Animation
While this is usually my favourite categoy, this year I was mostly underwhelmed by the animated shorts selected for the awards. As usual Pixar produced a worthy champion with Bao, the whimsical and touching story of a mother raising a dumpling which many of you may have seen. For me One Small Step and Weekends, two traditionally animated stories of children and their fantasies inspired by their relationships with their parents, were also strong. While Bao was situated from the point of view of the mother, the other two were very much from the point of view of children. All of them were strong contenders and would make good winners in my opinion with Weekends being for me the strongest artistically, finding a truly gorgeous way to bring its images to life. I wasn't overly impressed with Animal Behavior, the group therapy session for animals, as I didn't find it rather funny or rather meaningful. Something tells me Late Afternoon, a rumination on memory and its loss will win the award but it wasn't the one which spoke to me the most.
Documentary
My guess is the Oscar winner will be the most inspiring of these 5 films, Period. End of Sentence. a lovely chronicle following a group of women in India who start a maxipad business to not only empower themselves through financial independence but bring social independence to the women of their communities. The other films were all pretty darn depressing especially Black Sheep, a very powerful and artfully rendered remembrance of a young black man's experiences with racism and internationalized racism in the UK. Lifeboat, which follows a group of people who dedicate themselves to rescue migrants trying to reach the shores of Europe, is timely yet didn't spark for me the sort of emotion I would have expected. A Night at the Garden, which is basically just archival footage of an American Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden in the 1930s, is horrific but rather sparse in its delivery. For me the most satisfying was Endgame, which follows terminally ill patients as they make decisions about their end of life decisions, but it wasn't the most entertaining or engrossing. It was a hard category for me to pick a favourite here but likely it would be either Endgame or Black Sheep.
Live Action
This was my favourite group this year. All of them were remarkable. Again they are mostly rather depressing, but they were all excellently told, deeply powerful, and perhaps so moving in how they mostly deal with children navigating a difficult world. Two Canadian films make the list, Fauve, the story of two boys whose games turn accidentally into tragedy, and Margeurite, about a woman coming to terms with her sexuality late in life. Both are deceptively clever in how their stories creep up on you finally delivering powerful end moments which deliver on the promise of each. Detainment is likely the most difficult of all to watch as it shows us two 10 year old boys being interviewed by police for murdering a toddler. It is the longest and most unrelenting of the bunch, making us face the truly unimaginable. The one I most anticipated is Skin, the film I think likely to win the award. It explores white supremacists and gun enthusiasts in a way which I felt would give me a cetain amoutn of satisfaction but ended up being as painful as the other films. But for me it was Madre, the story of a mother speaking to her lost 6 year old on a dying phone, which made my heart race and left me breathless. It also inspired the most reflection in me after watching it.
I would recommend searching all these out but be ready for them. They are not easy but they are mostly quite rewarding.
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