comment #1

Noah says ...

That is one of the most absurd distillations of Into the Wild's plot that I have ever heard and I hope you are being ironic.

comment #2

Geoff says ...

It's really not absurd. Wells wrote about the film in detail anyways and has always acknowledged the fact that the guy was, well, a bit of an asshole.

comment #3

T. Holly says ...

The industry folk could have their cake and eat it too by putting this film in my new "10 nominations, 2 winners" system.

comment #4

Noah says ...

That's like saying, "No Country for Old Men is about an asshole who takes a bag of money, but couldn't be bothered to come up with a detailed plan of what to do afterwards." I mean, it's technically accurate, but it overlooks the important aspects of the story in favor of a generalized dismissal.

comment #5

The Winchester says ...

The fact that Falling Slowly is the better song should have absolutely no bearing on whether or not it wins the Oscar.

comment #6

BurmaShave says ...

I certainly hope they win. It'd be a nice consolation prize, and the fact that they're really a couple makes it one of the sweetest stories of Oscar season. I'd love for it to find a Best Picture slot, but it's probably not to be.

comment #7

WJ says ...

I haven't seen the film, but having read Into the Wild, I think Wells' plot description is fairly apt. "Asshole" is subjective; "tragically misguided" might be a better descriptor. But, kudos to Wells for calling a spade a spade, even if the plot is more complex than that.

comment #8

Geoff says ...

Ah c'mon, as fate would have it we all know he was dead the minute he grabbed that money anyways. His moral compass, the agua, is what propelled him a little further on down the road.

comment #9

Geoff says ...

WJ, I completely agree with all that.

But for me, arrogant asshole is still the right word to play with. Having roughed it in the backcountry a couple times and spoken to family members and friends who've surpassed me, it's apt.

But of course, there's way more to it thematically. Loved the book, really enjoyed the film.

comment #10

jodyr says ...

A tragically misguided and woefully unprepared idealist who was maybe a bit of an asshole could sum up the McCandless portrayed in the film.

As a moderately experienced backcountry traveller, "Into the Wild" was one long cringe-fest for me. Cotton clothes, no map or GPS and nothing that could be called an effective brown bear abatement strategy, the .22 caliber pea-shooter notwithstanding.

My theory is that McCandless had a touch of Aspinger's Syndrome. That might explain some of his obsessive tendencies and his utter lack of any sexual interest in the Tracy character, barring his being an in-the-closet gay man.

comment #11

K. Bowen says ...

I have a friend who isn't "into movies," but he went to see Once and called me afterwards to tell me how great it was. He's gotten better about going to see quality movies, but I don't think he's ever done that before.

comment #12

televisiontears says ...

I'm sure I'll be crucified for this, but I'm completely baffled at all the love Into the Wild has accumulated. Though the ending and the Hal Holbrook sequence left a decent enough taste in my mouth, I couldn't wait to leave that seat. All performances aside (cast was excellent), it seemed unfocused, broad, and manipulative.
I mean do we really need little Eddie's cute songs in virtually every fucking scene? For me, the abuse of the music drained almost all emotional poignancy from the film. I don't like to be told how to feel, which is why Holbrook's scenes, for me and many others, are the best in the film. There's almost no music in any of them. Sorry to all, I just needed to get that off my chest.

comment #13

DarthCorleone says ...

Love "Falling Slowly" - such a beautiful song!

I just IMDBed Marketa and learned she is only 19 years old. I would have guessed she a lot older.

comment #14

DarthCorleone says ...

Delete that "she."

comment #15

T. Holly says ...

If the old folk at The Academy want to remember their youth, they're gonna give one of their 5 precious votes to JUNO anyway. Not "Once" or "Into the Wild."

comment #16

Arran says ...

Coincidentally, I'll be seeing both Once and Into the Wild this weekend (New Zealand release dates...sigh). I get the feeling I'll admire but not love Into the Wild and that Once will instantly become one of my favourite films. It looks very much like my bag.

comment #17

bmcintire says ...

"Falling Slowly" is a lovely song in a better-than-decent film. "Guaranteed" is a forgettable song (by an arguably stronger musician) in a soundtrack with a superior stand-out cut ("Hard Sun") that is a cover, thus ineligible. And if you think either of these are going to win over the Disney machine's ENCHANTED gauntlet, you are more misguided than McCandless could ever have been.

comment #18

thezipper says ...

What's so amazing about Once is that there are several songs that could easily be recognized. Not only are the songs great, but the scenes in which they occur and the way in which they are staged is wonderful. I'm thinking, obviously, of "Falling Slowly" but also of "When Your Mind's Made Up" and "Say It To Me Now". I can't remember the last soundtrack that has gone into such heavy rotation on my iPod. I think I've listened to the album in its entirety over a hundred times since seeing the movie at Sundance last year.

comment #19

MiraJeffAICN says ...

Say It To Me Now is my favorite song on the album but it's not up for Original because it was a Frames song first.

comment #20

The Winchester says ...

Hell, Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy should be nominated, but I'm biased.

comment #21

Rod32303 says ...

Looks like the folks over at the Grammy's are feeling it too...not just the song, but the whole album...

Best Compilation Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media
(Award to the Artist(s) and/or Producer(s) of a majority of the tracks on the album, or to the individual(s) actively responsible for the concept and musical direction and for the selection of artists, songs and producers, as applicable.)

* Across The Universe
Various Artists
[Interscope Records]

* Dreamgirls
Various Artists
[Music World Music/Sony Urban Music/Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax]

* Hairspray
Various Artists
[New Line Records]

* Love
(The Beatles)
[Apple Records/Capitol Records]

* Once
Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova
[Canvasback/Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax]

comment #22

lipranzer says ...

The Academy Music Branch has gotten better over the years (hey, if two rap songs could win Best Song, anything's possible), but my nightmare is "Falling Slowly" getting shut out of the Best Song category. However, if both that and Eddie Vedder's songs for INTO THE WILD get nominated, and Vedder wins, I won't squawk; I liked the songs he did for that film.

comment #23

K. Bowen says ...

WHich one is Falling Slowly? IS that the piano in the music store song? Which one is the bunny slipper song?

comment #24

truefaith says ...

I guess I'm in the minority here. I simply did not care for ONCE nor did I like its soundtrack. I think there's a reason why it didn't make the Top Ten list by the National Board of Review: it wasn't that good.

comment #25

rickyroma says ...

"Fallig Slowly" is the one from the music store. It also reappears at the end of the film. And for what it's worth, ONCE is one of the two best films I've seen this year (along with THE LIVES OF OTHERS).

comment #26

Arran says ...

Just got back from the movie and absolutely adored it - it's now my favourite movie of the year - but on trying to find the soundtrack on New Zealand iTunes I discovered something...

Falling Slowly was on an album the pair recorded in 2006 called Swell Season. Does that not make it ineligible for the Oscar?

comment #27

rickyroma says ...

"Fallig Slowly" is the one from the music store. It also reappears at the end of the film. And for what it's worth, ONCE is one of the two best films I've seen this year (along with THE LIVES OF OTHERS).

comment #28

EDouglas says ...

I'm between Once and Diving Bell as my #1 movie of the year. Once gets points for featuring one of the most realistic recording studio scenes ever put to film... Diving Bell has The Dirtbombs.

comment #29

BNick says ...

I remember leaving the theater after seeing Once earlier this year and being sad. Not so much because of the movie itself, but because I knew that I'd just seen an wonderful film that was unlikely to be recognized as such. Films like that do not come along often.

comment #30

MathewM says ...

"I think there's a reason why it didn't make the Top Ten list by the National Board of Review: it wasn't that good."

Bullshit. That's fine that you didn't like the film for whatever reasons (perhaps you only like slick filmmaking ala Transformers) but what does it matter who the NBoR nominates? Nobody outside of the industry even knows who the NBoR is. I think it's an awards ceremony for those who have the need to be "FIRST!!!" in the classic amateur since of the word.

If the NBoR actually took critical reviews into consideration then Once was merely overlooked by not aspiring to be more than it is. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/once/

comment #31

PhilVillarreal says ...

"Once" is definitely my favorite musical of the year. And "Hairspray" and "Sweeney Todd" are no slouches.

comment #32

BurmaShave says ...

TrueFaith, it did make the Top Ten List on the NBR, it was in their ghetto Independant Top Ten. If there were no such seperation, I have no doubt it'd probably be in their top ten. Also, how sad that you would comfort your beliefs by wrapping yourself in something as pathetic as the National Board of Review. See it again.

comment #33

The Pope says ...

Wells writes "Nominated films are usually made by or acted in by high-powered artists who are "in the game" and might pass along reciprocal favors down the road, or who simply possess an aura of well-established power that Academy members feel comfortable bowing down in front of."

I agree. It would certainly explain big boring downright bad pictures being nominated and winning over and over again. And all too often, great, great work simply being ignored.

"In the game" accounts for so much. Being in the game also validates the other people also in the game (or doing the same BS rounds) because they feel less bad because they are not alone. The greater the numbers, the greater the SENSE of legitimacy.

In the 79 odd Oscar years, how many TRULY GREAT lasting movies have won? How many TRULY GREAT pieces of work have been rewarded? And that is not only for American pictures.

comment #34

erniesouchak says ...

"Once" is what the Independent Spirit Awards were made for, not the Oscars.

comment #35

Ross says ...

I think the only chance that Once has at an Oscar is the songs. It's simply too small of a film to stand a chance at anything else. I'm a go out and shoot everything hand-held on DV filmmaker, and the quality of the filming was quite distracting for me. Especially during the piano scene in the music store, "I kept thinking, this is a beautiful song, I wish the camera-work could do it some justice." The leads were both very good, really made me buy into their love story, but yeah, they're no-names, so they probably don't stand a chance of a nomination.

I bought the soundtrack immediately after seeing the film, and it's so much better than the film itself. I think a lot of people think so highly of the songs that they remember the movie being better than it actually is.

comment #36

BurmaShave says ...

"Once" is what the Independent Spirit Awards were made for, not the Oscars.

Posted by: erniesouchak at December 7, 2007 09:44 AM

I can only hope that means "made for" to recognize better films, not more support for smug studio dominance of the Oscars.