Hans’ Oscar Bites

Back to some old stalwarts here, although the potential spoiler for the win here could be the quietest one of the bunch.

The nominees are:

• Frankenstein
• Marty Supreme
• One Battle After Another
• Sinners
• Train Dreams

In order of preference:
5) FRANKENSTEIN (Dan Lautsten)
In a field where all of the nominees feel largely similar to me, I think this is a pretty easy #5 as unfortunately I feel this falls prey to some common big budget movie cinematography sins these days. Obviously, in a Frankenstein movie, it is understandable that you’d have a dark and moody overall look, but when so much effort has been put into creating such vibrant costumes and impressive production design, what are we doing with all this low-light greying out? Chapter 2, the Creature’s Tale, unsurprisingly appears to be more and more the half of the film that Del Toro and his craftspeople put more care into as there is definitely more life here amidst the snow and the Creature’s journey.

4) MARTY SUPREME (Darius Khondji)
While most of the table tennis stuff is obviously very impressive and dynamic, I think the real strength of the cinematography here is how well the visual language of the film contrasts between settings like Marty’s tenement apartment, the lavish Ritz hotels, the seedy bowling alley, the swanky rich people parties, and so forth. Helps really make the camerawork and lighting feel like a supporting player amidst the storytelling proceedings.

3) TRAIN DREAMS (Adolpho Veloso)
“Malickian” has been used a lot in describing the cinematography of Train Dreams, and for good reason. Lots of prolonged silent shots, contrasts of outdoors and indoors settings, and the use of natural lighting in a lot of cases makes this feel extraordinarily lived in. A film as largely dialogue-free as this is has to rely on its visual strength to keep the audience engaged, and it doesn’t hurt that Joel Edgerton is a striking subject to focus a shot around.

2) SINNERS (Autumn Durald Arkapaw)
Besides Best Casting, which has yet to have a winner, Cinematography is the only category that remains without a single female winner in the 98-year-long history of the Oscars. Autumn Durald Arkapaw may very well have the best chance of finally breaking that glass ceiling with her masterful handling of the visual look of Sinners. The film being largely cut into two halves, one showing a sunny and optimistic town and community looking forward to a fun night, and the other a moody and lustfully lit nighttime club experience that goes awry makes for a lot of fun with lighting and camera composition. The one-take scene etc.

1) ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER (Michael Bauman)
There are several scenes throughout this film in which the cinematography makes you feel like you are being almost lifted up off the floor. One that comes to mind is our nighttime escape scene, as we watch our silhouetted vigilantes jump from rooftop to rooftop and eventually monkey-bar their way down a tree. Just some incredible lighting and composition choices there. The garishly bright contrast of the desert setting with the dark undertones of the migrant crisis and vigilante hunt give an unnerving feeling of anxious anticipation. But all of this pales in comparison to the incredible feat of cinematography that goes into the final chase scene over and under and over and under a long undulating desert road that has become a character unto itself. From the moment Chase Infiniti’s Willa slams a door with a carmount camera and you are literally in the driver’s seat with here, there is absolutely no turning back from seeing the feat of accomplishment here.

WILL WIN: Sinners
COULD WIN: Train Dreams
SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE: Sirat