Category: Oscar Nominee

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The Story of Adele H. (1975)

Victor Hugo’s daughter Adele, portrayed by Isabelle Adjani, travelled from the Channel Islands where her father was exiled to Halifax, following a British army officer who had spurned her renewed interest in him. The infatuation was spurred on by an apparent mental illness. Adjani’s performance is particularly strong, capturing a young adult on the brink of womanhood, running toward the natural inclinations for independence and desire for love while being devoured by obsession.

Oscar Nomination: Best Actress in a Leading Role

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Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)

New York cop Fred Ward’s death was faked without his permission so he could be recruited into a secret government organization run by Wilford Brimley. Fred spends almost the entire film being trained by a Korean martial arts master bewilderingly played by Joel Grey in yellow face. The highlight of the film is a battle scene set on the Statue of Liberty while it was being refurbished. Like the rest of the movie, this is oddly not the climax to the story.     Action

Oscar Nomination: Best Makeup

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The Official Story (1985)

During the final year of the last Argentinian dictatorship, high school history teacher Norma Aleandro begins to ask tough questions regarding the adoption of her five year old daughter. A visit from a friend who had been persecuted by the regime and a student who is unwilling to just accept the party line make it impossible for her to ignore the facts despite her controlling husband’s best attempts to keep her in the dark. It’s a harsh reminder of the resonant pain and damage caused by authoritarian governments and pairs well with Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo in illustrating this reprehensible episode in Argentinian history.

Oscar Win: Best Foreign Language Film

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

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Broadway Danny Rose (1984)

During a lunch with a bunch of comedians, one of them shares an anecdote about Danny Rose, played by Woody Allen, a hapless talent agent who works mercilessly for his clients. It’s relatively amusing, but it heavily features Woody Allen being Woody Allen. The standout is Mia Farrow playing bawdily against type as the mistress of Rose’s top client whom he must escort to the client’s big performance dodging gangsters who are commanded by her ex-boyfriend.

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

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The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

In this English language version of the popular Stieg Larsson novel, disgraced journalist Daniel Craig is hired by Christopher Plummer to investigate the disappearance of his niece forty years ago. He’s aided by misanthropic hacker Rooney Mara. I’ve long put off watching this adaptation since I really enjoyed the Swedish language series. While I’ve never read the source material, I’d say the two films are surprisingly fairly equal in their portrayals though the rape scenes in this one are particularly brutal that I had to speed through them. Though its weird having non-Swedes, other than Stellan Skarsgård, feigning Swedish accents, the acting is solid particularly with the two leads and it’s really surprising the series wasn’t continued with them.  Mystery  Thriller

Oscar Win: Best Achievement in Film Editing

Oscar Nominations: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; Best Achievement in Cinematography; Best Achievement in Sound Mixing; Best Achievement in Sound Editing

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America, America (1963)

Anatolian Greek Stathis Giallelis is entrusted with the entirety of his family’s wealth and charged with travelling to Istanbul to help in a cousin’s carpet store, but he has bigger dreams of travelling to America. An immigrant epic inspired by Elia Kazan’s own family’s immigration tale, It is a never-ending recitation of the resilience, drive, and luck required for someone to even have a chance at rising above their station and reaching for something better. The film lies on Giallelis’s shoulders and he conveys the desperation and hardship of his situation with bold determination that cannot be extinguished.  Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Win: Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Director; Best Writing, Story and Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen

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Hollow Man (2000)

In this take on the Invisible Man story, arrogant researcher Kevin Bacon offers himself as a test subject for the invisibility formula his team has been working on. His self-sure personality only gets worse when he can’t be seen. Surprisingly its special effects mostly hold up to modern times, with some really cool looking bits as beings go in and out of visibility. The female characters, aside from Elisabeth Shue, do not fare better, relegated to either sexual victims (Rhona Mitra) or incompetent assistants (Kim Dickens). The end takes an unexpected turn into full on slasher horror, even having the sole Black actor, Mary Randle, as the first victim.   SciFi  Horror  Thriller

Oscar Nomination: Best Effects, Visual Effects

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The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)

Plagued by bad luck, desperate farmer James Craig makes a deal with a devilish Walter Huston to trade his soul for seven years of prosperity. When Huston comes back to collect, Daniel Webster, in the form of Edward Arnold, lends his oratory skills to try to win the soul back. It’s a Faustian tale set firmly on American soil, especially with the role of Webster, placing the famed orator’s inability to succeed in presidential elections firmly on his own unwillingness to make a similar deal. Along with Arnold’s robust portrayal, it’s obvious Huston is having a fabulous time in his role, but that’s about all there is to recommend the film. The farmer’s goody two shoes family members become so sanctimonious that the devil’s deal seems worth it to get away from them.  Fantasy

Oscar Win: Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic Picture

Oscar Nomination: Best Actor in a Leading Role

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Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

In 1933, retired schoolteacher Robert Donat falls asleep reminiscing about the last fifty plus years he served at an all-boys British public school. I generally don’t get a lot out of inspirational educator stories, but pleasantly this focuses more on Mr. Chips’s life and how he is affected by events more than being a motivational teacher. The aspects of aging Donat’s character through so many years with makeup and Donat’s own acting is quite well done. Donat’s relationship with Greer Garson is sweet and would have made a cute romance story on its own. It is clever how the same young actors were used to play generations and generations of each family, representing the constants and the changes a teacher experiences being at the same institution for years on end.   Best Picture Nomination

Oscar Win: Best Actor in a Leading Role

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture; Best Actress in a Leading Role; Best Director; Best Writing, Screenplay; Best Sound, Recording; Best Film Editing

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Son of the Bride (2001)

Argentinian restauranteur Ricardo Darín is experiencing a middle aged crisis. He’s being pressured to sell his family’s restaurant, he’s uncertain of his future with his girlfriend, and his elderly father wants his help arranging a church wedding between his father and his Alzheimer’s-stricken mother. Reuniting with a childhood friend and a sudden heart attack help him to reevaluate his priorities. Darín capably anchors the film, but I enjoyed the story most when it focused on his parents instead of the other side plots.

Oscar Nomination: Best Foreign Language Film

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