'Twas the night before Oscar noms...

The long wait is (nearly) over. In just under twelve hours, we'll all be put out of our misery and all the speculation will come to an end. Save for that unsettling PGA win over the weekend that seemingly blew the Best Picture race wide open again, the winners have been decided long ago, so the only surprise element that remained were the nominations themselves. It is too depressing for me to give a predictions list that sees "The King's Speech" having the most nominations out of all the other superior films this year, so I have decided to write out a dream ballot. Here is what I would nominate, were I a member of the Academy:

Best Picture

"Another Year"
"Black Swan"
"Blue Valentine"
"The Fighter"
"The Ghost Writer"

"127 Hours"

"The Kids Are All Right"

"Rabbit Hole"
"The Social Network"
"True Grit"

Special mentions:
"Greenberg"
"Scott Pilgrim vs. the World"

Director

Darren Aronofsky - "Black Swan"
David Fincher - "The Social Network"
Mike Leigh - "Another Year"
Roman Polanski - "The Ghost Writer"
David O. Russell - "The Fighter"

Pains me not to include:
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen - "True Grit"


Special mentions:

Danny Boyle - "127 Hours"
Debra Granik - "Winter's Bone"

Lead Actor
Aaron Eckhart - "Rabbit Hole"

Jesse Eisenberg - "The Social Network"

Colin Firth - "The King's Speech"
James Franco - "127 Hours"
Ryan Gosling - "Blue Valentine"

Special mentions:

Jim Broadbent - "Another Year"
Ben Stiller - "Greenberg"

Have not seen it yet, but needs a mention just by virtue of being him:
Javier Bardem - "Biutiful"

Lead Actress

Nicole Kidman - "Rabbit Hole"
Jennifer Lawrence - "Winter's Bone"
Natalie Portman - "Black Swan"
Hailee Steinfeld - "True Grit"
Michelle Williams - "Blue Valentine"

Special mentions:

Annette Bening - "The Kids Are All Right"
Greta Gerwig - "Greenberg"
Julianne Moore - "The Kids Are All Right"
Ruth Sheen - "Another Year"
Emma Stone - "Easy A"
Tilda Swinton - "I Am Love"

Instalment I: Immigrants in America or Why Viggo Mortensen Should Have Won For Best Person Alive.

This does not translate to 'hello' in English.

If there is one thing I love in this world, it's an immigrant story done well. I think many people would agree with me (I'm looking at you, entire human population who love The Godfather). Anyways, with one solid film review behind me, I thought I'd veer off course a little and dedicate a two part instalment to a couple of my favourite immigrant story films. I won't pretend objectivity; I adore both of these movies with an unreasonable amount of emotion. The first of which is Eastern Promises. Ah!

A quick summary: After a pregnant Russian girl dies while giving birth, maternity nurse Anna Ivanovna (Naomi Watts) tries to contact the girl's family. A business card in the girl's diary leads her to the Trans-Siberian restaurant, a front operated by the Vory v Zakone (the Russian mafia).


Enough summary. If you haven't seen the film, run to wherever you get films and get it at once (et a moy prikas!*). If you have seen it, let's take a moment to appreciate the font of the title credits. This is a small detail, but the vaguely cyrllic looking font perfectly roped me into the world of Semyon (Armin Mueller - Stahl), Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen), and Kiril (Vincent Cassel). Its a place that's immediately recognizable, where 'the old world' lives shoulder to shoulder with 'the new world.'

The reason Eastern Promises seems to succeed in so many ways, is because it is so specific. In his depiction of Russian immigrants and Londoners, Cronenberg attaches us to characters, not archetypes or stereotypes. This is largely because of the acting (do I even have to say it? There is no chink in this wall; everyone is solid if not outstanding), but also because of the set design. Each place looked like people actually inhabited it. I felt like I knew something about each character from their surroundings, which seems obvious enough. But sets aren't just used to establish exposition in this film. They are revelatory.

Everything in Anna and her mother's home tells of how place influences them. The floral wall paper and cozy furniture seem specifically English when compared to the rich opulence of the Trans- Siberian restaurant, where Semyon and his son Kirill live. One of the best sequences of the film is when Cronenberg uses three quick panning shots to show a decadent Russian Christmas feast. I mean, step aside Julie and Julia, Eastern Promises is a stellar food movie.


Soviet Opulence. Is there any other kind?

Cronenberg masterfully uses food to show how both worlds collide. In Anna's home, her uncle Stepan's bottle of vodka and distinctive Russian glasses are the only hints of Russia amidst the floral place mats and green peas. In turn, Semyon manages to win Anna's trust by feeding her borscht, "like her papa used to make." Food shows not only where you come from, but who you are.

It is no coincidence that the one scene where Kirill tries to engage his father in a conversation,as an equal, occurs when Kirill is roasting a chicken. Up until that point, Semyon was always the one in the kitchen, decorating a cake, or cooking borscht, while Kirill waltzed in drunk. Semyon's relationship to food is that of creator and provider, while Kirill is the lazy consumer, who lives off his father's good will.