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What an exciting day to be at Cannes this must have been. Asghar Farhadi unveiled a new picture to critical acclaim, with some even stating that A Hero is his greatest work since A Separation. In the main competition, Julia Ducournau also presented her sophomore feature, Titane. After Raw, the new film seems like it will continue the director's exploration on the limits of body horror. As for some sidebar prospects, Miguel Gomes opened his latest work in the Director's Fortnight. The Tsugua Diaries was co-directed with Maureen Fazendeiro and represents Gomes' first feature since Arabian Nights. Unfortunately, another project called Savagery remains incomplete since the pandemic forced the production to halt. In any case, for our homebound Cannes alternative, let's explore the past and best works from these filmmakers…
Michael Cusumano back again with my new series on great scenes/films of the 21st Century. This week a title we will surely hear often when the best of the decade lists start rolling in...
Scene: Razieh is Fired (aka The Incident) It’s rare for a movie, even a great movie, to sneak up on the audience the way Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation does.
The screenplay is centered around an inflection point. Everything pulling the characters inexorably toward, or ricocheting off of, the moment when a man shoves a woman out his front door. Yet this action is not granted any special emphasis. First-time viewers have no clue they’ve witnessed the action around which the entire story pivots. It is only a few short scenes later, when the man is on trial for causing the miscarriage of the women he pushed (a murder charge in Iran) that the weight of that shove comes crashing home...
It's a special "top ten day" to kick off fall film season. Lists all day long. Enjoy!
As we move into awards seasons it's a good time to think positively and hope for the best. Though AMPAS is too high profile to ever get an entirely fair shake (people will always take them to task because one man's treasure is another's junk and because it's easier to remember the gross dereliction of their duties more than their classy moments) they don't screw up all the time. Some Oscar wins are highly deserved no matter how you look at it. Though it seems weird to call this young decade "the Teens" already given that we've just left the pre-teens, that's what it'll surely be called when it wraps in December 2019
MOST DESERVING OSCAR WINS OF 'THE TEENS' (thus far) 2010-2013
Honorable Mention Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables (2012 Supporting Actress) "I Dreamed a Dream" and its fearful preamble "At the End of the Day" had seismic emotional impact. Performances this raw are always risky (and usually divisive!) but I'll never forget her confrontational mix of anger, sorrow, memory and beauty; a woman staring into the abyss, still stunned she's at the brink of it.
MOST DESERVING OSCAR WINS OF 'THE TEENS' (thus far) 2010-2013
10ish Christian Bale, The Fighter (2010 Supporting Actor) Christopher Plummer, Beginners (2011 Supporting Actor) I couldn't decide which of these fine actors I wanted on the list and on an earlier draft I accidentally left both off as a result. Oops. Both are arguably leads, so it felt a bit strange to include them but they are two very fine instances of overdue actors finally winning the top gong. While they probably won at least in part as "whole career" honors, that much derided Oscar tactic that often gives actors Oscars for one of their lesser performances, doesn't always backfire; both were, happily, incredibly deserving.
09 Lupita N'Yongo, 12 Years a Slave (2013 Supporting Actress) A close call, perhaps, with "It Girl" JLaw nipping at her barefeet. Or maybe not close at all given how much of its operatic sorrow the sometimes cerebral Best Picture owes to her proud wails and immeasurable pain. "I'd rather it be you"
I just spent 108 minutes catching up with Jesse and Celine. We've met them twice Before... and I spent the first 2/3rds of the movie grinning like a damn fool I was so happy to be marinating in their always passionate detour-filled conversations. It's too early to say how much I loved the movie (though I did) but it got me to thinking what an achievement this series is and got me to thinking of true movie magic and how much of it we've had lately. So while so many of my fellow critics enjoy their mad rush through Auteursville at Cannes tonight I'm remembering the time I fell in love with this movie...
...and that one
...and that one
...and that one.
Here's my ten favorite movies of the 'Teens (2010-2019) ... so far of course
the bonafide masterpieces -it'd be tough to imagine them not being on the decade best list 6 years from now 1. I Am Love (Luca Guadagnini) 2. A Separation (Asghar Farhadi) 3. The Social Network (David Fincher) indelible achievements 4. Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin) 5. The Kids Are All Right (Lisa Cholodenko) 6. Blue Valentine (Derek Cianfrance) movie magic 7. Amour (Michael Haneke) 8. The Artist (Michel Hazanavicius) 9. Drive (Nicolas Winding Refn)
and? 10 ... let's leave this spot open for a current passion since this list is silliness until 2019 rolls around. How will Frances Ha and Before Midnight age? They'll certainly make my top ten list this year. And if they don't this will be a startlingly fine year.
Honorable Mention: Beginners, Weekend, Magic Mike, and Moonrise Kingdom Growing?: Blue Valentine and The Fighter and Melancholia are aging well Fading?: I admit my initial passions for both Black Swan and The Artist have cooled a bit.
Which films this young decade have already staked a claim on your 4ever heart?
Congralutations to Andy Lau (representing Hong Kong's Oscar submission A Simple Life) and Eugene Domingo (the star of The Philippine's Oscar submission Woman in a Septic Tank) who won the People's Choice Award for Actor and Actress at the 6th Annual Asian Film Awards.
They look so happy. The Oscars are long over but somehow it's comforting to know that people hold new trophies every day of the year for something or other and not all of them are dreaming of Oscar. And not all awards bodies are concerned with whether or not Oscar voters are watching.
It was a big night for A Separation (which we were just talking about) which took home the top prize and three others. The craft categories were mostly split between Wu Xia and The Flying Swords of Dragon Gale, neither of which have come to US cinemas.
The acting awards were all over the place both in terms of films and countries.
The Winners FilmA Separation [Iran] Director Asghar Farhadi, A Separation [Iran] Actress Deanie Ip, A Simple Life [Hong Kong] Actor Donny Damara, Lovely Man [Indonesia] Newcomer Ni Ni, The Flowers of War [China] Supporting Actress Shemaine Buencamino, Nino [The Philippines] Supporting Actor Lawrence Ko Jump, Ashin! [Taiwan]
Donny Damara plays a transgendered father in "Lovely Man"
Screenplay Asghar Farhadi, A Separation [Iran] Cinematography Jake Pollock & Lai Yiu-fai Wu Xia [China | Hong Kong] Production Design Yee Chung-man, Sun Li, Wu Xia [China | Hong Kong] ScoreChan Kwong-wing, Peter Kam, Chatchai Pongprapaphan, Wu Xia [China | Hong Kong] Editor Hayedeh Safiyari, A Separation [Iran] Visual Effects Wook Kim, Josh Cole, Frankie Chung,The Flying Swords of Dragon Gale [China | Hong Kong ] Costume Design Yee Chung-man, Lai Hsuan-wu The Flying Swords of Dragon Gale [China | Hong Kong]
The Flying Swords of Dragon Gale hasn't come to the States yet but since it stars Jet Li and it's action oriented, I suppose we'll get it at some point.
Special Awards Lifetime Achievement for Hong Kong director Ann Hui and The Edward Yang New Talent Awards for Indonesia's Edwin.
Tuesday, July 13, 2021 at 7:16PM 
