It’s been ages since I posted here but, since finally finishing my last season on Motherland: Fort Salem, and recently having moved back to Los Angeles - the dust has settled enough that I can return to the musings here, at least for a moment.
Wasn’t sure what to write about, until I remembered that the Oscars were happening this weekend. It feels like a strange year for the Oscars, a mix of controversy (cutting out the live awards for most below the line categories), and strange just for the mix of films — classic Oscar bait sort of fare, fascinating international films that don’t fit clean categories but are getting recognized, and then a lot of actor recognition for movies that otherwise were brushed aside.
Well, my top film was Drive My Car. Gorgeous, haunting, with this inexorable emotional momentum that just builds so beautifully that you don’t even feel the three-hour runtime pass you by. That one is going to stay with me. Second, Power of the Dog. Not quite as precisely cutting, shocking, and brilliant as the novel (one of my favorites) but close! And still, extremely gorgeous. My guess is that it will be the awards sweep of the night.
Other favorites include the short film, Please Hold, by my old Motherland colleague - the brilliant KD Davila. That one is truly Kafkaesque for the modern world in all the most scary ways. It’s amazing, and excruciating. I also found Flee very affecting, the story of an Afghan refugee told in a visually innovative way.
But overall it feels like a quiet year for quiet films. My biggest optimistic takeaway is that international films are gaining much more access the Oscars (ever since Parasite) - and hopefully this will broaden Hollywood’s perspective and taste. I look forward to seeing how the slate for 2022 changes things for the next round.