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Oscar Nominations

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De_El:

--- Quote from: Inlander on 22 Jan 2009, 14:47 ---Glad to see the Class nominated in the Best Foreign Language film category - I saw it last night and it's superb, a real throw-back to all those wonderful humanist French films that were coming out in the 90s. It'd be great to see Happy-Go-Lucky win Best Screenplay, thought it's obviously the outsider in that category - but dammit, that film was such a joy and I want to see it recognised. I haven't seen most of the films for Leading Actress, but isn't it about time the Academy came out of its English-language bunker? Kristin Scott-Thomas's performance, in French (her second language), in I've Loved You So Long, was simply stunning and without question the best performance - by a man or a woman - I've seen in years.

--- End quote ---

Really, The Class was good? I had kind of written it off for being just another "HOW DO I REACH THESE KEEEEDS" movie, plus the trailer gave it a weird polished and maybe trying too hard feel. But that was really all I had to go on.

Edit: oh hey I'm an idiot it won the Palme d'Or. I don't know why I hadn't heard that before. But at least I didn't miss it or anything, I don't think it's been released yet anywhere near me.

Inlander:
Really, your first impressions could hardly be less accurate! The Class is about as far from a stereotypical Hollywood teacher/student drama as it's possible to be while still being in a classroom. For starters, it's based on a novel written by the guy who also plays the lead role in the film, and the novel was based on his own teaching experiences, so it doesn't idealise teaching or schools at all. But on the other hand, nor is it utterly downbeat: yes, the kids are rowdy and don't learn much, but none of them are the cliched "tough kids who just need love" or whatever other rubbish Hollywood usually pedals. Nor are the teacher portrayed as saints: all the characters in the film feel like real, living, breathing human beings, with all the complexities that entails. In a way it's a typically French film, in that it basically consists entirely of people sitting around and talking, but somehow it's absolutely engrossing and engaging at all times.

Recently I've been rediscovering all the amazing films that came out of France in the 1990s, which were basically the films that I grew up on: sad and beautiful and uplifting and deeply humane films like the Dreamlife of Angels and It All Starts Today, and the Class is very much in that tradition.

De_El:
Well my impressions were based entirely upon the US trailer (or one of them?) and it is a true thing that sometimes trailers are really terrible.

ImRonBurgundy?:
Springsteen's song was in the film, and it getting snubbed is total bullshit.  And how fantastic that the Academy decided to pass up two movies for best picture that were overwhelming critical and commercial successes for a run-of-the-mill, Oscarbait Holocaust drama.

That said, it's nice to see two hardworking character actors (Melissa Leo and Richard Jenkins) get some recognition.

Inlander:

--- Quote from: ImRonBurgundy? on 23 Jan 2009, 00:52 ---how fantastic that the Academy decided to pass up two movies for best picture that were overwhelming critical and commercial successes

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Which ones?

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