Another disappointing Oscars!

The Academy awards disappoint me almost every year, few exceptions though. I hardly can recollect an entire Academy Award ceremony that made me feel happy and content. It is always a mixed bag for me. After 2012s disappointment I personally thought of letting go this award ceremony, but 2013 was promising hence I decided to give it a hopeful shot again this year. With all those great movies lined up for the best picture I was totally rooting for Boyhood by Richard Linklater.I am an ardent movie fanatic I watch almost every movie that I could all through the year ,naturally it covers the Oscar nomination lists.

Neil Patrick Harris’ flashy splashy Academy Awards’ opening number-a musical salute to the fact that moving pictures are so much more than mere moving pictures and Jack Black joining him in the stage ranting all what is wrong in Hollywood today. The audience reciprocated with zeal and warmth, and so did I sitting on the other side of the television. As the ceremony continued though Boyhood was a forerunner but soonBirdman, a movie by Alejandro G.Inarritu bagged some 3 awards, best original screen play, best cinematography and best director. I was anxiously waiting for the Best picture category! AndBAMM !disappointment! Hollywood yet again couldn’t recognise a masterpiece Like Boyhood! Academy blew it again this time! This hurts! Birdman won the Best picture award.

I came across Dan Kois article and he called this ‘epochal travesty’. Over the years we have seen disasters in the Best Picture award just like this year. Like when Citizen Kane lost in 1941, The Graduate lost in 1967. Cries and Whispers, High Noon, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, Apocalypse Now, Raging Bull, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T. all somehow lost Best Picture. We have seen how Argo won the Best Picture award in 2012 whereas the nomination list had better deserving pictures. Academy somehow loves to marinate the Best picture award in mediocrity, thus mediocre movies like ‘King’s Speech’ gets the Best picture award whereas movies like The Social network and ‘The Black Swan’ , ‘The Kids Are All Right’ goes unnoticed. Striking the wrong chord or not so melodious chord is not something new with the Academy.

Boyhood, a true masterpiece movie for ages.Linklater created history making this movie; he framed the elements and mediums of relationships with time with excellent storytelling. He brought on surface the basic regular post modern lives we live in. The substance of this movie is so profound that the audience can relate to it. This kind of movie is a massive breakthrough in Hollywood, today.Linklater is one of my favourite directors and his each and every work is universal and epitome of formative experience. There was no reason why this movie did not get the Best Picture Award. It is a tragedy that Academy fails to recognise massive and magnificent filmmaking.

Birdman on the other hand was not a bad movie it was quite adventurous with amazing camera work. The dark comedy the elements of surrealism were indeed something great. Somehow Academy digs movie with neurotic psychotic outbreak of an individual. But Academy should somehow get rid of its so called narrative and start recognising proper out of the box filmmaking.

SUVRANU CHAKRABORTY
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