REEL CRITIC:Academy goes global
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You can’t look at the Academy’s picks for best picture and not be astonished at the apparent globalization of the movie industry. Of the five nominated films, only “The Departed” can be considered an old-fashioned Hollywood production. Martin Scorsese directs a host of Oscar-winning actors in this homage to the violent gangster classics epitomized in “Goodfellas” and “The Godfather.” But all the rest of the nominees are outside the Hollywood mainstream.
“The Queen” is British filmmaking to its core. It combines literary overtones with the real political dynamics that convulsed England after the death of Princess Diana. The actors in Clint Eastwood’s stark and stunning “Letters from Iwo Jima” speak Japanese with English subtitles. “Little Miss Sunshine” is this year’s unexpected off-beat comedy that follows in the independent footsteps of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”
But the most dramatic example of the new international effect is found in “Babel,” winner of the Golden Globe. Shot in five languages on three continents, it shines a spotlight on the cultural chaos of our world. Extreme conflicts between societies are intertwined with astounding links that reveal how connected we really are behind our outward differences. Riveting and disturbing at every turn, it’s the most thoughtprovoking film of the year.
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