This is not an Oscar prediction
I guess since I’m going to document the Academy Awards live I should probably note which movie I’m rooting for to take home the top prize.
Allow me to address this with a caveat: I don’t care which film wins the Academy Award for Best Picture—not in the slightest. Rarely does the honored film align with what I consider to be the “best” film of the year. Some times the winning film is one I actually find to be rather terrible (see: Crash). More often than not my preferred movie isn’t even nominated in the first place. I for example believe the Pixar film The Incredibles to be maybe the finest film of the previous decade but because it’s a cartoon, ostensibly a superhero movie and, perhaps most tellingly, a great deal of fun, its greatness is under-appreciated or disregarded entirely. But that’s another story. Like I said, I don’t much care.
Still, I hope Inglorious Basterds takes it.
Do I think it was the “best” movie of the year? To paraphrase Ellis Redding: “I don’t even know what that means. They’re just bullshit words.” It’s entirely subjective. How anyone is supposed to weigh the relative merits of movies as disparate as Inglorious Basterds, The Hurt Locker, Up and Avatar is beyond me. But in respect to the nominated films it is, of the films I’ve seen, the only one* that is both an expertly crafted story and wildly entertaining. We need more of those kind of films. And if a little recognition for Basterds is what it takes to convince Hollywood there’s more room in the production schedule for a good yarn, then let me cast my ballot with Tarantino.
I’m no Quentin Tarantino acolyte either. I’ve enjoyed many of his films and respect his ability and probably even more so his enthusiasm for film itself. But I’m not among those who thinks Pulp Fiction is one of the greatest movies ever made. Or that Reservoir Dogs is some overlooked masterpiece. No, my rooting interest in Basterds is tied to something much larger.
Once upon a time Hollywood routinely delivered expertly crafted entertainment. From Casablanca to Raiders of the Lost Ark, filmmakers produced movies that delighted both the mind and spirit. Today, it seems most of the time Hollywood offers up either mindless entertainment or expertly crafted exercises in endurance. Part of the problem I think stems from an idea among young filmmakers that the craft of cinema must aspire to be either great art or pure escapism rather than a combination of the two. The result is an overwhelming number of “important” movies that achieve some level of art but fail to entertain and an even greater proportion that provide a couple hours of escape from real life but leave little or no lasting impression.
I thoroughly enjoyed Avatar. I thought it was great adventure fun. However its story—though maybe not mindless—wasn’t exactly the most developed. I don’t mind that it is derivative; most stories are. But Cameron’s movie brought nothing new to the table, added no nuance of character or originality of spirit. Playing to a wide audience doesn’t require stripping a film of teeth. Where Raiders of the Lost Ark took an old genre and reinvigorated it, established a memorable lead and nimbly weaved mystery and adventure, Avatar throws full weight into the mind-blowing visuals and action set pieces but undermines them with its at best serviceable plot. Like I said, I enjoyed it; but I wasn’t moved by it.
But I don’t go to the movies to simply be moved—at least not in the way Hollywood thinks. And here we have Precious. I hesitate to bring it up because I haven’t actually seen it. But I’ve seen the trailers, and I can’t imagine sitting through this movie. I’m sure it’s a wonderful, heart-wrenching story. I’m confident the performances are as terrific as every one claims. But it has all the marks of an “important” movie. And as such it looks unbearable. I couldn’t imagine sitting through it in the theater, and I have a feeling it’ll sit in my NetFlix queue right near the top without ever quite finding its way to the top.
Perhaps I’ve gotten too old; I look more to the movies for genuine entertainment than I ever did before. I don’t care to have my emotions manipulated or my stamina tested by “Oscar bait.” Look, I’ve seen and appreciated recent movies like No Country for Old Men and The Reader. I willfully subjected myself to The Road, having read and been utterly devastated by the book. They’re unquestionably good movies, but they aren’t much fun. Don’t get me wrong; I understand the place for these stories. The world would be a far worse one without Schindler’s List. But it’d be a far better one if there were more movies like Spielberg’s greatly underrated Catch Me If You Can.
And I guess that’s my frustration: you can make smart films—even, yes, important ones—that are also a lot of fun to watch. There are few films more poignant than Casablanca. It’s a heartbreaking love story, deft political thriller and complex war movie all rolled into one. But it’s also a lively, grown-up entertainment and, I think, one of the wittier movies ever made. It’s simply a joy to watch. Granted, it’s widely regarded as one of the best movies ever made; there are few like it. But there used to be more made in its image than there are today. At the beginning of this diatribe I quoted a main character from one such film—The Shawshank Redemption. What was the last movie experience you had that was anything like Shawshank?
So I cast my lot with Basterds, Tarantino’s bloody fun, Jewish revenge fantasy, in hopes we’ll get more “serious” movies that are also serious fun.
*Note: Up qualifies as a well-made entertainment as well, and I would be similarly happy if it won Best Picture. The win would be bittersweet, however, because as I mention I do believe The Incredibles is thus far the crowning achievement in Pixar’s impressive catalog. But I think a win for it would do less for encouraging filmmakers to make the kinds of movies I’m talking about. But it deserves recognition if for nothing else than the opening montage—by my estimation the best 4-minute silent movie ever made.
