Oscars 2021: 'Nomadland' wins in a gala marked by diversity and the pandemic

Best film, best director (Chloé Zhao) and best leading actress (Frances McDormand): Nomadland, the photograph of a harsh American reality, emerges as the winner of a few different Oscars.

It is difficult to determine if we are really experiencing a change in the American Academy or if this year's edition of the Oscars, held in two different auditoriums to guarantee social distancing of attendees, will really set the path for subsequent editions.

Los eternal delays of big blockbusters (the Dune by Denis Villeneuve o The French Dispatch by Wes Anderson, to cite a few examples), the pseudo-hibernation of new films waiting for an increasingly uncertain reactivation of the room circuit and the renewal of members of the AcademyIt ended up determining an “editorial selection” that distances the awards from their usual nature.

We could not recognize the “excellence” of the mainstream, but the brilliance in more intimate stories, committed to such burning issues as social conflict, the true America or the racial question. Barely Lack by David Fincher stood as a representative of what we used to see in the best film category, except for one decisive caveat: it is a Netflix original production that barely spent a month in theaters. It points directly to two realities. First, the lobby against video on demand platforms in Hollywood not all have been effective what they thought they would be. Second, creative (and budgetary) freedom for the industry giants is hardly offered today in video on demand platforms.

The gold categories

Beyond the triumph of Nomadland (which certifies the third crown for Frances McDormand and the second Oscar for best director in history for a woman, the Chinese Chloé Zhao), Anthony Hopkins took the statuette for best leading actor for The Father; Daniel Kaluuya, for best supporting actor for Judas and the Black Messiah; y Yuh-Jung Youn, for best supporting actress for Minari. The best adapted script went to The Father, while in the original scripts section it was decided to recognize Promising Young Woman.

Another Round, Catapulted by a hypnotic Mads Mikkelsen, it was the best foreign film. Pixar once again led animation with Soul, although he did not repeat the same fate in an animated short film, which led to If Anything Happens I Love You. The best documentary went to My Octopus Teacher, while the best short documentary went to Colette. We do not forget Two Distant Strangers, which brought to the table once again the issue of police violence on American soil, recognized as best short film.

Technical categories

The black and white treatise of Lack allowed Erik Messerschmidt, supported by Fincher's neatness, win in best cinematography. It also won, by the way, the award for best production design. The visual effects went to the Nolan factory with Tenet.

The best montage went to Sound of Metal with Mikkel E. G. Nielsen at the helm, a film that, as it could not be otherwise, took the award for best sound (with the Mexican Carlos Cortés among the winning team).

The costume design did not finally go to the German based in Spain Bina Daigler for Mulan, but for Ann Roth for his work in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. However, in the end there was Spanish representation among the winners: Sergio Lopez Rivera, supported by Mia Neal y Jamika Wilson, they won the award for best makeup and hairstyling for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Mirage or change

The 93rd edition of the Oscars It could be a symptom of the change in the selection criteria for the statuettes. Or it could be a brief transition period until the reactivation of an industry waiting to launch its next blockbusters.

The next edition of the awards will allow us to answer several questions and will possibly be truly representative (if the health situation allows it). Is the social focus on the most prominent categories here to stay? Will women continue to be present in the main categories? Will the theatrical circuit become irrelevant given the commitment by large platforms to release their films directly on them?

Time will tell!

Awards 93rd edition of the Oscars

• best movie
  Nomadland
• Director
  Chloe Zhao
• Actor
  Anthony Hopkins, The Father
• Actress
  Frances McDormand, Nomadland
• Supporting actor
  Daniel Kaluuya, Judas and the Black Messiah
• supporting actress
  Yuh-Jung Youn, to the pain
• Original screenplay
  Promising Young Woman
• adapted script
  The Father
• international film
  Another Round
• animated film
  Soul
• Sound
  Sound of Metal
• Visual effects
  Tenet
• Mounting
  Sound of Metal
• Short of animation
  If anything happens I love you
• Short of fiction
  Two Distant Strangers
• Short documentary
  Colette
• Music original
  Soul
• Song
  Fight for you of Judas and the Black Messiah
• Production
  Lack
• Photograph
  Erik Messerschmidt Lack
• Locker room
  Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Make-up y hair salon
  Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Largo documentary
  My Octopus Teacher