LOLA'S FAVOURITES FROM THE OSCARS 2024

(This article does NOT contain spoilers)

For years, I've been starting the year waiting for the Oscar nominations to come out so I can start a marathon of the nominees. This year I had already seen quite a few of the nominees before they were confirmed, even so, there is always a lot of work ahead. I could start with the largest categories because that would be the logical order, but I’m not one to follow any logic, so I'll leave the big ones for last.

Best international film is always one of my favourite categories, since it helps me discover films and filmmakers that I didn't know. It already happened in 2022 with 'Drive my Car' by Ryūsuke Hamaguchi (who I fell in love with from the first frame) or 'The Worst Person in the World ' by Joachim Trier. This is super interesting for me because in the end, the nominees for the big categories are quite obvious if you follow mainstream cinema, but the most stimulating for me tend to be the international films and documentaries. This year my highlights from these categories are: '20 Days in Mariupol' (best documentary), 'The Zone of Interest' and 'Perfect Days' (both nominated for Best international film), and I will tell you why in the following paragraphs.

If you have Filmin and a good stomach, I recommend '20 Days in Mariupol', a very raw portrait of the conflict in Ukraine, specifically a siege at the hands of the Russians in the city of Mariupol during February and March 2022. We tend to forget how important it is to give voice to the conflicts that are occurring, not only so that they cease but so that they do not spread. We are too used to watching war films and that makes us passive in the face of war because we see it almost as fiction, as something distant. In my opinion, these documentaries remind us that reality is usually harder than fiction, a pretty terrifying statement in this case.

The Zone of Interest by Jonathan Glazer

Another film (fiction) that left me impressed was 'The Zone of Interest', by Jonathan Glazer (director of 'Under the Skin', God, do I love that film), which deals with the conflict of World War II in a way I had never seen before. It's so cold and at the same time so explicit... It's the first movie about Nazis in which I don't see a single death (you don't see them, but you hear them). There is a resource that I love about cinema and it is when something is shown without showing it. The first scene of the film in which you see an example of this, is when the protagonist comes home and takes off his boots to have them washed, and when a servant washes the shoe soles, you can see that they were full of blood. You don't know where that blood comes from, you haven't seen it, but you don't need to see it either. What's more, perhaps it is more heartbreaking to not see it, to dehumanise in this way the people they killed without even considering them people. Does that sound familiar to you?

To get rid of the bad taste in our mouths (necessary, but bad after all), watching 'Perfect Days' is the perfect antidote. It is so precious, so delicate, so real... It is a portrait of a quiet life, of how beauty can be found in the little things. What I like the most about this film is that it raises what could be a conflict that could put an end to that peace that both the film and the protagonist emanate and it does not succeed, because in the end, life goes on, and if something tries to get you out of your line, you take a deep breath and come back, because you can come back. Kōji Yakusho plays an incredible role, he should have been nominated for best actor, because playing a man who works cleaning toilets in Tokyo he manages to convey so many emotions, so much empathy, so much tenderness... I don't remember the last time before this film that I left the theatre smiling like that, it’s just lovely.

'Perfect Days' by Wim Wenders

Entering the main categories, it was obvious that this year the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon was going to sweep… Well, actually ‘Oppenheimer’ has swept and ‘Barbie’ has remained a bit half-hearted. Nobody understands why Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig weren't nominated, but hey, Oscars stuff, right? They have to leave something for us haters to talk about… Plus, at least we got to see Ryan Gosling singing 'I'm just Ken' live (he should have won). Likewise, I don't want to focus too much on Barbenheimer because ladies and gentlemen, this year there are some FILMS IN CAPITAL LETTERS nominated for best film that are going to blow your mind, I mean, I don't know where to start. This year, all the nominated films seem to me to be quite good, perhaps I would replace 'Killers of the Flower Moon' with 'Perfect Days', and I don’t quite understand what ‘Maestro’ is doing there, but hey, we can't forget that Hollywood is still Hollywood, so it is what it is, I guess…

Not to discriminate because as I said, almost all of them are quite good and I could talk in detail about all of them (‘Anatomy of a Fall’ is quite recommended), even so, my favourites of the best film nominees are ‘Poor Things’ by my beloved Giórgos Lánthimos and 'Past Lives' by Celine Song and I am going to talk about them because there is a reason why this article is called: 'My Favorites from the Oscars' and not: 'All of the Oscars films'.

I have been a loyal fan of Lánthimos since I watched ‘Doogtooth’ years ago and I cannot be objective with that man, everything he has done has amazed me. After 'The Favourite' I thought that was the peak, but no, ‘Poor Things’ did it again. The colors, the costumes, the editing, the performances, the surreal settings, everything seems extraordinary to me. Although it is true that the plot is morally problematic on some occasions, I decided to take it as a criticism, or a way to make you think about certain topics without missing the typical extreme surrealism the director gives us in every one of his films. It definitely makes you think, and I love it when I walk out of a movie theater thinking about what I just watched. 

Poor Things by Giórgos Lánthimos

On the totally opposite side of ‘Poor Things’ with a much "simpler" aesthetic, costumes and theme, is 'Past Lives', a quite heartbreaking (but also quite real) love story. I liked that although it does have some clichés, it doesn’t show the typical Hollywood love story like: “...And they lived happily ever after”, but rather a more… Logic kind of love? I’m quite tired of the “love conquers everything” and the “you have to follow your instincts” and blah blah blah. I believe that love is much more than that and that in the end security, trust and what makes the most sense need to take some credit too. Also, Greta Lee already got me in love since the second season of 'The Morning Show', but now, ugh...

And since I'm talking to you about my favorites, I'm also going to talk to you about two films that in my opinion are overrated and were nominated in a lot of categories because they have been directed by epic figures in the industry. I'm talking about ‘Oppenheimer’ and ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’. I found both films too long and their editing lacked rhythm in several moments. Very good photography, very good actors, a lot of money invested but honestly, I looked at the clock about 10 times in each film, and this is never a good sign. It makes me a little angry when directors trust too much in the image they have created and believe that whatever they do is going to be good. I thought they were entertaining movies with interesting themes but I would never watch them again. Both Scorsese and Nolan seem like good directors to me and they have films that I love, but these two in particular, for me, are quite weak and not enough. But hey, at least they haven't nominated 'Napoleon' for best film, which would have already been a total catastrophe.

Anyway, I'm not going to mess around anymore. Like every year, there are films that I’ve loved and weren’t nominated for one reason or another, there are some that should be nominated in more categories and others that were unnecessary, but we all know that the Oscars are not the most objective awards. Even so, I like to see them as a tradition and because, I'm not going to deny it, I love the gossip.