Doc Corner: Jia Zhangke's 'Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue'

By Glenn Dunks

Jia Zhangke is one of my favorite working directors. His dramatic features about contemporary Chinese life in the face of widespread modern upheavals are frequently works of masterful elegance. As rich in political and social context as they are well-acted and beautifully crafted. His works of non-fiction present something dramatically quieter; naturally a bit harder to engage with; like his 2007 garment factory doc Useless, modest and observational.

In many ways, his latest film shares that lack of narrative flare. Something that no doubt added to its quieter festival reception in 2020. But Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue nonetheless has something of a keener eye and so, even when the importance of its subjects may be lost on a western audience, it finds burrows of ideas that flourish through a veil of unexpected stylistic choices.

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Almost There: Paul Bettany in "Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World"

by Cláudio Alves

Paul Bettany's one of those actors who feels like an Oscar nominee despite having never received love from the Academy. Since the late 90s, the British thespian has starred in various awards-friendly titles, including a Best Picture winner, and is regularly praised by critics even when his projects disappoint. Nonetheless, AMPAS always ignores him. His best shot came in 2003 when his supporting turn in Peter Weir's Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World earned him some well-deserved buzz. Since the actor just celebrated his 50th birthday, I chose to celebrate the occasion by looking back at that performance in a special entry to the Almost There series…

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The Tony Awards will be on Paramount+ this year

Aaron Tveit and Karen Olivo in "Moulin Rouge: The Musical"

Here's a twist we didn't see coming: the long delayed Tony Awards will be on Paramount+ streaming service this September 26th at 7 PM EST followed by a starry Broadway-celebrating concert on CBS (the usual home of the Tony Awards) at 9 PM EST (both shows are two hours long). That's great timing since the shows begin to return on September 2nd (as previously discussed).

All of the awards but three will be handed out on the Paramount portion of the evening...

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Oscar picks a new date.

The Oscar prediction charts will be up soon but thought you should know if you haven't yet heard a couple of news items in relation to awards season. The Oscar ceremony is not reverting to February as we'd hoped (shame). The 94th Academy Awards will be held on March 27th, 2022 next year to be exact.

They're keeping the streaming eligibility rules but thankfully the eligibility calendar is back to the Calendar Year. Well sort of...

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The Tree of Life @ 10: The wonder of the movie theater

by Cláudio Alves

As a Portuguese cinephile, the last few weeks have been a weird mixture of happiness for others and ugly jealousy. Looking on social media, I can see international friends returning to movie theaters, fully vaccinated, while I remain at home, not knowing when such privileges will be accessible. I realize this bitterness is wrong, but I can't help it. I miss going to the movies quite terribly. I miss being engulfed by the images projected on the big screen and feeling a wall of sound crash over my head like a tidal wave. However, unlike other filmgoers, I don't care too much about the communal aspect of the experience (with the exception of film festivals).

As a way of exorcising these demons and explaining the yearning, let me describe one of the most memorable filmgoing experiences I can remember. It happened around a decade ago, upon The Tree of Life's release…

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