The Oscar nominations were announced this morning and streaming services are heavily represented with Netflix’s Mank scoring a leading 10 nominations. Check out the full list here: https://variety.com/2021/film/news/2021-oscars-nominations-list-nominees-1234928711/. Winners will not be known until April 25.
What
follows are my choices for the best dramas and docs of 2020 (with the caveat
that I have yet to be able to see several potential contenders, notably: News
of the World, Minari, The Father, and Promising Young Woman among
others). With theatres mostly closed, almost all of these were seen via
streaming services. You will note that all
of my top dramas are also American productions. 2020 was anything but a normal
year for movie releases. But here’s hoping that the big screen experience will
return in force later this year.
Best Dramas
1. Nomadland
(U.S.)
The
best by far, this is only the third feature by director Chloé Zhao who,
although she grew up in China, shows a remarkable eye for evocative American
landscapes and characters who inhabit them.
This road movie, inspired by Jessica Bruder’s nonfiction book, also has
an unforgettable performance by Frances McDormand as an older woman who becomes
a modern-day nomad in the wake of life-altering hardships shared by many on
society’s margins. After a limited
theatrical release, the movie will be able to stream on Disney+ as of April 9. [For
more comment see: https://www.vulture.com/article/chloe-zhao-nomadland.html and
https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/02/chloe-zhao-nomadland-interview/618061/ ]
2. Judas
and the Black Messiah (U.S.)
Director
and co-writer Shaka King effectively recreates the radical atmosphere of the
Black Panther movement in late 1960s Chicago leading up to the FBI-ordered
assassination of its leader Fred Hampton. Great performances by Daniel Kayuuga
as Hampton and Lakeith Stanfield as FBI informant Bill O’Neal who infiltrated
Hampton’s inner circle.
3. Soul (U.S.)
This
Pixar production is the year’s most wondrous piece of animation. The story centres on an African-American jazz
pianist Joe (voiced by Jamie Foxx) who takes a soulful journey into the
afterlife.
4. Da
Five Bloods (U.S.)
Director Spike Lee’s
searing drama follows four African-American Vietnam vets who return to Vietnam
in search of the remains of their fallen troop leader (“Stormin’ Norman” played
by Chadwick Boseman) and a supposed fortune in gold.
5. Ma
Rainey’s Black Bottom (U.S.)
This historical drama
about a recording session among African-American musicians may become best
known as the last performance of Chadwick Boseman who died of cancer at age 43
in August 2020. Released posthumously, he plays Levee, an upstart trumpet player
who tangles with “Mother of the Blues” Ma Rainey (Viola Davis). Boseman (best
known for the role of “Black Panther” in the 2018 Marvel movie) is a favorite
to win a posthumous Oscar.
6. First
Cow (U.S.)
Among
American indie filmmakers, Kelly Reichardt stands out. This story, set during
the settlement of the Pacific Northwest, concerns stolen not spilled milk as
the hapless cook to a group of trappers and a Chinese immigrant concoct a
profitable scheme under the noses of the powerful.
7. The
Trial of the Chicago 7 (U.S.)
From writer-director
Aaron Sorkin, this powerfully recreates the prosecution of those charged
following the demonstrations at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in
Chicago. Excellent performances include
Eddie Redmayne as Tom Hayden and Sacha Baron Cohen as Abbie Hoffman.
8. Mank
(U.S.)
Gary Oldman gives another
great performance as the alcoholic screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz who,
bedridden following an accident, famously collaborated on the screenplay for
Orson Welles’ classic Citizen Kane. David Fincher directs and the
picture is lensed in luminous back and white.
9. One
Night in Miami (U.S.)
Black Female director
Regina King gets terrific performances from an African-American male cast in
this fictionalized account of the night when a group that included Malcom X
gathered on the occasion of the boxing match as Cassius Clay, soon to be
Muhammad Ali, became the world
heavyweight champion.
10. Sound
of Metal (U.S.)
Riz Ahmed gives an
extraordinary performance as Ruben, a heavy metal drummer who loses his hearing
and must learn to cope with the world of the deaf.
Best Documentary Features
First I must mention two outstanding documentary
series. The first, from 2018, is Mark
Cousins’ 14-episode Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema
which was broadcast on the TCM channel during 2020. For content check out the series website: https://www.womenmakefilm.net/. The second extraordinary series is the latest
from David Attenborough, A Perfect Planet, the five episodes of
which are on BBC earth which can be streamed as an extra channel through Amazon
Prime Video. Now on to the best
features.
1. Boys
State (U.S.)
For
years the American Legion has been bringing young people to state legislatures
to participate in annual exercises in representative government. This is a highly revealing observation of one
such exercise when a thousand 17-year old boys assembled in Austin, Texas. Winner of a Sundance grand jury prize and
many other awards. Listen here to a
conversation among Michael Moore, the directing duo of Jesse Moss and Amanda
McBaine, and Steven Garza, a Mexican-American participant: https://boysstateevent.com/.
2. Time
(U.S.)
Garrett Bradley directs
this extraordinary story of a wife, Fox Rich, fighting tirelessly for the
release of her incarcerated husband Rob who received a grossly unfair 60-year
prison sentence. A deeply human look at
the inhumanity and racism of the prison-industrial complex.
3. Collective
(Romania/Luxembourg/Germany)
A searing investigation
of the corruption exposed in the aftermath of a deadly 2015 nightclub fire in
Bucharest. Seldom have a society’s ills been laid so bare through the prism of
tragedy.
4. 76
Days (China/U.S.)
There will surely be more
films made about the Covi-19 pandemic.
Although mostly shot in one hospital in the first outbreak city of
Wuhan, this intensive frontline look at the initial period of lockdown and
medial response will continue to stand out as essential viewing.
5. Fireball:
Visitors from Darker Worlds (U.S.)
Master filmmaker Werner
Herzog again teams up with geographer and volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer to
explore the phenomenon of meteors and comets and their earthly impacts,
including on human cultures.
6. Crip
Camp (U.S.)
Not far from the site of
Woodstock in New York state a summer camp was established for persons with
disabilities that played a seminal role in the recognition of their rights in
American law. The film uses archival images to capture how this camp inspired a
movement.
7. John
Lewis: Good Trouble (U.S.)
Director Dawn Porter’s
biopic is a fitting tribute to the remarkable courageous career of the late
John Lewis, one of the leaders of the 1960s civil rights movement, who went on
to represent an Atlanta district for 17 terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
8. All
In: The Fight for Democracy (U.S.)
This film also relates to
politics in Georgia as it follows the efforts of Stacy Abrams who ran for
governor in 2018. Through that
democratic contest it explores the wider issues of voter suppression tactics
across America.
9. Jimmy
Carter: Rock & Roll President (U.S. https://www.jimmycartermovie.com/)
Even in his 90s, former
U.S. president Jimmy Carter continues to set an example of service to others.
This is a fond look back at the relationships he forged with many popular
musicians during his time in office, and the human touch and charm he brought to
the role.
10. Dolly
Parton: Here I Am (UK)
Dolly Parton is more than
just a much-loved country singer. She is
a songwriting genius and something of a force of nature. Director Francis Whately’s absorbing film
does full justice to her remarkable life and career that spans decades and is
still going strong.
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