Oscar 2023. Why did the legendary Spielberg fail but riots and dances win in Kiev?

This year Focus I can congratulate myself: All our evaluations and predictions about the Oscars throughout the year have matched and come true. The world press had two undoubted favorites – Steven Spielberg’s family melodrama “Fabelmans” (7 nominations) and Martin McDonagh’s black tragicomedy “Banshee Inisherina” (9 nominations). We noted the serious shortcomings of the films – and both tapes failed Oscars.

The fantasy comedy thriller about a rebellious laundry owner “Everywhere and All at Once”, which received 11 nominations, was perceived as more of an event, but it was a triumph: 7 statuettes, including the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year. Two films with high ratings from us – the German “Everything is Quiet on the Western Front” and the American cartoon “Pinocchio Guillermo del Toro” won in their respective categories. Both have an anti-war, anti-dictatorship orientation.

The Oscar for the soundtrack went to the blockbuster Indian movie about the revolution “RRR”, the main dance scene of which was shot near the Mariinsky Palace in Kiev in 2021. More Now.

Focus later this year, he took a keen interest in the Oscar-nominated films. In this text, we will briefly reproduce our arguments by referring to detailed reviews of the films (we have reviewed almost all films except “The Whale”, which is mentioned only when talking about the Venice Film Festival).

While our evaluations of these films basically coincided with the opinion of the Film Academy, they differed from the evaluations of the Golden Globes and often the Western press. What else? Because the latter paid great attention to the status of directors, and therefore to their creation.

For example, Steven Spielberg’s film “Fabelmans” was named by the world press as the main contender for the Oscar. The tape received a Golden Globe in this category and Spielberg received the Best Director award. However, the family history was interesting primarily for the frankness of the master, who was not afraid to throw all the skeletons out of the family closets. But the tape is much weaker in emotional impact and much weaker in emotional impact than Spielberg’s paintings, in which some kind of disaster is played out, the consequences of which must be addressed, such as “Jaws”, “War of the Worlds” or “Schindler’s List”.

As for Martin McDonagh’s “Banshee Inisherin”, despite the tape’s high praise by Western critics and the tape’s Golden Globe win in the “Best Comedy or Musical” category (although there’s little comical out there) – there’s the motivation in the picture and the radical actions of the two main characters. big holes. In our material about the film, we showed that Martin McDonagh somehow mechanically transferred the qualities of murderers or members of criminal, radical groups to a musician and a shepherd. When he transferred the qualities of the townspeople to professional killers in the movie “Low Down in Bruges” – it looked fresh, but when he did the opposite – it turned out ridiculous.

Oscar Criteria: Major Winners

But “Oscar” appreciated the originality and relevance of directors and screenwriters Daniel Scheinert and Dan Kwan, who were the authors of the film “Everywhere and at the Same Time” (seven “Oscars”, including the award for the best film of the year). “Everything Everywhere” is a movie about the Chinese-American owner of a small laundromat who, tired of his daily routine and enters the multiverse, becomes a superhero who saves the world and also cleans up the accumulated rubble. in your private life.

There is also relevance and innovation in the German anti-war film directed by Edward Berger (four Oscars, including Best Foreign Language Film), based on Erich Maria Remarque’s novel All Quiet on the Western Front. Berger is absolutely ruthless with his compatriots – he portrays them as miserable invaders in France during the First World War, starving geese and dying dishonorably in the mud. The film does not arouse any sympathy for them and is relevant today, especially in light of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

In addition to all the above qualities, Pinocchio Guillermo del Toro also has the status of a Guillermo classic. This anti-dictatorship cartoon in which a wooden boy shatters the deadly absurdity of fascist Italy is now very useful. In addition, the master included in it the best things found in his phantasmagorical masterpieces. Today, “Pinocchio” appears to be Guillermo del Toro’s last and best work.

Crumbs went to blockbuster movies

Popular blockbuster movies are also flagged not to disturb. The “Oscar” for the voice went to the film with Tom Cruise about the best fighter “Top Gun: Maverick”, and for the special effects – the painting “Avatar: The Way of the Water” by James Cameron. Both are sequels years after the first movie.

But for some reason the innovative blockbuster “Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness” was never included in the list, where the structure and plot are very reminiscent of the main winner – “Everything is everywhere and at the same time.” But the opposite: in the second, the ignorant becomes a superhero through the multiverse, and in the Doctor, superheroes want to find the ignorant, but it is very simple and necessary for everyone – personal happiness.

Why was Doctor Strange never nominated? Maybe it’s because film scholars are still biased towards movies based on comics. Although Doctor Strange 2022 is a breakthrough.

As for the Indian blockbuster “RRR”, its creators received the soundtrack award. It is interesting that the key scene of the movie was shot near the Mariinsky Palace in Kiev. There, the Indians beat the British for the first time in a dance.

documentary conflict

“Best Documentary” was Canadian director Daniel Roer’s “Navalny”. They say that the movie “House of Shards” about the children of Donbass, shot in Ukraine by the famous Danish documentary filmmaker Simon Lereng Wilmont, is also good and the choice is not easy.

Let’s talk about the “Oscar” that went to actor Brendan Fraser for his role in Darren Aronofsky’s drama “The Whale.” The film itself caused polar criticism from critics (it’s now released in Ukrainian cinemas – and we can still judge it), but most of Fraser’s performance was positively reviewed. This figurine will give the Mummy star the opportunity to return to the big cinema after a long hiatus. Actors Austin Butler (“Elvis”) and Colin Farrell (“Banshee Inisherina”) still “passed by”, which was the hallmark of the Golden Globes. This year, a gap has emerged between the “Globe” and the “Oscars”.

Oscar-2023 received the following projects (full list):

• Best movie – “Everything, everywhere and at the same time”;
• Best Actor – Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”);
• Best Actress – Michelle Yeoh (“Everything, Everywhere”);
• Best Supporting Actor – Jonathan Ke Kwan (“Everything Everywhere”);
• Best Supporting Actress – Jamie Lee Curtis (“Everything Everywhere”);
• Best Director – Dani Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (“Everything Everywhere, All at the Same Time”);
• Best International Feature Film – Germany, All Quiet on the Western Front, Edward Berger;
• Best Short Film – “Irish Goodbye”;
• Best documentary film – “Navalny”;
• Best documentary short film – “Elephant Whispers”;
• Best Animated Feature Film – “Pinocchio Guillermo del Toro”;
• Best Animation Short – “Boy, Mole, Fox and Horse”;
• Best Art Direction – “All Quiet on the Western Front”;
• Best Visual Effects – “Avatar: The Path of Water”;
• Best Original Screenplay – “Everything, Everywhere, All at the Same Time”;
• Best Adapted Screenplay – Women Speak
• Best Sound – “Top Gun: Maverick”;
• Best Music (Original Music) – “All Quiet on the Western Front”;
• Best Music (Original Song) – Naatu Naatu / RRR
• Best film editing – “Everything, everywhere and at the same time”;
• Best Cinematography – “All Quiet on the Western Front”;
• The best make-up – “Kit”;
• Best Costume Design: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever