Category: Oscar Nominee

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Born Into Brothels (2004)

I spent my time watching this being extremely torn. There’s the strong pull to want to ‘save’ these kids from the future that is most likely to look just like their parents’ present. But is it really the job of an outsider to swoop in and ‘fix’ someone else’s system? Helping even a handful of individuals, while worthwhile, won’t necessarily solve the problems in the brothels. At the conclusion of the film, I ended up hoping that it had just concentrated on the lessons and experiences with photography that the kids delighted in, even if it was just illustrating a short chapter in their lives. An epilogue could have been tacked on to give insight into whatever long term benefits those experiences had given them.

Oscar Win: Best Documentary, Features

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The Last Tycoon (1976)

It’s not surprising that this was adapted from an F. Scott Fitzgerald work as it has the feel of a companion piece to the 1974 version of The Great Gatsby. It’s also not surprising that it was an unfinished novel because there’s quite a bit that feels slapdash and pieced together. Robert De Niro plays somewhat of a wunderkind in the early film industry, but there’s only a few scenes that touch on his skill. Instead focus is pulled through a tepid, drawn-out romance. I am now curious how the 2017 mini-series handles the story with an obviously longer runtime.

Oscar Nomination: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration

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Parvaneh (2012)

The rare Oscar nominated short that isn’t depressing as all get out, this tells of happenstance friendship that develops between an Afghan immigrant and a young German woman. The only real complaint I have is that I really would have enjoyed it as a full-length film, giving the viewer a chance to really get to know the women and have their friendship develop further.

Oscar Nomination: Best Short Film, Live Action

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Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo (1985)

Mothers experiencing one of the worst things imaginable and using that grief to push for the truth is inspirational. Sadly, the quality of this film is not quite able to do the subject justice. It has the feel of a nightly news exposé rather than a meaningful documentary. I appreciate that this film exists to give light to the atrocities that had been committed in Argentina and the fight of these women.

Oscar Nomination: Best Documentary, Features

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Bagdad Cafe (1987)

Bagdad Cafe is a quirky bit of indie storytelling set at a remote café/hotel in the desolate American Southwest. A German woman, abandoned by her husband, soon becomes the catalyst toward changing the lives and attitudes of the various colorful characters who live and work at the café. CCH Pounder and Marianne Sägebrecht develop a sweet chemistry between them as the cantankerous owner of the establishment and the German visitor respectively.

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Song

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Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)

This certainly could be incredibly faithful to the Cyrano story, but man is the majority of it boring. Cyrano, while obviously articulate and a capable wordsmith, is too conceited and hot-headed to be a hero worth rooting for. Through all the sword fighting, I was just hoping it would get to what I see as the whole point of the plot, the love story and mixing of identities. Jose Ferrar is adequate as Cyrano, doing a fairly good job portraying his heartbreak, but I couldn’t help thinking the whole production would have been smoother with thirty less minutes of runtime. Not helping its case any was another poor coloration version provided by Amazon.

Oscar Win: Best Actor in a Leading Role

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Kavi (2009)

I don’t know how intentional it was, but this movie has the acting and visual quality of a Bollywood film from many decades earlier. It pushes hard on the important topic of modern day slavery, but a short film’s runtime for this particular film offers little to convey an emotional connection to the characters and their plight.

Oscar Nomination: Best Short Film, Live Action

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La femme et le TGV (2016)

This was a delightful short film which with to start my morning. Jane Birkin is delightful as an older woman who spends her days stuck in unchanging monotony until one little change to her situation inspires changes in herself. The setting is beautiful, both the quaint small village and the nearby countryside.

Oscar Nomination: Best Live Action Short Film

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Up Close and Personal (1996)

Robert Redford really knows how to pull off newsperson roles. That said, this is a relatively boring take on A Star is Born. This was supposed to be based on the true life of Jessica Savitch and I’ve already taken note to check out John Gregory Dunne’s book on how that situation progressed. Redford and Michelle Pfeiffer don’t have a lot of romantic chemistry, making much of the film rather unbelievable. It would have been a lot more interesting if theirs had remained a platonic relationship. This movie, like many, could have been percentages better with more Stockard Channing.

Oscar Nomination: Best Music, Original Song

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Lone Star (1996)

Occasionally, immediately after watching a film, I’ll go through again, trying to grasp quiet details I might have missed on the first pass. This was one of those films. I’m tempted to put all of John Sayles’s filmography on The List after this, granted many of them already are. On its surface, this is a murder mystery regarding who killed a corrupt Texas sheriff many years ago. That story is well done and compelling. But there’s also a lot more: reflections on Texas itself and its history, intersections of many cultures in a community, threads that run through familial lines, and secrets that people hold on to even when it causes harm to others. The cast is incredibly stacked (Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Pena, Kris Kristofferson, Joe Morton and smaller roles for Matthew McConaughey and Frances McDormand) and really do the job in pushing the story along, but it is the writing with its interwoven bits of past and present which is really striking.

Oscar Nomination: Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

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