The Paw Print

By Elena Whitford

Welcome back, cinephiles, for a final round of analyzing the Oscars! Since the Best Picture category is so important, there are ten nominees. I’ve starred my ideal winners and bolded two predicted winners.

Nominees:

• “American Fiction”
• “Anatomy of a Fall”
• (*) “Barbie”
• “The Holdovers”
• “Killers of the Flower Moon”
• “Maestro”
• “Oppenheimer”
• (*) “Past Lives”
• “Poor Things”
• “The Zone of Interest”

There’s a lot to unpack, so I’ll divide these movies into groups based on their style: 

Epic historical films

“Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Maestro,” and “Oppenheimer” are three of the most discussed and critically acclaimed movies of 2023, with a total of 30 Oscar nominations.

These movies were anchored by strong leading performances, with each getting two nominations in acting categories, and “Maestro” receiving nominations for both its lead roles. They were also chronologically expansive: the biographical “Maestro” and “Oppenheimer” spanned the entire lives of their subjects, and “Killers of the Flower Moon” covered decades over 3 and a half hours.

Colorful feminist movies

“Barbie” and “Poor Things” were two of the biggest movies of 2023. Whether that’s measured in awards they received (just within the Academy Awards, “Poor Things” got 11 nominations and “Barbie” got 8) or in the money they earned (“Barbie was the highest-grossing movie of last year, earning over $1 billion worldwide), both films were critical and commercial successes.

Why is that? If you read my last article, you’ll know that I think the Academy prefers more conventional, serious films centered around men. But maybe the rest of the population thinks it’s time for a change, and increasingly prefer fun, novel takes on groups that are usually pushed to the side.

Academic comedies

Speaking of people being left out, both “The Holdovers” and “American Fiction” are touching comedies whose central characters have been rejected by others but who learn to create a space for themselves. Both films also have academic protagonists: a boarding-school professor in “Holdovers” and a struggling novelist in “American Fiction.”

These are acting-forward movies, and both received two nominations in acting categories. This was likely due to prestigious lead actors (namely Paul Giamatti and Jeffrey Wright) as well as heartfelt performances by supporting actors. 

Minimalist multilingual pieces

“Anatomy of a Fall,” “Past Lives,” and “The Zone of Interest” are three of the most interesting films of the year. For starters, “Anatomy” and “Zone” are the only two international films nominated for Best Picture, and both received 5 nominations in total. 

All three of these also use language in interesting ways. In “Anatomy of a Fall,” the German protagonist lives in France, but prefers speaking English, causing tension with other characters. In “Past Lives,” a Korean-American woman’s childhood friend visits her from Seoul, and there is a language barrier between him and the woman’s American husband. Finally, while “The Zone of Interest” is a British film, it’s set in Germany during the Holocaust, and German is the only language spoken.

The unique use of language in these films is embellished by their format: each is driven by dialogue and minimalist production design, allowing the three understated dramas space to develop in unexpected and heart-wrenching ways.

That’s the end of my four-article series on the Oscars! Be sure to watch the ceremony and see if your favorite movies win their categories. Thanks for reading, everyone!