“Everything, everywhere, at once”, “The whale”, “Women speak”: the best Oscar films not to be missed

For the first time since 2020, when the coronavirus dealt a devastating blow to the film industry and awards season, the Oscars are back to normal: no restrictions, no masks, everyone in beautiful dresses , and among the 10 nominees for the main award, there is a great mix of box office success and various independent film popularity. And yes, the film with the eloquent title “Everything, everywhere and at the same time” really has everything, everywhere and at the same time, you have to think about what to call your photos, dear McDonagh and Spielberg, you have to think!

We tell you more about the winners, about the triumph of “Everything, everywhere and at the same time”, why we are so happy for Michelle Yeoh and Brendan Fraser.

The current “Oscar” turned out to be both the most predictable and the most unpredictable. Everything, Everywhere, Everything At Once won a Golden Globe for Best Actress and, more importantly, the big awards from the Directors, Producers, Actors and Writers Guild that critics are guessing at the Oscars (except it was slightly ignored by the BAFTAs, but too bad). with them they have their own atmosphere), that is, he went beautifully to victory. Nobody doubted that he would receive the main prize, well, almost nobody, there were some crazy versions of All Quiet on the Western Front and Spielberg’s lamp drama. We knew who we would honor, but honestly, we didn’t think so, because “Everything, everywhere and at once” received up to seven statuettes, and not in all categories, and with very serious rivals.

For example, there’s been a lot of discussion around the Best Actress category: yes, Michelle Yeoh was set to win, and she’s certainly beautiful, but Cate Blanchett in Tara is none the less beautiful, it’s generally a once-in-a-lifetime role, and then, if you’re lucky. However, Michelle won and became the first Asian actress to receive this award.

“Ladies, never let anyone tell you that you’re not your peak anymore,” Yeoh said. For all the little boys and girls like me watching tonight, it’s a beacon of hope and opportunity,” the actress added. And this, of course, is okay, honest, fair, and generally awesome ( however, Kate is still a bit insulting).

Also, the picture received statuettes for the original screenplay and direction, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (they are also simply referred to as “Daniels”) can and should be commended, but in the end Steven Spielberg, Martin McDonagh, Todd Field and Ruben Estlund were left crying on the sidelines. The company they have isn’t bad, together it’s not that offensive.

The victory of “Everything, everywhere and at the same time” was a triumph for the independent studio A24, because the picture not only collected seven statuettes, but also made $ 100 million at the box office, and all this in our difficult times when people go to the cinema twice a year: once on the conditional “Avatar”, and the second – during the winter holidays with children on the conditional “Puss in Boots” (and if “Avatar” suddenly came out during the winter holidays, so usually once, why get up twice). What about the independent film market, and even with Asian actors, and even a kind of parallel universes. But, miracles do happen, and by the way, A24 won all the acting awards, three went to the winner, and fourth, best male lead, went to Brendan Fraser for The Whale, an existential drama by Darren Aronofsky.

Brendan was once the star of The Mummy and George of the Jungle, it seemed like all the doors were open to him and the path was strewn with rose petals, but after the divorce, a dark streak began in the life of Brendan. actor: health issues, weight gain, death of mother and depression, all of which made Frazier the hero of life-blasphemous memes. But he did not give up, was able to speak openly about his problems and returned to work. During the ceremony, he thanked Aronofsky for throwing him a “lifeline” and yes, it will obviously be easier to swim further with a statuette in his pocket (against all the laws of physics).

But the most touching speech (and the story, sorry, Brendan!) is always that of Ke Huy Kuan, who won the award for best actor in a supporting role. Yes, it’s also a story of rising from the ashes, as Kuan started his career as a child and starred in Indiana Jones, but then became disillusioned with the industry, despaired, and disappeared from the screens.“My journey started on a boat,” he said, “I spent a year in a refugee camp and ended up here on the biggest stage in Hollywood. They say stories like These only happen in the movies. I can’t believe this is happening.” with me. It’s the American dream.” Well, you’ve probably seen his touching “Mom, I just won an Oscar!”. If not, check it out.

But that’s all the lyrics, and now the slides. Who are they, the main characters of the Oscars, let’s look at their faces and try to look into the soul.

An ordinary woman lived for herself, owned a laundry (well, what else, she’s a Chinese woman), took care of taxes, a daughter, a father, a husband whoever got in the way way, either started gossiping about a divorce, but suddenly – once – she became a superwoman, who somewhere between parallel universes has to save everyone. Similar to both The Matrix, In the Mood for Love, Rick and Morty and all kung fu movies, the picture was written and filmed by the makers of another crazy masterpiece, Swiss Army Knife Man, and again received some criticism for the lack of integrity of the narrative and for the fact that the individual gags are in no way assembled into a single cinematic space. But they’re all boring people who probably can’t multitask, so it’s hard for them to keep track of all the options for the laundry owner. On the contrary, we liked it, at the same time we managed to think about all the “if only”, otherwise psychologists constantly teach us not to do that, and sometimes we really want to.

“The Whale” is not primarily an Aronofsky film, but a Brendan Friesen film, his triumphant return eclipses everything and everything, literally and figuratively: the main character of the film weighs 270 kilograms. (However, for Aronofsky, it is also a success after the failure of “Maman”).

Charlie, a literature teacher, never turns on the camera or shows himself to the students: his obesity is literally killing him, and he is also ashamed of his appearance, his inability to get up from the sofa and take a few steps without help of a walker. Aronofsky throws away all the ugliest things at once, then answers honestly for two hours the question that immediately appears to the viewer, even with great tact: “How can you come to this?” Very simple, if you are disgusted with yourself, if you could not forgive yourself and if the only person who made you feel beautiful and happy is no longer with you. That’s all you need to know before watching, a brief synopsis obliterates all hell of the effect of answering the rolling question. What else is interesting there – references to the eternal “Moby Dick” in American culture, the conflict between father and daughter (not everyone cries), as well as an important reflection on honesty of what we write (and speak).

A film with a telling title, because in general, during all the screen time, this is exactly what happens. But it is important, as usual, where, how and about what. In an ultra-conservative colony in Bolivia, men sprayed anesthetics at night and raped women, one after the other, sparing neither children nor their families. The women were told it was all their wild fantasy and they made it all up for themselves (a familiar approach, right?), well they also dragged demons, still a religious community . And as a result, the women were forced to start talking, to start with each other, to discuss exit options.

The worst part of all of this is that the story is based on real events and recounts the violence that took place in the Bolivian colony of Manitoba from 2005 to 2009, and the author of the book on which the film was turned, she herself grew up in the Mennonite community and knew very well what he was writing about.

Netflix was another triumph, as All Quiet on the Western Front took home four statuettes: Best Foreign Language Film (there was no doubt), Soundtrack, Cinematographer and Production Designers.

The anti-war drama based on Remarque’s classic novel was set to win, with some even predicting the main prize for it – if only because of the relevance of the subject matter. German teenager Paul and his comrades join the German army at the very end of World War I in a naïve patriotic outburst and in anticipation of a forced march on Paris. But the war turns out not to be a merry country walk at all, but a nightmare of bloodshed and chaos, moreover, completely meaningless. Remark’s novel, published in 1929, was accepted by the German Nazis, to say the least, half-heartedly they began to ban and burn, it spoke too well and colorfully about the fact that war does not bring ordinary people than death and pain. It is therefore particularly important, but it is the first German film adaptation.

It was 100% Oscar-winning, and frankly, the best Pinocchio ever: del Toro’s version poked its nose around just long enough to both salute the original and create an incredible world entirely apart. The director has lived with this idea since 2008, but many times he was refused by studios who did not want to invest in such an expensive project, but then he received an Oscar, the money was found in a way or another, well, here we are again on this stage.

The action takes place in fascist Italy, the carpenter Geppetto lost his son – they accidentally dropped a bomb on the temple. Geppetto took to drinking and practically lost touch with reality, immersed in his grief and an impulse carved into a piece of wood that grew on the grave of his son, the boy Pinocchio. Well, then it turns out a philosophical fairy tale about everything – the relationship between father and son, about decision-making, about the ability to distinguish bad from good on your own, without any prompts, about meaning of life and about love.