Best Picture 2006

This is a really interesting group of Best Picture nominees. It runs the gamut of movie selections with a crime drama, war movie, somewhat of a biopic, an indie comedy, and an international modern morality type flick. All varied and all ones that I've already seen before so I basically know how this will play out for me. I must say that years like this or even categories like this where I've seen all the films is kind of annoying. Yes, watching some of them again is a lot of fun, as long as I haven't seen it like 5 times already. And changing my opinion on something after a re-watch is always a possibility but not very typical. It can be a chore to slog through movies I've already seen because it's always easier to watch something new and has helped contribute to the long delays between posts. Luckily as I keep going back in time I'll run into far fewer films that I've already seen.

2006 Best Picture

The Departed

Flip phones wooooo!! The first time I watched The Departed I loathed Jack Nicholson's character. Just absolutely hated him. I thought he was way too over the top and was hamming it up beyond what was needed but on subsequent re-watches, I feel his character fits the tone well. I can't explain why I thought he was awful but I think Nicholson gave a great performance. And it very well might go down as his last great one which I hope is very false. We need at least 3-4 more great ones from Jack! Okay, all that aside, I really enjoyed this film from Scorsese. It's just a lot of fun to watch and you can tell that the director and everyone acting in it had a lot of fun. There are some terrific acting performances and I'm surprised it only received Wahlberg's Supporting Actor nom. I think DiCaprio's Best Actor for Blood Diamond is partially due to his role here. There are also a lot of really inventive camera shots and angles that I normally don't notice but here were fun to see utilized in a way that didn't detract from the overall product. The music selections were a little cliche at times but overall I really liked how the music was incorporated into the film. All the little details it seems were really taken into account to give us the best possible experience and it's nice to see that much love on screen because it easily translates into more enjoyment for the average viewer. The jump cuts and editing can be a little too jarring at times. But I feel that the movie on it's own is just really fantastic. I enjoyed the twists and turns throughout the film and trying to figure out what was going to happen next was almost an added bonus. Though this may have been a remake of an Asian film, which many people on the Internet seem to hold against it, it is absolutely worthy to be called Best Picture.

Babel

Is it bad that I didn't really feel strongly one way or the other about this film? I think it might be because this kind of movie, one in which a bunch of different story lines that seem to have nothing to do with each other eventually all intertwine at the end, are supposed to say something profound about life and/or the world. The idea that the world is interconnected is nothing new and Babel doesn't really seem to say anything interesting about that fact. Not to mention it comes a year after Crash won Best Picture for a very similar type of film, though with a different meaning. The way the story is interwoven is done admirably. It never lingers too long on any one part and is relatively simple to follow. The Moroccan story is the most compelling and the actors, who are mostly locals, do a fantastic job of making the film feel real. It showcases how a very benign act can turn into something larger than life and is essentially the essence of the film. The weakest story is the US/Mexico one where the housemaid visits her son's wedding in Mexico with the two kids she takes care of and has trouble coming back across the border. It brings absolutely nothing new to the border discussion and hurts the overall message of the film for me. The maid is careless and we never really feel for her. I enjoyed the Japanese story and would have actually liked a full movie of this theme. It, too, was compelling even if it only felt tangentially connected to the overall story. In the end, Babel felt like an Oscar film only in ideas and not in execution.

Letters from Iwo Jima

Letters from Iwo Jima tells the story of that battle from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers. It's at times moving, but it has it's flaws as well. I don't like how dark the film looks, whoever thought using that kind of color filter was necessary should have known better, it's the major flaw of the film for me. The letters as a framing device is a wonderful humanizing touch and really holds the film together. The Japanese soldiers aren't just the typical murderous villains you've seen in the past, though the movie might make the Japanese out to be a little more noble and less vicious than they actually were. The film can be gritty and undeniably real in some places which keeps the film from feeling like a glossy, Disneyfied version of the battle of Iwo Jima. However, there are some hokey moments like everyone slowly standing while the dead American's letter is read aloud that does lean a bit toward the less believable Hollywood idea of war. The fade in transitions for flashbacks adds a nice throwback, old-timey touch that works well for me. The subtitles never detract from the picture as you easily get caught up in the action which helps the film feel like a lot less than 2 and a half hours. The film does drag a bit near the middle when there are a bunch of flashbacks and seemingly endless goodbye speeches. I understand this is to give background information for some of the characters but they still feel disposable even with these short scenes so they don't particularly add much depth to the Japanese soldiers. It's an idea that doesn't seem fully developed therefore it loses most of it's desired impact. Overall, Letters does have the air of being more important than it really is but it is quite enjoyable for a subject rarely seen in American cinema; especially for a film with subtitles.

Little Miss Sunshine

This is a fun little film. It's about a young girl who needs to get to a beauty pageant and her family's journey to get her there. The tone is almost hyperactive which mimics just how frenetic the Hoover family can be. They are a dysfunctional family that, yes, has some very one-dimensional characters. But those characters are really well done and the actors give their all in bringing them to hilarious life. To me, the story isn't so much about accurate portrayals of family members so much as it's about a family coming together to support one of it's own, even in the midst of their own craziness. It's heartwarming at times, absurd yet satirical without being too overbearing at others - a great mix. The issues I have are that it tiptoes the line of being a contrived mess. The obstacles that the family has to deal with and overcome on their way to California for the pageant are wholly unbelievable and patently ridiculous. It becomes a bit draining for the audience to keep suspending their disbelief but I feel the sharp wit and the superb comedic acting allow for forgiveness. The performances are what make this movie, though. As cliche as they can be, they certainly combine to form one formidable set of characters. They are a lot of fun to watch onscreen and it allows the film some leeway in the plot. Maybe I'd be way more harsh if it had actually won Best Picture, which was thought to be a possibility late in the race, but I'm satisfied with this indie darling that managed to get it's message across with a wonderful mix of comedy and drama.

The Queen

The Queen is ultimately about how the Royal family reacts and deals with a tragic event - Princess Diana's death. In a sense, it's a lot deeper than just another boring biopic with an actress doing an impression of a famous person. It gets across the feeling of a nation in the late 90s and captures the political upheaval and personal conflict of the monarchy. The behind the curtain scenes with the Queen shows how reluctant Elizabeth was to publicly mourn and honor the death of a woman who was no longer considered a Royal family member. Queen Elizabeth is almost incredulous and put off that the country demands her to have a Royal funeral and act as if one of her own has died. This leads to some great scenes between Martin Sheen's Tony Blair and Helen Mirren's Queen Elizabeth which is the highlight of the film. Mirren's contempt for Sheen is palpable in these scenes which she sees as a formality but he sees as a chance to establish his own power and help a nation grieve. It's like watching class warfare between the commoners and the stuffy British monarchy and it is utterly compelling. Even if you don't really care for the goings on of the Royal family, The Queen keeps the viewer engaged with the tension between the two opposing forces. Will Queen Elizabeth acquiesce or will she remain stubborn and indifferent to her people? There lies the essence of this film. It's not so much a cutesy biopic because we aren't really persuaded to feel any differently about the Queen than we did when we first met her. In fact, we wonder if Elizabeth was right in wanting to adhere to history and protocol by not doing anything. It's what makes The Queen such a captivating film.



I wondered who could actually win Best Picture for 2006 this year and found no one but The Departed. Babel was too much like the previous winner Crash, Little Miss Sunshine was an indie darling but definitely not the best of the year, The Queen was a stuffy, British movie that seemed obligated to me to be nominated by some obscure Treaty with Britain and Letters from Iwo Jima was a foreign film and slightly boring at the same time. So the obvious winner was Scorsese's first Best Director winner. Now, everything I just wrote was my initial response to looking over the list of nominees. Most of it is accurate still, though The Queen is more about class conflict and less about stuffy British whatevers. Letters wasn't as boring as I remember though certainly not all that exciting - it's a definite slow burner. Reading that over does give a slight twinge of embarrassment but it underscores how our remembrance of movies can be a little skewed. So I'm thankful that I got to watch them all again and clear up my memories of them. The Departed is the clear winner, while Letters and Babel are not as strong for me. I'll give The Queen the slight edge over Sunshine because it is a little more profound though no less enjoyable.

Oscar Winner: The Departed
My Winner:  The Departed
The Queen
Little Miss Sunshine
Letters from Iwo Jima
Babel