“The Apprentice”, film about Donald Trump
A film about Trump, another about the Brazilian dictatorship, a trans woman named, and many political themes explored. Hollywood is preparing for an Oscar that is more than just cinema.
The list of Oscar nominations is now out, after postponements caused by the fires in Hollywood, the Los Angeles neighborhood where the awards ceremony takes place.
Highly highlighted is the most nominated film this year, with 13 nominations that include best film, best director and best adapted screenplay, recalls .
This musical is not directly political, portraying the story of a woman who becomes involved with a drug cartel. But the protagonist, Karla Sofía Gascón, is the first trans woman to be nominated for an Oscar for best actresswhich, according to British television, is a statement political, considering that just this week Donald Trump assured that “there are only two genders” in the USA.
Ali Abbasi’s film, “, received two acting nominations, one for Sebastian Stan, who plays Donald Trump, and another for Jeremy Strong, who plays his mentor, Roy Cohn.
The biographical film was the target of great controversy, and Trump himself tried to prevent it from going to theaters, classifying it as “cheap, defamatory and politically disgusting work.” He was referring, perhaps, to the rape scene depicted in the film, which depicts Donald Trump raping his ex-wife, Ivana, a fact that has not been proven to have happened in real life. It is an undeniably political film.
Another example is “, nominated for 10 categories including best film, best actress, best supporting actress and best original soundtrack. This is not a directly political film, but it addresses themes such as privilegeand the Sorcerer (the film is a prequel to the classic Wizard of Oz), a selfish ruler who uses fear and deception to control the population, can be interpreted as a metaphor for totalitarians of current times.
The Portuguese-language film ““, directed by Brazilian Walter Salles, is also an ode to freedom. The setting is in Rio de Janeiro in the 70s, in the middle of period of dictatorship, and the feature film is inspired by the real story of deputy Rubens Paiva, who disappeared at the hands of security forces. The film is nominated for best film, best international film and best actress, for Fernanda Torres.
There are other appointments that address political issuesas is the case with , by Brady Corbet, with 10 nominations, which tells the story of a Hungarian Jew who tries to adapt to a new life in the USA, or , by RaMell Ross, which explores the racist past of the USA.
Until, directed by Denis Villeneuve is more involved in the theme of religion or leadership than most science fiction, points out the BBC, which classifies this year as one of the “most political appointments ever”.
Of course, the Oscars have already had politically interventionist films being nominated, as is the case with Ruben Östlund’s anti-capitalist satire, or Martin Scorcese’s, about the American colonialist ancestor.
All that remains is to wait for the speeches on the day of the ceremony, scheduled for March 3rd. Will they also be more political than usual? Will there be a Marlon Brando-style moment, who turned down the best actor award for The Godfather in 1973, and called an indigenous woman to the stage, as a way of raising awareness about civil rights in the USA?
We’ll have to wait and see, and until then we’ll leave it to you.
