The bar was high this time. Who remembers the movie that won the Oscar for best picture in 2022? Nobody remembers the title (CODA, a remake of a French film) and nobody cared then because only one thing was talked about: the slap that Will Smith tipped Chris Rock on stage, after the joke the host made about his wife, Jada Pinkett. A few minutes later, the actor went up to collect the first statuette of his artistic career and that was the only award that made headlines, conversations and jokes.
To the disappointment of many, the 95th edition of the Oscars that has been held this Sunday at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles has been just a nondescript and long awards ceremony of just over three and a half hours, with some emotional moment between the speeches, some tears, some white claim, several sought-after and long-awaited awards, and also some disappointment. The gala has been boring, but at least it has had a cinematographic claim and a resounding victory, because all the important awards have gone to Everything at once everywhere.
The film directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, artistically known as the Daniels, has won the Oscars for the Best Film, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Original Screenplay, Best Leading Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Best Supporting Actor and Actress (Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis, respectively). nor the power of Elvisby Baz Luhrmann, or The Fabelmans by Spielberg (who left empty-handed) or the praised No news at the frontthe German bet of Netflix, have been able to with the most daring and subversive film of the season, for this editor of Vozpopuliand also the most recognized in the awards season.
This multiverse movie, which grew from independent distribution almost by word of mouth and garnered some of the best reviews among the productions released last year, also drew some fierce opinions against what for some is an extended and too long version of a Tik video Tok. In any case, what everyone can agree on is that it is a brave film that flees from the platform algorithm and that, despite its baroque style and madness, proposes an original and little-traveled path to talk about topics as close as the relationship between parents and children.
Michelle Yeoh, Oscar for best actress, has become the first performer of Asian origin to get this statuette
Everything at once everywhere It has also served to do justice at the interpretative level. On the one hand, Michelle Yeoh has become the first interpreter of Asian origin to obtain this statuette that, however, many saw in the hands of Cate Blanchett, another of the favorites at night for his work in Tar.
This victory comes days after a newspaper article that Yeoh shared on networks during the last day of voting, in which the accent was placed on how it could change the life of the protagonist of Tiger and dragon. With that blunder in mind, which she tried to rectify by deleting the message, everyone was looking forward to knowing the name of the winner.
Jamie Lee Curtis, for her part, has won her first Oscar in the category of best supporting actress, a moment that she has taken advantage of to vindicate genre cinema, as well as to dedicate her award to her parents, the actors Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis , who never won the statuette. “Dad and Mom, I just won an Oscar”, she said excitedly. Ke Huy Quan, the child star of the 80s for films like Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom either the goonieswho had not worked in the cinema for two decades and who has been awarded for his work with the Daniels.
the german No news at the frontthe new adaptation of the novel by Erich Maria Remarque which Netflix produces, has not been able to beat the Daniels’ film with its anti-war proposal which has received so many good reviews all over the world, although it has won several technical awards (best soundtrack, best photography or best production design), as well as the Oscar for best foreign film, which it has snatched from Argentina 1985.
The Oscars and the oblivion of Carlos Saura
From Spain, the gala has been followed with little hope in the national representatives. Just a minimal illusion with the nomination of Ana de Armas for her role as Marilyn Monroe in Blonde -although with few possibilities- and with the presence of Antonio Banderas at the Oscar ceremony for best international film, together with the Mexican Salma Hayek. What has been surprising has been the absence of the filmmaker Carlos Saura, who died last February, in the memorial of the Hollywood Academy, an unforgivable mistake for many of the names honored, among which was instead the frank -Swiss Jean-Luc Godard.
The gala featured an ironic Jimmy Kimmel as master of ceremonies, but despite the initial spark it all remained a mirage and the gala became a long and tedious succession of award winners.
The gala featured a ironic jimmy kimmel as master of ceremonies, but despite the spark that started, everything remained a mirage and the gala became a long and tedious succession of winners that, with some exceptions, did not surprise anyone. Funny for some, excessive for others, the presenter did not hesitate to make jokes about James Cameron’s humility, as well as his and Tom Cruise’s absence from the awards.
“James Cameron and Tom Cruise, the two guys who have insisted the most this year on us going to the movies, have not come,” he said in his monologue, in which he also winked at the event of the 94th edition of the Oscars, when Will Smith hit Chris Rock. “If someone wants to go up here to do something similar to what happened last year, it won’t be easy,” he said, referring to the crisis team that has been created for this ceremony.
One of the surprises of these awards was the Navalny as winner in the best documentary section, which for many reflects the importance of the themes above the mastery with which they are made. In this category they competed, neither more nor less, than Fire of love either beauty and pain, the Golden Lion of the last edition of the Venice Festival. “My husband is in prison just for telling the truth. My husband is in prison for defending democracy. Alexei, I dream of the day you are free. And our country will be free. Be strong,” said the wife of the Russian opponent when picking up the award.
These Oscars won’t go down in history and will soon be forgotten, but at least next year everyone will remember the title of the winning film.
Similarly, there have been other political gestures among the guests. Although the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelensky, did not have the opportunity to speak at this ceremony, as he did last year, because he was not invited by the Hollywood Academy, several attendees have supported Ukraine in the conflict with Russia by wearing a blue bow on his clothing.
In addition to the color champagne that replaces red on the red carpet, the somewhat failed performance of Lady Gaga when interpreting hold my hand in homage to the late Tony Scott (has he gone out of tune?), of the applauded voice of Rihanna with her her lift me up or the lively Naatu Naatuof the movie RRROscar for best original song, these Oscars will not go down in history and will soon be forgotten, but at least next year everyone will remember the title of the winning film. Without algorithms, without square and square designs and with a lot of risk, Everything at once everywhere It may not change anything in the audiovisual industry, but at least remember that all is not lost.
