon I happen to despise with intensity. It turned out to be a really enjoyable story, however, with lots of heart and black humour. It gets a little over-the-top in the end, perhaps, but I’m willing to overlook that. The film is both tragic and hilarious, and also spot-on in its depiction of little miss beauty pageants as nothing but creepy forms of child exploitation. That may or may not have been the filmmaker’s intention, but that’s how I interpret it. Great acting by everyone, and I especially love the cinematography. I consider it a major snub that it wasn’t nominated for this. If you don’t see what I mean, just check out the scene in the kitchen in the beginning, when Greg Kinnear’s character is on the phone. Nothing much happens, but the clever hand-held camera work still makes it captivating to watch.
The Queen
As a radical anti-royalist, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed watching this. It’s quite a fascinating speculation in what might have gone on with the British royal family following the death of Princess Diana. The only problem is that it is just that; mere speculation - which I didn’t fully realise until after seeing the film. Still, apart from a couple of odd scenes involving a stag (which in retrospect seem even more ridiculous and overly symbolic), this film is an interesting depiction of a royalty caught between tradition and modernisation. Helen Mirren is fantastic, and I mean that. Never seen anyone play a now living public figure with such confidence before.
Letters From Iwo Jima opened here two days ago, but I haven’t had the time to see it.
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It seems all I do these days is watch films and post an occasional review. This Oscar Race thing turned out to be more work than I expected. I’ve been able to see a fair number of nominated films this past month though. Some very good, some pretty damn crappy. I’ll probably just write a few short comments on the remaining films towards the end of the week. The Oscars are getting close now.
Apart from a few films I haven’t been able to see, I’ve also skipped a few on purpose. There’s no way in hell I’m going to sit through Dreamgirls, for example. Same goes for Flags of Our Fathers and United 93, but for entirely different reasons.
Anyway, I’ll try to make this less of a film blog as soon as this whole Academy Awards thing is over. When I come to think of it, I’m not even sure I’ll be able to watch the actual ceremony this year! It’ll air on a brand new channel which launches on Sunday and tops off its first day with the Oscars. It’s unclear whether I’ll be able to get it or not, since I don’t have digital TV and my cable provider is useless at providing proper information. I’ll try to tune it in, but it sure would be an anticlimax to all this moviegoing if I’d end up having to read about it all afterwards.
UPDATE: Turns out my fear was unfounded. All is well.
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Oscar nominee: Best Leading Actress (Kate Winslet), Best Supporting Actor (Jackie Earle Haley), Best Adapted Screenplay
From what I had heard about this film beforehand, I expected it to be one of my favourites in the Oscar Race. But despite a great cast and an interesting premise, Little Children turns out to be little more than a disappointment. The film seems incomplete somehow, and while it could just be me not getting it, the high degree of overtness in large parts of the film suggests otherwise. Take the scene where they discuss Madame Bovary, for instance; instead of subtle references, we’re treated to an incredibly overt drawing of parallels between the characters. The sleepy omniscient narrator is also overused, too often stating the obvious in an overly important tone and disturbing the feel and flow of the film. I also can’t help but feel that the subplot with the child molester was rather mistreated. I would have liked to see more of him. From the previews, I got the idea that he was supposed to be the target of the entire suburban community’s projections of their own flaws and fears, but apart from one good scene involving a swimming-pool, we never really get to see more than just one person’s obsession. Little Children has a few tense moments toward the end, but they’re not enough to save a film that never really goes anywhere.
Oscar Race 2007
UPDATE: I swear I didn’t read Monica’s review before writing mine, but we seem to have been bothered by pretty much the same things. She’s much better at articulating her thoughts than I am, so if you know Swedish, go ahead and read her review as well.
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Oscar nominee: Best Foreign Language Film
I found After the Wedding to be a pretty basic drama. There was really nothing special about it, especially not when compared to the other nominees in this category. It’s different than those films, though, as it remains on a personal level while all the others deal with grander themes. It’s essentially a family drama, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but while watching the film I couldn’t escape the feeling that I had seen it all before. I felt all along as if I knew what was going to happen next, and I was right most of the time. It’s a shame really, because with a less predictable plot this could have been a really good film. All the acting performances are good, the music is great and really adds to the melancholic feel of the film (any film that uses a track from Sigur Rós‘ () album is bound to be depressing), and the cinematography is great as well. The film also raises some interesting ethical dilemmas, but again, nothing really new. So despite all the good things, this film left my mind pretty much as soon at it was over, and that was a big letdown compared to some of the other films I’ve seen lately.
Oscar Race 2007
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Oscar nominee: Best Foreign Language Film
A horrific political drama, but also strangely funny at times, The Lives of Others is probably the strongest contender for the foreign film award after Pan’s Labyrinth. I still hold the latter as my favourite, but I was more impressed by this German period piece than I expected beforehand. It’s slow-paced, but never boring, and the acting is wonderful. The plot revolves around a Stasi surveillance officer - superbly played by Ulrich Muhe - who, having no real life of his own, finds himself getting too close to the lives of his subjects and begins to omit obvious acts of dissent from his reports. More than being about a man who has a change of heart, however, it seems to me that this film is about the potential power of art in contributing to social change. One of the very few scenes in which Muhe’s character shows any emotion is when he breaks into tears while listening in on his subject, a famous playwright, playing a Beethoven sonata on the piano. The film is also about the self-fulfilling nature of totalitarian paranoia; if you treat people like criminals, that’s exactly what they will become. I’d elaborate on that, but I don’t want to spoil too much of the plot.
I’m actually having trouble getting this film out of my head. Perhaps in part because I saw it on the same day that the Swedish Legislative Council approved the government’s wiretapping proposal. I used to think such a thing wouldn’t be possible in this country, but by now this just feels like further proof of the new right-wing government’s disdain for its citizens. The Lives of Others may depict a society now gone, but it doesn’t feel all that far away. Isn’t it kind of ironic how all those things that used to characterize totalitarian socialist regimes in the ‘East’ - unwarranted wiretapping, torture and detention without trial - are now becoming all the more common in Western democracies run by right-wing governments? There might be a lesson in here somewhere.
By the way, last month this film was awarded a Guldbagge (golden beetle) as the best foreign film at the Swedish equivalent of the Oscars. Well deserved, since Pan’s Labyrinth didn’t come here until this week.
Oscar Race 2007
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Oscar nominee: Best Foreign Language Film, Cinematography, Original Screenplay, Original Score, Art Direction
What can I say? This film is simply magnificent. I know it’s been hyped to death, but for good reason. Films like this don’t come around too often. It seems to me that most of the negative comments found on message boards and such are from people who expected it to be something other than it is, and this is exactly why I prefer to know as little as possible about a film before I see it. I had no idea what I was in for with this, and I was completely blown away by this heart-wrenching tale about a little girl trying to escape a terrifying reality by creating her own fantasy world. I did not expect this. Especially not from the man behind Hellboy (although, looking at Guillermo del Toro’s filmography I see that he also made The Devil’s Backbone, which was pretty good and which this film, in retrospect, is slightly reminiscent of). It’s a horrifying and violent story with elements of a magical fairytale. The wonderful cinematography gives the film that extra something as well. I honestly can’t think of a single negative thing to say about this film, so this’ll be my first top rating since I started blogging. Definitely my choice for the Best Foreign Language Film award. Best film overall, probably, if only it was nominated. I wish del Toro would spend more time making films like this instead of those ridiculous comics.
Oscar Race 2007
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The Oscar race continues with Algeria’s contribution to the “Best Foreign Language Film” category. While I’m getting pretty bored with American films about the Second World War - or any war for that matter - this one by French-Algerian director Rachid Bouchareb offers something fresh as it’s told from an entirely new perspective. Where I went to school, we certainly weren’t tought that men from the French colonies in North Africa went in large numbers to Europe to fight for the “motherland”. Indigènes tells the story of a few of these men, and how they fought and died for a country that couldn’t care less about them. Unlike most Hollywood productions, which can sometimes be critical of their own government but never ever of the army itself (see my comments on This Film is Not Yet Rated), this film depicts how the Africans were considered second-class soldiers and were constantly denied even the smallest of privileges given to the other French soldiers.
The entire film is a political statement, and I can’t remember ever seeing a war film so critical of a system that is still in power. I am, of course, referring to the fact that these soldiers still haven’t received the recognition they deserve, and that those who are still alive today are still being denied their pensions that were frozen in 1959. Despite an order to pay the pensions in full in 2002, the French government has yet to make any payments to the remaining veterans. I don’t know how this film has been received in France, but I can only hope it manages to create enough buzz to make something happen. It could very well be a good start in relieving some of the frustration and alienation felt by many people of North African descent in France today.
But I digress. All politics aside, Indigènes is a very well acted and well directed film. The battle scenes are naturalistic, and the mellow Arabic-sounding music is a nice change from the pompous orchestral scores usually found in this type of film. While I don’t see this one beating Pan’s Labyrinth for the Oscar, it’s definitely a worthy nominee. A forgotten piece of European history restored.
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