DECRYPTION – The victory of the remake of The Aries Family offers a streaming platform – Apple TV+ – its first best film statuette and unprecedented visibility for talents with disabilities. Will Smith is crowned best actor, just after a bout of live violence.
Ceremony for history. Seeking to win back its audience and moviegoers, who have been deserting them for several years, the 94th Oscars have written a page in the history of the 7th art beyond their own expectations. Sunday’s gala was marked by two major events. The triumph of Coda , the American remake of The Aries Family from Apple TV+ earned a streaming platform its first best film statuette and offered talents with disabilities unprecedented visibility. Contrary to The Aries Family, Coda made use of deaf actors. Sian Heder’s story won the other two statuettes to which he was entitled: best supporting role, best adaptation.
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Netflix and The Power Of The Dog unloved
Buoyed by the popularity and modest enthusiasm of its deaf stars, Marlee Matlin and Troy Kotsur, Coda symbolizes the desire for lightness and great feelings of voters after two years of pandemic. Dark, cold and cerebral, The Power Of The Dog of Netflix was penalized by the preferential voting system of the queen category of the Oscars. The reputation of ogre and the frenzied campaign led by Netflix which did not look at the expense, could also annoy. Despite 12 nominations the dark The Power Of The Dog is satisfied with a statuette, that of best director for Jane Campion.
SEE ALSO – Oscars 2022: Coda, the remake of “The Aries Family”, is crowned best film
But it may be another shocking image that will be remembered much to the chagrin of the Academy. That of Will Smith slapping or slapping Chris Rock on stage, a few minutes before receiving the Best Actor Oscar for The Williams Method.
The star ofe Men In Black couldn’t stand Chris Rock joking about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s baldness. Consoled by his friend Denzel Washington, Will Smith apologized by coming to collect his statuette and admitted to having spoiled his moment of glory and that of his partners, in particular the tennis players Serena and Venus Williams, whose egocentric father he plays.
Dunes record holder of the evening’s victories
Favorite party with twelve nominations, The Power Of The Dog settle for a trophy. All the same historic for its filmmaker. Sacred best director, Jane Campion is only the third woman in the history of the seventh art to be rewarded. In the technical categories, his western, portrait of a cowboy repressing his homosexuality, was smothered by the steamroller Dunes. Denis Villeneuve’s space opera is the most awarded film of the evening with six Oscars (editing, music, sets, sound, photography, special effects).
The Jessica Chastain and Kenneth Branagh Surprises
Last uncertain and disputed category, that of the best actress from which emerged Jessica Chastain , unrecognizable as televangelist Tammy Faye. This Oscar, won against Penelope Cruz and Nicole Kidman, crowns a demanding filmography. The 45-year-old actress is one of the few to have allowed herself a political discourse, defending the LGBT communities.
Another surprise with the Oscar for best screenplay awarded to Kenneth Branagh for Belfast , a poetic account of his childhood during the Northern Irish Troubles. An unexpected victory: the exegete of Shakespeare had not had the favors of the English Oscars, the Bafta. For the first Oscar of his rich career, the Briton recalled that “Belfast was above all a search for hope despite the violence“.
These fireworks of surprises, bloodshed and the magnificent interpretation of the James Bond hit by Billie Eillish who walks away with the deserved Oscar for best song woke up a nearly four-hour gala that combined the spectacular (launch and opening monologue) and predictable first victories.
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From the Dolby Theater amphitheater in Los Angeles, tennis players Serena and Venus Williams lifted the curtain on this edition by relocating it and launching Beyoncé’s performance of their film’s hit The Williams Method. The singer was far from Hollywood. She interpreted be alive, from the town of Crompton where the Williams sisters are from. Beyoncé was surrounded by dancers and musicians all dressed in tennis yellow.
A caustic and invigorating opening monologue
The Three Mistresses of Ceremonies Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall carried out their renewal and stripping mission with a bang. Corrosive irony on the program: “Dont Look Up, a film in which Leonardo DiCaprio leaves the planet greener for his much younger girlfriends. Being The Ricardos rmanages the miracle of talking about the mother of the sitcom Lucille Ball without being funny, The Williams Method celebrates women by talking about their fathers. “It’s cheaper to hire three women than one man to present this ceremony” amused Amy Schumer who lamented the wrinkles created by two years of pandemic by explaining that the idol of young Timothée Chalamet had aged well. The camera had fun staring at JK Simmons.
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Shortly after her colleague Regina Hall had fun calling on stage the “single” actors Bradley Cooper, Timothée Chalamet, whose choice not to wear a tuxedo shirt was noticed, and Simu Liu on the pretext that their Covid tests had been misled to better flirt with them.
Long-awaited and historic Oscars for supporting roles
The first statuette awarded live crowned an expected winner. Having won all the precursor trophies, Ariana DeBose was named Best Supporting Actor for her role in the remake of West Side Story by Steven Spielberg.
“I know why Anita wants to be in America because in this strange world dreams come true there. Thank you Steven Spielberg for this unforgettable summer and thank you Rita Moreno [interprète d’Anita dans le film original] who paved the way for so many Anitas like me. To anyone questioning their identity, there is a place for you in this world as the little queer Latino girl that I am proves. The speech of the 31-year-old actress from Puerto Rico was greatly applauded. And perfectly in the slogan of the evening “Movie Lovers Unite” (the union of film lovers, editor’s note).
Father hen but boor in Coda, the american remake of The Aries Familythe big favorite Troy Kotsur won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The winner, deaf from birth, was applauded in sign language by the audience when he came to collect his prize on stage. His presenter Korean actress Yuh-Jung Youn (minari) announced his name in sign language as well.
He becomes the second deaf actor to be recognized by the Academy three decades after the triumph of his partner in Coda, Marlee Matlin. The 53-year-old comedian dedicated this historic victory to the hearing-impaired and disabled community: “Now is our time. Thank you to our director Sian Heder for creating a bridge between hearing and deaf in Hollywood”. In a funny and moving speech in sign language, Troy Kotsur, who has known years of hardship, even sleeping in his car, promised not to sign “swear words”. He had a thought for his father: “He was an even better signer than me, but an accident that paralyzed him deprived him of this means of communication”. To his family, he said, visibly very touched: “Look at me, I did it! I love you, thank you.”
Diversity was also at the heart of the emotional words of the creators of the Disney animated film Encanto Best Animated Feature. They paid homage to the Colombian culture that inspired the story. The win follows a poignant performance of the tale’s signature song.
Another no surprise, the trophy for the best international film was awarded to the Japanese road-trip Drive My Car by Japanese Ryusuke Hamaguchi.
The funny choices of moviegoers on Twitter
Eight technical and minor categories were handed out shortly before the start of the broadcast. Controversial decision but which effectively makes it possible to make the ceremony more fluid. Another somewhat mocked innovation, the place given to fans invited to vote for their favorite sequences and their favorite film. Among the acclaimed cult scenes, a tsunami of superhero movies: the long version of Justice League, Spider-Man No Way Home, Avengers Endgame, Matrix and the Aretha Franklin biopic Respect. The best film category according to the public demonstrated the power of traction of social networks and fan communities with an improbable podium: Mimimata starring Johnny Depp who never found a distributor due to domestic abuse allegations against the star, the glittery blockbuster Cinderella and the Netflix zombie movie Army Of The Dead.
A minute of silence for Ukraine
Keeping their promise, the organizers of the Oscars, reluctant to politicize the ceremony, soberly evoked the war in Ukraine. No speech by President Volodymyr Zelensky. But a minute of silence and a card on the screen calling for solidarity. By way of introduction, Ukrainian-born actress Mila Kunis alluded to “current events that are tearing the world apart”.
Palmares
- Best film : Coda
- Best Director: Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
- Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, In the eyes of Tammy Faye
- Best Actor: Will Smith The Williams Method
- Best Supporting Actor: Troy Kotsur, CODA
- Best Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
- Best International Film: drive my car (Japan)
- Best animated film: Encanto
- Best Documentary: summer of soul
- Best Original Screenplay: Belfast
- Best Adapted Screenplay: Coda
- Best song : No Time To Die, by Billie Eilish
- Best Sound: Dunes (Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill and Ron Bartlett).
- Best editing: Dunes (Joe Walker).
- Best Original Score: Dunes (Hans Zimmer).
- Best decor: Dunes.
- Best makeup and hairstyles: In the eyes of Tammy Faye (Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh).
- Best Animated Short Film: The Windshield Wiper (Alberto Mielgo and Leo Sanchez).
- Best documentary short: The Queen of Basketball (Ben Proudfoot).
- Best short fiction film: The Long Goodbye (Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed).
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Between the triumph of Coda and the slap of Will Smith, the Oscars ceremony hits hard