The Academy Awards ceremony has taken place on 25th
February, 2019. ‘Green Book’, which is sort of a ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ in
reverse, has won the Best Motion Picture of the Year and also 2 further Academy
Awards. That is not a surprising result because the Academy is clearly showing
its stance in the Trumpian era. Indeed, a number of the 8 films that have been
nominated for Best Motion Picture this year are hinged on rather political and
racial themes. Then we have 2 Barry Lyndon-esque films – ‘Roma’ and ‘The Favorite’
– where the filmmakers attempt to portray the past as authentic as possible,
and employ some interesting cinematic techniques to express the theme. We also
have films that portray real life celebrity of different fields – ‘Bohemian
Rhapsody’ and ‘Vice’ are great ones.
The issue of ‘fact versus fake’ is not only prevalent
in the Best Picture nominees, but also in films from the other categories. The
need for the fabrication of facts, as illustrated in a number of these films,
are also motivated by the need for power (often political ones), greed or merely
self-congratulatory, as with the need for recognition with ‘likes’ and a ‘key
opinion leader’ status in the digital age. Yet, these fake-makers will soon
discover the pointlessness of their actions. Because people can view the issue
from a more objective standpoint, and the truth will eventually be uncovered
(like ‘Can You Ever Forgive Me?’). Even if you win in a certain era, you will
soon be forgotten many years later, while the descendants of the loser of your
game will become ‘The Favourite’. What is important, then, a genuine emotion
and respect for others, as in ‘A Star is Born’, a will to embrace the truth,
like If Beale Street Could Talk, or like Vincent Van Gogh (without his
temperament), who transcended his era through art as in ‘At Eternity’s Gate’, or
quite simply, have the courage to confront and counteract against the nastiness
of the human condition and the political hell that results (like ‘Cold War’,
‘Border’ and ‘Never Look Away’). You have to take the RBG attitude, rather than
the cheeseburger attitude!
I am also glad to see that Paul Schrader has been
nominated for his screenplay in ‘First Reformed’. Though he did not win an
Oscar, and also Ethan Hawke was snubbed for a Best Actor, that is a great
recognition for Schrader’s work and style. Given the track record of writing
‘Taxi Driver’, one can easily imagine Schrader will eventually make something
like ‘First Reformed’, which is also a priest’s struggle to look for spiritual
meanings in a secular and amoral world. The greatness of the film comes from
the fact that Schrader has put in a psychological edge to Hawke’s character,
making him a character similar to Travis ‘Taxi Driver’ Bickle, though the
latter character certainly did not have a spiritual dimension in any way.
‘First Reformed’ also reminds me of Bergman’s ‘Face to Face’, which is the
story of a psychologist going nuts. The ironic scenario in the Bergman film is
very akin to Schrader’s portrayal of a priest facing challenges in faith and
also combatting with his own psychological demons.
A great year for cinema!
by Ed Law
Film Analysis
