No End in Sight

Date: December 11
Location: Clifton Living Room

I realize Michael Moore is an entertainer and propagandist first and documentary filmmaker second, but he should watch this powerful film for a lesson on how to level an utterly devastating attack on a corrupt administration without once veering from the hard, cold facts. The material covered in this documentary isn't new — it's made up the front pages (and regrettably, many inside pages) of newspapers for the past four years — but seeing it all laid out, and dissected by people who were in the middle of it and trying hard to make it work, the outrage feels utterly fresh. The fact that an incompetent president and his band of chickenhawk advisers could so badly botch such an important mission is unforgivable. This film is a must-see for every American citizen, regardless of their position on the war.

So how do you rank something like this against something like, say, Knocked Up? It's tough... it is certainly more important than anything else on my list, but also far less entertaining. Ultimately, I rank the film high for the skill with which it was made, but not so high as the very different, but equally skillful, films that I can see myself returning to again and again.

Diving Bell complications

I heard today that France has declined to submit The Diving Bell and the Butterfly as its entry for the Foreign Language Oscar because, although the film is set in France and the actors all speak French, the director is American.

This could mean the film has a better chance at a Best Picture nomination, as that is now its sole chance at a major Oscar. Or it will wind up getting screwed completely.

The film France has chosen to submit, ironically, is Persepolis, a film about an Iranian girl. I'm not sure if it would be the first animated film nominated for Best Foreign Film, but it would certainly be the first in awhile. Then the question becomes whether or not it will also be nominated for Best Animated Film.