The Academy Awards or Oscars is America’s most prestigious awards show that honors the year’s best films. Last week, they released their slew of nominations, including 8 for Best Picture. To anticipate the ceremony, which is just one month away, I watched and will be ranking the Oscars 2021 Best Picture nominees. For this article, I will only rank the 7 films I had access to watch (I unfortunately wasn’t able to access The Father).
Now, I don’t take Oscars nominees and winners as bible. It is very local, political, and noticeably skewed towards American and white films in general. But I do find good movie recommendations from the show from time to time.
To be clear, this is not a predictions list. I don’t want to think about what the critics think about these films. This is just a list based on how much I liked each one. The ones I ranked the highest definitely have strong artistic merit; they’re also the ones that resonated with me emotionally the most.
7. Mank, dir. David Fincher
“You cannot capture a man’s entire life in two hours. All you can hope is to leave the impression of one.”
Mank recounts screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz’s dealings in 1930s Hollywood and traces his completion of the screenplay for Citizen Kane. Mank imitates the structure and look of Citizen Kane too as it flits between past and present, fades away in between sequences, is shot in black-and-white, and uses a deep depth of field.
Honestly, I expected Mank to be just another Hollywood-jerking-off-Hollywood type of movie because it so heavily revolves around Citizen Kane, what many film critics call the greatest movie of all time. But Mank is actually a deconstruction of Hollywood as it reveals and criticizes the harmful politics of that industry–how Hollywood is not just for entertainment but also has actual real-world consequences. I was surprised by how relevant Mank turned out to be in today’s times.
Still, I didn’t appreciate the film that much because I didn’t know a lot about Citizen Kane, and that lack of knowledge definitely detracted from how I understood Mank as I was watching it. I also wasn’t very familiar with Hollywood’s powerful players back then. But if you’re interested in any of this, then you should give Mank a watch because it depicts an interesting moment in film history.
6. Judas and the Black Messiah, dir. Shaka King
“Anywhere there’s people, there’s power.”
Judas and the Black Messiah is based on a true story. It chronicles FBI informant William O’Neal’s infiltration of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party, wherein he eventually earns the trust of Chairman Fred Hampton.
This film is excellent at educating people on why marginalized communities in North American countries want to defund the police. It provides a rich historical context on police brutality against black people, which is why Judas and the Black Messiah is so relevant today. I may not agree with all of Hampton’s beliefs, but he is no doubt an extraordinary leader passionate in bettering the conditions of the masses. LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya were also compelling in their roles.
The film reminds me so much of The Departed, but less complex. I found that the characters lacked internal conflict and arc, which made the film less interesting. The pacing was also not perfect because the film gets melodramatic at times. Still, I learned a lot from Judas and the Black Messiah and I recommend it.
5. Nomadland, dir. Chloé Zhao
“One of the things I love most about this life is that there’s no final goodbye… I always just say, ‘I’ll see you down the road.’ And I do. And whether it’s a month, or a year, or sometimes years, I see them again.”
Nomadland is an eye-opening film into the lives of middle-aged people who, because of the lack of social safety nets and ageism in the workplace, cannot financially support their retirement. Thus they become nomads living in RVs and earning money through seasonal work. The audience experience this lifestyle through Fern, a middle-aged widower who recently became a nomad.
Nomadland depicts the complexity of this lifestyle. Being a nomad is about a loss of power but also about reclaiming that power; it’s about community but also about the real loneliness that stems from constantly moving; it’s about poverty but also about redefining our definition of wealth; it’s about transience but also about permanence. I can go on and on because it’s deeply philosophical.
Frances McDormand’s performances always endear me, and her portrayal of Fern was such a delight to watch. She’s like a restless old auntie who loves exploring and going on adventures. The cinematography here is also gorgeous; the shots of nature were particularly exquisite and, together with the soundtrack, were effective at elevating emotions.
Not everyone will like this movie though, because it’s one of those films wherein nothing really happens. If you like movies where there’s a clear progression of plot, I don’t think you’ll like Nomadland but for those who don’t mind a lack of narrative structure, then you should give it a watch.
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4. Sound of Metal, dir. Darius Marder
“Being deaf is not a handicap. Not something to fix.”
Sound of Metal was such a big learning experience! The film follows heavy metal drummer Ruben as he suddenly loses his hearing and therefore his identity. The audience is immersed into that experience as the sound design flits between objective sounds, and what Ruben hears from his own ears. The sound design team better honestly win at the Oscars because they absolutely deserve it.
I learned a lot about the deaf community from this film (also ASL!), and I’m reminded again of the importance and value of watching diversely. Sound of Metal shows that the deaf community is heterogenous, and the experience of being deaf is not a singular one. The film humanizes them and makes them complex. Don’t get me wrong, Sound of Metal still shows what deaf people lose because of their loss of hearing, but it also emphasizes what they gain from it.
I don’t want to give anything away, but the themes of this film aren’t just relevant to deaf people, but to everyone especially during this pandemic. Watch Sound of Metal and you’ll find out why.
3. The Trial of the Chicago 7, dir. Aaron Sorkin
“Are we using this trial to defend ourselves against very serious charges that could land us in prison for ten years? Or to say a pointless ‘fuck you’ to the establishment?”
If I were looking for something to light a fire up my ass and continue fighting for a cause, then I’d immediately rewatch The Trial of the Chicago 7. This film is based on real events, and dramatizes the 1969 trial of seven protestors known as the Chicago 7. They were just trying to peacefully protest against the Vietnam War, but were accused by the US government of conspiring to incite riots.
This film is truly heartbreaking and made me very angry–not because of the film itself, but because of the severe injustice the protagonists withstood in the justice system, and the brutal violence they faced from the police. The court proceedings were so frustrating to watch, and you’d want to slap the judge every five seconds. But the film’s not all heavy, because it has humor sprinkled in it; Sacha Baron Cohen and Jeremy Strong were very funny in this.
Throughout the movie, I kept asking myself, “Where’s the line between being a legitimate threat to the government and protesting against the government peacefully?” And it’s important to make that distinction if we want to exercise our freedom of speech safely. The film shows us the importance of organizing, but also the dangers people face when they do because of the backlash from the police and the government. Indeed, these are timely questions.
On a more technical note, Sorkin just has an excellent grasp on rhythm. The dialogue and pacing across his films are precise and sharp, and The Trial of the Chicago 7 is no exception. The 7-minute opening montage here is possibly one of the best things I’ve ever seen in my life. You’ll have to watch the movie to see what I mean.
2. Promising Young Woman, dir. Emerald Fennell
“She’s kind of an idiot, huh? Gorgeous, though. Who needs brains? They never did a girl any good.”
Promising Young Woman is so kick-ass! The film follows Cassie as she works as a cafe waitress during the day, and pretends to be drunk at night in order to enact justice to would-be rapists. Suddenly, someone from her past shows up and she decides to seek vengeance.
Promising Young Woman is truly genre-bending. It flits between being a romantic-comedy and revenge thriller so seamlessly. I’ve never seen anything like it. Through the abundance of pink and floral patterns everywhere, the film also unapologetically embraces femininity. Fennell stated that she wanted to fight against the cultural norm in which anything feminine is never taken seriously, and I’m empowered by that representation.
The film really revolves around the idea in its title– the “Promising Young Woman.” This alludes to how the judge presiding over Stanford rapist Brock Turner’s case called Turner a Promising Young Man, which is why he gave Turner minimal punishment. The logic was that because he’s a Stanford student and was on track to compete in the Olympics, convicting him would destroy his promising future. What our culture, the justice system, and majority of people still don’t realize however is that the survivor’s—the Promising Young Woman’s—life is already ruined because of sexual assault. People talk about ruining the assaulter’s life when they don’t even realize that the survivor’s life is already ruined by his crime, and the survivor and her loved ones will forever live with that trauma.
I was just so impressed by the film’s nuanced take on rape culture, in which both men and women–and the justice system too actually–are all complicit in perpetrating. The movie is definitely not against men, but against the culture surrounding sexual assault–the culture of silence, excuses, and victim-blaming. Promising Young Woman is an important movie to watch.
1. Minari, dir. Lee Isaac Chung
“We can live together when things are good, but when they’re not, we fall apart?”
Minari is a beautiful and deeply moving film about a Korean-American family who move to rural Arkansas so that the father, Jacob, can fulfill his dream of owning a farm. There’s Monica, the repressed mother; Anne, the responsible sister; David, the trouble-making younger brother; and Soonja, the spunky grandmother.
First, the music and cinematography play a large role in creating a deeply moving film. The music is so ethereal and mesmerizing, and it’s so good that I already downloaded the whole album. It’s undoubtedly the best original score out of all the Oscars Best Picture nominees. Because this movie is set in a farm, there are so many heavenly shots of nature as well–so many shots of creeks, trees, grasses, sunlight, roots, and the earth. These shots made me feel grounded and humbled by nature.
Minari is my Best Picture because it resonated with me the most. It depicts family, being away from home, and the quiet quirks of Asian households. A scene that touched me so much was when Monica burst into tears when her mother brought her anchovies and chili powder from South Korea. I relate with that. I remember being so happy, sad, and sentimental all at once when I was able to eat mangoes brought to me from the Philippines while I was still studying in Canada. People often say that home is a place, that it’s a people and a feeling. But home is also food. I couldn’t stop eating mangoes when I got back home to Manila.
I can see how Minari is not for everyone though. The film focuses more on everyday struggles and routine rather than the extraordinary or dramatic moments. It’s really quiet and slow-paced, but that’s really part of the meditative experience that Minari offers. It’s just a really beautiful film that will stay with me.
