Independent Spirit Award Nominations: A Closer Look

As I took a closer look at the list of nominees for the Independent Spirit Awards, I couldn’t believe, once again, how many of the films are male-driven. While this list certainly involves many more female-driven films than is usually the case with Oscar nominees or even Golden Globe nominees, I still can’t help feeling frustrated by this. I was immediately reminded of the words of Eileen Hunter, a guest reviewer of the film Pirate Radio. She wrote:
I had a discussion with my husband after the film, and pointed out that most women perceive themselves as the protagonists of their own lives, not as an avid audience for men as they play out their stories. My experience throughout my life when watching movies like this has been to desperately try to find a place for myself among the male characters …

… The sad thing about this film is that I could have really enjoyed it otherwise. As I was watching it I wondered why I was feeling so fatigued, and I realized it was because it was yet another time that I was expected to happily stand in the sidelines and watch boys have lots of fun. That’s such a bummer to me nowadays that I can’t even pretend to be enthused anymore.

And that’s pretty much how I feel right now, after examining the nominees and realizing that, with the exception of Precious, every single female-driven film that was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award (with the possible exception of a few of the performance-related nominees) is, in fact, a non-English language film. (Note: An Education, though an English-language film, is still considered a foreign film—and is nominated in that category—because it’s from the UK.)
So, what gives? What do all the readers think about this phenomenon? Is it that we’re just not making progressive films in the U.S.? And is a female-driven film something we should actually have to consider progressive at this point?
Below, I’ve listed the nominated films and have gathered a brief synopsis of each from either imdb or rotten tomatoes. For the films that don’t seem to be exclusively either male- or female-driven, I’ve listed them as ensemble-driven. (One could argue, as I did in my review, that a romantic comedy like 500 Days of Summer treats the male as the protagonist and might not fit in the ensemble-driven category, but it walks a fine line, so I’ll leave it off the male-driven list.)

Male-Driven Film Nominees

Zero Bridge: In occupied Kashmir, where every day is another lesson in survival, a teenage petty criminal’s last chance at escape is threatened when he faces a moral crisis over his last victim. (Urdu/English)

Humpday: Two guys take their bromance to another level when they participate in an art film project.

Big Fan: Paul Aufiero, a hardcore New York Giants football fan, struggles to deal with the consequences when he is beaten up by his favorite player.

A Serious Man: A black comedy set in 1967 and centered on Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern professor who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him because his inept brother won’t move out of the house.

Two Lovers: A Brooklyn-set romantic drama about a bachelor torn between the family friend his parents wish he would marry and his beautiful but volatile new neighbor.

A Single Man: A story that centers on an English professor who, after the sudden death of his partner tries to go about his typical day in Los Angeles.

The Messenger: An American soldier struggles with an ethical dilemma when he becomes involved with a widow of a fallen officer.

Easier With Practice: In an effort to promote his unpublished novel, Davy Mitchell sets out on a road trip with his younger brother.

Crazy Heart: Bad Blake is a broken-down, hard-living country music singer who’s had way too many marriages, far too many years on the road and one too many drinks way too many times. And yet, Bad can’t help but reach for salvation with the help of Jean, a journalist who discovers the real man behind the musician.

Anvil: At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the “demi-gods of Canadian metal,” influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax, despite never hitting the big time.

More Than a Game: This documentary follows NBA superstar LeBron James and four of his talented teammates through the trials and tribulations of high school basketball in Ohio and James’ journey to fame.

Un Prophete: A young Arab man is sent to a French prison where he becomes a mafia kingpin. (French/Arabic/Corsican)

Adventureland: A comedy set in the summer of 1987 and centered around a recent college grad who takes a nowhere job at his local amusement park, only to find it’s the perfect course to get him prepared for the real world.

The Vicious Kind: A man tries to warn his brother away from the new girlfriend he brings home during Thanksgiving, but ends up becoming infatuated with her in the process.

Cold Souls: Paul Giamatti stars as himself, agonizing over his interpretation of “Uncle Vanya.” Paralyzed by anxiety, he stumbles upon a solution via a New Yorker article about a high-tech company promising to alleviate suffering by extracting souls.

Bad Lieutenant: While investigating a young nun’s rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.

Female-Driven Film Nominees

Treeless Mountain: In Seoul, Korea, two sisters must look after one another when their mother leaves them to search for their estranged father. (Korean)

Sin Nombre: Honduran teenager Sayra reunites with her father, an opportunity for her to potentially realize her dream of a life in the U.S. Moving to Mexico is the first step in a fateful journey of unexpected events. (Spanish)

Precious: In Harlem, an overweight, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.

Amreeka: A drama centered on an immigrant single mother and her teenage son in small town Illinois. (English/Arabic)

Everlasting Moments: In a time of social change and unrest, war and poverty, a young working class woman, Maria, wins a camera in a lottery. The decision to keep it alters her whole life. (Swedish/Finnish)

The Maid: A drama centered on a maid trying to hold on to her position after having served a family for 23 years. (Spanish)

Mother: A woman is forced to investigate a murder after her son is wrongfully accused of the crime. (Korean)

An Education: A coming-of-age story about a teenage girl in 1960s suburban London, and how her life changes with the arrival of a playboy nearly twice her age. (English, from the UK)

Ensemble-Driven Film Nominees

The New Year Parade: When Mike and Lisa separate, their children suffer quietly in the middle of the annual Mummer’s Parade.

The Last Station: The Countess Sofya, wife and muse to Leo Tolstoy, uses every trick of seduction on her husband’s loyal disciple, whom she believes was the person responsible for Tolstoy signing a new will that leaves his work and property to the Russian people.

500 Days of Summer: An offbeat romantic comedy about a woman who doesn’t believe true love exists, and the young man who falls for her.

Paranormal Activity: After moving into a suburban home, a couple becomes increasingly disturbed by a nightly demonic presence.

Which Way Home: Which Way Home is a feature documentary film that follows unaccompanied child migrants, on their journey through Mexico, as they try to reach the United States. (English/Spanish)

October Country: October Country is a beautifully filmed portrait of an American family struggling for stability while haunted by the ghosts of war, teen pregnancy, foster care and child abuse.

Food, Inc.: An unflattering look inside America’s corporate controlled food industry.

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About a month ago, Publisher’s Weekly made news with its list of the Top Ten Best Books of 2009. Not surprisingly, the list included no women, and the group WILLA: Women in Letters and Literary Arts, spoke out strongly against the embarrassing omission. They decided to compile their own list, with the help of anyone wanting to contribute, called Great Books By Women In 2009. As awards season for films continues to gain momentum, and considering past and current evidence of the omission of women in all areas of film, I’d love to see us come up with a list of Great Female-Driven Films of 2009. Leave your favorites in the comments section!

Ten Years of Oscar-Winning Films: In Posters

We’re coming up on that wonderful time of year when all the studios release their most worthy Best Picture Oscar contenders. This year, we’re in store for such films as the all-star cast of the musical Nine, Scorcese’s Shutter Island, and Eastwood’s Invictus, which have all picked up early Oscar buzz, as have more independent films, like A Serious Man, An Education, and The Tree of Life. So, we thought that, in honor of the upcoming onslaught, we’d take a look at the past ten years of the Academy Award-winning films for Best Picture.

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American Beauty: 2000


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Gladiator: 2001


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A Beautiful Mind: 2002


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Chicago: 2003


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The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: 2004


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Million Dollar Baby: 2005


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Crash: 2006


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The Departed: 2007


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No Country For Old Men: 2008


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Slumdog Millionaire: 2009

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What do these films have in common?

American Beauty: A man narrates the film, has a midlife crisis, and attempts to seduce and/or rape a potentially underage high school student.

Gladiator: A man in captivity avenges the murder of his wife and son by murdering their murderer.

A Beautiful Mind: A man at the height of his genius suffers from schizophrenia.

Chicago: A singing and dancing man attempts to save singing and dancing female inmates from death row.

The Lord of the Rings: Men go on a quest.

Million Dollar Baby: A man narrates the film, telling the story of his friend’s attempt to train and manage a determined female boxer.

Crash: A cast of characters—male and female—illustrates our society’s inability to distinguish between racism and prejudice.

The Departed: Men violently kill one another.

No Country For Old Men: A hired hitman goes on a killing spree with a captive bolt pistol.

Slumdog Millionaire: A man participates in a televised game-show, thinking it will help him find his long-lost love.

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I’m interested to see how the 2010 Academy Awards Ceremony will choose to honor this year’s films, especially now that they’ve bumped up the number of Best Picture nominees to ten instead of five. With the amount of women-centered and/or directed films this year—Julie & Julia, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, Bright Star, Amelia, and The Hurt Locker, to name a few—I hope women will feel some of the Academy love. Don’t forget to check back in February for analysis of the ten Best Picture nominees!

Emmys: After-Thoughts

Congratulations to this year’s Emmy Winners!

Dearbhla Walsh, Director
Maria Jacquemetton, Supervising Producer
Lisa Albert, Supervising Producer
Toni Collette, as Tara Gregson
Glenn Close, as Patty Hewes
Jessica Lange, as Big Edie
Lucy Barzun Donnelly, Executive Producer
Rachael Horovitz, Executive Producer
Anne Pivcevic, Executive Producer
Rebecca Eaton, Executive Producer
Lisa Osborne, Producer
Elise Doganieri, Co-Executive Producer
Amy Nabseth Chacon, Co-Executive Producer
Giselle Parets, Senior Producer
Kristin Chenoweth, as Olive Snook
Cherry Jones, as President Allison Taylor
Shohreh Aghdashloo, as Sajida
Jennifer Flanz, Supervising Producer
Jill Katz, Producer
Kater Gordon, Writer
Rachel Axler, Writer

While I love that so many women won for their roles as producers, I found the overall Emmy nominations problematic. I took a close look at the nominees this year and calculated the number of men nominated in each category versus the number of women nominated. Some of the more disturbing discrepancies occur here:

Outstanding Voice-Over Performance: 100% men

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series: 67% men, 33% women

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: 100% men

Outstanding Directing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Series: 100% men

Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie, or Special (Original Dramatic Score): 83% Men, 17% women

Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music: 100% men

Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program: 71% men, 29% women

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series: 100% men

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: 70% men, 30% women

Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Special: 93% men, 7% women

Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie, or Dramatic Special: 86% men, 14% women

I can’t say I’m surprised by the number of men nominated in these categories versus the number of women nominated. But I still find it disturbing. Clearly, men dominate in positions such as Directing and Writing—and I didn’t even bother to list categories like Cinematography, Sound Mixing, and Stunt Coordination—but what’s more disturbing is looking at the categories where the female nominees far surpass the men:

Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series

Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series

Outstanding Casting for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special

Outstanding Costumes for a Series

Outstanding Costumes for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special

Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series

Outstanding Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special

Outstanding Hairstyling for a Miniseries or a Movie

Outstanding Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic)

Outstanding Makeup for a Miniseries or a Movie (Non-Prosthetic)

Outstanding Nonfiction Special

I don’t particularly think there’s anything at all problematic about women working in the fields of Casting, Costume Design, Hairstyling, and Makeup. But these roles are part of the technical supporting cast, and I fear women are currently relegated to these positions. We need more women behind the cameras, in the directors’ chairs, and in charge of scripts.

Note: You can see how I came up with the percentages by downloading the PDF. Sidenote: when I figure out how to link to the PDF, I’ll be sure to post it here.

Ripley’s Pick: Season One of ‘True Blood’*

*That’s right, I said Season One. I haven’t seen a minute of Season Two, and won’t until it comes out on DVD. If Season Two contradicts everything I’ve said here, please bite your tongue–or leave your links in the comments section!

Here’s a secret: I love TV. Even more than I love movies. A television series can develop characters and story lines that are impossibly complex for a two-hour movie, and can really dig into themes and issues in ways movies can only touch upon. The high-quality television series is our generation’s answer to the 19th century serial novel–an excellent vehicle for cultural analysis and a popular genre (although most quality television is currently the domain of premium cable, which is, I admit, a problem).

A rare thing happened at work a few weeks ago: three of us (it’s a small business, and none of us has cable) started watching True Blood on DVD at the same time, allowing us to discuss a cultural object a little bit more complicated–and rewarding–than standard reality show fare.

To begin, in the words of my employer, since the show is on HBO, it’s already light years beyond anything else on TV–so even if it’s flawed, it’s hard to argue against watching (and enjoying) it.

True Blood, for the final few people unaware of the current vampire craze in the U.S., is set in small-town Louisiana a couple of years after vampires officially “came out of the coffin.” Supernatural figures and those with more mundane talents–like mind-reading and curing alcoholism & anxiety with fake exorcisms–populate Bon Temps. While the latter refers to the voodoo line True Blood refuses to cross, the former is the powerful ability of the main character, Sookie Stackhouse. (The show is based on Charlaine Harris’ series of novels about the heroine, which I haven’t read. But might.)

Rather than write a complete review of the entire first season (twelve 50-minute episodes), which I’m not sure how to do in the first place, I’ll highlight a few of the female characters and why I choose this series–despite its flaws–as a Ripley’s Pick.

Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin)
Sookie, the star of the show, is a waitress who can read minds–unless she concentrates on not listening. What draws her most to Vampire Bill is that she can’t hear his thoughts, even if she tries. Now, Sookie conforms to a lot of vampire story tropes: she is chaste (at first), in a kind of distress that warrants supernatural intervention (mostly), very pretty, and scantily clad. She is all of these things, yet she subverts so many expectations that I think the show plays with these tropes more than conforms to them. Sookie is a virgin when the show begins, but it doesn’t take long for her to run for Bill (literally) after–in a Like Water for Chocolate moment–eating a pie her grandmother made (with love). She enjoys sex, and isn’t shamed by the ‘fangbanger’ accusations hurled at her. She’s strong, independent, smart, and ultimately powerful; and even if she does wear tiny, tiny dresses, she still beheads a serial killer with a shovel.

Tara Thornton (Rutina Wesley)
Sookie’s best friend, and my favorite character. Unlike most female characters on TV, Tara is a real woman with real problems. Aside from her shape-shifter boss/love interest, Sam, and her origins-yet-defined adolescent crush, Jason, Tara deals with isolation, loneliness, and an alcoholic Jesus-freak mother. She is independent and abrasive, and despite her best efforts, falls to the defense mechanisms of her mother (her go-to accusations of racism and sexism, drinking, demon exorcism for melancholy). She’s also wicked smart–the show opens with her reading Naomi Klein’s Shock Doctrine, and reminds us again and again that she reads for knowledge. She doesn’t always know what to do with her knowledge, however, as evidenced in her lashing out at the customer who interrupts her reading of Klein. Tara is legitimately angry, but hasn’t figured out how to direct her anger at anything but herself.

Amy Burley (Lizzy Caplan)
Amy Burley is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. On the surface she’s a beautiful, free-spirited wanderer who opens Jason’s eyes up to the wonders of the natural world–and vampire blood, an illegal substance with LSD qualities. While we’re charmed by her indie good looks and hippie-stuck-in-a-perpetual-summer-of-love ways, there’s something dark and evil underneath. She’s selfish and nasty, and will stop at nothing–including manipulating born-follower Jason, kidnapping, and murdering–to indulge her desire to escape into a drug-induced euphoria. Though her storyline isn’t a major one, it offers some straightforward cultural critique. Like some actual hippies in the ’60s, interested only in indulging selfish desires while Vietnam raged and the Civil Rights casualties mounted, Amy ignores reality in service of continuing her fantasy. (Those who critique the show as ultimately regressive might use her character as an example; selfish hippies are a conservative bugaboo. Or, she might just be an example of the destructive nature of human desire.)

This barely scratches the surface of True Blood, and I do think there are some legitimate critiques of the show–despite couching many of its themes in camp. My least favorite moments in the show involve its romantic plots, which are, frankly, boring and soap opera-esque, and pale in comparison to the show’s other interests.

True Blood–like creator Alan Ball’s previous series, Six Feet Under–definitely feels like a guilty pleasure, but both shows exhibit intelligence along with entertainment. I hope Season Two, which wraps this coming Sunday night, delves further into Southern identity, sexuality, and desire–rather than losing its smarts in a storm of supernatural battles.

2009 Emmy Nominations

Check out the Emmy-nominated women below. I haven’t included all categories, but you can check out the entire list of Emmy nominees here.

Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series

30 Rock • Reunion • NBC • Broadway Video, Little Stranger, Inc. in association with
Universal Media Studios
Beth McCarthy, Director

Outstanding Directing For A Miniseries, Movie Or A Dramatic Special

Generation Kill • Bomb In The Garden • HBO • Company Pictures and Blown Deadline
Productions in association with HBO Films
Susanna White, Director

Little Dorrit • Part 1 • PBS • A co-production of BBC Productions and WGBH Boston
Dearbhla Walsh, Director

Outstanding Directing For Nonfiction Programming

Roman Polanski: Wanted And Desired • HBO • Milwood Pictures, Graceful Pictures, BBC, Antidote Films in association with HBO Documentary Films and ThinkFilm
Marina Zenovich, Director

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series

The New Adventures Of Old Christine • CBS • Kari’s Logo Here in association with
Warner Bros. Television
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Christine

Samantha Who? • ABC • ABC Studios
Christina Applegate as Samantha Newly

The Sarah Silverman Program • Comedy Central • Central Productions/Eleven Eleven
O’Clock Productions/Oil Factory Inc.
Sarah Silverman as Sarah Silverman

30 Rock • NBC • Broadway Video, Little Stranger, Inc. in association with Universal
Media Studios
Tina Fey as Liz Lemon

United States Of Tara • Showtime • Showtime presents in association with DreamWorks Television
Toni Collette as Tara Gregson

Weeds • Showtime • Showtime Presents in association with Lionsgate Television and
Tilted Productions, Inc.
Mary-Louise Parker as Nancy Botwin

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series

Brothers & Sisters • ABC • ABC Studios
Sally Field as Nora Walker

The Closer • TNT • The Shephard/Robin Company in association with Warner Bros.
Television
Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson

Damages • FX Networks • FX Productions and Sony Pictures Television
Glenn Close as Patty Hewes

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit • NBC • Wolf Films in association with Universal
Media Studios
Mariska Hargitay as Detective Olivia Benson

Mad Men • AMC • Lionsgate Television
Elisabeth Moss as Peggy Olson

Saving Grace • TNT • Fox Television
Holly Hunter as Grace Hanadarko

Outstanding Lead Actress In A Miniseries Or A Movie

Accidental Friendship • Hallmark Channel • A Muse Entertainment and Automatic
Pictures Production
Chandra Wilson as Yvonne

Coco Chanel • Lifetime • Lux Vide S.p.A, Pamp Productions and Alchemy Television
Group
Shirley MacLaine as Coco Chanel

Grey Gardens • HBO • Specialty Films and Locomotive in association with HBO Films
Drew Barrymore as Little Edie

Grey Gardens • HBO • Specialty Films and Locomotive in association with HBO Films
Jessica Lange as Big Edie

Prayers For Bobby • Lifetime • Once Upon The Times Films, LTD in association with
Permut Presentations and Sladek Taaffe Productions
Sigourney Weaver as Mary Griffith

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series

Pushing Daisies • ABC • Living Dead Guy Productions, The Jinks/Cohen Company in
association with Warner Bros. Television
Kristin Chenoweth as Olive Snook

Saturday Night Live • NBC • SNL Studios in association with NBC Studios and Broadway Video
Amy Poehler as Various Characters

Saturday Night Live • NBC • SNL Studios in association with NBC Studios and Broadway Video
Kristin Wiig as Various Characters

30 Rock • NBC • Broadway Video, Little Stranger, Inc. in association with Universal
Media Studios
Jane Krakowski as Jenna Maroney

Ugly Betty • ABC • ABC Studios
Vanessa Williams as Wilhelmina Slater

Weeds • Showtime • Showtime Presents in association with Lionsgate Television and
Tilted Productions, Inc.
Elizabeth Perkins as Celia Hodes

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series

Damages • FX Networks • FX Productions and Sony Pictures Television
Rose Byrne as Ellen Parsons

Grey’s Anatomy • ABC • ABC Studios
Sandra Oh as Dr. Christina Yang

Grey’s Anatomy • ABC • ABC Studios
Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey

In Treatment • HBO • Leverage, Closest To The Hole Productions and Sheleg in association with HBO Entertainment
Dianne Wiest as Gina

In Treatment • HBO • Leverage, Closest To The Hole Productions and Sheleg in
association with HBO Entertainment
Hope Davis as Mia

24 • FOX • Imagine Television and 20th Century Fox Television in association with
Teakwood Lane Productions
Cherry Jones as President Allison Taylor


Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie

The Courageous Heart Of Irena Sendler (Hallmark Hall Of Fame Presentation) • CBS • Jeff Most/Jeff Rice Productions in association with Hallmark Hall of Fame Productions
Marcia Gay Harden as Janina

Grey Gardens • HBO • Specialty Films and Locomotive in association with HBO Films
Jeanne Tripplehorn as Jackie O.

House Of Saddam • HBO • HBO Films in association with BBC
Shohreh Aghdashloo as Sajida

Into The Storm • HBO • Scott Free and Rainmark Films production in association with the BBC and HBO Films
Janet McTeer as Clementine Churchill

Relative Stranger • Hallmark Channel • A Larry Levinson Production
Cicely Tyson as Pearl

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series

The Big Bang Theory • The Maternal Capacitance • CBS • Chuck Lorre Productions, Inc. in association with Warner Bros. Television
Christine Baranski as Beverly Hofstadter

Monk • Mr. Monk And The Lady Next Door • USA • Universal Cable Productions in association with Mandeville Films and ABC Studios
Gena Rowlands as Marge

My Name Is Earl • Witch Lady • NBC • 20th Century Fox TV
Betty White as Crazy Witch Lady

Saturday Night Live • Presidential Bash 2008 • NBC • SNL Studios in association with NBC Studios and Broadway Video
Tina Fey as Governor Sarah Palin (Spoof)

30 Rock • The One With The Cast Of ‘Night Court’ • NBC • Broadway Video, Little Stranger, Inc. in association with Universal Media Studios
Jennifer Aniston as Claire

30 Rock • Christmas Special • NBC • Broadway Video, Little Stranger, Inc. in association with Universal Media Studios
Elaine Stritch as Colleen Donaghy

Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series

Grey’s Anatomy • No Good At Saying Sorry (One More Chance) • ABC • ABC Studios
Sharon Lawrence as Robbie Stevens

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit • Swing • NBC • Wolf Films in association with
Universal Media Studios
Ellen Burstyn as Bernadette Stabler

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit • Persona • NBC • Wolf Films in association with
Universal Media Studios
Brenda Blethyn as Linnie Malcolm/Caroline Cantwell

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit • Ballerina • NBC • Wolf Films in association with
Universal Media Studios
Carol Burnett as Bridget “Birdie” Sulloway

The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency • The Boy With The African Heart • HBO • Mirage
Enterprises and Cinechicks in association with The Weinstein Company, BBC and HBO
Entertainment
CCH Pounder as Mrs. Curtin

Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program

Project Runway • Bravo • Magical Elves for The Weinstein Company, Full Picture, Bravo
Heidi Klum, Host

Top Chef • Bravo • Magical Elves, Bravo
Padma Lakshmi, Host
Tom Colicchio, Co-Host

Outstanding Variety, Music Or Comedy Special

Kathy Griffin: She’ll Cut A Bitch • Bravo • Rickmill Productions, Bravo

Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Dramatic Special

Grey Gardens • HBO • Specialty Films and Locomotive in association with HBO Films
Michael Sucsy, Writer
Patricia Rozema, Writer

I plan on updating this with some fun statistics later.

Movie Review: Persepolis


Persepolis. (2007) Written and directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud.

I rented Persepolis before the recent Iranian election, and have been thinking ever since about the film.

Persepolis is adapted from the autobiographical graphic novels written by Marjane Satrapi (which I haven’t read), and represents the first graphic-novel-as-film. Other graphic novels have been made into films, but none (to my knowledge) have remained as true to form as this. Visually, the film is lovely, stark, and at times deeply disturbing.

In Persepolis, we meet Marjane, a young girl living in Iran at the time of the Islamic revolution of 1979. The society changed drastically under Islamic law, as evidenced by Marjane’s teacher’s evolving lessons. After the revolution, in 1982, she tells the young girls, who are now required by law to cover their heads, “The veil stands for freedom. A decent woman shelters herself from men’s eyes. A woman who shows herself will burn in hell.” In typical fashion, the students escape her ideological droning through imported pop culture: the music of ABBA, The Bee Gees, Michael Jackson, and Iron Maiden.

While the film is a personal story, it does offer a concise history of modern Iran, including the U.S. involvement in the rise of Islamic law and in the Iran-Iraq war. This time in Iranian history is especially important right now, with the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the ensuing protests. One scene in particular depicts a group of people protesting when a young man is shot, bleeds to death, and is hoisted over his fellow protesters’ shoulders–eerily reminiscent of what happened with Neda Agha Soltan, whose public murder has rallied the Iranian protesters and people all over the world.

The history of Iran, while it determines the course of Marjane’s life, really is a backdrop—especially in the second half of the movie. In other words, the film is more about the experience of one woman than a documentary-style account of Iranian history. Once Marjane escapes the society she grew up in, her problems become much more ordinary for a Western audience, more commonplace. She vacillates between different crowds of people. She falls in love and has her heart broken. She feels angst and confusion over who she is and what she wants. She goes home to Iran for a time and, like so many others, ultimately finds she cannot return home.

As evident in the film, Satrapi grew up in a wealthy, educated, progressive Iranian family. They sent her to Vienna as a teenager so she didn’t have to spend her adolescence in such a repressive society, and because they feared what might happen to such an outspoken young woman there. While acknowledging her privilege, not many women in circumstances other than these would be able to accomplish what she has. Satrapi isn’t afraid to show missteps she makes in growing up, either. Young Marjane learns that her femininity, even when repressed by law, offers great power—and shows how she misuses that power. Missing her mother’s lesson at the grocery store about female solidarity, she blames other women for her troubles (“Ma’am, my mother is dead. My stepmother’s so cruel. If I’m late, she’ll kill me. She’ll burn me with an iron. She’ll make my dad put me in an orphanage.”), and falsely accuses a man of looking at her in public to avoid the law coming down on her.

Persepolis is, in every definition of the term, a feminist film. There are strong, interesting female characters who sometimes make mistakes. The women, like in real life, are engaged in politics and struggle with expectations set for them and that they set for themselves. They have relationships with various people, but their lives are not defined by one romantic relationship, even though sometimes it can feel that way.

As much as I like this movie, I can’t help but write this review through the lens of an interview Satrapi gave in 2004, in which she claimed to not be a feminist and displayed ignorance of the basic concept of feminism. I simply don’t believe gender inequality can be dissolved through basic humanism—especially in oppressive patriarchal societies like Iran. I wonder if feminism represents too radical a position to non-Westerners, and if her statements were more strategy than sincerity. Making feminism an enemy or perpetuating the post-feminist rhetoric isn’t going to help anyone. That said, this is a very good movie and I highly recommend it.

The official trailer:

A couple of good articles about women’s role in the recent Iranian protests:

The Nation: Icons of the New Iran by Barbara Crossette

Feminist Peace Network: Memo to ABC: Lipstick Revolution FAIL

Post your own links–and thoughts about Persepolis–in the comments.

Ripley’s Rebuke: Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Welcome to the first installment of Ripley’s Rebuke, a series of reviews of films that pass Ripley’s Rule while remaining essentially misogynistic.
Written and directed by Woody Allen; starring Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, and Penelope Cruz.

I like Woody Allen, while admitting that his best work is (long) behind him. With all the accolades Vicky Cristina Barcelona has received, I decided to give it a shot.

Vicky (Hall) and Cristina (Johansson) are privileged college students spending two months of their summer in Barcelona; Vicky plans to study for her thesis on Catalan identity (despite not speaking a lick of Spanish), and Cristina tags along, hoping to find something about herself and art, after she devoted six months to making a 12-minute film she now hates (a humorous and revealing detail). Both young women fall for the same Spanish artist/lothario (Bardem), and a contemplation on the nature of love follows.

Vicky and Cristina represent the stereotypical blonde/brunette duo in film: the brunette is repressed, practical to a fault, cautious, and afraid; the blonde is adventurous, sexual, open, and fun. It’s almost as if these characters represent two halves of the same person. Vicky has a responsible businessman fiance back home in New York, while Cristina jumps into bed with the first Spanish man she meets–not knowing, of course, that Vicky is also hot for him. The three of them spend a weekend together, and a convenient little plot device ensures that Vicky will actually sleep with the artist first, but is soon left behind for the more sexually attractive (and less neurotic) Cristina.

Soon, Cristina moves in with Juan Antonio, and his ex-wife unexpectedly comes into the picture, providing the film some much-needed energy, and also its low point. Penelope Cruz as the seriously unstable Maria Elana barrels, shrieks, and smokes her way into a menage-a-trois relationship with Cristina and Juan Antonio. While the scenario sparks precious few laughs (in a film almost devoid of humor), a question haunts Cruz’s every scene: why did she win so much praise for this role? (For the record, Cruz won a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award, a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Film Award, a Best Supporting Female Independent Spirit Award, Best Supporting Actress SAG Award, among others. The film also won Allen a Best Screenplay Independent Spirit Award and a Best Picture Golden Globe Award, along with numerous other nominations and wins.) Maria Elana’s hysteria is epic, almost nineteenth-century in its intensity, as she tries to commit suicide and murder during her limited screen time. We’re told she’s a better artist than her ex-husband (it’s worth noting that she accuses Juan Antonio of stealing her style, and he is the one who lives in the house they shared and who has artistic success), but also that she falls apart without him–and with him, until Cristina creates the triangularity that allows the relationship to work. And, yes boys, you get to see a brief scene of Scarlett Johansson and Penelope Cruz getting it on.

While all of Cristina’s sexy artistic madness happens, Vicky studies and regrets her choice of lifemate, Doug, who, despite his romantic gesture of flying to Barcelona for an impromptu marriage (with the promise of a lavish wedding back home, as previously planned), turns out to be a closed-minded dork. Vicky pines for Juan Antonio, endeared by his poet father and her surprise at perhaps (perhaps!) judging him too harshly. (Certainly there are no other sexy artists in Barcelona she could use to convince herself not to marry the man who planted that rock on her finger.)

In contrast to Penelope Cruz’s entire presence in the film, the high point, for me, comes at the end, when Cristina and Vicky head home, both resuming the lives they left behind, having come to no epiphany about the nature of love, having experienced no real growth or change of character. It’s bleak, it’s not funny, but it’s perhaps the most real and true moment of the entire film.

As for the need for a rebuke of this film, it (barely) passes the Bechdel Test, but does more to exploit its women than allow them to be full human beings. There are more than two named female characters, and they talk to each other, though almost every conversation is about men. There may be a brief line or two between Cristina and Maria Elana about photography, but soon after the conversation they kiss. And there’s nothing at all offensive about the kiss; it’s that there’s no believable passion–it seems like an act strictly performed for a male (ahem, Woody Allen) gaze. Further, Maria Elana objectifies herself for Cristina’s photography, posing as a prostitute in what passes for a rough part of town, mirroring the actual prostitutes that Cristina photographs while out with Juan Antonio.

Penelope Cruz deserved the Oscar for her role in Volver, not for her turn as a sexy shrieking cartoon character. The film deserves a rebuke for its pseudo-intellectualism about the meaning of love, and for the trite way it uses art and place. It deserves a rebuke for the flightiness and uncertainty of all of its female characters (including a weak turn from Patricia Clarkson, playing the ghost of Vicky’s future), while creating only confident, bold, male characters. Juan Antonio never seems to long for answers about love; he simply takes his conquests in stride, collecting lovers without thought. Women here don’t know what they want, and seem pathologically incapable of enjoying what they have or going after what they want.

Oscar Winners & Thoughts

Here’s a selection of Sunday night’s Academy Award winners.

Best Picture: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black for Milk

Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Actress: Kate Winslet in The Reader (While many think Winslet won for the wrong role, I’m glad to see her win. She’s a phenomenal actress. Stay tuned for a review of Revolutionary Road, the movie that should have earned her the Oscar.)

Best Actor: Sean Penn in Milk

Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Ms. Cruz is better than this role. The film earns our first Ripley’s Rebuke; stay tuned for the review.)

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight

Best Director: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire

Best Foreign Film: Departures

Best Documentary: Man on Wire

I enjoyed last night’s show, which I do every year, on a subjective level. I liked the quirkiness, and think Hugh Jackman provided for a lot of laughs. The acting awards were presented well; I enjoyed the format of each actor’s performance introduced by a previous winner–a much more personal and substantial format than the usual movie clips. However, this style of presentation really highlights the way we (unfairly) privilege acting above all else in film. An actor, no matter how great his or her performance, would have nothing without an excellent character in a well-written story. I was happy to see the writing awards so early in the production, as the “technical” awards were presented in the order in which they actually happen in film (writing first, editing last). Let’s hope the producers can find a way to revamp the technical awards to puts emphasize the art of categories like writing and editing. Especially on the art of the screenplay.

Now that award season has come to an end, here’s to getting back to movies–and getting to some of those winning or nominated movies I’ve yet to see.

2009 Spirit Award Winners

Best Feature: The Wrestler

Best Director: Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)

Best First Feature: Synecdoche, New York

Best Screenplay: Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

Best First Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black (Milk)

Best Female Lead: Melissa Leo (Frozen River)

Best Male Lead: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Best Supporting Female: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona)

Best Supporting Male: James Franco (Milk)

Best Foreign Film: The Class

Best Documentary: Man on Wire

2009 Spirit Award Nominees

If you thought the previous two posts were repetitive, here’s something different. The Film Independent’s Spirit Awards air the day before the Academy Awards, February 21, on the IFC.

Film Independent is everything the Academy is not. Notice their description:

Film Independent is an open enrollment and non-profit membership organization that champions independent film and supports a community of artists who embody diversity, innovation, and uniqueness of vision. Film Independent helps fimmakers make their movies, builds the audience for their projects, and works to diversify the film industry. Anyone passionate about film can become a member, whether you are a filmmaker, film industry leader, or a film lover.

Here are some of the nominees. For the complete list, see the official Film Independent’s Spirit Awards website. (Whenever possible, I’ve provided links to the films’ official websites.)

Best Feature: Ballast; Frozen River; Rachel Getting Married; Wendy and Lucy; The Wrestler

Best Director: Ramin Bahrani (Chop Shop); Jonathan Demme (Rachel Getting Married); Lance Hammer (Ballast); Courtney Hunt (Frozen River); Tom McCarthy (The Visitor)

Best First Feature: Afterschool; Medicine for Melancholy; Sangre De Mi Sangre; Sleep Dealer; Synecdoche, New York

Best Screenplay: Woody Allen (Vicky Cristina Barcelona); Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck (Sugar); Charlie Kaufman (Synecdoche, New York); Howard A. Rodman (Savage Grace); Christopher Zalla (Sangre De Mi Sangre)

Best First Screenplay: Dustin Lance Black (Milk); Lance Hammer (Ballast); Courtney Hunt (Frozen River); Jonathan Levine (The Wackness); Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting Married)

Best Female Lead: Summer Bishil (Towelhead); Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married); Melissa Leo (Frozen River); Tarra Riggs (Ballast); Michelle Williams (Wendy and Lucy)

Best Male Lead: Javier Bardem (Vicky Cristina Barcelona); Richard Jenkins (The Visitor); Sean Penn (Milk); Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker); Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler)

Best Supporting Female: Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona); Rosemarie DeWitt (Rachel Getting Married); Rosie Perez (The Take); Misty Upham (Frozen River); Debra Winger (Rachel Getting Married)

Best Supporting Male: James Franco (Milk); Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker); Charlie McDermott (Frozen River); JimMyron Ross (Ballast); Haaz Sleiman (The Visitor)

Best Foreign Film: The Class; Gomorra; Hunger; Secret of the Grain; Silent Light

Best Documentary: The Betrayal; Encounters at the End of the World; Man on Wire; The Order of Myths; Up the Yangtze