Apocalypse Now

In the days leading up to announcing this year’s Oscar nominations, I noticed Alfonso Cuaron’s Children of Men showing up on several lists, not to mention its recognition by critics groups and guilds, especially for Emmanuel Lubezki’s eye-popping cinematography. This one was, according to its most loyal supporters, a true contender for the Big Prize.

I saw it last night and was most certainly impressed, if not moved, by Cuaron’s horrifying glimpse at doomsday, based on PD James’ novel from the early 1990s. The movie is a perfect example of a talented filmmaker and storyteller working at the peak of his talents. There’s a also a fine, raggedy performance at its center courtesy of Clive Owen (who I thought was the only logical successor for James Bond, that is until Mr. Craig came along…but I’m digressing again…).

Leaving the theater, while mulling on how much I admired this film, I thought about all of the other good movies this year that, like this one, are certainly praiseworthy but so depressing or even nihilistic: Babel, United 93, Flags/Letters, The Departed, An Inconvenient Truth, Little Children, even Notes on a Scandal. Acclaimed works, one and all, but none of them exactly uplifting. Could this be one of the reasons Little Miss Sunshine has captured the collective fancy? Are we drawn to it not because it’s a well-made movie but because, unlike most of its competitors, it makes us happy? Just wondering.

By the way, for a good appreciation of Children of Men, check out Jonathan Romney’s excellent piece in the current Film Comment.

While hanging out over at Oscarwatch, where I spend far too much time these days, I discovered yet another good blog, this one hosted by Edward Copeland. There is lots of good stuff here, including several posts that welcome and encourage response from his loyal readers. I quickly and happily jumped into the mix, in response to a good entry about how journalists continue to get their Oscar facts wrong. Another piece, “When Did Oscar First Betray You?” has a multitude of fun, even feverish replies. Check it out.

It was robbed!!
No matter how often we agree with the results of an Oscarcast, there seem to be more instances when we are enraged, appalled, and swearing to boycott the Awards for the rest of our lives. How often have you agreed with the Best Picture champ? If you ask me, they rarely get it right (exceptions being Lawrence of Arabia, Godfather II, and Schindler’s List which come quickly to mind.) So, let’s take a moment and rewrite history. If you were the High Priest/ess of Oscardom, what would you have anointed as the year’s best? It need not be one of the five nominees. Let’s only go back a decade or this thing could get really complicated. My choices are as follows:

1995 Sense and Sensibility
1996 Secrets & Lies
1997 Boogie Nights
1998 Saving Private Ryan
1999 Topsy-Turvy
2000 Almost Famous
2001 Gosford Park
2002 Far From Heaven*
2003 LOTR: The Return of the King
2004 Sideways
2005 Brokeback Mountain

*This was an unusually great year. In addition to Heaven, we also had The Hours, El Crimen de Padre Amaro, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Talk to Her, Chicago, LOTR: The Two Towers (my favorite of the three), Gangs of New York, Bowling for Columbine, and Frida.

Heavenly, indeed.