Sunday, February 20, 2005
Life
This year's Best Picture Oscar nominees are all about broken pieces of life. Put them together -- the fallen boxers in "Million Dollar Baby," the traumatized Howard Hughes in "The Aviator," the disillusioned J.M. Barrie in "Finding Neverland," the sin-succumbing Ray Charles in "Ray" and the disenchanted bachelors in "Sideways" -- and you get the whole picture of what movies are supposed to be, a portrait of humanity as we know it. Maybe not all of it personally in this lifetime, but the chance to get close to emotions we may never know in worlds we may never step in to... this is what has become of the Lumiere brothers' invention, and they should be proud.
There is a certain order in the way I have listed the nominees above -- apologies to Alexander Payne, because his film is the only one I have not seen, because I can't bring myself to. The "About Schmidt" experience was too painful, and I'm afraid to take a chance on Payne (Advil or no Advil) again, even though I love "Election." The travesty in this equation is that "Ray" does not belong in this winner's circle -- Ray Charles should make way for "Hotel Rwanda." Talk about movies that heave a reaction out of the audience -- it's been six hours since I walked out of the theatre and my heart is still palpitating with fear for the refugees Paul Rusesabagina sheltered in the Hotel des Milles Collines he managed. There are no directorial tricks in this movie, just a story of courage and loyalty told compassionately (yes, just like "Baby"). Like "Ray," it's real life, but unlike "Ray," it's not textbook. "Ray" follows the rules too closely and there's just no imagination in re-telling its story, which is a cookie cutter biography of a rags and riches rise to fame dripping with over-the-top drama. With "Rwanda," you feel the fear and desperation of the hostages. You feel like you're there, and nothing is more gut wrenching than Paul and an employee driving through the morning mist fetching supplies over a particularly bumpy stretch of road. When they stop the van to see if there's a better way to navigate, they realize it's not potholes they're driving over -- it's the corpses of murdered Hutus. Sure beats mistresses and self-inflicted heroin addiciton.
This year's Oscar race is an exciting one, because there is no "Lord of the Rings" and no over-the-top, unnecessary sure-wins like "Titanic." Almost everyone is very deserving this year and everything is fair game. I'm still mulling over my choices for the ballots and can't wait for next Sunday.
There is a certain order in the way I have listed the nominees above -- apologies to Alexander Payne, because his film is the only one I have not seen, because I can't bring myself to. The "About Schmidt" experience was too painful, and I'm afraid to take a chance on Payne (Advil or no Advil) again, even though I love "Election." The travesty in this equation is that "Ray" does not belong in this winner's circle -- Ray Charles should make way for "Hotel Rwanda." Talk about movies that heave a reaction out of the audience -- it's been six hours since I walked out of the theatre and my heart is still palpitating with fear for the refugees Paul Rusesabagina sheltered in the Hotel des Milles Collines he managed. There are no directorial tricks in this movie, just a story of courage and loyalty told compassionately (yes, just like "Baby"). Like "Ray," it's real life, but unlike "Ray," it's not textbook. "Ray" follows the rules too closely and there's just no imagination in re-telling its story, which is a cookie cutter biography of a rags and riches rise to fame dripping with over-the-top drama. With "Rwanda," you feel the fear and desperation of the hostages. You feel like you're there, and nothing is more gut wrenching than Paul and an employee driving through the morning mist fetching supplies over a particularly bumpy stretch of road. When they stop the van to see if there's a better way to navigate, they realize it's not potholes they're driving over -- it's the corpses of murdered Hutus. Sure beats mistresses and self-inflicted heroin addiciton.
This year's Oscar race is an exciting one, because there is no "Lord of the Rings" and no over-the-top, unnecessary sure-wins like "Titanic." Almost everyone is very deserving this year and everything is fair game. I'm still mulling over my choices for the ballots and can't wait for next Sunday.
// posted by Desiree @ 7:38 PM 
