"Others" wns at Spirits

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The wi-fi in the big Spirit Awards tent was twitchy -- worked, didn't work, sorta worked -- so I threw up my hands after 40 minutes or so of futzing around. And then it was party time at Shutters for two, two and a half hours, and then a 90-minute horizontal...forget it. I blew it, slacked off, dropped the ball and, from a filing perspective, basically shined my Hollywood Elsewhere responsibilities.

The Lives of Others director-writer Florian von Henckel Donnersmarck fielding questions in the rear press tent at the Spirit Awards -- Saturday, 2.24.07, 3:25 pm

But a 20-gun salute to Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck and The Lives of Others for having won the Spirit Award for Best Foreign Film. The odds, of course, have been telling us for several weeks that the great Pan's Labyrinth will take the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar tonight, but I'm sticking with The Lives of Others on my ballot, even if it means losing money. Because Others has, for me, a better, more satisfying ending.

Spirit winners so far...<< previous | next >>"Litttle Miss Sunshine" wins & wins

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on February 25, 2007 at 8:36 AM

comment #1

PanTheFaun says ...

God, I don't get this. Wells is usually open to morally ambiguous things or sad things and doesn't need everything tidily wrapped up emotionally like "Others" does. I frankly don't get how he dropped the ball so much on "Pan's" by praising it for everything EXCEPT its ending when the ending is by far the most emotionally affecting part of the movie, and MAKES the movie for a lot of people. I think it's immensely satisfying, and makes "Pan's" the emotional powerhouse it is.

Posted by PanTheFaun at February 25, 2007 10:01 AM

comment #2

Breedlove says ...

I thought 'The Lives of Others' was way, WAY better than 'Pan's Labrynth.' Not even close, for me. One was a so-so fairy tale and one was probably the best movie I've seen in a long time.

Posted by Breedlove at February 25, 2007 10:12 AM

comment #3

Rick22 says ...

If von Donnersmarck wins the Oscar, can he at least fake a German accent? It's jarring watching this Teutonic giant accepting an award for such a thoroughly German film -- and then taking the stage and speaking like some kid from Chicago. Also, his speech yesterday was a snooze. Liven it up, Florian. You're in Hollywood, guy. Wax poetic about your inspirations, the actors you sweat blood with during this experience, etc. We don't care how you slashed the budget from 2.5 million Euros to 2 million Euros.

Posted by Rick22 at February 25, 2007 10:47 AM

comment #4