comment #1

Jeremy Fassler says ...

I knew Waltz With Bashir wouldn't win. The foreign film committee has their heads up their asses. They don't understand any film that breaks new ground, or is "different." They don't like anything that isn't a traditional film. I think Pan's Labyrinth freaked them out--Live of Others is masterful, but it won largely because they wouldn't vote for a fantasy movie.

I think all their credibility flew out the window when it was revealed that half of them got up and walked out of City of God. Bet that nobody cares about the film that actually won that year.

comment #2

EDouglasCS says ...

I predicted Departures to win on Thursday in my full analysis of the awards:

http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=52941

(Scroll all the way to the bottom)

I missed a bunch by going out on the limb with some (Viola Davis, not Slumdog for score)... but I generally had the winners listed as the "Spoiler" in each category I missed.

I guess if I babbled on a blog about the Oscars year-round I'd have gotten more attention for my 5,000 word piece... but I generally like saving things up until I have something to say.

comment #3

EDouglasCS says ...

ANd I went with that because both The Class and Waltz with Bashir put me to fucking sleep.

comment #4

btwnproductions says ...

I can't imagine BASHIR putting anyone to sleep, not least because it's only 90 minutes.

comment #5

Lev Lewis says ...

I predicted it to win:

http://wetprints.wordpress.com/

comment #6

Princess of Peace says ...

I loved Waltz with Bashir and can't wait to see it on DVD. It was one of the best films of 2008. It is a shame that it didn't win an Oscar but it was probably too "far out" for the Academy (remember Pans Labyrinth?). And I look forward to seeing what Ari Folman does next.

I also look forward to seeing Departures when it is released. It sounds like a lovely film. And while I find it hard to understand how anyone can fall asleep during Bashir I can understand how someone would find The Class a tad dull. I saw it over the weekend and cannot understand the love for this film. France had many good films last year and could have nominated any one of them. My choice would have been I've Loved You So Long.

comment #7

jesse says ...

You know what? I acknowledge that the foreign film committe doesn't necessarily know what it's doing... but I certainly don't consider it any sort of injustice that Waltz with Bashir didn't win. It's an admirable movie, but I wouldn't say it's a particularly good one. I'd even say that the filmmakers don't necessarily understand the medium of animation. Yes, there are striking images. But the (relative) simplicity of animation, especially in this style, that produces those immediate, striking images, is poorly suited to the film's many talking-head segments. It simply isn't engaging to watch an animated human sit and talk (OK, maybe in Waking Life, where there's a lot of expression and visual fluidity).

Even outside of that material, the film holds on its images way too long; everything looks static, so even interesting moments drag out. It's like watching a slideshow. On a technical level, the movie didn't work for me no matter its admirable message, and I can completely understand how it would put someone to sleep. I admit it: it bored me. And I love animation so I wanted to like the damn thing. I wondered during the movie if the director was working in the medium first time, and sure enough, he was. It shows.

I can't speak to the other nominees, though I want to see The Class. But Walttz with Bashir has been crazily overrated.

comment #8

Kristopher Tapley says ...

Not true. I can't help it that Poland doesn't update his chart until a five days before the actual show. I predicted Departures in the end and it's on the site.

You have to stop going by Gurus, Jeff. You did it two years ago with the Eddie Murphy thing. These charts are woefully out of date each and every time. The true record is the individual's site, so if you'd look where you should -- i.e. In Contention -- you'd see that I predicted the damn film.

comment #9

Yuval says ...

jesse - " I wondered during the movie if the director was working in the medium first time, and sure enough, he was. It shows." I actually, he wasn't, and it shows. Let's agree to disagree, but your view of animation is very restricted.

comment #10

jesse says ...

Yuval, is that true? I thought I read somewhere that this was his first time doing animation. If I remember correctly, it was a pretty glowing review, saying that he was a natural at it. But if he's an animation vet, I apologize, though I still don't think he understands how to use it effectively, unless by effectively you mean flattering audiences who would never think that animation could be used to tell a true, war-torn story.

As for my restricted view of animation, I guess I would allow that I might not've found some of those static shots any less tedious in live action... but to me it felt like a wasted opportunity. There are a lot of scenes where the animation doesn't add much, and -- in this case -- takes away from the nuances of the people being interviewed.

This is even pickier, but I tend to doubt the filmmakers' allegiance to animation even more when they feel that they have to cap the film with live-action footage of what they've already animated, designed to make you say "my god, what they were drawing really happened." Except the audience knows that from the start, and showing it in live-action after an entire movie of animation feels like a hedging of bets.

I think I would've responded less negatively if they had mixed live-action and animation throughout.

I know I'm in the minority view on this one... I just can't figure out why people found this picture so enthralling.

comment #11

Yuval says ...

He used animation in a documentary series called The Material that Love is Made of. You can see some of it here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-sNXWIctaQ. It’s in Hebrew and it doesn’t have subtitles.
The shots of people talking are actually not static at all, but they are meant to be minimalist representations of human beings. The film is built of fragments trying to build up to a reality, and the animation in all its parts create this metaphor beautifully (in my opinion). The live action at the end of the film is effective precisely because there wasn't any live footage up to that point. The animation is engaging but unnatural. The live action is repulsive and unnatural.
I don't feel Folman needs to show any allegiance to animation (BTW – it is these type of comments that make me write about restricted views). It is a tool, and in this case it is handled in a way that I have never seen before. This film engaged and entertained me in a way no Pixar film or a Dreamworks film (or Perseopolis) ever has.

comment #12

jesse says ...

You can use a couple of dots and lines to make a minimalist represenation of human beings, but that doesn't mean I want to stare at it for minutes on end.

comment #13

Yuval says ...

For me, it will depend on the dots and the lines. In the end you weren't engaged and I was. I just didn't approve of your dismissal of the technique.

comment #14

the400blows says ...

I agree with Jesse. I wasn't all that impressed by Waltz With Bashir. I found myself thinking of other things as I was watching it. And I didn't care much for The Class either. If anything, both of those films should've been nominated for Best Documentary instead. I'm glad Departures won. Mainly because it was a well told story that was done extremely well. Plus, I prefer a narrative film win than a docu-drama.

comment #15

Krazy Eyes says ...

I can only assume that all the people pissing and moaning about the WALTZ WITH BASHIR loss have seen both WALTZ and DEPARTURES (let alone, all 5 nominees)?