unaccustomed as I am to being right on a massive scale…
I didn’t watch the BAFTAs last night, and my invitation sat at home on the table, as I struggled through some of the most hazardous driving conditions I’ve ever encountered, outside Northampton.
But I feel slightly smug that the Academy chose Argo as the Best Film. Slightly smug because I tipped Argo, as the Best Film of 2013, on December 29th.
With the Oscars coming up, I shall get my crystal ball out once again (oo-er, Matron!) and see if I can come up with an even more refined prediction.
Focussing on one niche award – Best Foreign Film – I would like to categorically state that the winner of the Best Foreign Film for the 2013 Oscars should be…
drum roll…
The Spanish-language film No
However, No won’t win.
The good (but nowhere near as good as No) Amour will win.
It’s a political thing.
I’ve just finished watching No. I saw Amour a few weeks ago.
It is difficult to compare two randomly different films.
No is the story behind the Chilean ‘No’ campaign, a movement that ultimately ousted General Pinochet from power.
No is a lightly dramatised account of how the use of an advertising narrative transformed Chile, under the rule of a dictator, to a country of hope, in to a place where the subjects felt safe about voting ‘No’ (despite the dictator having the open support of both the UK and the USA governments).
Amour is the fictional account of a made up elderly French couple, and their dwindling lifespans.
Yes, my synopses highlights the importance, in my world, that each film has.
But really, No is the better film, even without Amour’s blatant audience-manipulation.
Putting No up against Amour in one category is, for me, exactly like putting All The Presidents Men up against Bambi.
The fluffy emotional film is going to win against the hard-edged factual one, every single time.
Which is a shame, because the better film will be overlooked.
ps: other awards at the Oscars will be:
Best Film:
Argo
Best Supporting Actress:
Anne Hathaway
Best Director:
Ang Lee (probably)
Best Actor:
Daniel Day Lewis (probably; but I would like it to be Bradley Cooper)
Best Cinematography:
Life of Pi
Best Film Editing:
I haven’t a clue, but how on earth did the disjointed Zero Dark Thirty get a nom for this?)
Best Visual Effects:
Life of Pi (obv)