Streaming: Argentina’s Oscar Submission ‘Argentina, 1985’

By Abe Friedtanzer

One of the benefits of screening selections for Best International Feature is not only to see different worldwide approaches to filmmaking but also to get to understand national histories. European entries, for instance, often engage with the Holocaust, while a finalist from a few years ago, Truth and Justice, was based on a highly influential book in Estonia known throughout that country. Argentina, 1985, now streaming on Amazon Prime, confronts a more recent period in that nation’s history, documenting an unprecedented reckoning with the crimes of its military leaders in a trailblazing civil case.

Ricardo Darín, a familiar face from Argentinian cinema and its recent nominees, The Secret in their Eyes and Wild Tales, stars as Julio César Strassera, the lead prosecutor in the Trial of the Juntas. It was an undesirable assignment given the extraordinary influence of the military dictatorship that had only recently been replaced by a new democratic government...

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"Joyland" banned in Pakistan. Can it still compete at the Oscars?

by Nathaniel R

Saim Sadiq (via Instagram, left) and a memorable shot from his feature debut "Joyland" (right)

Censorship has been part of the history of art forever. The ways in which we think of censorship in Hollywood cinema usually involve ratings boards or production codes... self-censorship from the industry to prevent outside censorship from the government. It's less a case of banning art than an attempt to keep storytellers in line with accepted norms, however conservative those norms might be in their time. When the story of censorship visibly collides with the Oscar race, though, it's usually across the border and in the Best International Feature Film category. Now we have another of those stories via Pakistan's Oscar submission Joyland. 

The movie, a brilliant feature debut from 31 year old filmmaker Saim Sadiq, is a drama about a young husband in Lahore who falls for a trans performer after being hired by a local dance theater. It first came to international attention when it premiered at Cannes (the first Pakistani movie to do so) and won both Un Certain Regard and the Queer Palm. Just a week before its premiere in Pakistan its release was denied, endangering its Oscar run.  Questions naturally crop out like "Why would a country submit a film and then ban it?" and "Can it still compete?" so let's answer those...

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Is Margot Robbie about to shake up the Best Actress race?

by Nathaniel R

While it would be foolish to consider any Oscar race locked up before any mainstream precursor nominations have been announced, Best Actress sure feels like it's solidifying as a race between Cate Blanchett, Michelle Yeoh, Danielle Deadwyler, and Michelle Williams. Any of them (except Cate of course) could be a surprise snub if precursor season throw us curveballs. If it's true that the race has narrowed down to these four (again that's only the assumption) than the fifth slot is where the drama is at the moment. Former Oscar winners Olivia Colman and Viola Davis remain distinct possibilities (when Oscar loves you, they love you) and people will start seeing Margot Robbie's performance in Babylon this week. If her star turn is as juicy and fun and focus-seizing as the trailer suggests, it's hard to picture her not being in the hunt for that third nomination. Perhaps she'll emerge from the first reviews as a genuine threat for a win if the first audience raves as much as her co-star Eric Roberts is raving about her. We know that the internet likes to "solve" categories long before the first mainstream precursor announces but it's important to keep an open mind before films are screened. If she seizes the imagination of the audience with her drug-addled wild-child movie star, the sky might be the limit. For now, on the updated chart, we'll place her fifth.

What does your hunch say about who the nominees will be and who might have a true shot at the win? 

Chart Updates: Best Picture... and how much diversity will we get in Best Director?

by Nathaniel R

Sarah Polley on the set of "Women Talking". Photographed by Michael Gibson for Orion Releasing

So what's going to get a Best Picture and who will get a Best Director nomination? The possible combinations of 10 and 5 contenders, respectively, are many. While Best Picture could well find a mix that doesn't upset too many people (10 is a lot to work with) Best Director will likely be more fraught. So let's talk Best Director first...

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AFI Fest: “The Son,” “Women Talking” and "Alcarràs"

by Christopher James

Sarah Polley assembles a terrific ensemble for her fourth feature, "Women Talking."

Though Saturday was Day Four of the AFI festival, it was merely my second day spent wandering around the halls of the TCL Chinese Theater subsisting on popcorn and soda alone. What a doozy of a day it was. The films all spoke in different ways to parenthood, family, community, and gender dynamics. Between Sarah Polley's Women Talking, Florian Zeller's The Son and Carla Simón's Alcarràs which film soared to be the best of the bunch and which missed the mark entirely? My takes on all three are after the jump...

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