Change, desolation, possibility and perception seem to be key elements among the nominees for best film at the 2022 Oscar. This year, for the first time, ten nominees were secured, made up of a heterogeneous group of titles that have some aspects in common: “ Belfast”, a coming-of-age story that takes place in Ireland in the late 1960s; “CODA: Señales del corazón”, also of adulthood and where a young woman with a deaf-mute father pursues her dream of being a singer; “They don’t look up”, a satire where some astronomers try to warn about an imminent threat to Earth; “Drive My Car,” a drama about grief; “King Richard: A Winning Family,” the story of how Richard Williams launched the careers of Venus and Serena, two of the most successful tennis players in history; “Licorice Pizza”, a young love story that is also a coming of age, located in the 70’s; “The Alley of Lost Souls”, a film noir where the central character enters his dark side; “The power of the dog”, a period drama that talks about toxic masculinity; “Duna”, the super science fiction production that successfully adapts a classic that seemed impossible to bring to the big screen and “Love without barriers”, a new adaptation of the musical inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”.
In the first instance, it is obvious that several of the titles are coming of age stories (“Belfast”, “CODA”, “Licorice Pizza” and indirectly even “Love without barriers” and “King Richard”). It is also very clear that the issue of inclusion remains central. In “CODA” there is talk of deaf-mutes, it is a “more familiar” look than what “The Sound of Metal” did last year; “The Power of the Dog” addresses homosexuality, “King Richard” the opportunities for the community of color in a white sport and “Love without barriers” on the differences between gangs that come from different minorities. In “CODA” and “King Richard” the result is encouraging, in the other two, not so much.
They also deprive the tapes that happen in the past, the exceptions are “Don’t look up”, “Drive My Car” and “CODA”; “Duna” takes place in another reality, it’s science fiction with elements of fantasy. That is, there is a dialogue of the present from the past. This also gives a rather melancholic touch to the group. In a longing for what was and will not be. There are clearly bleak looks like “Alley of Lost Souls” whose central character takes a free fall trip to his dark side, similar to what happens in “Joker”. It is not the only case, in “The power of the dog” the central character seems to have a chance of escape, until another intervenes in his plans. In the tragic or not very encouraging endings there is also “Love without barriers”.
Speaking of “Love Without Barriers” it is the only musical and although it has been announced as “modern” due to its handling of audio and the way it settles debts with the Latin community, the main critics of the first version and that it is considered by the American Film Institute as the second best of the genre, the reality is that it is not as purposeful as “Tick, Tick… Boom!” which was left out of the main list. The vast majority of titles are dramas, with a satire in the mix, “Don’t Look Up.” Likewise, the majority of the protagonists are white, with the exception of “King Richard” (of color), “Amor sin barriers” (Latinos) and, well, if you want to consider him, in “Drive My Car” he is an Asian .
Another interesting aspect is that, with the exception of “Duna”, none is a super production and none was a success at the box office, not even “Duna” itself, which even with its little more than 400 million at the box office, cost 165, amount that would suggest in other times a double collection. Netflix has said that “Don’t Look Up” is one of its most successful titles, placing it in its Top 10 of all time. From then on, they are productions of an independent nature or with more modest pretensions and, more than one, could even be considered box office failures (“Amor sin barreas” cost 100 million dollars and is just about to reach 70 million dollars; “ The alley of lost souls” has 34 against a budget of 60.
Among the good news is the one that follows a clear tendency of the Academy to give more variety and room for international titles. “Drive My Car” follows the trend of previous years with titles like “Roma” and “Parasite” and is not the only one “Flee” from Denmark is making history by being the first title nominated for Best International Film, Best Documentary and Best Film animated. By the way, it is also a story of migration / exile and with a homosexual character. There are other aspects that can certainly be discussed about a group of nominees with their heterogeneities and they are points of union that, without a doubt, make it clear what are the issues on the agenda for the Academy.