Welcome to the Last Cinema Standing Countdown to the
Oscars for the 2019 movie season! Throughout this series, we will break down all
24 categories with predictions and hopes for the big night. The series
continues with the features and shorts.
Best Documentary Feature
Nominees
American Factory, directed by Steven Bognar and Julia
Reichert
The Cave, directed by Feras Fayyad
For Sama, directed by Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts
The Edge of Democracy, directed by Petra Costa
Honeyland, directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir
Stefanov
In keeping with tradition, this is a powerful, if dour,
group of Documentary Feature nominees. Two contrasting tales of women’s experiences
during the Syrian war, one about globalization and the follies of capitalism,
another about the rise of fascism in South America, and finally a parable about
resource scarcity and environmental collapse. I cannot promise you will come
away from these films feeling particularly good about the world or our place in
it, but each is a vital document about how we live now and how we may be living
sooner than we think.
Executive produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, American
Factory has a leg up on the competition by virtue of name recognition
alone. The filmmakers spent years embedded in a small Ohio town, capturing the
fall, rise, and near fall again of the factory that provided many local jobs. Bognar
and Reichert gain intimate access to the workers and managers of a factory
bought by a Chinese manufacturing firm, and we are given ground-level access to
a story that is equal parts international cooperation and culture clash.
For Sama and The Edge of Democracy are deeply
personal stories with direct ties to their filmmakers but which nevertheless
speak to all viewers on a human level. The Cave, about female doctors in
Syria, is similarly intimate, raising equally important questions and providing
thought-provoking answers. Honeyland, meanwhile, is one of the best
films of 2019, following a Macedonian beekeeper as she struggles to keep
maintain environmentally sound practices in an economy that sees only a bottom
line.
American Factory is the odds-on favorite for the win
and is beloved by many, though I cannot say I share the same affection for it.
I found it illuminating and interesting, but when compared to the other films
on this slate, it cannot help but feel slight. Mine is a minority opinion on
that matter, however, and on popularity and name recognition alone, it is the
likely winner. There are no bad films in this group, but part of me wishes that
in a collection this worldly, the winner would not be the only film set in
America and chiefly about Americans. It is a much bigger world out there.
Will win: American Factory
Should win: Honeyland
Should have been here: One Child Nation
Best Documentary Short
Nominees
In the Absence, directed by Seung-jun Yi
Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl),
directed by Carol Dysinger
Life Overtakes Me, directed by John Haptas and
Kristine Samuelson
St. Louis Superman, directed by Sami Khan and Smriti
Mundhra
Walk Run Cha-cha, directed by Laura Nix
It is tempting often to look for a through line in the
documentary shorts, to say, “Well, all of these films are about X.” There is
nothing so cut and dry in this set of nominees except that each forces us to
ask: What are we doing to each other and ourselves? The subjects are grieving
parents in South Korea, Balkan refugees in Sweden, young girls in war-torn
Afghanistan, black activists in St. Louis, and Vietnamese émigrés
in Los Angeles. Little on the surface connects them but circumstances outside
their control that forced them to take whatever actions they took.
In the Absence chronicles the sinking of the Sewol
ferry and its aftermath as the nation of South Korea comes to grips with a
system that would allow through inaction the deaths of 291 people, mostly teenagers
and kids. Meanwhile, Life Overtakes Me follows refugee parents who are
not so much grieving as they are in limbo, watching helplessly as their
children slip into a mysterious stress-induced coma. St. Louis Superman
is the one in this group most likely to break your heart if you let it,
following activist and politician Bruce Franks as he navigates the waters of
government, desperate to make difference in his community.
The outliers here are Learning to Skateboard and Walk
Run Cha-cha, both of which are downright optimistic by the standards of
this category. I could see either pulling the win here, but Learning to
Skateboard has the sheen of importance provided by its subject matter and
setting: the importance of female education and empowerment set against the
backdrop of war in Afghanistan. Walk Run Cha-cha is about two people who
fled the communist regime in Vietnam and have used their latter years in
America to become talented dancers. It is a delight but is certainly the least
substantial of these nominees.
The Academy really likes issue movies in the Documentary
Short category, and voters like to feel like it means something when they check
the box next to a film. With that in mind, one could see a path to victory for
nearly any of these nominees, but the one that fits most neatly alongside
recent winners such as The White Helmets, A Girl in the River,
and most particularly Period. End of Sentence is Learning to
Skateboard. It sends a message while providing uplift, which is a powerful
one-two punch in this category.
Will win: Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone
(If You’re a Girl)
Should win: In the Absence
Best Animated Feature
Nominees
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, directed
by Dean DeBlois
I Lost My Body, directed by Jérémy Clapin
Klaus, directed by Sergio Pablos
Missing Link, directed by Chris Butler
Toy Story 4, directed by Josh Cooley
In any other year, this award might have felt predestined,
but that is not the way the season has shaken out. Pixar traditionally would
win this in a walk, particularly for the likely capstone to its marquee
franchise, and that still may happen. Toy Story 4 has Disney behind it,
kind if not rapturous reviews, and huge box office and tremendous likability.
Again, this would usually add up to a win, but the awards have not gone its
way.
The Golden Globe went to the Laika adventure movie Missing
Link, which has moments of fun but is not Laika’s best film by far. The
Annies split their awards between Netflix’s Santa Claus origin story Klaus
and the independent French film (also on Netflix) I Lost My Body. Any of
these is a potential spoiler to Woody and Buzz’s last adventure. How to
Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, the third installment in the
franchise, is probably running in last here, and the franchise as a whole
appears likely to go down as a well-respected moneymaker that could never win
the big prize at the Oscars. Universal will probably take the $522 million in
worldwide box office and call it good.
Missing Link relies on the kind of classic Laika stop
motion animation fans have come to love and features a frothy story about a
Yeti who becomes an Indiana Jones style adventurer. It is fine, but not to the
standard of previous Laika efforts such as Kubo and the Two Strings or
the superb and underappreciated The Boxtrolls. Klaus comes from
Spain but features big American money and big American stars. It also represents
an intriguing advance in 2D storytelling, using strategic animation and
lighting techniques to give the hand-drawn animation a uniquely
three-dimensional feel.
Best in show by a country mile, however, is the strange,
beguiling I Lost My Body, which is beloved by nearly all who see it and
could win this category if it gets in front of enough eyes. It tells the story
of a severed hand that gains sentience and attempts to reconnect with the body
to which it once was attached. The animation is gorgeous and the storytelling
is bold and daring in ways that make you wish more animation took these kinds
of risks. It is anyone’s game, but even with its weakness throughout the awards
season, I expect Pixar to take the crown at the Oscars, as it has done so many
times before.
Will win: Toy Story 4
Should win: I Lost My Body
Best Animated Short
Nominees
Hair Love, directed by Matthew A. Cherry
Dcera, directed by Daria Kashcheeva
Sister, directed by Siqi Song
Mémorable, directed by Bruno Collet
Kitbull, directed by Rosana Sullivan
The animation branch truly outdid itself with this year’s
crop of outstanding Animated Short nominees. They represent an eclectic mix of
hand-drawn animation, stop motion, and mixed-media, but above all, they
represent a grand gesture of storytelling. As always, the best animated shorts
deliver a real punch in a small package, with none of these running longer than
15 minutes and three of them coming in at sub-10 minutes.
The film with the most juice behind it is probably Cherry’s
sweet Hair Love, which tells the story of a black father trying to make
his young daughter’s hair dreams come true. It is a poignant, powerful little
story that speaks to the heart of a very specific experience. Cherry is a
former NFL player trying to become just the second professional athlete to win
an Oscar, following in the footsteps of the tragically recently departed Kobe
Bryant. Hair Love has Sony Animation Studios behind it and the star
power of cherry and voice actor Issa Rae.
Kitbull comes from Pixar animators and tells of a
friendship between a pit bull forced into a dog fighting ring and a kitten that
lives nearby. Sister is an interesting companion piece to the snubbed
documentary One Child Nation and it’s felt-based stop motion is tactile
and immersive. Dcera (Daughter) is a fascinating drama out of the Czech
Republic about the complicated relationship between a dying man and the
daughter he raised on his own. It is by turns touching and heartbreaking,
squeezing maximum emotion out of its category-long 15-minute runtime.
My favorite of the bunch is Mémorable,
from French animator Collet. Chronicling the relationship between a husband and
wife as the man slips further into dementia, the film seamlessly blends
painterly abstraction with real-world stakes to create a loving tribute to the
lengths we go to for love. Think of it as a kinder, gentler Amour.
Sometimes, the power of emotion can win this category, but when all else fails,
go with the big names and the big money, which in this case means Hair Love.
Will win: Hair Love
Should win: Mémorable
Should have been here: The Bird and the Whale
Best International Feature
Nominees
Corpus Christi, directed by Jan Komasa
Honeyland, directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir
Stefanov
Les Misérables, directed by Ladj Ly
Pain and Glory, directed by Pedro Almodóvar
Parasite, directed by Bong Joon-ho
Full disclosure: I have not seen Corpus Christi, and
I will not have the chance to see it before the ceremony. Such are the vagaries
of International Feature eligibility. My understanding is that it is a pretty
good movie but a surprising nominee, and as such, it is probably running in
fifth place here. Of the other nominees, three are in my top 10 films of the
year – Parasite (1), Pain and Glory (5), and Honeyland (8)
– and Les Misérables is riveting French crime thriller from a vital
new voice in European cinema.
For Oscar watchers, there is not much suspense in this
category unless you are looking to manufacture drama. Parasite should
win this walking away. No film has ever been nominated in the same year for
Best International Feature (formerly Best Foreign Language Film) and Best
Picture without winning the International award. None of those films has also
gone on to win Best Picture, but that is part of the discussion for a future
installment of this series.
Now, about that manufactured drama: If you think the Academy
will give the top prize to Parasite and try to spread the wealth here
(which makes no actual sense), Pain and Glory is probably your
beneficiary. The Academy loves Almodóvar, and his tender portrait of an
aging director also earned Antonio Banderas a nomination for Best Actor. There
is also the excellent Honeyland, which is the only film ever nominated
for both Documentary Feature and International Feature, which suggests a strong
degree of support among voters. But, really, let’s not think too hard about
this one.
Will win: Parasite
Should win: Parasite
Should have been here: Atlantics
Best Live Action Short
Nominees
A Sister, directed by
Delphine Girard
Brotherhood, directed by Meryam Joobeur
The Neighbor’s Window, directed by Marshall Curry
Saria, directed by Bryan Buckley
Nefta Football Club,
directed by Yves Piat
This is my favorite category every year. That is probably
why I am terrible at predicting the winner. I get too attached. But the truth
is I love these films. Every now and then, I come across one that does not
strike the right chord with me, but by and large, the nominees for Live Action
Short are stellar across the board, year in and year out. This year is no exception
and might be the hardest to predict since I started in on this little fool’s
errand of mine.
The oddsmakers like Brotherhood, about a Tunisian
farmer whose son returns from war with a child bride. This is my least favorite
among the nominees this year. Though its ending packs a serious punch, much of
the dialogue is too on the nose and the characters are often simply stating the
subtext, a tool that can be useful in short films but which I found overbearing
here. That said, it is hard to argue with the technical aspects of the
filmmaking, and the subject matter is handled delicately and intelligently.
A Sister is an effective little thriller about a
kidnapping victim who secretly calls emergency services and tries to hide her
conversation from her captor. It has echoes of another French former nominee in
this category, Just Before Losing Everything in 2013. Nefta Football
Club is a delightful trifle of a short film, fulfilling the categories need
for something a little lighter. It follows to young brothers who find a mule
loaded down with a shipment of heroin. Hijinks ensue.
The two U.S.-produced films in contention are Curry’s The
Neighbor’s Window and Buckley’s Saria. The Neighbor’s Window
is a lightly comic tale about learning to appreciate what you have and reaching
out to those closest to you. Curry is an interesting director, and this is his
fourth nomination overall in a third different category. He previously was
nominated twice for Best Documentary Feature and once for Documentary Short.
This film is based on a true story, as well, though, so it is not too far
outside his wheelhouse.
Saria is an absolute gut punch of a film that I
believe to be the best of the bunch. I will not spoil the details of the story
here, but every element of this short is working to build to its powerful
conclusion. The storytelling, camerawork, editing, and performances are all
superb, and I encourage anyone to seek this film out. For the win, while Brotherhood
may have the inside track, I am loath to bet against the lone English-language
nominee directed by a previous Oscar nominee. It is Curry’s time.
Will win: The Neighbor’s Window
Should win: Saria
