Academy Awards Special

An alternate slate

I make an effort every winter to see as many of the Academy Award nominees as I possibly can. Often, I’ll discover excellent films, particularly in the more off-the-beaten-tracks categories. This year, too many of the Best Picture nominees are only available to rent at relatively high prices (I paid the big bucks only for “The Brutalist” which was worth the time ((3 hours and 20 minutes)) and the money)). So, here for your viewing/reading pleasure, is an alternate Best Of list: other cultural artifacts with a connection to each of the Best Picture Nominees: Consider each of these entries as preceded by the words “Instead of or in addition to watching…”

… “Anora”:

Watch “The Florida Project.” This 2017 film, from “Anora” directory Sean Baker, tells of a single mother trying to make ends meet. It’s a simple story, movingly told, with an Oscar nominated performance from Willem Dafoe, who defies expectations by playing a sympathetic regular guy.

… “The Brutalist”:

Watch “My Architect.” If your minor complaint about “The Brutalist,” like mine, is that the movie didn’t show us enough architecture along with its powerful story, Nathaniel Kahn’s Academy Award nominated documentary more than fits the bill, with its look not only at the complicated relationship the director had with his father, famed architect Louis Kahn, but also at many of the elder Kahn’s breathtaking buildings.

… “A Complete Unknown”:

Read “Dylan Goes Electric,” by Elijah Wald. Some day, somehow, I’ll fully appreciate the musician/poet that is Bob Dylan, and be able to recommend his music. But until then, this book by Wald that centers on Dylan’s iconic use of electronic instruments at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival brings back the time entertainingly and almost, almost, makes me seek out the music.

… “Conclave”:

Watch “The Young Pope.” This 2017 HBO series stars Jude Law, in my favorite performance of his, as the compromise candidate named pope when the conclave of cardinals cannot otherwise reach a decision. The show is an over-the-top effort from director Paolo Sorrentino, as Law’s disruptive Pope Pius XIII takes the Church to any number of very un-Catholic places. If you enjoy it, continue on with “The New Pope,” where another scene-stealer, John Malkovich, joins the cast.

… “Dune: Part Two:

Watch “Lawrence of Arabia.” My favorite aspect of the two installments of the Dune trilogy so far is the sweeping look of the desert scenes. If you’re going to spend multiple hours at the movies enveloped by desert, you might as well watch a Hollywood classic. Does the story hold up in the 21st century? I’ll let you be the judge, but certainly the look of the film if anything is richer for those of us subjected to too much CGI these days.

… “Emilia Perez”:

Watch “tick, tick…BOOM!" In the days of the MGM musicals, where everything was heightened and stylized, viewers bought the integration of music and story on screen. “tick, tick…BOOM!” tells us the story of Jonathan Larson, going through the trials and tribulations that led to his groundbreaking musical “Rent.” Obviously this is a far different kind of tale than “Emilia Perez,” but it’s an equally laudatory effort in the third decade of the 21st century to integrate musical numbers into a story that has the look and feel of real life.

… “I’m Still Here”:

Watch “Missing”: Jack Lemmon’s movies cover as wide a range as almost any other Hollywood icon, including two of my personal favorites, Robert Altman’s “Short Cuts,” and Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment.” In “Missing,” Lemmon’s character is seeking his son, a journalist who disappeared in Chile during the coup that overthrew Salvador Allende. Watch the movie, but also watch the clip I’ve included, my favorite awards ceremony moment ever.

…”Nickel Boys”:

Read “The Nickel Boys.” I trust I need not examine the connection here.

… “The Substance”:

Watch “The Picture of Dorian Gray.” There are moments if you’re squeamish that watching “The Substance” will compel you to turn away. For a more manageable, but similar shudder, the 1945 film version of Oscar Wilde’s story might suffice. I remember dreading the moment when the portrait is revealed in all of its ghastliness.

… “Wicked”:

Watch “Lynch/Oz.” There may be hundreds of different movies/books/musicals/artworks that address the cultural touchstone that is “The Wizard of Oz.” In honor of the recent passing of David Lynch, check out this documentary (currently on Kanopy, available through most libraries). Lynch owes a massive debt to the 1939 classic, and paid it forward to us with every film he ever made.