When I first assessed the nominations, I said there were no female directors nominated but I was only looking at the Best Picture category. Here are three movies helmed by women that we are celebrating at the Oscars this year!
Movie: Capernaum
Nominated for: Best Foreign Language Film
How I watched: Laemmle
When I fell asleep: I did not
When it had me: A 12 year old boy's fierce protection of his sister
When it lost me: It did not
What I have to say: This was a heart wrenching story about how children survive on the streets of war torn and poverty-stricken cities. It was intensely real; I often forgot that I was not watching a documentary. The acting was astounding and invisible. Thematically, I was struck by the notion of children seeing injustice more clearly than adults who have numbed themselves to their reality. Also central was the idea of a family you choose being more powerful than the one to which you happen to be related. For such a despairing topic, Nadine Labaki also injects a humor to the subject matter which I appreciated. The whole audience was chuckling (with relief) as we watched a baby stubbornly refuse to drink stolen breast milk. This was moving, thought provoking and lovingly told. A legal matter in the end felt like a forced story conceit but it was a small complaint against such an impressive picture of struggle in Lebanon.
Movie: Free Solo
Nominated for: Best Documentary
How I watched: At the movies
When I fell asleep: Not this time
When it had me: The Girlfriend - a documentary with a villain????
When it lost me: My fear of heights nearly drove me from the theatre
What I have to say: This movie was far more well rounded and compelling than I feared it would be. First, let's talk about the visceral component. Watching someone rock climb without a harness when you know it is actually happening with no Hollywood tricks and that he can literally slip and plummet to his death at any moment is nerve wracking. Amazing camerawork that constantly reminds you of the height and the danger kept me fidgety, sweating, breathing shallow and groaning out loud. I realize none of this sounds like it makes for a fun watch. If you know me, you know I love horror films because I am fascinated by the power of a film to affect the audience physically. So this was all fine for me, even as it drove me crazy. The most compelling component of this documentary was the toll it took on the film makers and coaches who are present and assisting Alex Honnold in his goal to free climb El Capitan (the most insane attempt of free climbing to date). Because Alex is a bit of an emotionally detached machine when it comes to his climbing, it was smart of the directors, Elizabeth Chai Vassarhelyi and Jimmy Chin to spend time focusing on the emotional turmoil of those key figures surrounding him.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The most surprising component of the film is that during the course of the shooting of the doc he gets a new girlfriend who becomes the villain of the piece. El Cap is already the antagonist and a damn strong one. He wants to climb the mountain but the mountain has never been climbed and might kill him. That works for tension and structure. However his girlfriend, a charming, beautiful, caring, soft spoken sweetheart shows up and seems bent on doing everything she can to destroy Alex. She drops him off the side of a mountain causing stress fractures to his back, she gets into his head and distracts him constantly, she tries to settle him down and change him before he can complete his journey - it's maddening! But also makes for great cinema. Is it possible she was planted by the film makers? Maybe my paranoia is getting the better of me. In any case this movie had satisfying drama to spare!
Movie: RBG
Nominated for: Best Documentary
How I watched: Amazon
When I fell asleep: No way.
When it had me: Immediately
When it lost me: It kept me.
What I have to say: While I was interested in the topic, I was bracing myself for a dry, historic kind of recounting of Ruth Bader Ginsburg's life. I was wrong, of course, or this wouldn't be nominated for an Oscar! Julie Cohen and Betsy West craft a really youthful, fun and smart look at an unlikely cultural icon. They brilliantly open the film with voice overs of conservative men tearing into RBG, which immediately gets me as the viewer to feel defensive and allied with this tiny old woman. Then they cut to this awesome song (which is nominated) and said tiny old woman working out like a prize fighter! It's amazing. With an opening like that, I'll follow you anywhere. My kids watched with me and even their attention was captured and held throughout. I'm happy for them to feel connected to an unlikely but indisputable hero like the Notorious RBG.
(Note: It appears to me that nearly all of the top jobs on this film were done by women. It's not necessary for every film to boast that but isn't it totally badass that this one does?)
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