2000 - 87th Ceremony

Yi Yi (Director: Edward Yang)
Nominees: Traffic, Almost Famous, O Brother, Where Art Thou? Memento, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Peppermint Candy, The Day I Became a Woman, In the Mood for Love, Amores Perros, The Captive

Oscars pick: Gladiator
Nominees: Chocolat, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Erin Brockovich, Traffic

2000 got off to a rocky start, with Oscar selecting the paper-thin Gladiator as its best picture. My brother loves this film -- I say it's no Spartacus and didn't even deserve a nomination, let alone the award. Of the Academy's choices, they should have gone with Traffic. They gave Soderbergh the directorial award but screwed him on the Best Picture. I didn't care too much for Soderbergh's Erin Brockovich, I found it hackneyed -- and if Brockovich really is like that, then she's an abrasive cliché.

If not Traffic, then the Academy should have selected Ang Lee’s wuxia film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (which they gave the foreign award to). Aside from that, they left off too many goodies, such as Cameron Crowe's love letter to the music biz, Almost Famous or the Coen Brother's hilarious odyssey, O Brother Where Art Thou? which featured a winning soundtrack collection of folk, county, bluegrass, and gospel tunes - and had folks digging on the classic, "I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow".

Out of them all, there was one delightful find that jumped to the top of the pops, Edward Yang’s Yi Yi.

The title means "Individual" in Chinese and is the first word in their dictionary. The movie runs nearly 3 hours and at a deliberate pace, but if you're patient the story offers rich rewards. It's a contemplative piece about average everyday people who wrestle with the meaning of life. Beautifully acted and directed, with a script that’s inspired. Yi Yi is about as deeply moving and insightful a film as I've ever seen.

Blogger Simon Ferrari considers it the 'film of the decade' and noted how the movie addresses,” …the clash in East Asia between tradition and westernization, morality and technology, youth and age. About the disintegration and reconciliation of a sprawling family", he continues by adding, "Its cinematography is finely-tuned, with entire conversations caught in reflections on glass surfaces, long takes, and incredible depth of field. It is funny, heartbreaking, perfect."

Nick Rogers said that it... "scratches the identifiable itch to reach out for what we've loved, set free and had come back, perhaps still not meant to be: jobs, lovers, freedoms, opportunities."

Yi Yi is one of those movies that sticks with you. Days, even weeks later it would return to my mind. Characters like the little boy pictured above, who takes photographs of people backs because he wants to show them what they cannot see. A thought that reflects the philosophy of the entire film – there is another side to every story, there are things in life that we do not see clearly.

Movies I didn't nominate but like a lot, include: Girlfight, Best in Show (and a shout out to that cast), Ginger Snaps, Unbreakable, X-Men, Quills, You Can Count on Me, Panic, State and Main (Macy is great here, but Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Rebecca Pidgeon steal the show), Audition, Two Family House, The Big Kahuna (with Danny DeVito at his best), to name more than a few

And other actors I liked... David Thewlis, Paul Bettany, and Malcolm McDowell in Gangster No 1, Sol Kyung-gu in Peppermint Candy, Chow Yun-Fat in Crouching Tiger, George Clooney in O Brother Where Art Thou? Kate Winslet in Quills, Ériq Ebouaney, Lumumba.

Best Actor: Tom Hanks, Cast Away
Honorable Mentions:
Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count on Me * Guy Pearce, Memento * Ed Harris, Pollack * Willem Dafoe, Shadow of the Vampire * Geoffrey Rush, Quills * Stellan Skarsgård, Aberdeen * Tony Leung Chiu Wai, In the Mood for Love * Javier Bardem, Before Night Falls * William H. Macy & Donald Sutherland, Panic * Lee Byung-hun, Joint Security Area * Kōji Yakusho, Eureka * Eric Bana, Chopper

Best Actress: Ellen Burstyn, Requiem for a Dream
Honorable Mentions:
Laura Linney, You Can Count on Me * Bjork, Dancer in the Dark * Gillian Anderson, The House of Mirth * Aoi Miyazaki, Eureka * Marie-Josée Croze, Maelström * Lena Headey, Aberdeen * Sylvie Testud, The Captive * Maggie Cheung, In the Mood for Love * Marcia Gay Harden, Pollock 

Supporting Actress: Jennifer Connelly, Requiem for a Dream

Nominee: Zhang Ziyi, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 

Supporting Actor: Emilio Echevarria, Amores Perros
Nominee: Samuel L. Jackson, Unbreakable






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2001 - 88th Ceremony

The Royal Tenenbaums (Director: Wes Anderson)
Nominees: Spirited Away, The Others, The Devil's Backbone, Ghost World, Amélie, Read My Lips, Moulin Rouge! Remembrance of Things to Come, Fragile as the World

Oscars pick: A Beautiful Mind
Nominees: Gosford Park, In the Bedroom, LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring, Moulin Rouge!

In the late 90s a group of American filmmakers with a distinct, idiosyncratic voice burst on the scene -- among them, Paul Thomas Anderson, Alexander Payne, writer Charlie Kaufman, and Wes Anderson. In 2001 Wes directed what I consider his perfect movie. Tenenbaums is about a family of child protégés who are unable to translate these talents into successes as adults, but who find a measure of grace after reuniting during their fathers (believed) terminal illness. The film is one that improves with each viewing, probably because it is so detailed and richly textured: Every piece collaborates to create the tenor of the film, nothing is out of tune with the other: The colorful ensemble cast, the distinct music, the smart dialog, and ironic humor, the camerawork that emphasizes a singular style -- all of these elements coalesce in scenes that burn into my consciousness (Richie's suicide attempt, his and Margot's declaration of love in a tent, Henry and Etheline's kiss coming after a pratfall and confession, the look on Margot's face as she gets off a bus).

What sets this film apart from the whimsical Amélie (which I liked and nominated) and other quirky movies, is that I never feel like Wes is being cute to show off, or because he's trying to prove he's a hip, eccentric guy. He created this world and it's an odd place, but it's honest, it's true to itself – it doesn't mock its characters (e.g. Napoleon Dynamite) -- at its core, it has depth and purity. And as an examination of the family dynamic, it’s every bit as perceptive as Welles's Ambersons.

This was a close race, and I could have easily chosen Spirited Away, which tells of a 10-year-old girl, caught in a magical world where she needs to find a way to help her parents who were turned into pigs. Hayao Miyazaki's imaginative animated classic draws from Japanese folklore, which is enchanting, scary, and unpredictable. It won the Oscar for best animated feature and is considered by many to be the director/writer's supreme masterpiece (though I lean a little more towards Princess Mononoke -- they are pretty near equal. What La Dolce Vita and 8 ½ are to Fellini, Spirited & Mononoke are to Miyazaki)

Oscar-wise: While not a bad movie, I never connected with A Beautiful Mind, its characters and story didn't spark much interest or empathy in me. And though it's a dangerous thing to say within earshot of fanboys, LOTR I find ponderous, loaded with pomposity (and whiny emo Frodo gets on my last nerve). The Academy's other nominees are solid, Moulin Rouge is a gorgeous splash of color with inventive choreography (though some of the over-the-top humor irritated, see the wince-inducing "Like a Virgin" sequence) and Altman's Gosford Park is a well told and acted tale.

🎭 Acting Awards:
David Lynch's Mulholland Drive is a full out assault on the Hollywood system, and while I felt it lost focus in its final act, what came before was amazing. And it took an amazing actress to make it work. Naomi Watts as Betty starts off the wide-eyed innocent, almost cartoon-like in her sunny optimism. Slowly but surely that innocence is worn away to nothing as Hollyweird eats away at her soul if you will. Betty is ground in the gears of the dream machine, and Watts is extraordinary in her transformation.

In Support - Cox or Buscemi? L.A. Times Kevin Thomas wrote "Buscemi rarely has had so full and challenging a role, that of a mature, reflective man, unhandsome yet not unattractive, thanks to a witty sensitivity and clear intelligence." Yes, but Brian... what a risky role, unsettling and morally fraught - he makes a charming monster, which are the scariest kind. Both deserved Oscar noms (drop Voight for one). -sigh- so difficult a choice...

Best Actor: Tom Wilkinson, In the Bedroom
Honorable Mentions:
Gene Hackman, The Royal Tenenbaums * Billy Bob Thornton, The Man Who Wasn't There * Ryan Gosling, The Believer * Gael Garcia Bernal & Diego Luna, Y Tu Mama Tambien * Cillian Murphy, On the Edge * Michel Bouquet, How I Killed My Father * Jiang Wen, Devils on the Doorstep

Best Actress: Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive
Honorable Mentions:
Sissy Spacek, In the Bedroom * Anjelica Huston & Gwyneth Paltrow, The Royal Tennenbaums * Nicole Kidman, The Others * Emmanuelle Devos, Read My Lips * Aoi Miyazaki, Harmful Insects * Judi Dench & Kate Winslet, Iris * Cate Blanchett, Charolotte Gray * Maribel Verdu, Y Tu Mama Tambien 

Supporting Actor: Brian Cox, L.I.E.

Nominee: Steve Buscemi, Ghost World

Supporting Actress: Helen Mirren, Gosford Park

Other movies I enjoyed this year include Donnie Darko, My First Mister, Charlotte Gray, Monsters Inc, Baran, Center of the World, Take Care of my Cat, Monsoon Wedding, and The Man Who Wasn’t There, to name a few


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1999 - 86th Ceremony

Magnolia (Director: Paul Thomas Anderson)
Nominees: American Beauty, Iron Giant, The Limey, All About My Mother, The Straight Story, The Sixth Sense, Postmen in the Mountains, Rosetta, Being John Malkovich, The Talented Mr. Ripley

Oscars pick: American Beauty
Nominees: The Cider House Rules, The Green Mile, The Insider, The Sixth Sense

Such an audacious undertaking, only a young gun feeling his oats would dare something like this - but while it's excessive (in later years a more seasoned PTA would declare that he should have cut 20 minutes from the film) that swagger and excess are what makes Magnolia, Magnolia (call it Anderson's "White Album").

Its wiki page summarizes the film as "an epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley" - I'd add that this 'search' often springs from the scars parents leave on their children, the aftereffects of that, on both. There are also so many moving pieces, where any single act sets off a chain reaction of people or persons hurling towards one another. Even those who are defined by their loneliness, are linked in some way, by varying degrees (illustrated so powerfully in the sing-along sequence - another seeming coincidence, that really isn't, everything and everyone is connected).

That music, by Aimee Mann, inspired the stories, and delivers such mournful feeling to scenes. She adds so much to the tone of the picture. (I awarded "Save Me" the Best Original Song - these are listed in the "Awards Rundown" posted on the right).

In addition, the acting is all around stunning - over the top at times (Julianne Moore was particularly irksome with the chewing of scenery) but it was also a convincing reflection of a soul's fragility, or kind-heartedness, or their anger or resignation, or any myriad of emotional state a particular person finds themselves in. They made you feel it.

The picture concludes just as it should, outrageous to the end, with the biblical raining of frogs, but also compassionately, with acts of kindness and forgiveness, and a first, hopeful smile on the face of someone who perhaps felt they'd lost the capacity for such a thing.

Magnolia's divided viewers since its release, some feel it amounts to a lot of stuff and nonsense, others find it perceptive and moving, but that it challenges one to think and debate, is the mark of something special to my mind. 

 

Note: 1999 offered such an overload of nominees, I decided to keep things manageable by removing a few favorites. Here's a list of my top 50.

Best Actor: Richard Farnsworth, The Straight Story
Honorable Mentions: Jim Carrey, Man on the Moon * Russell Crowe and Al Pacino, The Insider * Forest Whitaker, Ghost Dog * Haley Joel Osment and Bruce Willis, The Sixth Sense * Kevin Spacey, American Beauty * Lopsang, Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl * Sean Penn, Sweet and Lowdown * Terence Stamp, The Limey * Jim Broadbent, Topsy Turvy * Bob Hoskins, Felicia's Journey

Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon, Election
Honorable Mentions:
Li Xiaolu, Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl * Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry * Annette Bening, American Beauty * Edie Falco and Madeline Kahn, Judy Berlin * Janet McTeer, Tumbleweeds * Émilie Dequenne, Rosetta * Roth, Cruze, Paredes, Pena, and San Juan, All About My Mother * Elaine Cassidy, Felicia's Journey

Supporting Actress: Samantha Morton, Sweet and Lowdown

Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, The Insider

Special Award - Best Ensemble: Magnolia - Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Melora Walters, Tom Cruise, John C. Reilly, Philip Baker Hall, Jeremy Blackman, April Grace, William H. Macy, Melinda Dillon, Ricky Jay, etc

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1998 - 85th Ceremony

Dark City - Director's Cut (Director: Alex Proyas)
Nominees: Perfect Blue, The Last Days of Disco, Elizabeth, The Truman Show, Rushmore, Central Station, The Thin Red Line, Eternity and a Day, Saving Private Ryan, The Celebration, The Silence, The Pear Tree

Oscars pick: Shakespeare in Love
Nominees: Elizabeth, Life is Beautiful, Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line

The 90s gave us one of the great westerns (Unforgiven), and now it gifts us one of the finest in science fiction. Dark City is so brilliantly conceived that it fills me with awe and leaves me breathless.

City is set in a landscape that is pure 40s noir. And as with the genre it has its murder mystery and its femme fatale -- but it takes these tropes and blends in these otherworldly beings who emerge from the darkness and control the very fabric of time and space... and mind!

There are certain denizens of this city who sense a wrongness, they are driven mad over the niggling idea that they have been cast in a heterocosm, and that everything that is, everything they are, is a lie. No, not truly a lie, the memories are real, but they belong to others. The people here then have become the psychological equivalent of Frankenstein's monster.

The film (primarily the director's cut) adds to this unsettling idea in large and small ways. As when we hear a nightclub singer (Jennifer Connolly) and realize that she doesn't have a strong voice as the one dubbed into the theatrical version -- something in the back of our minds tells us, "This isn’t who she is." The movie is so effective in creating an air of disassociation that it prevents some viewers from getting attached to the characters and their plight. Not so for me, I have empathy for them, and I can relate to the thought of feeling ‘out of place’ with the world.

One man awakens and resists these alien builders of reality. It's his task to solve this puzzle. He is our guide through this city. He feels he'll find the answers at a place from his childhood called Shell Beach. And I, in turn, experienced his urgency, "Get to Shell Beach", I thought, "Find the answer." But what he discovers shocked the ever-loving hell out of me.

Unique, imaginative and thought-provoking, Dark City ultimately has its power struggle, and for a moment I wondered if the man would be the hero or give in to the dark force he has acquired and become something worse than those he opposes. I expected the worse – the worse would have been the predictable and easy path. What was refreshing was that this dark city took a hopeful and positive left turn. It gave us light.

The film is a structural achievement - a visionary tour de force. I am mesmerized over the way Proyas weaves dialog, music, performance, camera, and design (employing old school techniques in its use of practical effects - miniatures, wire work, green screens) … and forms these pieces into a magnificent whole. It impresses me in the way Hitchcock’s eye for detail impresses me. Or Kieslowski with his visual rhymes and ‘score as storytelling device’, or Dreyer in the way he utilizes movement and vocal inflection to create a particular rhythm and tone. As with the films of these geniuses, everything works in concert - everything is essential. Even the use of quick edits. Though I prefer the old school, slow framing style, I think the frequent shock-cuts add to the fractured nature of the piece. Proyas tapped into this creative wellspring only once in his career. While he made a very good movie with The Crow – he has never, before or since- created one as elevated as Dark City.

While I often quote Roger Ebert, I don't always agree with him -- but I agreed with him when he named Dark City as his #1 movie of the year. Ebert also recorded 2 outstanding commentary tracks for the film.

Phew – after that draining outpouring of admiration, I almost don't have the energy to address the other contenders: Though they are wonderful as well.

I dug Shakespeare in Love a lot when it was released. But watching it again, it comes off a rather soft and spongy told tale and doesn't really get into gear until its final half. I still like the movie, it's a lovely bittersweet romance, but after all these years I've cooled to it, and today I would have been rooting for Elizabeth.

Boasting some of the best dialogue ever written, Elizabeth also features one of cinemas great performances. Cate Blanchett was robbed. I love Gwyneth Paltrow, and her work was cute and enjoyable in Shakespeare, but compared to the wide arc of development that Blanchett put on display –from doe-eyed innocent to tough as nails leader of a nation- it's not even close as to who the best actress was between these two (and a close second to Blanchett was Fernanda Montenegro in Central Station). Elizabeth can get melodramatic and if it had won, it likely would have incurred the same backlash as befell Shakespeare. But of Oscar's nominees –actress and film- I would have gone with the Virgin Queen.

Not that I would have complained if The Thin Red Line won. It was an incredible introspective film from Terrence Malick.  While I liked Saving Private Ryan (its opening scene is striking) it wasn't my favorite Oscar nom as it seemed to be for others this year -- and I felt the Thin Red Line was the better war movie of the two.

Looking over my nominees –from Wes Anderson's Rushmore to Peter Weir's Truman Show - or even those that didn't make the final cut (The Apple, Dil Se..) and this was a good year for me; I grew attached to these productions and most have found their way into my Blu-Ray collection. I enjoyed revisiting them.

Best Actor: Jim Carrey, The Truman Show
Honorable Mentions:
Ian McKellen, Gods and Monsters * Peter Mullen, My Name Is Joe * Brendan Gleeson, The General * Bruno Ganz, Eternity and a Day * Clive Owen, Croupier * Tom Hanks, Saving Private Ryan * Edward Norton, American History X * Nick Nolte, Affliction * John Hurt, Love and Death on Long Island

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett, Elizabeth 
Honorable Mentions:
Fernanda Montenegro, Central Station * Ana Moreira, Os Mutantes * Gwyneth Paltrow, Shakespeare in Love * Jane Horrocks, Little Voice * Christina Ricci, Buffalo '66 * Alfre Woodard, Down in the Delta * Kimberly Elise, Beloved * Katrin Cartlidge, Claire Dolan

Supporting Actress: Joan Allen, Pleasantville 

Supporting Actor: Billy Bob Thornton, A Simple Plan







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1997 - 84th Ceremony

Princess Mononoke (Director: Hayao Miyazaki)
Nominees: L.A. Confidential, The Sweet Hereafter, As Good as It Gets, Waiting for Guffman, Hard Eight, The Mirror

Oscars pick: Titanic
Nominees: As Good as It Gets, The Full Monty, Good Will Hunting, L.A. Confidential

I thought Titanic was a decent flick, not the best of the year, but decent. I see it as the Gone with the Wind of its time and don't have a problem with it winning. Though for me it was a 2-horse race between L.A. Confidential and Princess Mononoke.

I'm a Noir/mystery enthusiast so L.A. Confidential was a guaranteed win for me... though at first viewing I wasn't sure about it. It's different from traditional Noir and that threw me. It's brightly colored and lit, a lot slicker than the down and dirty crime stories I was used to. But once I got used to it I was hooked. The characters were interesting, sharply written and acted -- I especially liked Kevin Spacey as slick narcotics detective Jack Vincennes. The plot is full of knotty twists and turns. Story and setting-wise, it's akin to Chinatown.

It's nature vs. industry, with each fighting for survival in Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke. This is a near-perfect picture. There's not a missed beat, not a flaw in theme, narrative, or character. Writer-Director Miyazaki delivers his message without getting overly preachy or heavy-handed. And I loved the ambiguity, the way the story offers many shades of gray: For example, Lady Eboshi isn't cut and dried villainy; she does good for her people. On the other hand, nature can be volatile and dangerous (I laughed when the wolf grabs the prince's head and starts shaking it – these ain't Disney's happy, helpful singing animals. They'd just as soon eat you than give you comfort). The ending is epic, truly breathtaking.

The blurb on the DVD case compared Mononoke to Star Wars. I think it's more ambitious than that. Miyazaki's magnum opus is a film filled with imagination and an ending that leaves some viewers scratching their heads (though the Hayao faithful and those familiar with Japanese folklore get it). This isn't easy mind-candy animation. This is a challenging work of beauty and visionary genius -- and while the pull from L.A. Confidential was strong, I just couldn't bypass Mononoke. 

Best Actor: Philip Baker Hall, Hard Eight
Honorable Mentions:
Jack Nicholson, As Good as It Gets * Crowe, Pearce, Cromwell, and Spacey, L.A. Confidential * Ian Holm, The Sweet Hereafter * Michael Douglas, The Game * Robert Duvall, The Apostle * Djimon Hounsou, Amistad * Ralph Fiennes, Oscar and Lucinda * Ray Winstone, Nil by Mouth * Sam Lee, Made in Hong Kong * Homayoun Ershadi, A Taste of Cherry

Best Actress: Kathy Burke, Nil by Mouth
Honorable Mentions:
Judi Dench, Mrs. Brown * Julie Christie, Afterglow * Helena Bonham Carter, The Wings of the Dove * Sarah Polley, The Sweet Hereafter * Cate Blanchett, Oscar and Lucinda * Molly Parker, Kissed * Susanne Lothar, Funny Games * Parker Posey, The House of Yes and Waiting for Guffman 

Supporting Actor: Robert Forster, Jackie Brown

Supporting Actress: Gwyneth Paltrow, Hard Eight







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1996 - 83rd Ceremony

A Moment of Innocence (Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf)
Nominees: Pretty Village, Pretty Flame, Fargo, Secrets & Lies, La Promesse, Emma, Sling Blade, The English Patient, Gabbeh

Oscars pick: The English Patient
Nominees: Fargo, Jerry Maguire, Secrets & Lies, Shine

I've always enjoyed movies about making movies. Whether it's a love letter, an expose, or a means to work out a block (see Fellini) or, as in the case with Mohsen Makhmalbaf's A Moment of Innocence, an opportunity to come to terms with the past. The story is based on a true event, where, as a teenager, Makhmalbaf stabbed a policeman at a protest rally. Years later he seeks redemption and (along with the policeman), closure, by capturing the act on film. What neither expected was this Rashomon-like journey, where reality is in the eyes and minds of the beholder. We see two sides of the coin, two perspectives on what happened and why. Along with two others - the actors portraying the filmmaker and the former cop, who inject their own personalities into the tale and resist seeing history repeat itself - which culminates in one of cinema's most memorable final freeze-frames.

While the story is simple, there's a wellspring of poignancy and idea, drawing from human connections and introspection, kindness and forgiveness. And though wise and based on a serious, terrible deed, it's not morose. There are several laugh-out-loud situations. Such as the cop wanting the handsome boy to play him in the movie. Scene after scene, Moment proves itself a significant and special film experience.

In respect to Oscar's pick? Though Fargo was my choice among the Acadamy's nominations, in hindsight, knowing that the Coen's will eventually receive an award, I’m glad Anthony Minghella (who died too soon) got to have his Oscar triumph. He was truly a talented director and his textured work on the English Patient shouldn’t be dismissed. Whether one enjoys the movie is up to individual taste, but while I thought it was overlong, I also found it well told and moving. And hell, I was just happy that idiotic pile, Jerry Maguire didn't win

Just behind Moment was the brutal and audacious Serbian antiwar picture, Pretty Village, Pretty Flame (a movie I was better able to appreciate and understand after reading Misha Glenny's penetrating article on it, in the November 1996 issue of Sight & Sound). And in third place, the wickedly brilliant Fargo. The movie is about a kidnapping gone wrong, and the Coen's managed to take something darkly sardonic, and mix in some warmth and good nature in its 'Minnesota nice' characters - lead by the delightfully charming Frances McDormand as pregnant police chief Gunderson. (And I cannot say enough about the passive/aggressive turn by William H. Macey.)

Along with a great cast of characters (who dominate my acting awards), it displays expert visual and narrative construction (Ethan's Oscar-winning script ranks among the finest ever written). I think of it as the photo negative of Blood Simple. Simple is dark, drenched in shadow and practically humorless, Fargo is bright, covered in snow and funny. In each, we watch a criminal plan unravel, in each, we get some painfully black moments.

Other nominations: Sling Blade is flawed, but I liked the relationship between the lead characters and Billy Bob's performance. Emma continues the Jane Austen flood from 95, Gwyneth Paltrow was delightful in the title role, one of her best (though ignored by Oscar). And Makhmalbaf wasn't done with one, he also released the poetic, pastoral Gabbeh. 

Best Actor: William H. Macy, Fargo
Honorable Mentions:
Philippe Torreton, Captain Conan * Billy Bob Thornton. Sling Blade * Geoffrey Rush & Noah Taylor, Shine * Ewan McGregor, Trainspotting * Dragan Bjelogrlić & Nikola Kojo, Pretty Village, Pretty Flame * Max Von Sydow, Hamsun * Jeffrey Wright, Basquiat 

Best Actress: Frances McDormand, Fargo 
Honorable Mentions:
Brenda Blethyn, Secrets & Lies * Gwyneth Paltrow, Emma * Emily Watson, Breaking the Waves * Ana Torrent, Thesis * Kate Winslet, Jude * Laura Dern, Citizen Ruth * Catherine Keener, Walking and Talking * Ghita Nørby, Hamsun 

Supporting Actress: Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Secrets & Lies 

Supporting Actors: Peter Stormare & Steve Buscemi, Fargo (pictured center)

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1994 - 81st Ceremony

Three Colors: Red (Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski)
Nominees: Exotica, The Shawshank Redemption, Leon: The Professional, Quiz Show, Three Colors: White, Chungking Express, Pulp Fiction, Crumb, Before the Rain, Vanya on 42nd Street, Hoop Dreams, The Emigrant

Oscars pick: Forrest Gump
Nominees: Four Weddings and a Funeral, Pulp Fiction, Quiz Show, The Shawshank Redemption

I don't loathe the flawed Forrest Gump. While criticisms are valid, I find worth in its clever and fascinating technical characteristics. Nevertheless, in a year with so many great movies, I don't see how it earns even a nomination. Consider the competition and you'll find a landslide of film more worthy of the little guy in gold.

The motion picture a lot of people latch onto in 1995 is Pulp Fiction. And while I do not number myself among the Tarantino faithful, even I have to admit that this was damn fine filmmaking. I was especially fond of the Bruce Willis bits. Pulp has been analyzed and debated to death (is it neo-noir, is it postmodernism?) Me, I see it as clip-art. The director stuck together a lot of bits and pieces from other movies (for example, the adrenaline needle scene, which is lifted straight from Scorsese's little-seen documentary American Boy) and somehow pulled it all together to make something weird and distinctly his.

For me, there were far better movies than Oscar's Gump -- even several that are stronger than the peoples champion, Pulp.

And what a crowded field: From the beautifully scripted and acted Quiz Show and Shawshank Redemption, to the unique, anti-narrative of 'Hong Kong Second Wave' film master, Wong Kar Wai, and his challenging Chungking Express (which was a favorite of Tarantino's). There were also a couple of superb documentaries, which Oscar inexplicably ignored

Above these stands my #2, Exotica from Canadian writer/director Atom Egoyan. Focused around a strip club, the story explores the tragic and dispirited lives of its characters. It's original, complex and sad/touching.

My #1 is Kryzsztof Kieslowski's Three Colors: Red. The final chapter in a trilogy, it is a poignant piece that excels on every cinematic level - from color to sound to editing to script.  I loved Film Critic Geoff Andrew’s insights...

"While Kieslowski dips into various interconnecting lives, the central drama is the electrifying encounter between Valentine - caring, troubled - and the judge, whose tendency to play God fails to match, initially, the girl's compassion. It's a film about destiny and chance, solitude and communication, cynicism and faith, doubt and desire; about lives affected by forces beyond rationalization. The assured direction avoids woolly mysticism by using material resources - actors, color, movement, composition, sound - to illuminate abstract concepts. Stunningly beautiful, powerfully scored and immaculately performed, the film is virtually flawless, and one of the very greatest cinematic achievements of the last few decades. A masterpiece."

Geoff echoes my sentiments to a tee. I recently spent 6 hours of my life going over the 3 Colors Trilogy again and by the end, there was not a doubt in my mind what the best film of 1994 was. Red is a remarkable achievement, a work of art in every sense of the word.

This was Kryzystof's final film; he died in 1996 after botched heart surgery. While Oscar did reward him with a best director nod, it did not offer the movie a best picture or best foreign language film nomination. Ultimately the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences pulled a Mr. Bungle -- breaking up a good 3-year run for itself and slipping back into safe, tepid waters.

Best Actress: Linda Fiorentino, The Last Seduction
Honorable Mentions:
Irène Jacob, Three Colors: Red * Isabelle Adjani, Queen Margot * Natalie Portman, Leon * Julianne Moore, Vanya on 42nd Street * Toni Collette, Muriel's Wedding * Sandrine Bonnaire, Joan the Maid I & II * Sandra Oh, Double Happiness * Inna Churikova, The Year of the Dog * Karolina Ostrozna, Crows

Best Actor: Gary Oldman, Immortal Beloved
Honorable Mentions:
Jean-Louis Trintignant, Three Colors Red * Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction * Nigel Hawthorne, The Madness of King George * Johnny Depp, Ed Wood * Ralph Fiennes, Quiz Show * Morgan Freeman & Tim Robbins, The Shawshank Redemption * Xia Yu, In the Heat of the Sun

Supporting Actress: Virna Lisi, Queen Margot

Supporting Actor: Martin Landau, Ed Wood







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