Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

I actually liked 12 and (especially) Katyn out of that lineup, but I haven't seen them in close to ten years so I have no idea if they'd hold up. (I have a Blu-Ray of Katyn and have been meaning to rewatch it for awhile.) I would still trade out any of the five nominees that year for 4 Months..., and Secret Sunshine.

dws1982 wrote:

Precious Doll wrote:This is also the first time South Korea & Kazakhstan have made it this far so if they score nominations they will be the first for their respective countries. God knows South Korea is way overdue.

Kazakhstan actually got nominated in 2007, for Mongol--one of the worst films ever nominated in any category.

To be honest if I'd been asked 'where is Mongol from?' I would have replied Russian as it was directed by Sergei Bodrov. His career has certainly nosedived with Prisoner of the Mountains easily being the high point. I looked back at the nominees for 2007 and what a dire bunch they are that it is no wonder The Counterfeiters won. Funnily enough 2007 was the year that 4 Months, 3 Weeks & 3 Days was shut out and prompted the Academy to overhaul the selection process for this category.

The submitted films that got snubbed and are superior to any of the nominees is astonishing: The Home Song Stories (Australia), I Served the King of England (Czech Republic), Persepolis (France), The Edge of Heaven (Germany), Taxidermia (Hungary), Jar City (Iceland), Silent Light (Mexico), Secret Sunshine (South Korea), You, the Living (Sweden) and what should have been the winner 4M3W2D (Romania).

Precious Doll wrote:This is also the first time South Korea & Kazakhstan have made it this far so if they score nominations they will be the first for their respective countries. God knows South Korea is way overdue.

Kazakhstan actually got nominated in 2007, for Mongol--one of the worst films ever nominated in any category.

Worth finishing off this thread with the nine shortlisted films:

Birds of Passage (Colombia)
The Guilty (Denmark)
Never Look Back (Germany)
Shoplifters (Japan)
Ayka (Kazakhstan)
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Roma (Mexico)
Cold War (Poland)
Burning (South Korea)

Aside from Ayka the other 8 were certainly on varying degrees of making the shortlist. My guess for committee selections are Birds of Passage, Burning & Ayka.

Ayka was not well received at Cannes and eyebrows were raised when it won best actress but given the critical darling of the festival Burning failed to win anything was the big omission story of Cannes 2018.

If Roma or Shoplifters fail to be nominated it will be a major shock. Capernaum also has a reasonably good chance as Sony are promoting the hell out of the film and audience response is very strong. The other three to two spots (depending on Capernaum) are anyone's guess but I can't help feeling that this is as far as Burning will get, though I hope I'm wrong.

The only films that I'm really bummed that missed out are The Heiresses (Paraguay) & Woman at War (Iceland). I knew The Heiresses would have an uphill battle but Woman at War is very Oscar friendly though every year a number of those fail to make it with only 9 spots. Reminds me of a few year back when the excellent Rams also from Iceland didn't make the cut.

This is also the first time South Korea & Kazakhstan have made it this far so if they score nominations they will be the first for their respective countries. God knows South Korea is way overdue.

I thought it would be better to post this link in relation to Girl and its director on this thread rather that get the other thread off topic.

Interesting to note that Girl is inspired by a true story and that trans dancer Nora Monsecour, who collaborated with the director and is very happy with the finished film. Whilst not autobiography it did some degree of input from the person who inspired it.

I suspect that some people that have been slamming the film online have not seen it - nothing uncommon with that as its been going on for years. I still appreciate that some trans are going to find this film hard going, won't find anything in it that they can relate to and its not a reflection of a universal journey but the journey of one individual.

https://deadline.com/2018/12/netflix-gi ... 202522069/

Uri wrote:

ITALIANO wrote:

You only love me when I'm your knight in a shining armour.

Oh come on. If I didn't love you we wouldn't talk on the phone, believe me

anonymous1980 wrote:

ITALIANO wrote:I don't know if conformist is the word I'd use. But it's clear that you - like so many others here, so it's not just about you - are heavily influenced by the foolish critical appraisal of this and other movies. I think it's more about intellectual weakness, and a fear of being alone, of not "getting" greatness, though there's obviously nothing really great about Roma. People MUST like Roma - and often you feel how unconfortable they really are when they pretend they like it.

Don't you think, ITALIANO, that you might be the opposite? Everyone loves Roma so you're going to be guarded and determine to seek out its flaws and be closed off to any of its merits?

No, anonymous - strange as it may seem to you, there ARE human beings who aren't conditioned, in any way, by group thinking. Just check my reviews and you will realize that I sometimes agree with what critics say. But I always think with MY head not others'. There are still, in the world, independent-minded people - a concept which especially in the era of internet seems to be old-fashioned but which I still stubbornly adhere to.

Or maybe it's just envy. I sometimes feel like the ageing woman (played by the director's mother) in that famous scene from When Harry Met Sally, the one who sees Meg Ryan's faking an orgasm in a restaurant and then says: "I'll have what she's having". I'd love to be as moved by A Star is Born as flipp was. I'd love to find a masterpiece at every corner like you do. I'd even love to be able to find aspects, in movies which I disliked, which make me at least partly agree with the praise these movies are showered with by so-called "critics" (a term which once had a meaning, and a respectable one).

But I can't. I have a character, and like it or not I can't change it. I studied Ancient Greel, Philosophy, History. This gives me a responsability, and sadly prevents me from having the freedom of being stupid. And trust me, I'm not always so happy about that

Yet, happy or not, I know that I am right, absolutely right, when I tell you that Alfonso Cuaron and Federico Fellini should never, never been put on the same level. I don't care if others did and you simply followed them. They belong to different planets - artistically, historically, etc. I can forgive idiocy, but I can't forgive ignorance even when it's about films. Sorry if I am a bit hard - and I am sure that if you start crying you will find, on this board, many who will be ready to comfort you and attack me - we know their names, even too well. But remember, anonymous: they are wrong, I am right.

ITALIANO wrote:

You only love me when I'm your knight in a shining armour.

Uri wrote:

anonymous1980 wrote: I happen to have had a Cleo growing up and this film nails the dynamic our family had with her and it really struck a chord with me. I don't appreciate condescension (no matter how hesitant it might be).

Would you consider trying coming out of your emotional and sociological comfort zone and consider that maybe, just maybe, your take on your relationship with this "Cleo" you "have had" is somewhat one sided and coming from a place of, well, not exactly equal standing with "your Cleo"?

Surely Cuaron didn't.

I do apologize for my "condescension". As long as you do for yours, that is

MaxWilder wrote:

ITALIANO wrote:People MUST like Roma

In fact the AFI had to give Roma a special award (it wasn't eligible for their top 10) to make sure the world knew that they're not heathens, so please don't send them angry emails and tweets and death threats. That's why I'm certain it will best picture.

It's very, very possible. I've never seen a more accessible "work of art" in my life.

anonymous1980 wrote: I happen to have had a Cleo growing up and this film nails the dynamic our family had with her and it really struck a chord with me. I don't appreciate condescension (no matter how hesitant it might be).

Would you consider trying coming out of your emotional and sociological comfort zone and consider that maybe, just maybe, your take on your relationship with this "Cleo" you "have had" is somewhat one sided and coming from a place of, well, not exactly equal standing with "your Cleo"?

Surely Cuaron didn't.

I do apologize for my "condescension". As long as you do for yours, that is

ITALIANO wrote:I don't know if conformist is the word I'd use. But it's clear that you - like so many others here, so it's not just about you - are heavily influenced by the foolish critical appraisal of this and other movies. I think it's more about intellectual weakness, and a fear of being alone, of not "getting" greatness, though there's obviously nothing really great about Roma. People MUST like Roma - and often you feel how unconfortable they really are when they pretend they like it.

Don't you think, ITALIANO, that you might be the opposite? Everyone loves Roma so you're going to be guarded and determine to seek out its flaws and be closed off to any of its merits?

BTW, don't assume anything about me. I'm Filipino who grew up middle-class and due to our shared Spanish colonial past, we actually share a lot of similarities with Mexico. I happen to have had a Cleo growing up and this film nails the dynamic our family had with her and it really struck a chord with me. I don't appreciate condescension (no matter how hesitant it might be).

Everyone LOOVES Cold War. Though I admired it and loved the central performance, I wasn't enamored of it. So there.

anonymous1980 wrote:In order of chances to be nominated:
01. Roma
02. Cold War
03. Shoplifters
04. Girl
05. Burning

Sounds about right.

ITALIANO wrote:People MUST like Roma

In fact the AFI had to give Roma a special award (it wasn't eligible for their top 10) to make sure the world knew that they're not heathens, so please don't send them angry emails and tweets and death threats. That's why I'm certain it will best picture.

anonymous1980 wrote:I'm afraid to post this review because ITALIANO might accuse me again of being a conformist. But oh, well.

Roma, Mexico (Alfonso Cuaron) 10/10 - Roma is cinema. This is how I feel. Film was invented for stories like this. You can't exactly get this from theater or literature. Director Alfonso Cuaron has crafted his masterpiece. This follows around a year into the lives of a middle-class Mexican family from the point of view of their maid set during the turbulent political upheaval of 1970's Mexico. I only regret that I only saw this on my TV streaming from Netflix. But even on the smaller screen, I can tell the cinematography is absolutely stunning. The film truly immerses you into this world. It reminds me so much of the European films from the 1960's, the works of Fellini, Pasolini, Antonioni and Truffaut, yet somehow feels like its own thing. There were moments in this film I was in near tears. This is truly a special film from one of today's masters. It's my favorite film of the year.

I don't know if conformist is the word I'd use. But it's clear that you - like so many others here, so it's not just about you - are heavily influenced by the foolish critical appraisal of this and other movies. I think it's more about intellectual weakness, and a fear of being alone, of not "getting" greatness, though there's obviously nothing really great about Roma. People MUST like Roma - and often you feel how unconfortable they really are when they pretend they like it. (Not you, you aren't unconfortable. You choose the other option - excessive enthusiasm).
Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that you lie. You are obviously a honest and nice guy. I am sure that you really think this novie is perfect. But it's the hidden, unconscious reason behind your view on this and other movies which makes me think.
Just one thing, please - and this is objective. Don't mention Fellini, Pasolini Antonioni, Truffaut in connection with Roma or with anything made by a smart but limited director like Cuaron. It's an insult to your, and especially my, intelligence, and to cinema. I'm sure you understand what I mean.