To get a sense of my basic feelings on this year's fest (me likey) and a bit more on The Social Network, Tempest, My Joy, and whatnot... More full length write-ups are coming if I can eke out the time.
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
NYFF: A Summary
The 48th New York Film Festival screenings begin with a promo reel in which a graphic animated map of the world is formed. Famous director names are paired with their countries of origin in rapid succession until the entire globe is lit up as if powered by the cinema itself! It’s a simple—even subtly clever—way to remind us that cinema is a global artform and that the NYFF in dependably international in breadth and focus.
True to form, NYFF’s 2010 lineup comes from all over the globe, and opinionated movie fans—and what other kind are there in New York City?—are finding plentiful opportunities to rave, kvetch and argue over subject and execution throughout. Quibbling and instantaneous opinion wars are part of the informed collective joy of any film festival experience.
To get a sense of my basic feelings on this year's fest (me likey) and a bit more on The Social Network, Tempest, My Joy, and whatnot... More full length write-ups are coming if I can eke out the time.
To get a sense of my basic feelings on this year's fest (me likey) and a bit more on The Social Network, Tempest, My Joy, and whatnot... More full length write-ups are coming if I can eke out the time.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Modern Maestros: Aleksandr Sokurov
Maestro: Aleksandr Sokruov
Known For: critically acclaimed Russian art films
Influences: Tarkovsky, Tarkovsky and... well Tarkovsky
Masterpieces: Russian Ark
Disasters: none
Better than you remember: none, or all
Box Office: over 2 mil for Russian Ark
Art cinema is alive and well (and not as difficult to watch as the naysayers keep naysaying), and the lovers of such cinema are thankful that rather prolific Russian Aleksandr Sokurov has reached a point of notability where those of us who live in the western world can anticipate all of his films getting a release date (now if we could only do something about that back catalog.) Sokurov, a long time pupil and friend to contemplative, languorous, spiritual poet filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, the man who brought us Solaris, continues his mentor's work on a regular basis, churning out films that utilize the camera, and occasionally video to capture a unique perspective on the human condition, and not always in the domain of spirituality and death. Yes, Sokurov himself admits that death is a significant theme of his, and yes he is responsible for 1990's The Second Circle, in which a man wanders through his home around his father's recently deceased body pondering the details of mortality and 1997's Mother and Son in which a man wanders through the nature outside the home of his dying mother, pondering the details of mortality (both films are brilliant I should add, especially the latter which was Sokruov's big (and by "big" I mean "of modest size") American breakthrough.) but Sokurov's recent films, while the spectre of death is always there (isn't it in all great drama?) focus more on people's perception of their place in the world.
Yes, Aleksandr Sokurov's films are becoming more accessible as well, while not sacrificing all of the great elements that make them art. His two most recent films, Alexandra and The Sun still focus on a single person's experience of the mundanities (all the stuff that wouldn't make it into other films) of life. But the settings in which he places his subjects are more unique, allowing for a bit more excitement, to use that term loosely but not lightly. Alexandra follows a woman who visits her son's military station on the Russian/Chechen border. The Sun examines the life of Japanese Emperor Hirohito during the ending days of World War II. In that film Sokurov demonstrates how adept he is at playing with the camera's aesthetic eye to make his point. In the film, the actions of Hirohito examining a fish or perplexedly accepting a diplomatic shipment of Hershey bars from the American forces don't tell the story as much as how the camera presents him doing these things. And doing these things in his palace, he is presented as an almost god-like character, large in the frame, full of power. But once in the presence of General McArthur, he is diminutive in the frame, overwhelmed by his surroundings. For Sokurov, the visual is the tool. He employed mirrors to distort the images in Mother and Son, creating surreal yet serene painting-like images. For Russian Ark, his most famous film in America, he shot the entire elaborate film in one take using the camera as a first-person point of view.
Sokurov's cinematic exploration of man's place in the world will continue next, and quite appropriately, with his own take on Faust. Though nothing is specifically in the works, expect more entries in his planned tetrology on historic world leaders (in which The Sun was the third part, Taurus is the second part (about Lenin), and Moloch was the first (Hitler)). Expect them to find a friendly reception at a festival followed by a thankful release in the west. For those of us who lament the days when "art cinema" was seen as a genre that meant neither "weird" nor "boring" the growing status of Aleksandr Sokurov after over twenty years is a promising sign.
Known For: critically acclaimed Russian art films
Influences: Tarkovsky, Tarkovsky and... well Tarkovsky
Masterpieces: Russian Ark
Disasters: none
Better than you remember: none, or all
Box Office: over 2 mil for Russian Ark
Art cinema is alive and well (and not as difficult to watch as the naysayers keep naysaying), and the lovers of such cinema are thankful that rather prolific Russian Aleksandr Sokurov has reached a point of notability where those of us who live in the western world can anticipate all of his films getting a release date (now if we could only do something about that back catalog.) Sokurov, a long time pupil and friend to contemplative, languorous, spiritual poet filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky, the man who brought us Solaris, continues his mentor's work on a regular basis, churning out films that utilize the camera, and occasionally video to capture a unique perspective on the human condition, and not always in the domain of spirituality and death. Yes, Sokurov himself admits that death is a significant theme of his, and yes he is responsible for 1990's The Second Circle, in which a man wanders through his home around his father's recently deceased body pondering the details of mortality and 1997's Mother and Son in which a man wanders through the nature outside the home of his dying mother, pondering the details of mortality (both films are brilliant I should add, especially the latter which was Sokruov's big (and by "big" I mean "of modest size") American breakthrough.) but Sokurov's recent films, while the spectre of death is always there (isn't it in all great drama?) focus more on people's perception of their place in the world.
Yes, Aleksandr Sokurov's films are becoming more accessible as well, while not sacrificing all of the great elements that make them art. His two most recent films, Alexandra and The Sun still focus on a single person's experience of the mundanities (all the stuff that wouldn't make it into other films) of life. But the settings in which he places his subjects are more unique, allowing for a bit more excitement, to use that term loosely but not lightly. Alexandra follows a woman who visits her son's military station on the Russian/Chechen border. The Sun examines the life of Japanese Emperor Hirohito during the ending days of World War II. In that film Sokurov demonstrates how adept he is at playing with the camera's aesthetic eye to make his point. In the film, the actions of Hirohito examining a fish or perplexedly accepting a diplomatic shipment of Hershey bars from the American forces don't tell the story as much as how the camera presents him doing these things. And doing these things in his palace, he is presented as an almost god-like character, large in the frame, full of power. But once in the presence of General McArthur, he is diminutive in the frame, overwhelmed by his surroundings. For Sokurov, the visual is the tool. He employed mirrors to distort the images in Mother and Son, creating surreal yet serene painting-like images. For Russian Ark, his most famous film in America, he shot the entire elaborate film in one take using the camera as a first-person point of view.
Sokurov's cinematic exploration of man's place in the world will continue next, and quite appropriately, with his own take on Faust. Though nothing is specifically in the works, expect more entries in his planned tetrology on historic world leaders (in which The Sun was the third part, Taurus is the second part (about Lenin), and Moloch was the first (Hitler)). Expect them to find a friendly reception at a festival followed by a thankful release in the west. For those of us who lament the days when "art cinema" was seen as a genre that meant neither "weird" nor "boring" the growing status of Aleksandr Sokurov after over twenty years is a promising sign.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
The Foreign Film Oscar Race: So Much (International) Drama
But first things first. If German's popular drama When We Leave is nominated and wins, can the actress Sibel Kekilli please -- pretty pretty please -- repeat her barefoot acceptance/sit- in from Germany's Film Awards this past April? That'd be so sweet.
Oscar night thrives on weird surprises and they get so few. Sibel to the rescue. (I'm aware that Actresses don't accept Best Foreign Film Statues but let me dream!) I've only seen her in Head On but found her just riveting to watch onscreen and I've heard only good things about her performance in this particular movie. Will it be a nominee?
[tangent] Helpful hint: If you ever search for pictures of her online, makes sure to have you "safesearch" filters on though. I'm just saying. Is she now, quite literally, the best/most acclaimed actress to have ever started in the most disreputable form of acting? She was once Amber Waves and now she's Julianne Moore if you catch my drift. I'm trying to avoid spelling it out because I woke up this morning with an intense fear of spambot comments. But my point is this: Well done! She's now a two-time German Oscar winner. [/tangent]
Good luck to Sibel this season.
Click on the links below to go to pages with lots of info about the submitted films. And a big round of applause to The Film Experience's faithful international readership who have been helping track this journey each year since long before every movie site regurgitated each announcement in the 24 hour news cycle. Cinema is a global language and you rock.
Algeria to France
Germany to The Netherlands
Norway to Venezuela
Oscar Nomination Prediction Index
Oscar night thrives on weird surprises and they get so few. Sibel to the rescue. (I'm aware that Actresses don't accept Best Foreign Film Statues but let me dream!) I've only seen her in Head On but found her just riveting to watch onscreen and I've heard only good things about her performance in this particular movie. Will it be a nominee?
[tangent] Helpful hint: If you ever search for pictures of her online, makes sure to have you "safesearch" filters on though. I'm just saying. Is she now, quite literally, the best/most acclaimed actress to have ever started in the most disreputable form of acting? She was once Amber Waves and now she's Julianne Moore if you catch my drift. I'm trying to avoid spelling it out because I woke up this morning with an intense fear of spambot comments. But my point is this: Well done! She's now a two-time German Oscar winner. [/tangent]
Good luck to Sibel this season.
Click on the links below to go to pages with lots of info about the submitted films. And a big round of applause to The Film Experience's faithful international readership who have been helping track this journey each year since long before every movie site regurgitated each announcement in the 24 hour news cycle. Cinema is a global language and you rock.
Algeria to France
- Algeria. Outside the Law
- Austria. La Pivellina
- Azerbaijan. The Precinct
- Brazil
- Croatia. The Blacks
- Estonia. The Temptation of St. Tony
- Finland. Steam of Life (there's always at least one documentary submitted though none have ever been nominated)
- France. Of Gods and Men
...and let us break here for a moment to enjoy the beauty of silver fox Lambert Wilson, an actor/model/singer who we've always loved to look at whether that was in French movies, Calvin Klein Eternity ads or even during his stint as Evil Eurotrash Baddie in terrible Hollywood movies (Catwoman, The Matrix Revolution, etcetera)
You're welcome.
Oh and here he is with one of his Of Gods and Men co-star and his director. He's as kissy as Jeremy Renner is huggy!
Germany to The Netherlands
- Greece. Dogtooth
- Hungary. Bibliothèque Pascal
- Iraq. Son of Babylon
- Israel. (The Ophir awards are almost here so we'll know soon. They'll send the Best Picture winner which we suspect will be Intimate Grammar)
- Japan. Confessions by Tetsuya Nakashima.
...and let us break here for a moment to watch the unsettling operatic trailer. I can't imagine Oscar voters responding to something this stylized but you never know. And I do respect the countries that just submit what they love most / deem best rather than worrying about Oscar's particular and sometimes disappointingly narrow aesthetic.
Creepy odd and loud but doesn't it look highly watchable? - Mexico - long list announced. We suspect they'll choose Biutiful on account of the Oscar pull of its team (Gonzalez Innaritu + Bardem). That said, countries don't always choose in a Bait-focused way so we can't guarantee it.
- The Netherlands. Tirza
Norway to Venezuela
- Peru. Undertow (Contracorriente) my review
- Poland. All That I Love
- Romania. If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle
- Russia. The Edge
...and let us break here for a moment to ponder how much Vladimir Mashkov looks like a superhero on his movie poster. Actually the movie poster itself suggests a steampunk adventure or maybe a sci-fi superhero movie. What powers does "The Edge" have?
Actually it's a post World War II drama (as in immediately following the war) about a man who loves speeding locomotives or some such. I can't find an official site though, damnit. Readers outside of Russia, might recognize Vladimir from films like Behind Enemy Lines (2001) or TV series like Alias. - Slovakia. The Border
- South Africa. Life, Above All
- South Korea. A Barefoot Dream
- Spain. They've narrowed it down to three films. I suspect it'll be prison drama Celda 211 which was big at the Goyas.
- Switzerland. La Petite Chambre
- Sweden. Simple Simon (previously discussed)
- Taiwan. Monga (previously discussed)
- Thailand. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
- Turkey. Honey (Bal)
- Venezuela. Hermano
Oscar Nomination Prediction Index
Monday, June 21, 2010
Long Winded Link
Steve on Broadway Australian readers take note: The original cast of AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY is heading to Sydney in August for one last go at the roles they've perfected over the years. Don't miss it.
The Cost of Going to the Movies This is an interesting chart on moviegoing vs. home theater costs. There's an agenda as this is a business site but it's still interesting. I find myself siding with stay home options so much lately from a moral perspective which is so sad because I think the in theater experience is so magical. But like Broadway and the music industry, corporations are all too willing to gouge their audiences price-wise until the audience dwindles. Nobody ever thinks longterm.
Serious Film treats the IMDB Top 250 list very seriously indeed. This rundown has a lot of interesting anecdotes but I just can't stomach looking at it (the list, not this article). I have no time for any list that preferences anything with a super power in it over anything with an actress in the lead role. Plus a list of 250 films which has rooms for films as mediocre as Big Fish and Kick-Ass but no room for anything by Altman, Surges, Sirk or Almodovar? I mean, get real or, rather, FAIL in the popular vernacular. It should be called "IMDB's Subsection of A Certain Type of Hetero Males With Extremely Limited Palettes Between 15-30 Years of Age Top 250." That's a little unwieldy but this list needs a subtitle before it needs anything else. Just for you know the sanity of anyone who chances to look upon it.
Margot Channing. She's sour for good reason
For the record the only movies that are about a female protagonist number 15 of 250 or, 6% of the 'greats'. They are #45 Amélie, #54 Aliens, #55 Spirited Away, #69 Pan's Labyrinth, #88 All About Eve, #96 Rebecca, #121 The Wizard of Oz, #134 Kill Bill Vol 1, #157 Gone With the Wind, #180 Diabolique, #198 Rosemary's Baby, #203 A Streetcar Named Desire, #206 Kill Bill Vol 2, #231 Changeling, #239 Mulholland Dr. (give or take a handful more where you can argue it's actually about a man even though the woman is remembered as the lead -- Fargo, Silence of the Lambs, Double Indemnity, Psycho, Annie Hall, Sunset Blvd). So according to IMDB voters, movies about women are almost never worthy of attention but Changeling is one of the best ever made! 'Screw Mildred Pierce, Joan of Arc, Sally Bowles and the lot of them! Girls. Who needs 'em!?!'
Queerty By now I assume you've read that Warren Beatty and Annette Bening's eldest daughter Kathlyn is rumored to be transgendered and wants to transition to being their son Stephen. I figured I should mention it given TFE's frequent love for the Bening/Beattys. But since no official statement has been released by the family, we figure they deserve more privacy in this matter than they're getting and that's all we have to say.
Vulture Star Market: What is Megan Fox worth? Okay end of long-winded 'click here' comments. I have nothing to say about this other than that it's kind of interesting.
Meanwhile in Russia...
The Moscow Times has details on the Moscow Film Festival which will close with Luc Besson's latest The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc Sec (pictured above) starring Louise Bourgoin. I heard from a reader yesterday that the costumes by Olivier Béirot are something and might catch Oscar's eye if it gets an stateside release. Here's a few clips from the film. Another hot ticket will be the explicit Cannes-shunned Emmanuelle Béart film, It Begins With The End. The festival director isn't shy about his love for her...
Any readers follow Russian cinema? What film do you think they'll submit this year for the Oscars given the poor reception of Burnt By the Sun 2 thus far?
The Cost of Going to the Movies This is an interesting chart on moviegoing vs. home theater costs. There's an agenda as this is a business site but it's still interesting. I find myself siding with stay home options so much lately from a moral perspective which is so sad because I think the in theater experience is so magical. But like Broadway and the music industry, corporations are all too willing to gouge their audiences price-wise until the audience dwindles. Nobody ever thinks longterm.
Serious Film treats the IMDB Top 250 list very seriously indeed. This rundown has a lot of interesting anecdotes but I just can't stomach looking at it (the list, not this article). I have no time for any list that preferences anything with a super power in it over anything with an actress in the lead role. Plus a list of 250 films which has rooms for films as mediocre as Big Fish and Kick-Ass but no room for anything by Altman, Surges, Sirk or Almodovar? I mean, get real or, rather, FAIL in the popular vernacular. It should be called "IMDB's Subsection of A Certain Type of Hetero Males With Extremely Limited Palettes Between 15-30 Years of Age Top 250." That's a little unwieldy but this list needs a subtitle before it needs anything else. Just for you know the sanity of anyone who chances to look upon it.
Margot Channing. She's sour for good reasonFor the record the only movies that are about a female protagonist number 15 of 250 or, 6% of the 'greats'. They are #45 Amélie, #54 Aliens, #55 Spirited Away, #69 Pan's Labyrinth, #88 All About Eve, #96 Rebecca, #121 The Wizard of Oz, #134 Kill Bill Vol 1, #157 Gone With the Wind, #180 Diabolique, #198 Rosemary's Baby, #203 A Streetcar Named Desire, #206 Kill Bill Vol 2, #231 Changeling, #239 Mulholland Dr. (give or take a handful more where you can argue it's actually about a man even though the woman is remembered as the lead -- Fargo, Silence of the Lambs, Double Indemnity, Psycho, Annie Hall, Sunset Blvd). So according to IMDB voters, movies about women are almost never worthy of attention but Changeling is one of the best ever made! 'Screw Mildred Pierce, Joan of Arc, Sally Bowles and the lot of them! Girls. Who needs 'em!?!'
Queerty By now I assume you've read that Warren Beatty and Annette Bening's eldest daughter Kathlyn is rumored to be transgendered and wants to transition to being their son Stephen. I figured I should mention it given TFE's frequent love for the Bening/Beattys. But since no official statement has been released by the family, we figure they deserve more privacy in this matter than they're getting and that's all we have to say.
Vulture Star Market: What is Megan Fox worth? Okay end of long-winded 'click here' comments. I have nothing to say about this other than that it's kind of interesting.
Meanwhile in Russia...
The Moscow Times has details on the Moscow Film Festival which will close with Luc Besson's latest The Extraordinary Adventures of Adele Blanc Sec (pictured above) starring Louise Bourgoin. I heard from a reader yesterday that the costumes by Olivier Béirot are something and might catch Oscar's eye if it gets an stateside release. Here's a few clips from the film. Another hot ticket will be the explicit Cannes-shunned Emmanuelle Béart film, It Begins With The End. The festival director isn't shy about his love for her...
We welcome it to Moscow with open arms. Emmanuelle Béart is my favorite actress, and she is doing all these indecencies with her husband, and I enjoyed it a lot.Hey, just let it all hang out. Why be shy about loving an actress? Particularly one as jolie as Béart.
Any readers follow Russian cinema? What film do you think they'll submit this year for the Oscars given the poor reception of Burnt By the Sun 2 thus far?
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Top Ten: Oscar's Favorite Foreign Filmmakers
tuesday top ten returns! It's for the list-maker in me and the list-lover in youThe Cannes film festival wrapped this weekend (previous posts) and the most recent Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, The Secret in Their Eyes is still in the midst of a successful US run. That Oscar winning Argentinian film came to us from director Juan Jose Campanella. It's his second film to be honored by the Academy (Son of the Bride was nominated ten years back). The Academy voters obviously like Campanella and in some ways he's a Hollywood guy. When he's not directing Argentinian Oscar hopefuls he spends time making US television with episodes of Law & Order, House and 30 Rock under his belt.
So let's talk foreign-language auteurs. Who does Oscar love most?
[The film titles discussed in this article will link to Netflix pages -- if available -- should you be curious to see the films]
Best Director winners Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) and Milos Forman (Amadeus and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
Please Note: Filmmakers like Ang Lee (Taiwan), Milos Forman (Czech) and Louis Malle (France) have won multiple notices for their foreign language work with the Academy but I'm restricting this list to those directors who worked primarily in their native tongue throughout their careers. The three aforementioned men all had their biggest Oscar successes from English language films.
OSCAR'S TEN FAVORITE FOREIGN AUTEURS
The ranking that follows are somewhat arbitrary since we're
dealing with different kinds of attention paid.
dealing with different kinds of attention paid.
Honorable Mention: Ettore Scola (Italy), Bo Widerberg (Sweden), Carlos Saura (Spain) and Zhang Yimou (China) each helmed 3 Foreign Film Nominees over the years... the latter two for submissions from two different countries. Denys Arcand (Canada) and Nikita Mikhalkov (Russia) have each directed 3 Nominees one of which won the prize (The Barbarian Invasions and Burnt By The Sun, respectively). Mikhalkov, who also acts in his pictures, recently completed the sequel to his Oscar winner called Burnt by the Sun 2, but reviews have been brutal so we aren't banking on seeing it in the Oscar lineup next year. Finally, Jose Luis Garci (Spain) directed 4 nominated films, winning once for Volver a Empezar.
let's make this a top dozen
12 István Szabó (Hungary) 1938 - still working
4 Foreign Film Nominees (1 win)
all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 5 nominations, 1 win
Like Spain's Garci, the last of the honorable mentions, Szabó directed 4 Foreign Film Nominees, winning once. But in the case of Szabó, it's a more surprising achievement. Unlike Spain, Hungary has rarely won much favor with Oscar. In fact, after Szabó's last nomination, Hungarian films have been completely ignored by the Academy.
In a remarkable hot streak in the Eighties, Szabo had four (!) Best Foreign Film nominations: Bizalom (1980), Mephisto (1981 winner), Colonel Redl (1985) and Hanussen (1988). The latter three all starred Klaus Maria Brandauer who became a fixture in international cinema after the success of Mephisto. It helps to speak several languages and be brilliant -- just ask Christoph Waltz (Yes, there are earlier incarnations of all success stories). Brandauer might have even won the Supporting Actor Oscar for his sterling work in Out of Africa (1985) had voters not been feeling sentimental for that Cocoon fella. Oscar was SO sentimental in the 80s.
But where were we? Ah yes. Szabo moved over to English language cinema (directing Annette Bening to a nomination for Being Julia) but he hasn't yet equalled those early Hungarian successes.
11 Mario Monicelli (Italy) 1915 - still living2 nominations (writing) | 4 Foreign Film Nominees
all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 6 nominations, 0 wins
He's best known for kicking off the commedia all'italiana movement in cinema and for the classic Big Deal on Madonna Street but Oscar's love for him stretches over six movies (His two screenplay nominations weren't even from his foreign film nominees). Monicelli turns 95 (!) this summer. He hasn't directed a feature film since 2006 but you may have seen him as an actor in the Diane Lane vehicle Under the Tuscan Sun (2003).
THE TOP TEN
10 René Clément (France) 1913-1996
1 Foreign Film Nominee | 2 Honorary Foreign Film Wins (before category existed)
all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 4 nominations and 2 honorary statues
The Academy gave out 8 special foreign language film Oscars before they decided they needed to give foreign films their own category and René Clément won the prize twice during those years. In those days Oscar only had eyes for France, Italy and Japan. The Walls of Malapaga (1949) was his first win and he won again shortly thereafter for his internationally renowned classic Forbidden Games (1952). Games even won a second Oscar nomination for story two years later once it finally hit American screens (this is before they changed the rules to prevent films from competing in more than one year). That film was in some ways the perfect embodiment of Oscar's foreign type before Oscar even knew it had one: young children as protagonists + World War II.
The Academy created the foreign language film category as we know it in 1956 and Clément's was there again as a shortlister for the Emile Zola adaptation Gervaise (1956).Though that film was his last foreign film nominee, he continued to make movies for another two decades including such well regarded films as Purple Noon (1960) and Paris Brûle-t-il? (1966) which received two Oscar nominations in other categories.09 Luis Buñuel (Spain) 1900-1983
2 nominations (writing) | 3 Foreign Film Nominees (1 win)
all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 5 nominations, 1 win
Oscar arrived at the Buñuel party conspicuously late. They even ignored Belle de Jour (1967) one of the best films ever, despite awards attention elsewhere. Sometimes they are well behind the curve. Notice how long it took Jacques Audiard (A Prophet) and Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon) to win attention. In some ways it's surprising that AMPAS got there at all with Buñuel given the director's penchant for sexuality and surrealism. Oscar somewhat prefers the chaste and the literal as you know.
Tristana and the years of critical acclaim preceding it, opened their hearts to his work at the dawn of the '70s. His follow up, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), was a double nominee. Its win in the Foreign Film category has to count as one of the best but most unusual choices in the category's entire history. But then Oscar was at his most adventurous in the early 70s. Oscar and Buñuel had one last fling with That Obscure Object of Desire (1977). It was also Buñuel's last affair with the cinema. The father of cinematic surrealism was in his late 70s at the time and died in 1983.
08 Andrzej Wajda (Poland) 1926 - still working
1 Honorary Oscar | 4 Foreign Film Nominees
all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 4 nominations, 0 wins and 1 honorary statue
Poland's most influential filmmaker was most revered by awards bodies in the latter half of the 70s and early 80s. He won 3 Foreign Film Oscar nominations in that period: Promised Land (1975), The Maids of Wilko (1979... retitled The Young Girls of Wilko) and Man of Iron (1981). To prove that it wasn't a temporary love, Oscar handed him an honorary statue for "five decades of extraordinary film direction" in March of 2000. He won a fourth foreign film nomination recently for Katyn (2007). His lauded filmography also includes Ashes and Diamond (1958) and the French biopic Danton (1983) starring Gerard Depardieu which received awards attention elsewhere but strangely no Oscar heat.
07 Jan Troell (Sweden) 1931- still working2 nominations (directing, writing) | 3 Foreign Film Nominees | 1 Best Picture Nominee
all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 7 nominations, 0 wins
He's often forgotten in discussions of Scandinavian cinema (at least here in the US) since Ingmar Bergman casts such a long shadow. But Oscar was quite fond of him up until recently. His high water mark with the Academy was Utvandrarna (The Emigrants) -- strangely not on DVD -- one of only five pictures to ever achieve both Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture nominations. Given Oscar history it's a bit odd that the Academy didn't jump on his latest picture Everlasting Moments (2008) and even with Max von Sydow in the lead role, Hamsun (1996) didn't win attention either.
06 Pedro Almodovar (Spain) 1949- still working
2 nominations (directing, writing) | 1 Oscar (writing) | 2 Foreign Film Nominees (1 win)
all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 5 nominations, 2 wins
Spain's most famous living filmmaker has a fascinating Oscar history. The Academy embraced his international breakthrough Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) but then ignored the next ten years of his career. His Oscar comeback was the mature and wondrous All About My Mother (1999) which took the top prize, despite content that would normally scare them away. Given his global fame and AMPAS's familiarity with his mad melodramedic skill, you'd think he'd have more nominated films to his credit. Part of the problem is that the Spanish Academy, which makes Spain's choice about Foreign Film representation, hasn't always been gaga for Pedro's work. Famously they passed over Talk to Her (2002) in its year so Oscar handed that recent masterpiece a screenplay Oscar and a directing nomination instead. It's no small stretch of the imagination to say that it would've beat the German winner Nowhere in Africa that year to become Pedro's second winner in the category. Volver (2006) was weirdly snubbed in the Foreign category but managed the even more high profile Best Actress nomination and became Pedro's biggest stateside hit if you don't adjust for inflation.
05 Francois Truffaut (France) 1932-1984
3 nominations (writing, directing) | 3 Foreign Film Nominees (1 win)
all Oscar categories: His films have earned 8 nominations, 1 win
This icon started his career as an obsessive cinephile and provoactive critic at the magazine Cahiers du Cinéma. His feature debut, The 400 Blows (1959) kicked off the French New Wave and proved to be one of the most influential and acclaimed films ever made. That film won him the best director prize at the Cannes Film Festival at only 27 years of age. It also netted him his first Oscar nomination and more would follow. His classics include seminal features like Jules et Jim (1962) as well as Oscar-recognized favorites like Stolen Kisses (1968), Day for Night (1973 -winner), The Story of Adele H (1975) and The Last Metro (1980).
Film buffs will note that he also acted, even receiving a BAFTA nomination for appearing in his admirer Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Here's Spielberg talking about working with him.
04 Akira Kurosawa (Japan) 1910-1998
1 Honorary Oscar | 1 nomination (directing) | 3 Foreign Film Nominees (1 win) | 1 Honorary Foreign Film Win (before category existed)
all Oscar categories: His films have earned 12 nominations, 2 wins and 2 honorary statues
Japan's most famous filmmaker spent over sixty years working in the cinema and his legacy is enormous. The Oscars don't paint a full enough portrait of his cinematic impact. Only two of his films won the Foreign Oscar: the game changing Rashomon (1951) which people have been riffing on ever since, making it one of the true must-sees for cultural literacy, and Dersu Uzala (1975) which actually won the prize for Russia rather than Japan. His other nominated films were Dodes'ka-Den (1970) and Kagemusha (1980). I can't recall the circumstances which led his King Lear style epic Ran (1985) to ineligibility in the foreign film category but the Academy compensated with a well deserved Best Director nomination for that classic.
Still, despite what would be more than plentiful Oscar attention for most filmmakers, this portrait feels incomplete. Major classics like The Hidden Fortress (1958), Yojimbo (1961) or The Seven Samurai (1954) had to make due with technical nods or none at all. They sure did owe him that honorary Oscar they gave him in 1990 "For cinematic accomplishments that have inspired, delighted, enriched and entertained worldwide audiences and influenced filmmakers throughout the world."* *
The Top Three
Oscar's most beloved trinity of foreign language film auteurs (in terms of this list's criteria) had the good golden fortune to be doing incredible work during the decades when US movie culture was most enamored of foreign fare. That is, at least since the silent film era, before sound came crashing into cinema toppling it like the tower of Babel.03 Vittorio de Sica (Italy) 1901-1974
1 nomination (acting) | 3 Foreign Film Nominees (2 wins) | 2 Honorary Foreign Film Wins (before there was a category)
all Oscar categories: His (directorial) filmography has earned 10 nominations, 3 wins and 2 honorary statues
The Bicycle Thief and The Garden of the Fitzi-Continis... the titles alone sound mythic somehow, having amassed so much cultural heft over the years. Those two Oscar winning classics aren't true bookends of de Sica's acclaimed filmography but since one is from the 40s and one from the 70s they work as such. This Italian neorealist and prolific writer/actor/director was celebrated often and seemingly continuously from Shoe-Shine (1947's honorary winner) through his supporting actor nomination for A Farewell to Arms (1957) and onward until the Fitzi-Continis. His swansong The Voyage (1974) didn't win awards but it was a fitting goodbye, since it allowed him to reteam him with his frequent muse Sophia Loren.
Loren & de Sica. They made beautiful films together.I was a bit surprised to see his name above Kurosawa's in this listing given their name recognition value these days but he's a truly giant figure from world cinema history, popularizing neorealism in the late 40s and delivering multiple classics. He was also one of the principle authors of Sophia Loren's legend having directed her in both her Oscar winning role in Two Women (1961) and in celebrated films like Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1964's foreign Oscar winner) and Marriage, Italian Style (1964). He also directed American screen giants like Montgomery Clift in Indiscretions of an American Wife and Shirley Maclaine in Woman Times Seven (she was Golden Globe nominated for that multiple role performance).
*
02 Ingmar Bergman (Sweden) 1918-20079 nominations (directing, writing, producing) | Irving Thalberg Award | 3 Foreign Film Winners | 1 Best Picture Nominee
all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 21 nominations, 7 wins and a Thalberg
This legendary Swede's body of work is so deep and impressive (not to mention deeply immersed in the human condition) that listing his numerous Oscar successes wouldn't even acknowledge what some would argue is his greatest achievement (Persona, 1966). That black and white masterwork in which a mute actress (Bergman's muse and lover Liv Ullmann) and her nurse (Bibi Andersson) become pyschologically fused has influenced much work since, including two of the greatest films from other world class auteurs (David Lynch's Mulholland Dr and Robert Altman's Three Women). Woody Allen never did his own Persona riff but he is arguably the most famous of Bergman's many auteur fans.
Bergman's filmography is essentially one treasure after another so we'll have to ignore the bulk of it for brevity's sake and point you to his Oscar films in case you haven't seen them. Program a mini festival at home. All three of his foreign film nominees won: The Virgin Spring (1960), Through a Glass Darkly (1961), Fanny And Alexander (1982). [Trivia Note: Sweden has never won the foreign prize outside of Bergman's work]
Cries and Whispers (5 nominations, 1 win for cinematography)In addition to his foreign film winners Bergman's other gold successes include Wild Strawberries (1957) Face to Face (1976) and Autumn Sonata (1978). The Academy fell deepest into a hypnotic Bergman trance in the early 70s when they gave him the Thalberg award and then followed up that honor with multiple nominations, including Best Picture, for his great and disturbing female grief drama Cries and Whispers (1972).
01 Federico Fellini (Italy) 1920-199312 nominations (directing, writing, producing) | 1 Honorary Oscar | 4 Foreign Film Winners |
all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 23 nominations, 7 wins and 1 honorary statue
Last year's adaptation of Nine, itself adapted from a stage musical adapted from Federico Fellini's 8½ (1963) wasn't well received enough to spark a mini-Fellini revival in the media but the media was once quite enamored of all moving parts of Fellini's cinematic circus. That press conference scene in Nine was no exaggeration or joke. In fact, the word "paparazzi" sprung to life because of one of his best loved movies La Dolce Vita (1960) in which a male photographer's name is Paparazzo. Fellini's celebrity was vast and his actors were also sensations. His male muse Marcello Mastroianni never won an Oscar but he holds the record of most nominations for non-English language performances, three in total).
Though their sensibilities are vastly different, Fellini shares with Bergman, his only real rival for Oscar's foreigner crown, a prolific career and one with consistent inspiration and awards pull. Even before he won notices for his directing he was winning screenplay nominations for films he didn't helm.
Fellini's Academy Award winners: La Strada (1956), Nights of Cabiria (1957), 8½ (1963), Amarcord (1974) Other Oscar-honored Fellinis: I Vitelloni (1953), La Dolce Vita (1960), Satyricon (1969), Fellini's Casanova (1970).
How familiar are you with the films mentioned?I have a decent grasp of the Fellinis, Bunuels and Kurosawas. I'm nearly a completist with the Almodóvars (duh). But I need to get down to serious business on the Bergman's (small percentage despite my love. What's that about?) and I'm almost completely ignorant on the de Sicas and the Troells. So many I haven't seen.
How about you?
*
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Dianne Wiest Lives In The Forest and Returns to the Screen
From time to time I like to share my live theater adventures. I hope that readers who don't get to much of it will notice that I try to keep it as cinematically related as possible. That said... support your local theater! You might not even know it's there but it is (and I'm not talking about Broadway tours). I finally had the chance to see one of my all time favorite film actresses on stage last night so I grabbed at it greedily.
Dianne Wiest as Raisa Pavlovna in The Forest
Two-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest looks to finally be getting the late career revival that her devoted fans have always dreamt of. She's recently won an Emmy (In Treatment), filmed a key role in a possible Oscar contender (Rabbit Hole) and has also been making fairly frequent trips to the stage (recent credits include The Seagull and All My Sons)
In The Forest, a Russian comedy by Aleksandr Ostrovosky that's playing at the Classic Stage Company until the end of May, Wiest plays the miserly pious widow Raisa Pavlovna. She keeps her niece and her riches locked up in her estate in a huge expanse of forest. Raisa plans to marry away her niece, sell off the forest and settle her estate with nothing for her ungrateful heirs (she also has an estranged nephew) and everything going to unspecified "good works". But it soon becomes clear that Raisa can't bear to part with very much of it at all, particularly the money and her niece's bridegroom. Things get really complicated when Raisa's nephew returns unexpectedly after a 15 year absence and the bridegroom realizes that if he plays his cards right he could get a much larger treasure than any bride.
One of the fascinating things about attending live theater is the vivid awareness that what you're seeing is unique to that very night. The first scene sets up the storyline and effortfully introduces all but two of the character but it's slow and expository and the audience wasn't laughing much despite Wiest's deft skill with a line reading. Maybe it was all the Russian names and the unfamiliarity of the play (Chekhov is revived consistently, other Russian playwrights not so much) but one sensed that the audience wasn't sure they were supposed to be laughing; it's Russian, therefore it must be serious tragedy. Perhaps sensing this discomfort, Wiest seemed to suddenly learn harder on the physicality of her comedy. Once she'd jumped onto a table and swung her legs beneath her like a petulant little girl, things changed. Perhaps she pushes that laugh just as hard every night -- who knows -- but it was as if the audience finally realized 'Oh yes... comedy!' With the dam of (ahem) Serious Theater busted open, the laughs were free to spill out from that moment on.
Ostrovsky's plays have been made into Russian films several times but nothing in the English language. I couldn't help but want a big screen version with Wiest reprising her central money-hoarding role. But there are only certain genres that the movies go for in any given generation and the period farce is totally not one of them at this juncture. But I had great fun watching Wiest do Raisa. You can actually catch a glimpse of both of her Oscar winning roles in the character though Wiest is too fine an actor to simply regurgitate. This Russian widow shares with Helen Sinclair (Bullets Over Broadway) a grande dame superiority complex coupled with a lustful desire for young flesh and she shares with Holly (Hannah and Her Sisters) a nervous energy and a touch of the ditz.
Wiest is super and The Forest has a fine set (I loved the heavy abstract tangle of trees) but the cast is uneven and the play does feel a bit too sluggishly performed to amp up the laughter that it does earn. But if you've always wanted to see this brilliant actress on stage, she's so worth seeing. And giggling about afterwards, I must say.
<--- Dianne at the Emmys last year. She's only a Tony away from "The Triple Crown". Unfortunately she hasn't even been nominated yet for that final prize.
Next season the Classic Stage Company is repeating this Russia + Movie Stars trick: Maggie Gyllenhaal and hubby Peter Sarsgaard will star in Chekhov's Three Sisters.
Next up for Wiest is the grandmother role in John Cameron Mitchell's Rabbit Hole (see previous posts). Could a fourth Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination be on its way? And what's up with Woody Allen? From 1985 through 1994 she was a highlight in five of his films. He has yet to use her again and since he obviously needs a new muse, why not a reunion?
*
Dianne Wiest as Raisa Pavlovna in The ForestTwo-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest looks to finally be getting the late career revival that her devoted fans have always dreamt of. She's recently won an Emmy (In Treatment), filmed a key role in a possible Oscar contender (Rabbit Hole) and has also been making fairly frequent trips to the stage (recent credits include The Seagull and All My Sons)
In The Forest, a Russian comedy by Aleksandr Ostrovosky that's playing at the Classic Stage Company until the end of May, Wiest plays the miserly pious widow Raisa Pavlovna. She keeps her niece and her riches locked up in her estate in a huge expanse of forest. Raisa plans to marry away her niece, sell off the forest and settle her estate with nothing for her ungrateful heirs (she also has an estranged nephew) and everything going to unspecified "good works". But it soon becomes clear that Raisa can't bear to part with very much of it at all, particularly the money and her niece's bridegroom. Things get really complicated when Raisa's nephew returns unexpectedly after a 15 year absence and the bridegroom realizes that if he plays his cards right he could get a much larger treasure than any bride.One of the fascinating things about attending live theater is the vivid awareness that what you're seeing is unique to that very night. The first scene sets up the storyline and effortfully introduces all but two of the character but it's slow and expository and the audience wasn't laughing much despite Wiest's deft skill with a line reading. Maybe it was all the Russian names and the unfamiliarity of the play (Chekhov is revived consistently, other Russian playwrights not so much) but one sensed that the audience wasn't sure they were supposed to be laughing; it's Russian, therefore it must be serious tragedy. Perhaps sensing this discomfort, Wiest seemed to suddenly learn harder on the physicality of her comedy. Once she'd jumped onto a table and swung her legs beneath her like a petulant little girl, things changed. Perhaps she pushes that laugh just as hard every night -- who knows -- but it was as if the audience finally realized 'Oh yes... comedy!' With the dam of (ahem) Serious Theater busted open, the laughs were free to spill out from that moment on.
Ostrovsky's plays have been made into Russian films several times but nothing in the English language. I couldn't help but want a big screen version with Wiest reprising her central money-hoarding role. But there are only certain genres that the movies go for in any given generation and the period farce is totally not one of them at this juncture. But I had great fun watching Wiest do Raisa. You can actually catch a glimpse of both of her Oscar winning roles in the character though Wiest is too fine an actor to simply regurgitate. This Russian widow shares with Helen Sinclair (Bullets Over Broadway) a grande dame superiority complex coupled with a lustful desire for young flesh and she shares with Holly (Hannah and Her Sisters) a nervous energy and a touch of the ditz.
Wiest is super and The Forest has a fine set (I loved the heavy abstract tangle of trees) but the cast is uneven and the play does feel a bit too sluggishly performed to amp up the laughter that it does earn. But if you've always wanted to see this brilliant actress on stage, she's so worth seeing. And giggling about afterwards, I must say.
<--- Dianne at the Emmys last year. She's only a Tony away from "The Triple Crown". Unfortunately she hasn't even been nominated yet for that final prize.Next season the Classic Stage Company is repeating this Russia + Movie Stars trick: Maggie Gyllenhaal and hubby Peter Sarsgaard will star in Chekhov's Three Sisters.
Next up for Wiest is the grandmother role in John Cameron Mitchell's Rabbit Hole (see previous posts). Could a fourth Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination be on its way? And what's up with Woody Allen? From 1985 through 1994 she was a highlight in five of his films. He has yet to use her again and since he obviously needs a new muse, why not a reunion?
*
Sunday, May 02, 2010
By Odin's Link!
Awards Daily yes, everyone is already obsessed with Summer 2012 now that we know Chris Nolan's Batman will return. It's a franchise world we're living in.
So... let's get this over with.
The mighty Thor is coming before the next Batman. In approximately 369 days. And we're thinking about this primarily because the internet is insatiably interested in superheroes and they are thus impossible to ignore. The Almighty Internet has actually declared this photo of Chris Hensworth as Thor be posted from the rainbow bridge of Asgard to the wide streets of Harlem, New York and beyond. Offending blogs and sites shall be struck down.
Dutifully I post though I'm still struggling to care. Whenever I think of Thor I only think of that little girl in Adventures in Babysitting and how weird it was that someone's favorite superhero was Thor!?! And once I'm done thinking about that I can think only of Alexander Skarsgård's magical hammer. Or the Mjöllnir one imagines him to have.
I know I should let it go -- that he didn't get the part -- but even his name reminds one of the home of the Norse gods.
what were we on abou---oh, yes, yes...
LINKS
Coming Soon Esteemed director Bill Condon shares his reasons for taking on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn and never once mentions money! Liar liar pants on fire ;)
Just Jared Scarjo in DC with her twin brother for the White House correspondents dinner
Guardian Burnt by the Sun 2, the sequel to the foreign film Oscar winner, flops in Russia. Interesting article on the Why of it. Maybe this isn't a sure thing as Russia's Oscar submission?
/Film Hank Azaria as Gargamel for The Smurfs. I have an inexplicable desire for this movie to be good but the odds are most decidedly against it I think
In Contention wonders if Jim Carrey is ok
The Daily Beast on why David O. Russell's political comedy Nailed is still in limbo. I normally find it difficult to enjoy stories about the business side of moviemaking: contracts, insurance, unions escape me. But this is interesting. I like his films so I'm hoping they find a way to finish it.
Randomness! Just because it amuses
Instructables Gummi Bear surgery
situated laundry Johnny Weir vs. Evan Lysacek summarized
MTV Movies "my name is Talky Tina and you better be nice to me" I can't tell you how horrified I was of Talky Tina as a little boy... though I remember her as "Talking" Tina
Stage Craft?
Tony Predictions from Michael Reidel, Just Shows To Go You, while Time Out New York offers up only who *should* be nominated. The big question mark might be how Addams Family fares given the critical drubbing. I'm currently rooting for Everyday Rapture because even though I haven't seen it yet I am in love with Sherie Rene Scott. I have every note of The Last Five Years deeply embedded in my brain and vocal chords. I'm also rooting for Valerie Harper in Looped because I have seen that one and she was great. As is often the case these days there are a ton of big and small movie/tv names who might be in the running including: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Alfred Molina, Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Kristin Chenoweth, etcetera... The Tony nominations are announced on Tuesday.
So... let's get this over with.
The mighty Thor is coming before the next Batman. In approximately 369 days. And we're thinking about this primarily because the internet is insatiably interested in superheroes and they are thus impossible to ignore. The Almighty Internet has actually declared this photo of Chris Hensworth as Thor be posted from the rainbow bridge of Asgard to the wide streets of Harlem, New York and beyond. Offending blogs and sites shall be struck down.
Dutifully I post though I'm still struggling to care. Whenever I think of Thor I only think of that little girl in Adventures in Babysitting and how weird it was that someone's favorite superhero was Thor!?! And once I'm done thinking about that I can think only of Alexander Skarsgård's magical hammer. Or the Mjöllnir one imagines him to have.
I know I should let it go -- that he didn't get the part -- but even his name reminds one of the home of the Norse gods.
what were we on abou---oh, yes, yes...
LINKSComing Soon Esteemed director Bill Condon shares his reasons for taking on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn and never once mentions money! Liar liar pants on fire ;)
Just Jared Scarjo in DC with her twin brother for the White House correspondents dinner
Guardian Burnt by the Sun 2, the sequel to the foreign film Oscar winner, flops in Russia. Interesting article on the Why of it. Maybe this isn't a sure thing as Russia's Oscar submission?
/Film Hank Azaria as Gargamel for The Smurfs. I have an inexplicable desire for this movie to be good but the odds are most decidedly against it I think
In Contention wonders if Jim Carrey is ok
The Daily Beast on why David O. Russell's political comedy Nailed is still in limbo. I normally find it difficult to enjoy stories about the business side of moviemaking: contracts, insurance, unions escape me. But this is interesting. I like his films so I'm hoping they find a way to finish it.
Randomness! Just because it amuses
Instructables Gummi Bear surgery
situated laundry Johnny Weir vs. Evan Lysacek summarized
MTV Movies "my name is Talky Tina and you better be nice to me" I can't tell you how horrified I was of Talky Tina as a little boy... though I remember her as "Talking" Tina
Stage Craft?Tony Predictions from Michael Reidel, Just Shows To Go You, while Time Out New York offers up only who *should* be nominated. The big question mark might be how Addams Family fares given the critical drubbing. I'm currently rooting for Everyday Rapture because even though I haven't seen it yet I am in love with Sherie Rene Scott. I have every note of The Last Five Years deeply embedded in my brain and vocal chords. I'm also rooting for Valerie Harper in Looped because I have seen that one and she was great. As is often the case these days there are a ton of big and small movie/tv names who might be in the running including: Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Alfred Molina, Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Kristin Chenoweth, etcetera... The Tony nominations are announced on Tuesday.
Friday, April 23, 2010
Nashville Wrap Up (Part 1)
Howdy y’all. Excuse the twang. I’m just back from Nashville (last night was their closing night) but now I have already plunged headfirst into freelance work for the Tribeca Film Festival. I miss my Film Experience baby but I’ll be back to regular posting duties on May 1st. I had hoped to write up several of the features I saw in Nashville to give you a better picture of this trip to the longest running film festival in the south but we’ll have to cover those films as they emerge on DVD or theatrical instead. For now a quick dashed off note about the festival’s main slate.
a poster for Applaus hangs over the moviegoing crowd
Narrative Competition
The winner was a blast of color and song, a Russian musical actually. The plot was weirdly reminiscent of John Waters Cry Baby only gender-flipped with a side of boys-who-can't-stop-dancing from Swing Kids (Anyone remember that?). It's squares vs. hipsters opening is thrilling but the first musical number almost derails it for sheer confusion before things really get hopping. It's not always a smooth ride but it's most definitely a ride. It gets better as it goes and the ending is a knowing hoot, contextually the title in a way that just about anyone will understand. Recommended! Bonus points: Giving us lots of Oksana Akinshina who you'll undoubtedly remember fondly from Lilja 4ever. She's all grown up now and ravishing, fully convincing as the unknowable dream girl "Polly" who gets the story rolling.
a poster for Applaus hangs over the moviegoing crowdNarrative Competition
The winner was a blast of color and song, a Russian musical actually. The plot was weirdly reminiscent of John Waters Cry Baby only gender-flipped with a side of boys-who-can't-stop-dancing from Swing Kids (Anyone remember that?). It's squares vs. hipsters opening is thrilling but the first musical number almost derails it for sheer confusion before things really get hopping. It's not always a smooth ride but it's most definitely a ride. It gets better as it goes and the ending is a knowing hoot, contextually the title in a way that just about anyone will understand. Recommended! Bonus points: Giving us lots of Oksana Akinshina who you'll undoubtedly remember fondly from Lilja 4ever. She's all grown up now and ravishing, fully convincing as the unknowable dream girl "Polly" who gets the story rolling.
<--- Grand Jury Prize: Valeriy Todorovskiy’s Hipsters
Honorable Mention: The Be All End All
Best Actor: Anton Shagin, Hipsters
Best Actress: Paprika Steen, Applause
Friday, November 20, 2009
Birthday Suit (With Bright Yellow Trench)
Today is the 109th anniversary of one Chester Gould the creator of Dick Tracy. Every time Dick Tracy (1990) comes up, I think "you should watch that movie again!" but I never do. I think I'm still mad that Warren Beatty kept cutting away from Madonna's "More" performance... which should've easily been one of the best movie musical numbers of the 90s (sigh). Otherwise I quite like the movieTrivia Alert! Dick Tracy is one of Oscar's two favorite comic book movies along with The Dark Knight (2008). Their Oscar track was very similar. Dick Tracy had 7 nominations and 3 wins. The Dark Knight had 8 nominations and 2 wins and in mostly the same categories, too.
- Supporting Actor (both, and the only two comic book performances ever nominated*: Al Pacino and Heath Ledger, winner)
- Cinematography (both)
- Art Direction (both)
- Costume Design (Dick Tracy only)
- Sound (both)
- Sound Editing (The Dark Knight only, winner)
- Original Song (Dick Tracy only, winner)
- Make-Up (both, Dick Tracy winner)
- Visual Effects (The Dark Knight only)
Other birthdays for 11/20
1915 Kon Ichikawa, Japanese film director of Oscar nominee The Burmese Harp (1958) and Golden Globe winner Kagi (1959)
1925 Robert F Kennedy, assassinated hero and frequent movie character. I've still never seen Bobby (2006) though, have you?
1927 Estelle Parsons, Oscar winning actress (Bonnie & Clyde). She's still on the road with August: Osage County -- she's in Connecticut right this very second (5 more shows over the next 3 days. Hurry!), DC next month and hits the southwest in January and the midwest in February. I hope you bought your tickets because the show is so worth it. Our post about the casting of the movie is the 2nd most commented on this year (106 comments!). Everybody's got an opinion.
1928 Aleksey Batalov star of Cannes Winner The Cranes Are Flying (1957) -- rent it immediately if you haven't seen it, it's one of the best romantic war dramas ever -- and Oscar winner Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1980).
1936 Don DeLillo, amazing novelist
1956 Bo Derek 80s icon, famous in swimsuit for "10", infamous in birthday suit for Tarzan the Ape Man and Bolero (right)1959 Sean Young 80s actress, wildcard. Best remembered in pop culture as the desperate creature who wandered around in a catsuit trying to convince Tim Burton to cast her in Batman Returns. What's less remembered, unfortunately for Young, is that Burton had actually cast her... as Vicki Vale for the first film before an injury sidelined her and Kim Basinger got the part. Even less remembered and also to Young's credit: she definitely had screen presence. See: Blade Runner and No Way Out for proof.
1989 Cody Linley of Hannah Montana and Dancing with the Stars fame, busy creating a filmography composed entirely of ridiculous character names: "Spit McGee", "Mullet Fingers", "Brownie" and "Tough Boy"
* I may be wrong there. It depends on how you define 'comic-book performances'. More in the comments
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