comment #1

Chris Molanphy says ...

If del Toro's film was Spain's submission, doesn't that mean that Almodovar's film was ineligible? I'm not saying that's just, I'm just trying to explain it. Agreed that it sucks big-time.

comment #2

YND says ...

PAN's was Mexico's submission. VOLVER was Spain's.

comment #3

Noel Murray says ...

PAN'S LABYRINTH was Mexico's submission.

comment #4

YND says ...

Zing! Beatin' the Onion to the punch!

comment #5

YND says ...

Btw, I like that you're on here, Murray. Now that the Voice is working its ass of to scrapheap itself, AV Club's about the best collection of film journalism out there, for my money. I like that you're out in the world with the rest of us. (I also like calling you "Murray", like we're friends or something. I shall continue to do so.)

comment #6

NYCritic says ...

Del Toro's film was the Mexican entry. Almodovar's was Spain's.

I think that perhaps SONY didn't help its cause by having the retrospective of Almodovar's films that played around the country. If you sat through those movies, you could see that he has made some progression as a movie maker but that his ideas have more or less been "stuck" since he made The Flower of My Secret in 1995. He's been making movies that are variations on themes in that movie ever since. Almodovar even more or less acknowledged this at the press conference for Volver at the New York Film Festival when he was asked if he was ever going to do anything "new" or "different."

Frankly, I thought Volver was one of his weaker efforts. A good movie, but by no means a great one. Deepa Mehta's Water, on the other hand, was fantastic. And don't discount the behind-the-scenes drama associated with that movie. She was set to film it years ago in India and there were literally riots in the streets, the sets were burned and she had to regroup. It took her years, but she eventually got the film made (albeit in Sri Lanka).

comment #7

corey3rd says ...

maybe the folks in charge of voting thought Pedro has won enough Oscars.

comment #8

Colin says ...

YND, I agree with you on the praise for the AV Club. Every week, I used to get the Village Voice and The Onion, and I used to read the VV first. Now, it's reversed, and sometimes it takes a few days before I look at the Voice.

comment #9

Chris Molanphy says ...

Thanks for clearing that up, guys. Sorry. Makes Almodovar's omission even more inexplicable.

comment #10

le corbeau says ...

Yeah, it's reversed for me too, I look at AV Club every week, and I haven't looked at the Voice since about 1997.

Frankly, passing up Volver as a movie but nominating Cruz is right on. All About My Mother and Talk To Her were great movies, Volver is a good vehicle for its star.

comment #11

YND says ...

Very well put, Mgmax -- I liked VOLVER fine but it definitely felt much slighter than Almodovar's great films. Cruz was terrific, though -- happy to see her nominated.

comment #12

Craig Kennedy says ...

Well, if the nominations were for Best Almodovar Film, I could see Volver not making the cut, but they weren't so I'm surprised. Certainly not as weighty as some of his other films, but damn entertaining and still heavier than many of the films considered in the Best Picture category.

Though it'll have the biggest Box Office of all the nominees, I don't see the older Academy voters going for Pan's Labyrinth. I think Lives of Others is getting rereleased in LA so it'll be interesting to see how it does.

Days of Glory came and went really quickly though it got great reviews. I wonder if it'll come back before the Awards.

If memory serves, Water got a pretty big release in LA. It seemed to play for quite a while and I saw the trailer for it every damn time I went to a Laemmle theater. The subject also seemed to be of the kind Oscar typically falls for. That could be my pick for the eventual winner.

comment #13

Dan Revill says ...

I hope to Heaven that Pan's Labyrinth wins, but if it doesn't, I'd be happy to see Water win (which means I should rent it before too long), since it's Canadian and all, just like me...and yes, I quite like The Lives of Others too. I'll be happy if any 3 of these wins.