Category: Oscar Nominee

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A Royal Affair (2012)

Princess Alicia Vikander of Great Britain moves to Denmark where she is betrothed to King Mikkel Følsgaard. When the King proves to be childish, a bit abusive, and possibly crazy and the country oppressive for the educated Queen, she begins an affair with the King’s physician Mads Mikkelsen which changes the course of Danish history. I sometimes have a hard time getting in to period films, especially like this one when they drag a bit and are overly long, but the leads have an appeal and it was interesting learning a bit of history that I had no inkling about. Unsurprisingly from its title, it leans heavily into the romance angle which at least prevents it from getting dragging too far into the intricacies of Danish politics.

Oscar Nomination: Best Foreign Language Film of the Year

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Five Easy Pieces (1970)

With his best friend in jail and his girlfriend pregnant, educated drifter Jack Nicholson returns to his family home on a Washington island after learning from his sister that his estranged father has suffered a stroke. Unable to find himself despite all his drifting, the oppressive family atmosphere proves difficult for Jack. It’s a film very much of its era, which unsurprisingly features a strong performance by Nicholson. By setting the majority of the film around his extended family, there’s no reason given for why he became the man he is, but it is obvious he has no idea why as well.  Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced

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Nights of Cabiria (1957)

This film follows the episodic journey of prostitute Cabiria from her almost drowning after being pushed in a river by her boyfriend to her later romance with a man who seems too good to be true. Through it all, she maintains an unmerited optimism against the cynicism of her peers and life itself. I didn’t love this as much as La Strada, the previous collaboration between Federico Fellini and Giulietta Masina, but Masina’s presence still shines. Her character is so incredibly tough and spunky with a fragile, hopeful light that refuses to be extinguished no matter the degradations she must endure.

Oscar Win: Best Foreign Language Film

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Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

When boxer and amateur pilot Robert Montgomery’s plane crashes, he’s prematurely pulled into the afterlife before his time by Edward Everett Horton. Horton’s boss Claude Rains finds Montgomery a new body to inhabit and he falls in love with Evelyn Keyes when he’s resurrected. I long ago saw Warren Beatty’s 1978 remake of the story, but this version is particularly adorable. Rains steals the show as the bemused and ever-patient Mr. Jordan. Honorable mention is given to James Gleason portraying Montgomery’s manager who is dragged in to the whole changed body scenario.  Best Picture Nomination  Supernatural  Sports

Oscar Wins: Best Writing, Original Story; Best Writing, Original Screenplay

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actor in a Leading Role; Best Actor in a Supporting Role; Best Director; Best Cinematography, Black-and-White

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Jack London (1943)

This is a tedious, episodic biopic on the life of author Jack London, portrayed by Michael O’Shea. I don’t know how faithful it is to his actual life, but there is a forced quality here to make it relevant to the World War II era by framing the entire story around the 1943 launch of the liberty ship named Jack London. The episode involving his time as a foreign correspondent during the Russo-Japanese War even gives him a chance to foretell Japanese attacks in the future. None of this is helped by the poor quality copy on Hoopla, but at least it features a decent role for Louise Beavers as his beneficiary early in the film.

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture

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The Bolero (1973)/God Sleeps in Rwanda (2005)

The first half of The Bolero is a behind the scenes look on the Los Angeles Symphonic Orchestra’s preparations before performing Ravel’s famous work. The second half is an actual performance. I didn’t get much out of the preparation part, but the performance is quite fun. I love seeing the 1970s fashions, but also the presentation and framing of the performance is quite nifty and memorable.  Music

God Sleeps in Rwanda follows the experiences of five women whose lives were irrevocably changed by the 1994 genocide. The stories presented are powerful and the strength and the courage of these women to rebuild their lives after the atrocities they faced is immeasurable. Unfortunately the production quality and depth of the stories is somewhat lacking for such a powerful subject matter.

Oscar Win: Best Short Subject, Live Action Films (The Bolero)

Oscar Nomination: Best Documentary, Short Subjects (God Sleeps in Rwanda)

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Troy (2004)

Loosely based on Homer’s Iliad, when Orlando Bloom steals away Brendan Gleeson’s wife Diane Krueger during peace negotiations, Gleeson grabs his war-mongering brother Brian Cox to get her back. These actions ignite a war that brings Eric Bana and Brad Pitt into battle against each other. The cast is utterly stacked and the production values are exceptionally high, but it’s apparently mostly unfaithful to its source material. Brad Pitt’s disregard for the side he was recruited for is admirable, but I’ll never understand modern interpretations of the Trojan horse and it doesn’t make any more sense here.   War

Oscar Nomination: Best Achievement in Costume Design

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The Molly Maguires (1970)

In the 1870s, undercover Pinkerton agent Richard Harris arrives in a Pennsylvania mining town to infiltrate the Molly Maguires, a group of Irish miners, led by Sean Connery, explosively protesting the actions of oppressive mine owners. It’s a solid film, portraying one example of an important part of labor history. Connery and Harris are appealing leads and have great chemistry as sometime allies and sometime foes.

Oscar Nomination: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration

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Strings (1991)/Your Face (1987)/Yes-People (2020)

In Strings, a woman gets ready for her bath while her downstairs neighbor prepares for the arrival of his string quartet. The animation style isn’t really my type of thing as the lines and colors are quite muddied and undefined. The story is cute enough with forced interaction between the two principles coming in the form of a leaky bathtub.

Bill Plympton’s style is really not my thing. I remember similar shorts, maybe even cuts from this one, as interstitials on MTV back in the day. Your Face is comprised of a man singing Your Face is Like a Song while his face morphs and folds in upon itself in different forms. Despite being quite ugly, the morphing is done seamlessly through the song.

The cast of of Yes People is a group of people who live in the same apartment building. The dialogue consists almost entirely of various iterations of the word ‘yes’. The plot, as well as the animation, is exceptionally simple but still rather cute.

Oscar Nominations: Best Short Film, Animated (all three)

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Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (2019)

On the fourth of his mandated five years of teaching training, slacker Sherab Dorji is sent to the remotest part of Bhutan to teach at a small mountain village school when he’d rather be playing music in Australia. He arrives completely unprepared but quickly finds inspiration in the local culture. I commend the Bhutanese happiness ideal that leads them to ensure the education of even its most remote citizens. Unfortunate the film is not a particularly original take on a fish out of water tale. The setting is gorgeous at least and provides a view into a charming, lesser seen culture.

Oscar Nomination: Best International Feature Film

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