The Movie Rat

Best Films of 2013: 25-21

Posted on January 6, 2014 by bernardovillela

The easy question to ask is: “why do a list at all when you already have an awards slate on your site?” It’s a good question and I finally may have formulated the best response to it yet. Basically, it’s a less comparative discussion on each film that you feel marked the year fro you. In writing a list you discuss each film and a only every few numbers or so get bogged down in discussing placement.

I will try my best to avoid redundancy and will link and self-quote where I deem necessary but it was in re-watching something that I came upon the aforementioned truth. Awards with their winners and fellow nominees and then snub-ees can be read as a slight, though that is never the intent. A list as celebratory, if not more so because of the insularity of conversation.

Now 30 is a high number and I could’ve increased it. I saw the most eligible titles ever this year, but I wanted to further honor these films by having the percentile they represent be a smaller fraction than prior lists.

Let us continue with 25 to 21…

25. Room 514

As wonderful a dramatic device as an interrogation is, it’s hard to have a bulk of your film in that milieu and have it work this well. To do so you need mainly two things: a great hook and a great cast. This film has both.

This film contains one of the slyest, most telling pieces of foreshadowing I’ve seen in some time. I won’t give it away, but as I reflected on this film it seemed to me to be a modern, Israeli-set version of A Few Good Men. The drama is more intimate and behind closed doors, but what the film is about is the people and how they react in a given set of circumstances rather than what the consequences for said action is. The comments both societal and militaristic have been made and the story is at an end. The outside world may never feel any ramifications or repercussions from what occurred, but those behind said closed doors do.

What director Sharon Bar-Ziv achieves is an intimate tale not only in terms of the number of participants but also in the frame. There are many times where there is scarcely background to be spoken of as two faces, within very close proximity to one another, dominate our view. Their is an intense focus on the characters studying one another and we in turn study them and not only how they react to one another but also what they are saying.

For a film of this nature to achieve maximum effectiveness it needs great acting and it gets that from its three main players: Asia Naifeld, Guy Kapulnik and Udi Persi. Neifeld plays Anna the Military Police interrogator at the center of virtually every scene and her performance is a veritable tour de force. Her choices as an actress are as clear as the convictions of her character and really help bring this film home. It’s a fascinating tale that is worth your time as it really and truly engages you.

24. Straight A’s

One way in which it was easy to gauge whether or not a film was Best of the Year material was not only the score alone, but if I set out to just write a mini-review on it and ended up writing a full feature instead. A few of the titles in this section of the list fall into that category.

This first film was one of my top posts of the year and a rare DVD review. Here’s an excerpt of the section wherein I discuss the film:

The film has a very basic synopsis and I will not elaborate much at all on that here. It’s likely better that you go in knowing that much or less about this film. Straight A’s really caught me by surprise as a refreshing, character-driven family dramedy, that doesn’t get bogged down in the histrionics that are potential pitfalls of a film with a synopsis such as this one.

I will readily admit that I just may have a soft spot for family dramedies. However, the recent film in the subgenre that comes to mind for me is Fireflies in the Garden, and that film pushes its melodramatic limits, whereas there is a fairly realistic grounding to be found here. Characters’ motivations and reactions make sense, things are played up as much as they need to be and are still fairly effective. While the overtures of external conflict are apparent, there is also a lot inner-turmoil that the film is wise enough to hold the reins on, and allow some disputes to be settled sub-textually rather than textually.

There’s quite a bit to like in the performances, and the film itself. Not only is it a first quarter of 2013 release, that made it more likely to fly under the radar anyway, but it was one that didn’t have much fanfare at the time that is worth discovering.

23. The Magic Flute

On occasion, actually more often than not, a film being shelved an unreleased for a while has nothing to do with its quality or lack thereof. Usually, it’s a business decision. In fact, there’s an Italian Job sequel that’s so inadvertently similar to one of the Fast & Furious movies it appears to have been permanently shelved.

Seven years after its production Kenneth Branagh’s version of The Magic Flute, the only opera I can claim to have any sort of knowledge of, came to light. It inspired me to write about my history with the artform on film and here’s the section about the film in particular:

What Branagh does with this film is not that unlike what many have done with Shakespeare: the text is the same albeit translated and the setting is updated. This tale taking place during World War I.

Branagh’s doing this makes perfect sense when you consider that most are familiar with him through his Shakespearean adaptations. However, this film is perhaps the best assimilation of his sensibilities: there’s the classical dramatic sensibility he’s familiar with in Shakespeare and parlayed well in Thor, but also a zany, irreverent humor that he possesses as he’s shown as an actor in the Harry Potter series that fit this film as well.

Being an opera on film it will invariably have its stagier moments, but it has infinitely more cinematic ones. The camera, and at times even the characters in motion, accompany the movements of the music. This is especially true in the “Queen of the Night Aria” which is as mind-blowing cinematically as it is musically in this version.

In short, after all prior re-introductions to opera on film are taken into consideration the Looney Tunes are a wonderful warm up, but Kenneth Branagh’s The Magic Flute is the perfect introduction to opera for the uninitiated.

22. Allez, Eddy!

This is also a film that was to be a mini-review and grew, also from earlier in the year, and like the title below it deals with sports ostensibly but there’s a little more to it than that.

With a film such as Allez, Eddy! there are with its various components, which prescribe certain plot points and confrontations. However, what is unique about the film is the handling of said situations, not necessarily the situations themselves. Also, adding to the distinctive palate of the film is the combination of these situations.

To be a bit more specific, in this film you have: the tradition vs. advancement plot of the family-owned butcher shop versus the new supermarket, which in the setting of this tale is a new concept in an of itself. Then you also have the underdog sports story of a kid who comes out of nowhere to shock his hometown in emulation of his hero. Intermingled with those concepts is a family drama, but lastly you have the tale of an isolated child. The cause of his isolation is a malady that could be the cause for much potty humor, but is for the most part handled deftly and delicately. Already upon combining these things you can see this film is anything but run-of-the-mill.

All those items are tethered to one another so there’s no feeling of the film being disjointed as there is a unity to it all; a common thread. There are other subplots that could be touched upon, but its better that those be discovered in the film. Aside from their connection what makes the handling of these themes and plots unique is that things don’t always turn out as you expect or occur when you expect. The film sets you up believing there will be a clichéd climax or sequence and pulls a reverse on you at the last second.

21. V8 – Start Your Engines!

This was another review that ballooned, and believe me it was one of the more pleasantly surprising viewings of the past year. Yes, Massanek’s works had shown flashes of this promise and been showcases for young talent in films past, but I had not expected him to latch on to an idea so firmly that it allowed for results such as this:

At its core it’s a sports movie about four kids who are selected to challenge the reigning local go-kart champions, who are one win away from solidifying their place in a mystical castle. However, the myth of that locale, the secretive nature of these races and other things layer on a fantastical element to the story. Whereas Die Wilden Kerle seemed to leapfrog its predominant genre from film to film Masannek here it creating a melange from the get-go and what makes it even more impressive is the naturalistic way in which it occurs. It functions even with these disparate elements, such as being a film designed for kids, but also having its coming-of-age aspects, not unlike The Crocodiles (Vorstadtkrokodile), allows it to work on a few levels.

[…]

V8 not only does more juggling of genre elements and themes in kid-centric sports film than say something like Real Steel, but it also is a more sophisticated implementation of Masannek’s style as well as a series starting off on the right foot. As opposed to say the Fast & Furious franchise, which it does tip its hat to. V8 finishes its tale in a very gratifying fashion. How the final outcome is achieved is excellent and there are some good turns in the road along the way. It’s especially worth noting that the race that all the drama lead up to is also very well-executed. The film makes no secret of its intent to set-up a sequel, but it also finishes appropriately. With this as a set-up building quite a fascinating and endearing mythology, I welcome that prospect with open arms and I’m quite sure there are audiences worldwide that would too.

This list continues tomorrow with 20-16. To read the beginning of it go here.

Best Films of 2013: 30-26

Posted on January 5, 2014 by bernardovillela

Let us begin with 30 to 26…

30. Romeo and Juliet

This was a movie that came and went without much ado at all and was one of a handful of new adaptations of old, oft-told tales that was dismissed in part due to redundancy. I, for one, did not mind this new take at all. And found the twist, this version’s raison d’être was in not just going with casting closer to the characters’ actual descriptions but also who they got to be involved. The entire cast, not just the aforementioned faction, is superb. The scoring is quite wonderful. Even knowing many of these scenes as I still do they had the desired dramatic effect; even if a truncated version there’s less glitz and more viscera in this rendition than the Luhrmann re-imagining.

29. The Almost Man

If you look at the score I gave this film at the bottom of my mini-review it belies the fact that it’s grown on me from its first viewing. Ultimately there were some worthy re-interpretations of old tales and a remake that I left off this list in favor of more original fare. This is a film with laughter, heart and a more stunning case of arrested development than found in Frances Ha.

28. Insidious: Chapter 2

In the interest of full disclosure, I did make some decisions in light of trying to avoid redundancy. It was not a bad year for horror. I did see less, and see a lot of horror titles I didn’t like, but I do have a genre-specific list piggybacking this one such that if I could avoid duplicates I would. I could because there was a crazy amount of effective drama from the world over I found this year.

What made Insidious: Chapter 2 my favorite horror film of the year was the fact that I got from it a similar scare factor, crazy risk-taking and another great turn in the horror genre from Wan and Whannell.

27. This is the End

Similar for horror, barring a specific list, I don’t think the year was a bad one for comedies. However, the spot where I usually slot the funniest movie of the year, in a year such as this, slid down.

Is it goofy, off-the-wall and immature? Yes. However, it’s perhaps the perfect comedic antidote for a celebrity-obsessed society where you can now be famous just for being famous. You have actors playing themselves in a tongue-and-cheek lampooning of their onscreen personae that hits it out of the park time and time again.

In terms of my awards I was hard-pressed to eliminate any of the supporting performances of the cast, but it proved to hard to pick just one to represent them so they sort of canceled each other out. What will not be lost on me though is the fact that it’s the film I laughed hardest, longest and most often during this year and the one I went back to theatrically.

26. The Deflowering of Eva Van End

With a title like that you almost have to tackle it right away. I did so in my original write-up:

Eva is our entry into their world. She gives us our first glimpse of them and thus we see them in a very broad stroke. As Veit (Rafael Gareisen), the German exchange student who turns their world upside down, changes their behavior we learn about them, what their insecurities were and what they try to do to take control of an alter their lives.
It’s a very funny film in both its exaggerated renditions of reality, but also a very real one with dramatic consequences. The characters progress but are not perfect; they remain flawed in the end, but better for the experience. Veit could be the only one who walks through it unchanged. He is what he always is, it’s what the family projects him to be that alters.

Through artful cinematography, editorial finesse and music that enchantingly encapsulates this odd world, there are well-executed tonal shifts and visceral impact that far overcome any minor quibbles I may have. The Deflowering of Eva Van End is a film that paints the portrait of a family far more fully than its title suggest and is recommended viewing if you see it about.

This list continues with 25-21 tomorrow.

The Foreign Language Film Issue 2013: Immigrant Songs and Co-Productions (Part 3 of 5)

Posted on January 4, 2014 by bernardovillela

As has been the case in years past I will here look at some of the issues plaguing the Best Foreign Language Film nomination process at the Oscars. Since this year I am touching on a large array of interrelated topics I thought it best to post my thoughts in a series. To read the introductory post of the series go here.

This text picks up immediately where the last part left off.

Those are just three examples that came to mind wherein I had some information and/or a contact to bounce ideas off of. There are likely many more examples. The first that jumps out is China but the Wikipedia page on Oscar submissions does not breakdown dialect of submissions as do some other pages.

However, also becoming far more prevalent are films that cross borders either because they deal with immigration worldwide or because the stories and/or financing dictate as such.

Immigrant Songs

Some recent films that deal with immigration narratives occurring outside the US are:

Shun Li and the Poet

Tells a story concerning Chinese diaspora wherein she connects with a Croatian expat who is well established in Italy.

Italian Movies

Also set in Italy but tells a tale involving a far greater cross-section of immigrants from disparate places.

Two Lives

is Germany’s Oscar submission this year and while it concerns Stasi activity in the Former German Democratic Republic much of the action is set in Norway and much of the dialogue is in Norwegian.

Eat Sleep Die

Is Sweden’s entry in the 2014 Oscar fray and concerns a Muslim émigré from the Balkans.

These are just a few examples of fairly contemporary films where even within the narrative placing and appellation of origin on the film can be a little murkier than it has been in the past. The underlying point of all these pieces is really that the world is changing, and the nature of the film business is as well, at a far more expedient rate than the foreign language film Oscar rules.

Co-Productions and the Conundrum of Nationality in a Globalized World

Even when the narrative seems pretty centralized in terms of setting and physical production facilities usually you’re looking at a multinational pool of funds that went into making said film.

A few quick examples from just last year would be Amour and The Artist. Amour had French producers, cast, script, setting, and facilities; the other portions of money and the brain-trust was Austrian. It being a Haneke project Austria submitted it.

So long as there is the one film/country rule in place I’m fine with committees choosing to submit a film or pass on it. The aforementioned Two Lives most definitely felt like a more Germanic film, especially when you consider some of the behind-the-scenes talent. Norway opted for I am Yours which tells the tale of a Norwegian-Pakistani single mother struggling in love.

This series will conclude in mid-January after my lists and awards are complete.

Foreign Language Film Issues 2013: Multiculturalism (Part 2 of 5)

Posted on January 3, 2014 by bernardovillela

Multiculturalism

This is the driving force behind my writing this year. When you look at many of the top film producing countries in the world quite a few of them are multilingual/multicultural. Even countries of smaller population and film production have to balance choices of films in different languages, from different regions.

Some examples:

Belgium

With a Belgian film ranking high on my year-end list last year, along with my having seen many eligible for this year be they bi-lingual, in Flemish, French or a co-production; Belgium was clearly one of the motivating factors for me to even think of this oversight. Belgium is a small country but not one without cinematic pedigree. Therefore, when you factor in the nation’s bilingual status selecting one representative film can prove tricky.

I asked Yves Verbraeken, producer of North Sea Texas, for his insights on the process of selecting the Belgian representative. The process is as follows:

“A jury of six film industry professionals chooses the submission from a shortlist of four preselected features. The four get to defend their case and one is then selected. Always keeping in mind if the film will stand a chance with the voters.

How that shortlist is determined was not know but “all distributed films in theory are examined.”

In its history Belgium has had a fairly balanced slate of nominees in terms of language of the official submission (19 in Flemish or Dutch, 19 in French, 2 Bilingual) I agree that usually the better of the finalists is likely to have been opted for, but I think it’d be ideal (in a nation fairly equally divided linguistically) if there was a chance at an additional submission.

There is a general acknowledgment the more I discuss the process with people that strategy, with regards to Oscar chances, does factor in. However, removal of national film bodies from the process does not seem to be the answer.

“I think the system works. I didn’t like it either that ‘North Sea Texas’ was not the Oscar entry but on the other hand what would have been its chances considering the profile of the voters in that category.”

I kind of have the same thoughts with regards to a votership with some members that would fill out a ballot like this or give rationale such as this when interviewed even anonymously. So no it won’t be perfect, but it can get a little better, and the committees internationally have their place but they can get help.

Canada

The interesting thing with regards to Canada is that Fast Runner, a tale about the Inuit people in their native language, not only created a new spin on neorealism at the very tail end of the 20th century, but though it was that it was 1999 release, and an Academy Award nominee six years before the Academy waived its “Official Language” rule.

Now when I hear the term ‘Official Language’ I get extraordinarily literal. The official languages of Canada are English and French. After all being an Official Language, especially in a nation that’s officially bilingual, usually carries with it quite a few stipulations. However, how can one claim that a language spoken by a First Nation doesn’t qualify as an “Official Language”? I know I wouldn’t try.

Presumably the potential for disqualification was discussed and seen internally as a non-issue, I would’ve been inclined to try to talk to the Academy about it (if they’d answer the question). Though not a language concern, I kind of saw the Czech Republic’s disqualification coming and am not sure why that film was submitted in the first place. Therefore in 1999-2000 I would’ve been paranoid about submitting such a film and done all I could to make sure it’d count.

I made contact with a press agent for the production company that made the film but they had no substantive comment on the matter save for the fact that they did communicate with committee members in Canada leading up to the selection.

Regardless, Canada, as well as any other nation with an indigenous population, is a country that one may not often think of when the prospect of strong candidates in different languages emerging from the same nation. The third film in the series, Before Tomorrow, was not an Academy Award nominee but one of my top 10 films of 2009.

India

When it struck me that language was another potential barrier in the one film/country rule that the Oscars are holding steadfastly to, India was clearly one place I thought of that may be hampered by such a stipulation. Bollywood is the world’s biggest film industry, but not unlike the US and other nations there is an indie and regional scenes. Combine that with the fact that there are myriad cultures and dialects and you have a maelstrom of possibilities and potential pitfalls in the selection process.

Sure enough this year there was a big kerfuffle when India announced it’s choice. However, when I asked Twitter friend, Abhirup Maitra, about that incident specifically here was his rendition of it:

What essentially happened was a massive ego clash.The Lunchbox was a well made film but so was The Good Road, India’s entry into the Oscars. When the latter was chosen to be the official entry into the Oscars, chaos ensued from the opposite camp.It was produced mainly by Anurag Kashyap’s AKFPL which is a big enough production banner in India. What I couldn’t comprehend was, even though your film wasn’t chosen, you should be humble enough to respect the one which was selected. Instead, they took to Twitter saying how utterly “flabbergasted” they were when the news of the selection came out. That is reprehensible behavior in my books. Respect the other and move on! Try to rectify your errors and eradicate them in the future. Instead they chose to attack the jury et al. Some people never learn.

So it appears that while one film was a Mumbai-set Hindi film and another a Gujarat narrative this “controversy” was inflamed more by professional discourtesy than by any perceived regionalism.

As Abhirup put it culture clashes are “…a factor but not a big reason. India is so diverse, everyone actually welcomes perspectives…people (cinephiles!) are interested to know about the daily life of a labourer from Himachal Pradesh or someone from Gujarat.”

Yet Abhirup echoes sentiments I have about “accommodating more multi-cultural nations” and also that “international co-production should be encouraged.” Which all points both toward how films are moving and to how the Academy is out of step in this regard. I feel that with the simple changes I will propose that perhaps even this clash could have been avoided.

Part 3 will go live tomorrow!

2013 BAM Award Nominations

Posted on January 2, 2014 by bernardovillela

Process

This year the BAMs took on a different approach to deciding the nominees than in years past.

The considerations were assembled on a monthly basis and posted on the site. At the end of each month master lists were updated offline.

Upon the creation of the shortlists the total number of eligible titles in each category was reduced by 50-66%.

Since that point I have slowly reduced the fields to come up with the nominees. All “film” categories have 10 nominees, except for Best Documentary. All other categories have 5 nominees, save for the individual youth acting categories which occasionally have six.

Introduction

It was a pretty great, and quirky year of viewings for me, as the nominations will bear witness to. The nominations will merely list honorees. Further commentary and explication will be offered with the winners post in a week’s time.

Nominees complete, a link to a list of eligible titles will follow.

Best Picture

Blue Jasmine
Broken  
Class Enemy
Disconnect
Ender’s Game
Frozen
The Giants
It’s All So Quiet
Time of My Life  
Stoker

Best Foreign Film

The Broken Circle Breakdown
Class Enemy
The Giants
The Hunt
It’s All So Quiet
Museum Hours
The Old Man
Three Worlds
Time of My Life 
V8- Start Your Engines

Most Overlooked Film

 Allez, Eddy!
Blind Spot
Broken
Class Enemy
The Color of the Chameleon
Deep Dark Canyon
It’s All So Quiet
Mother, I Love You
The Old Man
V8 – Start Your Engines!

Best Documentary

Brooklyn Castle
The Diplomat
Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie
A Place at the Table
The Short Game

Best Director

Woody Allen Blue Jasmine
Gavin Hood Ender’s Game 
Rufus Norris Broken
Chan-wook Park Stoker
Henry Alex Rubin  Disconnect

Best Actress

Veerle Baetens The Broken Circle Breakdown
Cate Blanchett Blue Jasmine
Judi Dench Philomena
Mary Margaret O’Hara Museum Hours
Barbara Sukowa Hannah Arendt

Best Actor

Spencer Treat Clark Deep Dark Canyon
 Nick Eversman Deep Dark Canyon
Koen De Graeve Time of My Life
Johan Heldenbergh The Broken Circle Breakdown
Igor Samobor Class Enemy

Best Supporting Actress

Doroteja Nadrah Class Enemy
 Sally Hawkins Blue Jasmine
 Isabelle Huppert Amour
Imelda Staunton The Awakening
Liv Ullmann Two Lives

Best Supporting Actor

Voranc Boh Class Enemy
Harrison Ford Ender’s Game 
Ben Kingsley Iron Man 3
Matthew McConaughey Mud
Sam Rockwell The Way, Way Back

Best Cast

Igor Samobor, Natasa Barbara Gracner, Tjasa Zeleznik, Masa Derganc, Robert Prebil, Voranc Boh, Jan Zupancic, Dasa Cupevski, Doroeja Nadrah, Spela Novak, Pia Korbar, Dan David Mrevlje Natlacen, Jan Vrhonik, Kangjing Qiu, Estera Dvornik, Peter Techmeister, etc. in Class Enemy
Jason Bateman, Hope Davis, Frank Grillo, Michael Nyqvist, Paula Patton, Andrea Riseborough, Alexander Skarsgård, Colin Ford, Jonah Bobo, Haley Ramm, Aviad Bernstein, etc. in Disconnect
Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Kingsley, Abigail Breslin, Viola Davis, Aramis Knight, Suraj Partha, Khylin Rhambo, Jimmy ‘Jax’ Pinchak, Nonso Anozie, Conor Carroll, Caleb J, Thaggard, Brandon Soo Hoo, etc. in Ender’s Game
Johan Heldenbergh, Veerle Baertens, Nell Cattrysse, Geert Van Rampelberg, Nils De Caster, Robbie Cleiren, Bert Huysentruyt, Jan Bijvoet, etc. The Broken Circle Breakdown
Koen De Graeve, Geert Van Rampelberg, Lotte Pinoy, Michel van Dousselaere, Viviane de Muynck, Iwein Segers, Felix Maesschalck, Eva van der Gucht, An Miller, Ben Segers, Lucas Vandervost, Leo Achten, Sam Bogaerts, Vincenzo De Jonghe, Kevin Van Doorslaer and Senn Van Eeckelen in Time of My Life

Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Leading Role

Lika Babulani In Bloom
Elle Fanning Ginger & Rosa
 Eloise Laurence Broken
Maya Lauterbach V8- Start Your Engines
Sophie Nélisse The Book Thief
Ryan Simpkins Arcadia

Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Leading Role

Asa Butterfield Ender’s Game
Zacherie Chasseriaud The Giants
Gage Munroe I Declare War
Tye Sheridan Mud
Ty Simpkins Arcadia
Georg Sulzer V8- Start Your Engines

Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Supporting Role

Mariam Bokeria In Bloom
Annie Rose Buckley Saving Mr. Banks
Nell Cattrysse The Broken Circle Breakdown
Coline Leempoel Allez, Eddy!
 Klara Merkel V8- Start Your Engines

Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Supporting Role

 Isaac Hempstead Wright The Awakening
Samuel Jakob V8- Start Your Engines
Nico Liersch The Book Thief
Kodi Smit-McPhee Romeo and Juliet
Ty Simpkins Iron Man 3
Nick Romeo Reimann V8 – Start Your Engines

Best Youth Ensemble

Eloise Laurence, Faye Daveney, Martha Bryant, Bill Milner, Rosalie Kosky, and George Sargeant in Broken
Jelte Blommaert, Mathias Vergels, Coline Leempoel, Jelle Cleymans, Julian Borsani, Jelle Florizoone, Ben Van den Heuvel, etc. in Allez, Eddy!
Georg Sulzer, Maya Lauterbach, Samuek Jakob, Klara Merkel, Emilio Moutaoakkil, Tom Hoßbach, Nick Romeo Reimann, Heiner Lauterbach, Janina Fautz, etc. in V8- Start Your Engines
Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Abigail Breslin, Aramis Knight, Suraj Partha, Khylin Rhambo, Jimmy ‘Jax’ Pinchak, Conor Carroll, Caleb J, Thaggard, Brandon Soo Hoo, etc. in Ender’s Game
Siam Yu, Colton Stewart, Gage Munroe, Michael Friend, Aidan Gouveia, Mackenzie Munro, Alex Cardillo, Dyson Fyke, Spencer Howes, Andy Reid, Richard Nguyen, Eric Hanson, and Alex Wall in I Declare War

Best Original Screenplay 

Woody Allen Blue Jasmine
Elise Ancion, Bouli Lanners, and Matthieu Reynaert The Giants
Nejc Gazvoda, Rok Bicek and Janez Lapajne Class Enemy
Wentworth Miller Stoker
Andrew Stern Disconnect

Best Adapted Screenplay

Gavin Hood based on a novel by Orson Scott Card Ender’s Game
Jennifer Lee, Story Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck and Shane Morris, based on “The Snow Queen” by Hans Christian Andersen; Frozen
Nanouk Leopold based on the novel The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker; It’s All So Quiet
 Mark O’Rowe based on a novel by Daniel Clay Broken 
Ermek Tursunov based on The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway; The Old Man

Best Cinematography 

Murat Aliyev The Old Man
Hans Bruch Jr. The Fifth Season
 Chun-hoon Chung Stoker
Larry Smith Only God Forgives
Alexis Zabe Post Tenebras Lux

Best Makeup

The Depraved
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Two Lives
Warm Bodies
V8- Start Your Engines

Best Editing

 Victoria Boydell Broken
Shane Carruth and David Lowery Upstream Color
Nicholas De Toth Stoker
Nico Leunen The Broken Circle Breakdown 
Lee Percy and Kevin Tent Disconnect  

Best Visual Effects

Iron Man 3 
Pacific Rim 
Elysium
Gravity
Ender’s Game

Best Sound Editing/Mixing

Berberian Sound Studio
Ender’s Game
Imaginaerum
Leviathan
V8- Start Your Engines

Best Costume Design

Byzantium
Ender’s Game
The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
Romeo and Juliet
V8- Start Your Engines

Best Art Direction

Ender’s Game
Imaginaerum
 The Magic Flute
Only God Forgives 
V8- Start Your Engines

Best Score

Petri Alanko and Nightwish Imaginaerum
Steve Jablonski Ender’s Game
Clint Mansell Stoker
Daniel Pemberton The Awakening
Fernando Velázquez Mama

Best (Original) Song 

“For the First Time in Forever” Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel Frozen
“Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” Kristen Bell, Agatha Lee Monn, Katie Lopez Frozen
“If I Needed You” The Broken Circle Breakdown Bluegrass Band The Broken Circle Breakdown
“Shine Supernova” Cody Simpson Escape from Planet Earth
“Let it Go” Idina Menzel Frozen

The Robert Downey, Jr., Award for Entertainer of the Year Award

Winner to be announced on January 9th, 2013.

The Ingmar Bergman Lifetime Achievement Award

Winner to be announced on January 9th, 2013.

Neutron Star Award

Winner to be announced on January 9th, 2013.

Special Jury Awards

To be determined

BAM Best Picture Profile: Inception (2010)

Posted on January 1, 2014 by bernardovillela

Introduction

After my series of posts on Django Unchained which began with a translation and then spawned my own posts I wanted to have posts for all my Best Picture winners. Therefore, I decided to revisit those I’ve not written about here.

NOTE: 2009’s Best Picture Where the Wild Things Are was reviewed here, therefore skipped in this retrospective.

Inception (2010)

One theme that I can’t help but notice in my Best Picture winners is that in quite a few of them there’s been a sense of anticipation. Now, on the flip side there will be just as many, I wager, that took me completely by surprise, but quite a few I saw coming ahead of time.

On the Site That Must Not Be Named, in part because there was an impetus there to write about breaking news, I wrote a piece about Inception prior to its release.

Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movie Inception seems like it might be another mind-bender in very much the same vein, perhaps, of Memento and The Prestige but to the nth degree. It is described by its logline as: ““a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind.” The plot is still rumored at this point and is under a cloud of quasi-Spielbergian secrecy. There are clues to it complexity though, as Nolan has been quoted as saying that it is “the biggest challenge” he has faced.

The cast is not only studded with stars but with talent featuring the likes of: Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Michael Caine and stars Leonardo DiCaprio who has the most telling quote about the film’s complexity saying in the Inquirer:

“The material and its complexity are what I’m attracted to…I’ve been lucky to work with people who want to tell stories that hit on different cylinders simultaneously. ‘Shutter Island’ is definitely that. ‘Inception’ is the same. It is Chris delving into dream psychoanalysis and, at the same time, making a high-octane, surreal film that came from his mind. He wrote the entire thing and it all made sense to him. It didn’t make sense to many of us when we were doing it. We had to do a lot of detective work (laughing) to figure out what the movie was about.”

Sounds like it should be one of the more intriguing summer releases and perhaps even more apropos for the fall.

One thing that that piece doesn’t mention is something that could only be realized when the film was released, and something that was only hammered home when I read the published version of the screenplay: in the introduction Christopher Nolan discussed how he wanted to do a film about dreams but what he needed was a recognizable mechanism to convey the story and make it accessible. So what he ended up finding was a heist film model. And the heist scene is one of my favorite parts no doubt, even though some of the parts fall into that new-age that’s-not-a-plothole style dialogue.

One thing that really impressed me was how small a film, how much less impressive this film was on blu-ray when I revisited it. It surely is a meant-to-be viewed on the big screen experience. In the end my thoughts from 2010 have not changed much in hindsight.

You will rarely if ever see such an audacious combination of high concept and highbrow. Typically, a film dealing in dreams is too busy being aloof to tell a coherent much less have an intelligent storyline. Nolan’s film is not, in my mind, overly-concerned with trying to confound quite on the contrary one of the few negatives you could say about it is that it is very concerned with making sure the audience is still holding on tight almost as if the subtext of certain lines of dialogue is “Are you still with me here?”

Yet it manages to impart its information in a way that is not overly-expository, we never learn what’s eating at Cobb all at once. In fact, we don’t know there is anything for some time. An important point is danced around in one scene and cleverly revealed later. A character unaccustomed to the world of dream espionage is the vessel through which we learn.

Inception takes a wild vision of the future and makes it seem mundane and doesn’t make a spectacle of itself but slowly builds a world and a narrative. It’s a blur slowly coming into focus and with each ratchet towards clarity more and more meaning can be inferred. It is a grandiose tale told in the intimacy of the psyche of its characters. It’s a tale that reduces large concepts into characters that dresses as a heist film only to shed that skin and reveal something even more appealing.

Yet through all its brashness, pomp and circumstance there is a deft hand at the controls of this tale too. It is a film that does hint at larger meanings that travels through the catacombs of the mind and makes you consider if you are reminded of someone… a man you met in a half-remembered dream.

BAM Best Picture Award Profile: Let the Right One In (2008)

Posted on December 31, 2013 by bernardovillela

Each year, I try and improve the site, and also try to find a new an hopefully creative and fun way to countdown to the unveiling of the year’s BAM Awards. Last year, I posted most of the BAM Nominee and winner lists (Any omissions will be fixed this year). However, when I picked Django Unchained as the Best Picture of 2012 I then realized I had recent winner with no write-ups. I soon corrected that by translating a post and writing a series of my own. The thought was all films honored as Best Picture should have at least one piece dedicated to them. So I will through the month of December be posting write-ups on past winners.

Let the Right One In (2008)

Not that long before Twilight descended on the world Let the Right One In crept up on the United States in limited release. And I’m fairly sure that I got to see it before I subjected myself to that first work that purports to be a New Age vampire tale. Let the Right One In concerns a bullied boy, Oskar, who finds a most unusual ally, Eli, and is a film that’s surgically precise and brainy enough for viewers of all ages; demanding rather than seeking serious consideration and easily sustaining gravitas.

There are a lot of things that stand out about this film, not the least of which is that it was my first introduction to the work of John Ajvide Lindqvist. He’s the latest Swedish literary sensation and the most recent, most naturally presumed successor to the horror in commonplace crown that the still-alive-and-kicking Stephen King wears so well. I’ve not yet read this book, but I’ve read Lindqvist since this time and plan to continue doing so. What’s evidenced in this film is not just Alfredson’s fine direction (which is re-iterated in his follow-up Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) but also the quality and depth of Alqvist’s narrative.

Another testament to this tale that I can cite without even delving into the picture itself too deeply is the fact that this is one of the few foreign films of any ilk, much less one in the horror genre, that has spawned an American remake that comes anywhere near having the same tonal quality, emotional complexity, and performances on par with the original. Yes, as I cite in my review, Matt Reeves and crew get full marks for their Americanization, but the bones are there and if well-reproduced can create an engaging tale in almost any nation and language.

Getting down to the film in an of itself perhaps the most brilliant thing about this film is indeed the balance and the unusual co-existence of so many seemingly disparate elements. You have in this film horror and a coming-of-age, however, they co-exist in such a way that it’s not gimmickry or even overt commentary on either state of being. The given parameters of the situation complement each other so perfectly that once you’re eased in to the tale it seems like the most natural combination in the world.

Then you, of course, have the performances of Lina Leandersson and Kåre Hedebrant who have to play two very opposite characters and come to a mutual understanding. Leandersson is guarded, as one in her condition must be, and carefully examines her new friend to see if, in fact, he is the right one that must be let in. Hedebrant’s natural sensitivity allow him to convey a state or near perpetual petrification that is usually broken only by his fascination with his new friend and neighbor.

All this reasoning aside there is a moment, usually a more enigmatic, intangible one wherein a film’s Best Picture status makes itself clear; something I feel right in my gut. With this film it was the fact that, for the first time since early childhood, I was watching a movie I literally didn’t want to see the end of. That’s a kind of magic that’s hard to capture, but this film had the right elements in place, and a proper pace to make such a thought possible.

There are a few rarities and a first in this selection: although the second in a row, a foreign language film isn’t often my Best Picture, and as much as I love horror, it’s the only horror film to have claimed the top prize. Here’s hoping both those categories are represented again. If they are in the same film odds are Alqvist will have something to do with it.

BAM Best Picture Award Profile: Day Watch (2007)

Posted on December 30, 2013 by bernardovillela

Day Watch (2006)

Firstly, it must be said that I cannot recommend you go out and see Day Watch unless you’ve seen Night Watch first. Yes, this is a sequel. In a way similar to what occurred in 2002 this is a sequel that is a game-changer. However, while Attack of the Clones merely changed Star Wars in my eyes, giving me a glimmer of what it is that drew the fanbase; The game-changing here is completely narrative-based. I cannot get too deeply into except to say that it’s a second installment that not only trumps the first entirely, but also sets the table for almost anything and everything to happen in the third.

Now the bittersweet follow-up to that sentiment is that the third installment, at least on film, may never come. The films are based on a trilogy of novels by Russian authors Sergey Lukyanenko and Vladimir Vasiliev. As best as I can tell co-writer and director Timur Bekmambetov still has ahold of the rights. While I was tempted to be mad at him for coming to the US and directing and producing things I either didn’t like or had no interest in seeing, I read a while back that one of the hold-ups was that financiers wanted to make a third installment in English, which I am against. If that’s the case I applaud the holding out.

Leading me to my next point that if you do seek these films out do so by watching with the original audio. I’ll not bash dubbing all the time, but when it’s bad it’s awful and the dubbing here is the worse. Aside from the fact that you hear the actors speak in the Russian language version you also get some of the most creative implementation of subtitles that you’re likely to see. The text floats about where it makes the most sense for it to be, the lettering is stylized and dynamic and is every bit as much an artistic statement .

At its very core, when boiled down to a bare minimum, yes this is a narrative like others you’ve heard of before. The series is a tale of the eternal unseen battle between forces of darkness and light in a very literal way. However, it’s the adornments, the style and the production that give the films their added flair and meaning. It’s also not a film whose cultural setting is inconsequential, which is a large part of why an English-language follow-up would be a mistake, being a Russian story very much factors into this film.

This was the first year my awards went to 10 Best Picture nominees. I cited it as not being a very strong year at the time, but the top couple of films were quite memorable. Even if this series never sees completion this is quite a way to go.

BAM Best Picture Profile: Wah-Wah (2006)

Posted on December 30, 2013 by bernardovillela

Wah-Wah (2006)

In many of these recaps I discussed my pre-life with the film. In some cases they were either adaptations of stories I already knew rather well, or that I had anticipated for some time. I had no idea Wah-Wah was coming or even existed until right before I saw it. There was a review for it in the weekend section of the Philadelphia Inquirer and I decided to head out and see it based on that.

The last time I’d seen Nicholas Hoult onscreen prior to this film was in the marvelous About a Boy, which made a rather significant dent in the 2002 BAM Awards. This tale is a bit different but one I was drawn to nonetheless. Being perhaps the most obscure title I’ve ever selected as Best Picture I will cite an IMDb synopsis.

Set at the end of the ’60s, as Swaziland is about to receive independence from Great Britain, the film follows the young Ralph Compton, at 12, through his parents’ traumatic separation, till he’s 14. It is written and directed by Richard E. Grant, and based on true events from Richard E. Grant’s childhood.

So you have a few things at work here: although playing off two completely different cultures, I could certainly relate to the story of a British boy growing up in Swaziland. As a dual-dual citizen there is a that sense of belonging in two places that’s a commonality. With the impending independence there’s also the perfect backdrop for a coming-of-age tale. The feeling of ex-empire underscore Harry’s (Gabriel Byrne) feelings of inadequacy. The family and their situation are viewed with perfect clarity by Ruby, Harry’s new wife, played brilliantly by Emily Watson, who vocalizes the film’s title as an imitation of the family’s complaining. Alongside them is Miranda Richardson, as Ralph’s (Hoult) mother, and Julie Walters, too, as a neighbor.

In preparing this write-up I read on the IMDb page that this was the first film ever to be shot in Swaziland, which is certainly an interesting footnote. Of course, one of the great things about cinema is that it can take you places and underscore things you had never really considered before. The liberation from colonization of Africa had many ramifications and permutations and this is just one of them. It’s also a wonderful means of personal expression, of course, and that’s where this film succeeds. It’s not run-of-the-mill but it does put you as a viewer in a position to identify with situations even though the world you’re witnessing is not of this time and not your own.

Wah-Wah is a captivating, funny, heart-rending family drama and coming of age story that is one not much talked about that’s just waiting for you to discover it.

BAM Best Picture Profile- The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

Posted on December 28, 2013 by bernardovillela

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

The Chronicles of Narnia is another series that I have a long history with. I presume it must’ve been The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe that was a book read aloud when I was in a Montessori grade school. We later saw the BBC animated rendition of that book at least (if not more of them- and it’s a far less frightening animated version than their take on The Hobbit). I don’t recall ever revisiting the books, or continuing the series in my childhood.

Then when the first film version was due out naturally the books became more prominently displayed in stores again. I seized the opportunity (as films have been known to occasionally act as catalysts to me reading) to acquire the omnibus presentation of the entire series in the now-preferred reading order; the one first suggested to Lewis by a young reader named Laurence. Since I commuted quite a bit at the time, and it was the end of the semester, I had quite a bit more free time on my hands. I ended up reading the entire series in a weeks’ time, at least one of the books being the ever-so-rare re-read.

This had to be less than one month prior to the release of the film. Therefore, I was quite ready for it. However, I was not expecting what I ended up getting. Firstly, as I’ve highlighted before distance between the reading of a book and then seeing the film can be a great, even a beneficial thing. It leaves you less encumbered by the facts and more willing to accept a tonally true version. So the film had that against it rather than for it.

I ended up finding myself very engaged and enthralled by the vision of this land presented in a way I’d not seen, nor ever imagined. Perhaps more so than in any other book in the series, Wardrobe focuses on a character’s struggles with temptations and greed. In the “Pevensie Tales” it is Edmund who is the most layered and interesting and it is in this story, through the writing, directing and rendition by Skandar Keynes that he fully, vibrantly comes to life. Alongside him is one of the more brilliantly portrayed antagonists in recent memory – Tilda Swinton’s White Witch.

It’s reflecting back on this film this year that lead me to a truth: I cannot cite thinly-veiled propaganda or allegory alone as a dismissal of a film; films both good and bad can be hung with that label. I say that because the Biblical allusions in the series, this installment especially, are fairly overt. However, what’s at the core of the tale are things far more universal and eternal: basic values and human struggles that are not unique to those of the Christian faith. It just seems these books/films take a lot of backlash (especially via ridiculous comparison to the works of Tolkien and friend and rival of Lewis’) as if they were some Bible-thumping bore. Whereas I’m rather sure the same fundamentalists appalled by Harry Potter, don’t take to kindly to talking beasts; especially a godly one (symbol or not).

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe was another late-in-the-year jolt to my awards picture. It was the beginning of what, most certainly behind-the-scenes, has been a long and most unusual journey. The series through three films has seen two studios, and now survives based on its international grosses. The fourth film, The Silver Chair, has a green light, a writer, a new production company and potentially a new studio (that remains to be seen). This was the start, and even in my fandom, I admit Prince Caspian was a letdown, but think the series righted itself. Now as it awaits its next port I still look back on this installment with the greatest of fondness; not just for bringing a treasured childhood tale to life, but to the cast for making the Penvesies more engaging and vibrant than I could have imagined.