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| Dick Rolfe | Phil Boatwright | Holly McClure | Sean Herriott |
News & Comments by . . . |
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| Dick Rolfe | Phil Boatwright | Holly McClure | Sean Herriott |
The
73rd Oscar Nominations Announced
By Phil Boatwright, The Movie Reporter
February 2001
Academy
of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Robert Rehme and his fellow
Academy officer, Oscar winning actress Kathy Bates, announced nominations for
the 73rd Academy Awards Tuesday, February 13.
Rehme
and Bates unveiled the nominations in nine of the 23 categories at a 5:30 a.m.
news conference, which was attended by media outlets from around the world.
Nominations in all the categories were distributed simultaneously to the news
media in attendance and via the Internet on the official Academy Awards Web
site, www.oscar.com.
Academy
members selected nominees in their respective branches, with the exception of
the Documentary, Foreign Language Film and Makeup. The 5,722 secret
ballots were mailed in early January and returned directly to
PricewaterhouseCoopers, the international accounting firm, for tabulation.
Academy
Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2000 will be presented on March 25,
2001, at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium. The television spectacular,
estimated to reach over 78 million viewers, will be hosted by actor, comedian
and screenwriter Steve Martin. Sunday at the Oscars will be televised live
by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. (PST), commencing with a
half-hour arrivals segment.
BEST
PICTURE NOMINEES as seen from this Christian's perspective
Chocolat.
Miramax. Romantic comedy/fable. Directed by Lasse Halstrom.
As
the North Wind blows through the seemingly tranquil traditional French village
of Lansquenet, it carries with it a mysterious traveler, Vianne Rocher (Juliette
Binoche), and her daughter, Anouk (Victoire Thivisol). Vianne opens a
chocolaterie filled with irresistible confections that awaken the
townspeople’s hidden appetites. But the mayor of Lansquenet, the Comte
de Reynaud (Alfred Molina), is convinced that Vianne’s sumptuous chocolate
will wreak havoc with the town and undermine their strict religious code of
morality.
“Chocolat”
brilliantly reminds us of how easy it is to become so sanctimonious that we
neglect to love one another. And it does so with exceptional performances
and a storyline complete with enough twists and turns to keep you glued to the
screen. However, while the filmmakers make a valid point about religious
doctrines often replacing Christian charity within Christian gatherings,
unfortunately, they do so in a rather bitter way. The film and its
director seem bent on challenging not just the foibles of Christians, but
Christianity itself. True, there is a brief final moment where the local
priest begins to bring the Gospel back to his sermons, but it is too little too
late. It is the heroine, a non-conformist who never attends church, who
becomes the community’s savior. While the town leaders are stuck in
church dogma much like the Pharisees, it is the film’s humanist who is both
wise and righteous. And no, she is not a Christ figure. While Christ
was concerned with renewing our relationship with the Creator, the film’s
heroine travels from town to town bent on releasing pent-up desires through pop
women’s empowerment. For her, there seems to be no need to bridle some
temptations. She is not apologetic for her lifestyle, which has included
several sexual affairs and produced a child out of wedlock. While I would
hesitate to judge her, it does weaken a society’s standard of morality to
accept those practices as alternate lifestyles. And like it or not, a
society must have standards.
Directed
by Lasse Hallstrom (“The Cider House Rules” – a movie that also portrays
Christians as unfeeling hypocrites) and produced by filmmakers Harvey and Bob
Weinstein, who, while they have made some remarkable films (“Mansfield
Park,” “Enchanted April”), have managed to prejudicially influence society
against Christianity wherever possible (“Shakespeare In Love,” The Cider
House Rules”). The Weinstein’s bigotry against believers and
misconception of what it means to be a follower of Christ is not only arrogant,
but also myopic. Certainly there are people in the Catholic church with
little understanding of what it means to be a Christian (just as in any
Protestant denomination), but would you characterize Mother Teresa as faithless?
Or Father Damion? Of course not. They are examples of millions of
Catholics who place Christ first in their lives. But the Weinstein
brothers prefer to mock and attack hypocrites rather than acknowledge those who
practice their faith. Can you imagine the flak Miramax would receive if
the heroine had been determined to undermine the beliefs of any other group such
as gays, African Americans, or Jews? Wouldn’t it then be viewed as
prejudicial and dangerous?
Rated
PG-13: (2 profanities; 1obscenity, 5 expletives; 2 implied sexual encounters
outside marriage; some scenes take place in a bar, with an abusive alcoholic
getting drunk; implied spousal abuse; a fire is set, where we first believe
people may have perished).
Video
Alternative: Babette’s Feast. A woman, once a famous chef, travels
to a far land and becomes the housekeeper of two devote sisters. When she
wins a lottery, the woman shares her good fortune by preparing a feast for the
sisters and their pious religious group. During the meal, members of the
gathering begin drawing closer to one another. It is a gentle, yet
sumptuous story about self-discovery, one that nourishes the spirit.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Sony Pictures Classics. Martial Arts/Romance. Directed by Ang Lee.
Li Mu Bai (Chow Yun-Fat), a weary martial arts warrior anxious to hang up his 400-year-old sword, must first dissuade a young woman from seeking a life of adventure by following his old nemesis.
Bruce Lee made physicality the central element to the success of Chinese action films. Jackie Chan added humor and precision to the genre. Now, director Ang Lee brings astonishing visual effects to martial arts. He adds magic to the mystique of Asian kicksuey. His warriors don’t merely jump higher than physically possible, they literally fly. Indeed, much of the film has its heroes chasing their adversaries over rooftops and, in one instance, through forests, stopping to sword fight atop towering trees. The film is action-packed, equally splitting time between romance and confounding fight sequences. It is, to say the least, a very visual film.
Although it has a woman praying to a shrine, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” is not about promoting Eastern religious beliefs. Nor does the exuberant choreography suggest legitimate sorcery. Nothing in it, except for the themes of love and honor, is to be taken seriously. It is fantasy. The fly in the dim sum, however, is the film’s one sexual encounter between an unwed couple. But it is a short scene with no nudity, and it is clear that they truly love each other. The violence, while continuous, is artful and nearly bloodless. While we suggest caution concerning the brief sexuality, the film’s positive message is that good will conquers evil if we continue to battle it.
Rated PG-13: (It contains one sexual situation between an unmarried couple, but it is not graphic, nor does it exhibit nudity. It receives its rating for the many fight scenes).
Erin Brockovich. Universal.
Drama. Directed by Steven Soderbergh.
A
research assistant, not taken seriously because she is an attractive woman,
helps an attorney with a lawsuit against a large utility company blamed for
causing an outbreak of fatal illnesses in a small community. Julia Roberts
stars as the twice-divorced mother of three who discovers a cover-up involving
contaminated water.
This
is the role Roberts has been searching for. She is tough, independent, a
survivor. The performances are terrific and the good guys win, but the
abundance of profanity and obscenity ruin an otherwise promising movie
experience.
Rated
R: (Profanity and obscenity throughout; fornication implied; it is suggested
that the couple are sleeping together every night; a very realistic car crash,
but no one is seriously injured).
Video
Alternative: The Dollmaker. An intelligent script and a dynamic
performance from Jane Fonda as a strong-willed woman who must provide for her
family when her husband can’t find work.
Gladiator.
Universal/DreamWorks. Action/drama. Directed by Ridley Scott.
Upon the murder of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius
(Richard Harris), his trusted and successful general Maximus Meridas (Russell
Crowe) becomes unlawfully imprisoned and condemned to the gladiator games by
Marcus' twisted son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). However, Maximus gains fame as
a gladiator and uses his power to cause further damage to Commodus' tenuous hold
on the susceptible Roman people, hoping to inspire them to rediscover their lost
values and overcome corruption.
This
sword-and-sandal epic is gruesome, graphic and gory. Elements of “El
Cid,” “Ben Hur,” “Spartacus” and “Braveheart” can easily be
identified in “Gladiator,” along with the dramatic treachery and tragedy
found in most of Shakespeare’s works. What the picture lacks is a
well-defined evolution of the main character. Throughout, his only
motivation is that of a man bent of seeking revenge for the murder of his wife,
son and beloved emperor Marcus Aurelius (whom we watch being smothered by his
son). While the dream of a government by and for the people was the dying
wish of Aurelius, the film focuses more on the action and brutality of coliseum
life.
Epic-sized, with a seasoned cast (including a
last performance by Oliver Reed), but I am unable to recommend it for family
viewing due to the grisly violence. This was a tough call for me as the
film displays men of courage fighting for freedom and justice. I would go
so far as to call it a good vs. evil parable. But the more accepting we
become of viewing blood-splattered beheadings and sword-piercing deaths, the
more readily we will accept additional repulsive sights. As it is, there
is becoming little difference between Roman gatherings at the coliseum and
today’s Saturday matinees at the local bijou.
Rated R: (implied incestuous desires from the
villain toward his sister; many graphic and blood-spurting battle scenes,
including a severed head, a female warrior cut in two, and tons of blood. This
sword-and-sandal epic is gruesome, graphic and gory).
Video Alternative: El
Cid. Charlton Heston as the legendary hero who drove the Moors from Spain.
Great spectacle (without being too gruesome), with a literate script, lovely
score and beautiful Sophia Loren.
Traffic.
Gramercy Pictures/USA Films. Action/drama. Directed by Steven
Soderbergh.
A
contemporary thriller set in the world of drug trafficking, “Traffic” is
told through a series of interrelated stories, some of which are highly
personal, some of which are filled with intrigue and danger.
An
engrossing from start to finish, “Traffic” is exceptional filmmaking with
something important to say. As it shows the frustration of battling the
corrosiveness of drugs on society, it makes it clear that while there are those
who wish to put illegal substances into their bodies no matter how many examples
they’ve seen of its destructiveness, there will always be those willing to
grow, sell and distribute the junk for them to do it. By giving us this
potent message, it reminds us that rebellion to biblical teaching also leads to
destructiveness. That may not have been the intended message of the
filmmakers, but that’s what it’s saying.
I
believe any subject matter can be filmed without assaulting the audience.
That’s my only problem with this production. (Sixty-three uses of the
F-word! Come on.) While there are many associated with the drug
world who use that kind of language, this film depicts every single character
with a propensity for that word.
To
be fair, other than the excessive use of obscene language, I didn’t find
anything exploitive about the content. The film makes powerful statements
about family responsibility and the need to care about our fellow man. And
while its theme and plotlines tend to unnerve, director Steven Soderbergh
entertains, teaches and touches the soul.
Rated
R: (4 profanities and nearly 100 obscenities; a couple of crude sexual comments;
implied sex between drug-induced teens; one sex scene as teen sells herself for
drugs; a man is tortured while nude; a man is seen from behind, sans clothing; a
sexual conversation; teens and adults are seen smoking; teens and adults are
seen drinking; we see teens using drugs, including free-basing; 2 explosions; a
man is killed by a car bomb; several murders; a man is poisoned to death).
Video
Alternative: McQ. John Wayne stars as a determined cop bent on stopping
drug trafficking in Seattle.
to
dickrolfe@dove.org