Godzilla Minus One - 1 nomination

 

Visual effects

Takashi Yamazaki, Kiyoko Shibuya, Masaki Takahashi and Tatsuji Nojima

Post-war Japan is not a great place to live. But the country is slowly recovering from the atomic bomb.  Koichi is a suicide fighter pilot and lives with the shame that during the war, he faked a plane malfunction to keep from dying. While on the small island having his plane checked, Godzilla makes his first appearance which Koichi never forgets. Some time later, he has begun a life and fallen in love, and when his neighbor presents him with an orphan daughter, he and his wife care for the child, much to his chagrin. Godzilla reemerges from the sea killing his wife, and he is left to raise the child. But the government has a plan to destroy Godzilla, and his skills as a pilot call upon him once more to fight the unfightable. He and others design a special plane but they discover that Godzilla may be much harder to eliminate than they thought.

I am not a fan of these films. I find they rely too heavily on visual effects and don't invest enough in the story. I was shocked to have thoroughly enjoyed this film. It is certainly exciting, but the writers invest so much into the story and the characters that the visual effects enhance story without being the only essential element of the story. Godzilla Minus One's title is a hint that this is an origin story film, but actually represents the notion that Japan could not have sunk any lower post-war, it was at "zero" and the monster somehow drags the country into a deeper abyss, bringing it to "minus one." I recommend seeing the film in the original Japanese with English subtitles.

International Features

IO CAPITANO: Italy

While international films can be difficult to watch, this one was absolutely brutal.  Seydou and his cousin Moussa leave Senegal dreaming of going to Europe to find jobs and send money home.  They are 15 years old and they know that it can be risky, but they have saved their money and set out not telling anyone from their family. The hardships they endure include being kidnapped, beaten, starving, and near death more times than I can count, and the film shows both the horrors and the occasional kindnesses they receive along the way. What shows through more than anything is not just their grit, but especially Seydou's humanity, his sense of morality and character, and that nothing will stop him from achieving his ultimate goal. This is an incredible cinematic feat, but it is NOT for the weak of heart.  I cried many times.

PERFECT DAYS: Japan

I really really wanted to love this movie.  It is from Wim Wenders who is responsible for movie masterpieces like Paris, Texas. And, the lead character Hirayama who is a diligent toilet cleaner by trade (and whoa, the public toilets featured are nicer than some people's homes for the designs and architecture, plus the Japanese people must be much more restrained than public toilets you find in the United States, so often soiled by the grossest of indiscretions). He appreciates all of the small things in life, and his daily routine, from which he never deviates, is simple.  He is an avid reader and a music lover. But this slice of life movie offers very little by way of plot (and I think that might be the point) - the first nearly 45 minutes is two full day rotations of his routine from dawn to dusk. I rarely enjoy slice of life films, and though this was certainly one of the better ones, if you like an engaging plot, this might not be for you.

SOCIETY OF THE SNOW: Spain

Society of the Snow is actually nominated for two Oscars, including for Makeup and Hairstyling.

On the other hand, Society of the Snow is Spain's version of the plane crash in the Andes. In the United States, the film was called Alive, and this is a far superior telling of the experience. After the crash, those left alive went through horror after horror, and the plane crash itself is responsible for only some of the deaths on the mountain. The crew had to balance conserving their small number of resources with building enough muscle and strength to try to hike their way out of there. The performances and indeed, the makeup and hairstyling, are phenomenal.

THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE: Germany

Carla, a teacher in a public school loves her profession, and loves her students. Some thefts in the teachers' lounge leave one of her students accused of the crime. She decides to set up a sting operation, leaving her wallet exposed and her computer open and recording. When a colleague's uniquely patterned shirt is identified in the video, all hell breaks loose at the school. Carla is attacked for gathering evidence illegally, and the colleague's son (one of Carla's students) begins to act out as he tries to discover why his mother has been placed on administrative leave.  It's an emotional journey as Carla begins to doubt her own accusation and the other teachers get whipped into a frenzy.  It's a really good movie that is absolutely worth your time.

THE ZONE OF INTEREST: United Kingdom

As a reminder, The Zone of Interest is actually nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Picture, and you can find the review of this film earlier in the blog list.

Drive My Car - 4 nominations

 

Best Motion Picture of the Year Teruhisa Yamamoto (producer)

Best Achievement in Directing Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

Best Adapted Screenplay Ryûsuke Hamaguchi (screenplay by) Takamasa Oe (screenplay by)

Best International Feature Film Japan

This long and methodical film follows Yusuke, a well known actor and director who performs a unique production of Uncle Vanya.  After tragedy strikes in his life, he is invited to Hiroshima to stage a similar production, with the twist that most of the characters speak different languages thanks to creative casting.  One of the characters doesn't speak at all and she uses sign language throughout the production, a detail I simply loved.  The theater company has a rule that he may not drive himself while he is in their employ due to his glaucoma, and they hire a young woman who is reputed to be an excellent driver (not the Rain Man kind, the actual kind).

One of the young men he casts who is given the lead happens to also be a man who was having an affair with Yusuke's wife two years prior.  This young man, Takatsuki is erratic and perhaps too young for the role, and eventually puts Yusuke into a very difficult position that ultimately will decide whether the play goes on.

In addition to all of this, the relationship between the driver and Yusuke grows, partly because of their common history of past tragedy.  In a relatively expected arc, they go from skeptic strangers to friends who help each other find catharsis.

Many critics consider Drive My Car to be the best film of the year, including Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times.  Its nomination for Best Picture seemed almost a lock. I liked the film but I thought it was too long.  The "preamble" of the film setting up the main plot line took almost 45 minutes.  I think this can be typical of the high brow work of Japanese film and ultimately the story is engaging and the characters are well drawn and interesting.  But fair warning, if you prefer a director whose internal rule is that every scene must move the story forward, this is not the film for you.  If you can sit in the long set up and allow for a lot of daylight between story, then I do truly recommend this film.  It's lovely and worth it, but only if you can sit through the 3+ hours without complaint.

Want more movie talk? Check out my podcast 2 Movie Jews on Apple podcasts, Spotify, and more!

Shoplifters - 1 nomination

Foreign Film - Japan; Hirokazu Kore-eda

Shoplifters follows a Japanese family who is underemployed and makes ends meet by robbing local stores.  One day when coming home, the dad and son come upon a small girl on her own balcony, alone, crying, and neglected.  They take her with them, they feed her and clothe her and eventually "adopt" her into their family.  But as she grows, the local community assumes that her mother probably killed her because she has totally disappeared.  While this is happening, the parents want her to start shoplifting, as well, but the the son wants to protect her from this life.  Meanwhile, the son begins to question his own life and his own origin story.  This family is much more troubled than it seems, and poverty is the least of their problems.

Shoplifters was an entertaining but mediocre movie.  I heard it referred to as "poverty porn," which I think is not a fair accusation - there are lots of stories about lots of things and lots of different kinds of people.  The compelling part of this story is not that they are poor, but that they work so hard to take care of each other.  The connections between the characters is what we are drawn to, and this mom and dad who have labored to create a normal life in the context of their poverty is why I think this film was nominated in the first place.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the film, I'm just not sure that it is worthy of an Oscar nomination.

*Dear readers, we are there!  Tomorrow is the big day, and I have now reviewed ALL of the films.  This is a difficult year to prognosticate, but stay tuned tomorrow for my Who Should Win/Who Will Win post!