At The Circuit, John Hopewell and Emilio Mayorga offer a number of signs that “the mantle of greatness is rapidly slipping over” Silent Light director Carlos Reygadas. I’m surely not going to argue with that, but I do think it’s interesting that Mayorga and Hopewell make it a point to set Reygadas apart from other hot young Mexican directors, such as Alfonso Cuaron and Alejandro González Iñárritu, who crossed over to Hollywood success:

Reygadas has a niche in a pantheon - not new Mexican cinema; given the accessibility of and interest in film-making worldwide, the very concept of new national cinemas may be arcane - but new, left-field world cinema, up there with other unorthodoz film-makers such as, say, Thailand’s Apichatpong Weerasethakul.

Read: he’s making art films for die hards, and that’s never gonna translate to the masses.

I don’t know. I don’t want to be an elitist. I feel like I’m a woman of the people, or whatever. But I like it that Silent Light requires work to enjoy. It’s hard for me to reconcile the sad truth that popular culture as a whole feels more comfortable with Crash with subtitles.

Oh, I’m so naive to be shocked by this:

Movie studios traditionally spend up to $25 million a year per nominated film in an attempt to secure Hollywood’s highest honor. This time around, Fox Searchlight (”Little Miss Sunshine,” “The Last King of Scotland”) and Paramount (”Babel,” “Dreamgirls”) are leading the pack. With marketing budgets commonly running around $40 million to $50 million for high-profile films, that extra $25 million smarts. But many studios feel it’s worth it.

The above is from an article in yesterday’s Daily News, called “The business of Oscar.” It seemed like a fitting, albeit depressing, follow up to Monday’s post about the push to get Half Nelson star Ryan Gosling a best actor nomination. No wonder our “who-we-think-should-win” and “who-we-think-will-win” lists rarely line up.

So it turns out that Alfonso Cuaron, director of Children of Men, is kind of resenting the sudden attention and praise being lavished on Mexican films (his as well as Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritus’ Babel). In a post Cuaron wrote this week, he said this:

…What I resent, however, is the notion that the Oscars are somehow bestowing legitimacy on Mexican cinema. We don’t need this legitimacy.

I can get my head around that kind of resentment. I can also understand why Cuaron doesn’t want to define or represent “Mexican cinema.” As he points out in his post, the three films getting all the attention are set in a variety of places other than Mexico–from London to Spain to California and Morocco. I think he just wants to be known as a great filmmaker–one who isn’t put in a box.

But at the same time, attention and praise are still attention and praise, even if they’re long overdue or not in the most appealing package. The amount of interest being stirred up around Mexican directors and films right now is to be expected, considering the box office numbers and Oscar nominations (16 between the three titles) these three films have generated. According to indieWIRE’s BOT, Pan’s Labyrinth surpassed Like Water for Chocolate as the highest grossing Spanish language film in the US ($21.7 million as of yesterday). All kinds of people watching a subtitled movie in multiplex theaters. I love it (even if it is a ridiculous thing to love).

It’s true. American audiences blinded by Hollywood blockbusters can be a bit clueless. They might even need to be hit over the head before they sit up and take notice. But personally, I’m just glad they’re taking notice. I’m glad more films from more places are being seen by more people.

Although she must be burnt out from Sundance, Anne Thompson put together a nice Oscar nomination analysis on her Risky Business blog.

Here are my main two thoughts about the nominations and her post:

- It’s fascinating that a film like Dreamgirls can get eight nominations, including best actor and best actress, but not get nominated for best picture (or director or writer, for that matter). Each year at this time, when I’m puzzling over the system, I tend to be a bit surprised that it’s not more of a science. Then I remember that falling in love with a person isn’t a science–why should our love for a movie be something calculated? (But, on the other hand, when you compare two best picture nominations–Babel and Letters from Iwo Jima, with seven and four nominations respectively–you have to admit that Babel seems a more likely and deserving pick. Sure makes it seem kind of mathematical.)

- Secondly, when I think of this ideal I have–this inexplicable but genuine falling in love with a film–I quickly snap back to this reality: The Oscars, while not a science, are, in many ways, a game. (Yes, I’m well aware love can be a game, too, but the best love isn’t.) In her post today, Anne Thompson references the Clint Eastwood/Warners “Oscar strategy,” and the “trick with foreign films.” Ah, yes. There are strategies and tricks involved. I can’t help it, though. I want to be a purist. I want the film that wins Best Picture to win because, as Thompson says, it is “beloved.”

Our friend Dodd, known as “moviedodd” on Spout, shares with us a bit of what he’s thinking about just hours before the Academy Award nominations are announced. Dodd, who also wrote a Halloween-inspired post for us a few months ago, is a student at Ohio University, where he’s finishing up an M.A. in Film Studies.
- Kristin

It is once again that important time of the year for Hollywood. While complete disasters such as Code Name: The Cleaner and Arthur and the Invisibles are tossed into theaters as part of National January Dumping Season, the best films of 2006 are discussed in great length as top-ten lists are compiled and award ceremonies prepare their nominations. Typically this is a time to compare notes with the Academy and the Golden Globes to see how many of your personal favorites have a shot at the gold. However, this year I must admit to a feeling of dissatisfaction.

The 2006 Golden Globes saw Dreamgirls and Babel taking home the Best Picture trophies. This is not exactly a shocking revelation. Both of these films received mostly favorable reviews from critics. However, when it comes to recalling the highest praised films this year, none of them were even mentioned. Half Nelson? Negative. Children of Men? Not a chance. Pan’s Labyrinth? While nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, it lost out to Clint Eastwood. Emilio Estevez\’s Bobby, though, managed to snag a nomination despite its primarily negative reviews.

The fact of the matter is most of the highly-touted pictures every year fail to get recognized. I am sure it is no coincidence that these happen to be independent films, or those with unconventional storylines and filmmaking techniques. Real gems such as these have become so neglected that they now have their own ceremony, known as The Independent Spirit Awards.

Behind this whole tirade, I am not saying that a film such as Dreamgirls is an undeserving film. Its Detroit-based Motown numbers pulled me in from start to finish, and had my rhythmless limbs moving for an entire week. However, there are plenty of films out there that received higher praise and deserve just as much recognition. As time goes by, it seems as if nominations are more in the vein of the People’s Choice Awards or, (gasp) the MTV Movie Awards.

During this year’s Academy Awards, I will be donning a tuxedo on my sofa, and nodding in mild agreement as Eddie Murphy predictably takes home Oscar gold. However, I will still remember Ellen Page from Hard Candy, Ryan Gosling from Half Nelson, and every other overlooked performer not accepted by the multiplex masses.

(What do you think? Are the Academy Awards and Golden Globes legitimate, or do they need to take a closer look at the year in movies?)

5 films (well, Rick is giving us 4 instead):

- Volver
- Babel
- Little Children
- The Last King of Scotland

4 interesting people:

- Kevin MacDonald (director of The Last King of Scotland–we recorded a podcast with him)
- Natasha (Kevin’s agent–funny and wonderfully opinionated)
- Forest Whitaker (so cool–he also was willing to do a podcast)
- the girls in the gondola (their conversation was…interesting, their allegiance to Family Guy over South Park was…disappointing)

3 favorite spots:

- the pathway along the stream that runs through the town–walking on it was a little retreat
- Baked in Telluride (delicious sandwiches and baked goods)
- the view on the gondola coming back down into Telluride at night (words can’t describe)

2 memorable moments:

- being at the Patrons’ Brunch high in the mountains (beautiful setting, interesting conversation)
- making the nighttime podcast from the gondola

1 way the festival changed you:

- The festival reaffirmed for me that great film isn’t about hype or celebrity. It’s about great stories, artfully told, then consumed and discussed by a community.