Movies Ltd

by gaRis

Amour for Brave Gatekeepers

> When you know your film, when you really know a thing or two about cinema, this is the part of oscar predictions you are here for. Cause right there lies the difference between having your favourite film in mind and fantasizing about a Return of the King or Titanic –kind of sweep and actually siting the technical marvels, giving them their due credit. On the top of that, Best Foreign Language Film, Best Documentary Feature and Best Animated feature dare me to argue that they include the finest in cinema amongst every category, surpassing the quality of most feature films, the Best Picture contenders notwithstanding. In fairness, admittedly this line-up of awards consideration- worthy films is uncommonly strong, while, especially in the Best Animated feature category, we are not having a great year. On the contrary, Best Foreign Language film is densely populated with outstanding films, particularly French speaking, lest we forget The Artist’s unprecedented triumph last year, which funnily enough, the only French element missing was the (French) language.

> As it pertains to the Best Documentary bunch, we are experiencing the aftermath of the Michael Moore populist era (which by the way I overwhelmingly support), when there were independent docs that crossed the boundaries of wide appeal and competed neck and neck with major studio releases. However, you can spot some really moving work, such as the unbelievably suspenseful The Imposter, the harrowingly arresting The Invisible War and the 70mm -iconoclast Samsara. Back to the animated genre, Pixar’s Brave has been a huge disappointment, inexcusably backed by the studio’s film critics aficionados as “feminist” or “ingeniously scripted” in depicting a fragile mother-daughter relationship. In another year, had Tim Burton’s stocks in the Hollywood market been high, Frankenweenie should knock it out of the park. Alas, it’s a Pixar’s world and despite The Avengers  style Rise of the Guardians stunning visuals, seems like only a Paranorman shocker could spoil Brave’s party.

> Amour remains a conundrum in this oscar race and yes, I’m not excluding its considerable chance in the Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress Categories. That being argued, I still can’t figure out how Hanneke’s superior White Ribbon lost in 2009, although backed with a Cinematography nomination too. My well tested theory suggests that, if he lands a screenplay nom, he has this in the bag, A Separation style. So Austria is the favourite, when France had a fine selection of films to submit from Rust and Bone to Holy Motors, ending up with the TWC- distributed The Intouchables. Romania (“Beyond the Hills” by Palm D’ Or winner Cristian Mungiu lost to Amour this year, grabbing Best Screenplay Prize) and South Korea “Pieta” (by acclaimed director Ki-duk-Kim, the film which infamously snatched The Master s Golden Lion in Venice) are waiting in the wings, ready for a major upset. I can’t stress enough how unpredictable this category has perennially been. So let’s just give it a go: