End of 2013: Favourite Performances of 2013 - Men will Follow!

I feel like this was a better year for actors than actresses. I had more choices for female roles but there were few that I felt I had to have on my list. With this list, I had fewer choices but I had much tougher time bringing down the list to 10. There are few in my honourable mentions that at any other day, I could easily swap with those in my list. But that's the bittersweet challenge of making such lists, I guess. So here are 10 that I finally settled on. 

But first, Honourable Mentions: James Gandolfini for Enough Said, Jonah Hill for The Wolf of Wall Street, Michael Fassbender and Chiwetel Ejiofor for 12 Years a Slave and Irrfan Khan in The Lunchbox.

Tom Hanks for Captain Phillips: Even though Hanks has been around for more than three decades now, this role was reminiscence of old Hanks that all of loved, admired and revered but was missing somewhere for quite a while. This role required him to bounce back to his A-game and boy, did he rise up to the occasion? He is excellent from the word go here but, I said this after watching this movie for the first time and I still stick to it, any actor who can do even 10% of acting he does in last 10 minutes of Captain Phillips deserves every accolade he can get. Him not even getting nominated is easily the biggest oversight of this year's Oscars.

Leonardo DiCaprio for The Wolf of Wall Street: A LOT has been said about DiCaprio and this role and I am sure lot will be said about him in future. You may like this film or you may not; you may think his performance is one of his best ever or you may think of him as just too over the top but you can not deny the fact that, for better or for worse, The Wolf of Wall Street will remain in public discussion and in public conscience more than any other film of 2013. And as much as Martin Scorsese is responsible for that, DiCaprio’s fearless, shameless, and completely out there performance is equally responsible.

Mads Mikkelsen for The Hunt: One of the reasons I don't rank these performances is I seriously do not want to choose between Hanks and Mikkelsen as my favourite of the year. Mads Mikkelsen is one of the actors who has made quite a name of himself in the past few years. His Lucas is confused, he is angry but more than anything else, he is dejected that his childhood friends actually believe rumors to be true. Throughout this performance Mikkelsen wonderfully underplays him to show all these emotions but it also gives you such a contrast when he finally bursts. Just watching his face in any of these moments is witnessing a phenomenal performance.

Daniel Bruhl for Rush: Rush won't go down as one of my favourites of the year is one but I really liked it and I think those who didn’t went in with wrong expectations. They wanted another Senna and what they got was Hollywood version of it. It is certainly not as good as latter but I never thought it was aspiring to be. It was being a pure racing film and it succeeds in being quite a good one. What I am absolutely certain about is Bruhl being best part of it. His intense, no-nonsense portrayal of Nicki Lauda elevated whole film to another level and as movie goes through ups and downs of Lauda’s personal and professional career, he doesn't miss a beat.

Tye Sheridan for Mud: If I have to choose, this guy will have to be my 'find of the year'. I haven't seen him in anything else before or since Mud but if his work in it is any indication, he deserves great things to come his way in future. His character initially is someone who almost blindly believes in true love, in finding someone that is made for you. But then he witnesses dire consequences of being at the wrong end of such relationships and not on just one or two but on three different occasions. Each encounter changes him forever for better or for worse and he portrays everything about this journey in glorious yet heartbreaking fashion.

Matthew McConaughey for Mud/Dallas Buyers Club: Everyone knows that we are in the middle of McConaissance. This guy has been churning out one amazing performance after another for past few years and he even got his official seal with this year’s Oscar. To tell you the truth, as much as I like him in Dallas Buyers Club and I certainly do like him in it, I think he was better in Mud. And I still want to recognize both films here because I think his Oscar was for his phenomenal run in the past few years and I want to recognize that as well. As good as he is in either of these two films, or even in True Detective for that matter, his 'McConaissance' as we have been calling it is far more impressive and worthy than any singular performance.

Barkhad Abdi for Captain Phillips: With his fairytale type story, this man has already become a legend in his first ever screen appearance. Like Adele in my previous list, there are moments of this performance that seem like he is not acting at all, just being himself but as you see more of him, you realize he is being so much more. There is a moment in the film where he realizes that he has crossed a point of no return and there is a combination of viciousness, vulnerability, determination, fear on his face that I am not sure even many seasoned actors will be able to produce to such perfection. I just hope he doesn't become a one-time wonder. This guy seems to have a great potential and it will be damn shame to let it go wasted.

Bruce Dern for Nebraska: Unless you count Django Unchained(2012), I have never seen a film with Bruce Dern in it until this one. Woody Grant is a old man who as far as we can tell hasn't been a best of father or husband and he is not really sorry for that either. He has certain type on entitlement - he has served his country, paid his taxes, so he has right to live his life the way he wants. Based on just this, it is vet easy to dismiss him as a 'bitter old guy'. Even though he is a son-of-a-bitch, like any typical Payne character, there is a pathos to him and that is his redeeming quality. What Dern does best is conveying all this mostly through his body language and face. He doesn't really need words all that much.

Nawazuddin Siddiqui for The Lunchbox/Bombay Talkies: Remember that obligatory Bollywood spot I was talking about earlier? Yup. Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been a revelation these past few years. The way he is churning out one great performance after another has certainly made him one of the most saught after artists in Bollywood. This year was no exception with him being part of two amazing movies as well. His story in Bombay Talkies was best of four short stories in film by sizable margin and he was best thing about it. In The Lunchbox, he is surrounded by other equally great performances but he certainly stands his own ground.

Joaquin Phoenix for Her: What makes me appreciate him more is this is not a kind of role I would imagine Phoenix in easily. I like it when an actor surprises you like that. Spike Jonze got lot of acclaim for his futuristic love story. All of it was certainly deserved but Joanquin Phoenix also deserves a lot of credit for making thing work. Phoenix portrays a loner we meet first to perfection. It is easy to believe that while he is not a bad person why his wife would want to be away from him. But more impressive is his charming performance when he starts falling for his OS, Samantha. Charming! Imagine Freddie Quell being charming!

And next one will be the big one - my favourite films! 

End of 2013: Favourite Performances of 2013 - Ladies First!

I feel like I always say this at the end of the year but 2013 was a great year for films. Even though it took me two more months to catch up with it, with 70 films watched and Oscars done, I am finally going to call it done! Like last year, that comes up with End of the year lists but unlike last year, I am going to do them in reverse order starting with this list of my favourite female performances of last year. Probably not as rich as last year but this year offered many good ones to us to choose from. Theses are 10 that I liked the most, that I noticed more and have stuck with me more.

First, Honourable mentions: Amy Adams for American Hustle, Amy Acker for Much Ado about Nothing, June Squibb for Nebraska and special mention for Deshpande Aunty in The Lunchbox who we don't even see but she is such a quintessential character in our society that I loved her presence.

Berenice Bejo for The Past: I will have much more to say on this film a bit later but this films works as much as it does for me because of host of amazing performances from everyone involved. Reason Bejo stands out for me is because her character is at the center of everything. She is the reason previous wife of the guy she wants to marry is in the hospital which is why her teenager daughter and his son throw fits at her. You see that burden weighing on her in every scene, you see that guilt in her eyes all the time and that makes this film so much better(or worse!).

Adele Exarchopoulos for Blue is the Warmest Colour: I saw Blue much later than many of my peers. By then, there were many singing praises of her acting but my first impression wasn't in line with them. To me, her performance felt like no performance at all. Then, I always felt like she is just being there and people feel she is so natural. When I finally saw it, I realized she does so much more than just being there. And her being so natural in those moments is probably her biggest strength, especially when cameramen is so close to you all the time that you could slap him hard on the face and he won't be able to do anything.

Greta Gerwig for Frances Ha: The fact that not only I actually really liked this movie but how much I adored Gerwig's performance in it has got to be the biggest surprise for me this year. Frances is a small kid in grown-ups body. She is oblivious to any social norms or responsibilities any person her age is usually bogged down under. Just this one thing could easily have made Frances an obnoxious, insufferable brat who thinks she is too good for all this nonsense. But Gerwig does an excellent job of making her endearing, personable and even relatable despite all her flaws. To me, she is leaving that life which most of us really want to but can't.

Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine: I think Natalie Portman must be the last actress to dominate awards season the way Blanchett did this season. She must have won every single award that is humanely possible for an actress to win for this role and all for a very good reason. Blanchett is one of those actresses who has always been good in any role she is given but she is absolutely on fire in every scene of Blue Jasmine. Not only her character has similarities to Blanche DuBois, she manages to stand toe-to-toe with one of the best performances of all time.

Veerle Baetens for The Broken Circle Breakdown: Even though there is word breakdown in title of this film, I am not sure I was ready for what I saw. Both lead characters of this film go through a lot but it's Baeten's Elise that goes through biggest transformation starting from a firecracker of tattoo artists to someone who is devoid of any hope or desires. I certainly did not expect it to go where it did till last minute but, as surprising as it was, it was her performance that took me there. It was first time I ever saw her and don't even know how to pronounce her name but she certainly has my attention now.

Julia Roberts for August: Osage County: August: Osage County is one of the films I liked way more than I expected to this year and majority of its credit goes to its script and performances. If it wasn't so hateful that all I wanted was to run as far away from it as possible, it might have made into my favourite films of this year. There is a whole bunch of performances I could have picked from this film including Meryl Streep and I really like Julianne Nicholson as well. Some of them might even be better than Roberts, but the only reason I am picking her over everyone else here is because I have never seen Julia Roberts in a performance like this before.

Nirmat Kaur for The Lunchbox: Whenever I make any kind of 'Best of' lists, I feel like I have to have a spot for Bollywood on them. Let me assure you, this is not that spot. Nirmat Kaur, like Sridevi Last year, is here purely based on her craft at display in another movie I will have more to say soon - The Lunchbox. I don't remember seeing her anywhere else and that probably works to her advantage as this is such a simple, non-glamorous role. Nirmat Kaur brings a lot of depth and honesty to this role and, like Adele, looks so natural while doing so that it is hard to imagine she is putting up a performance.

Sandra Bullock for Gravity: Gravity was a spectacle to behold. It remains to be one of the two or three films that made me think that 3D can be useful somewhere than just moneymaking machine for studios. Obviously, Lubezki's work with camera and Cuaron's direction, for which both deservedly won their Oscars, deserves much of praise for this but I kept on thinking that Bullock's equally courageous work somewhere took a backseat to them. Maybe Blanchett's clean sweep also has something to do with this as in any other year, she easily could have gone home with that statuette but I really liked Bullock's work as well.

Lea Seydoux for Blue is the Warmest Colour: These next two performances are supporting turns, sort of companion pieces that makes their leads, as good as they are and they certainly are great as both have featured in this list earlier, even better. Blue hs always been in the news since its premiere at cannes and as overshadowing sexuality of this film has been, what makes it work is brilliant understated and at the same time uninhibited performances by both its leads. Adele is more understated though she has many momemts where she lets her emotions flow. Seydoux is exactly opposite - as audacious, as extrovert as she is, her understated moments like one in the cafe near the end are what make her performance noteworthy.

Sally Hawkins for Blue Jasmine: As good as Blanchett is in this role, she probably would not have been if not for Sally Hawkins holding her own in every single scene and I am so happy to see her acknowledge that. Hawkins' performance in Blue Jasmine is probably 'the' definition of supporting turn. She makes every scene better just by being in it, and she is in almost every damn scene, but she never becomes the centerpiece of it. She never diverts your attention from where you are supposed to look at but somehow always manages to accentuate it. Those are the best kind of roles!

Keep your eyes and feeds open people! Men shall follow soon... and by soon I mean this weekend.

And the Oscar Goes to...

It is that time of the year again!! First of all, I should get one too for my commitment to this damn show because I woke up at 5AM to watch it. With last night's Oscar, this is time to officially wrap-up 2013 and look forward to everything else. As I said in the previous Warp-up post, February was quite a busy month for me. It largely kept me away from this blog as well. So I was absent from all the predictions and other games prior to the Oscars. But after skipping on so called mandatory post on those predictions, I am not skipping the second mandatory post. As always, I am only concentrating on the categories that I have some knowledge of. I can't even differentiate Sound Mixing from Sound Editing. So I will keep my expert opinion on that category to myself. So, only top 8, animated and foreign film. Here is the list the winners and my brief thoughts on these categories.

Best Picture: 12 Years a Slave

It was going to be a two-horse race between 12 Years a Slave and Gravity and that tug of war went on till the last minute. Some people tried to introduce American Hustle into the picture but I didn't even want to think of that as a possibility. There were equal number of people leaning either way. And even I often thought of going the other way many times but for no other reason than it was winning all its precursors, I stayed in 12 Years camp and I am glad to see it being rewarded here.

 

Best Director: Alfosnso Cuaron for Gravity

Cuaron had this in bag for a long time. He had won almost every award there was before for him to win. Only thing that could have gotten in his way would have been 12 Years a Slave taking home the big one and people might want to go with McQueen in this one as well. But he never really threatened Cuaron. Of the two films, I like 12 Years better but it has got nothing on Cuaron. He, Bullock and Lubezki made Gravity a spectacle that it is and deserve every applause get for it. Period.

Best Actress in Lead Role: Cate Blanchett for Blue Jasmine

When I wrote about Oscar nominations, I said that I am really happy to see Amy Adams getting nominated in this category but I am not even sure why because Blanchett had her name carved on it since then. She took an early lead, kept the momentum going and as good as all the other nominees were when she crossed that end line, no one else was even in eye sight. Some thought her name being dragged into Woody Allen fiasco might hurt her chances but apparently it didn't.

Best Actor In Lead Role: Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club

Once again a movie that I wasn't the biggest fan of but McConaughey's performance certainly was worthy. And we all know that this was not only for his performance in any one movie. This was for McConnaisance that I really hope continues in 2014 as well. After all, he is doing a Christopher Nolan film next year. DiCaprio loosing might have broken many hearts but if precursors were any indication, it was McConaughey's award to lose.

Best Actress in Supporting Role: Lupita Nyong'o for 12 Years a Slave.

I feel really bad that I am happier for Lawrence loosing than Nyong'o winning but I cannot take anything away from that girl. Not only was that an incredible performance for any seasoned actress, let alone for someone facing the camera for the first time in their life, it was even better, genuine and heartfelt acceptance speech. And to Lawrence's credit, she looked genuinely happy and appreciative for her fellow nominee.

Best Actor In Supporting Role: Jared Leto for Dallas Buyers Club

I was surprisingly uninterested in this award. I don't have anything against any of the nominees in particular. I even quite like some of them - Barkhad Abdi for instance but I didn't have a favourite here either. Maybe it was the fact that I was rather indifferent to most of these performances or maybe it was the fact that it was rather obvious that Leto was going to win. At least, they had it done with the very first thing in ceremony.

Original Screenplay: Spike Jonze for Her

I had my doubts about Her from start. From what I do in real life, I had a hunch that my thoughts would be its a rather farfetched story. Forget about coming out with that impression, I did not even think so while watching the film and long time after watching this. And Jonze did that. Joaquin Pheonix, Scarlett Johansson and Amy Adams as well but mostly Spike Jonze. Obviously, he was favourite to win here but that doesn't make it any less deserving, does it?

Adapted Screenplay: John Ridley for 12 Years a Slave

This was my favourite category in all the Oscars. All 5 nominated scripts were actually great and really deserved to be there. So anyone of them winning would have been a good choice by me. But by the same logic that gave Argo it's win last year(If it is to win Best Film, it has to win at least one of the other major awards. All the other possible contenders were locks for someone else. So it has to win here.), 12 Years was a frontrunner this year.

Animated Feature: Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee and for Frozen

If anyone ever thought there was even remote chance of any other film winning this award, you really should not be predicting Oscars. I haven't seen two of the nominees(and I really wish I had seen The Wind Rises, if nothing else for Miyazaki) but what probably made this decision much, much easier for me was that other two I had seen were quite terrible. I mean, I am not the biggest fan of Frozen but in comparison to The Croods and Despicable Me 2, it was a masterpiece.

Foreign Language: Paolo Sorrentino for The Great Beauty(Italy)

Well, to many people that wasn't a surprise at all. But like I did with Best Picture winner, I chose my horse early and kept it till the end even when a lot of people started predicting this The Great Beauty to be the ultimate winner. I am not complaining about it since I have not seen it since but I certainly would have been much happier if The Hunt had won.

So, as expected, Gravity pretty much swept all the technical awards and went home with 7 Oscars. 12 Years won the big ones and I do not have numbers at hand but I am pretty sure you would have to go way back to see a Best Picture winner with just 3 Oscars. I remember something on similar lines last year. Overall, they were pretty predictable. Most unpredictable thing that happened over the whole night was Ellen DeGeneres ordering pizza. So...yeah, exactly! American Hustle went home empty handed(Mean I know but YAAY!!) and so did Wolf. But you know who has more Oscars than 6 of the Best Picture nominees, combined? The Great Gatsby! Make whatever you can of this.

I will see you next with my End of 2013 lists starting with my favourite female performances.

Wrapping it Up: February 2014

Another month, another wrap-up post full of this month's viewings. This 25th Edition of Wrapping it Up is a historic event for one more reason. At the start of this year, I said that I expect my monthly viewing to go down a bit this year and I will be OK with that. Last month, I was somehow able to keep up with the usual pace of 20. However this month proved my suspicions true. With only 15 movies, this is slowest movie-watching month I have had since I started recording this stuff two years ago. Given the fact how hectic normal life and day job was in first three weeks of this month(You may have noticed, no posts at all this month till Blind Spot couple of days ago), I fully expected it and am actually surprised I even got to 15.

But that's enough of it. Let's talk movies!

February

Miller's Crossing(1990): Call me stupid, call me naive but I never thought any film would give No Country for Old Men(2007) run for it's money as my favourite Coen Brother's film. I've liked many of their other films but none as much to contemplate it dethroning NCFOM. Knowing Coen's, I should've known better. Interesting thing is, multiple instances where this one reminded me of No Country, whether it was because of the similarity in settings, in story-lines, in looks or in mood, is probably the principle reason why I think I liked it as much as I did.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire(2013): I personally don't think second book was better than first one but film does a good job of not deliberating on stuff that bogs down the book i.e. everything leading up to the capitol. It might be the new director who got rid of all the shaky cam or actors getting a little more grip of their characters or might be the source material which is just more suitable for given format or combination of all three but end result certainly was better than first one. It almost has me excited for last one.

Nebraska(2013): I have seen all of Payne's films except the very first one he did and I at least like them all. Nebraska was no exception. It was the surprise winner on the day of nominations but it has emerged as my favourite of those 9 now. Payne did not write this for a change but he is master of digging deeper into characters that are imperfect, vulnerable and even pathetic seem very likable, very real. He does it here as well and as every other of his films, that is it's biggest win.

August: Osage County(2013): I think I would have liked it even more if it wasn't that bitter or if there was at least one sane person in the whole family that you can relate to but then that would probably be like missing the whole point of film. Maybe their father was such person and maybe that is exactly why he left. Not to say that I did not like it. I like it way more than I expected, mainly thanks to all the performances but it's such a bleak story that you want to run as far away from them as possible. 

Hot Fuzz(2007): I Love first part of Cornetto trilogy, Shaun of the Dead(2004), and was really interested in the last one The World's End(2013). The only problem was I had never got around seeing second one. I knew they are not super connected or anything but it just didn't feel right. So one fine Sunday, I sat myself down and checked them both out. This one may not be as good as first but sure is a hell lot of weird fun. Something tells me I will be retuning to it many times.

The Game(1997)(Re-watch): I always forget how much I like this film and then fell in love with it all over again when I see it. I am making it sound like I have seen it a dozen time or something. It's actually only my third time but I only saw this for the first time last year and then again when I actually moved to Sunnyvale, CA. This film has a rare distinction of making me love a city I have never been to. And when I did, I made it a point to go to that street where Sean Penn runs away from Douglas after he finds all those CRS keys in his car.

Short Term 12(2013): I had heard a lot about this film, especially about performances, and I will have to agree with that. Brie Larson, who got attention for her role, is certainly deserving of all the praise but so is almost everyone in the cast. Another standout for me was Kaitlyn Dever as Jayden. I am not completely sure how I feel about Grace going out of her way to Jayden's house and doing what she does but apart from that, I was completely into it till end. 

Enough Said(2013): Like most others, I obviously saw this for Gandolfini. He certainly was really good and so was Julia Louie-Dryfuss. They had good chemistry together and it came off very naturally. It also was about two middle aged people getting in a relationship, something that you don't see often in movies and Holofcener certainly needs to be credited for that. I probably would've liked it more though if it didn't cast Catherine Keener who looked completely uninterested or if it didn't feel repetitive in the middle.

How Green was My Valley(1941): 67th Oscar winner and this month's Blind spot was yet another success. I did not expect it to, certainly not as much as it did and initially it did look like I might be right. For me, it falls into Ordinary People(1980) category(or it might be more apt to say other way around) as films that get bad reputation because of the films they won over but if we keep the comparison aside and look at them objectively, they are actually good films by themselves.

The World's End(2013): I already told you that I was quite excited about checking this one out. Pegg and Frost were obviously back but with additions like Martin Freeman and Paddy Considine, cast looked good, premise was completely up Wright and Pegg's alley and I was having quite a bit of fun with it. But then it went too far. I like the idea of introducing the aliens and they have done great job making fun of such things in previous two but they went little too extreme for my taste. I think I will be ok with watching it just once.

Mississippi Burning(1988): I had heard a lot about this film even before watching it and was intrigued as well as dreaded it. I agree that most of the black folks in this film are nothing more than set pieces but I don't think they could've been any more given the structure of story. Now you can find faults in structure, which I might as well agree, since it is in the end 'white men to the rescue' story. There were many good things to admire in this film but in the end, that structure even left me with a bad test in mouth.

Iron Man 3(2013)(re-watch): I have no idea why I saw this again. Not like I loved it the first time but I was just sitting in front of TV and it was on. That's it! Now that I think of it, this might be the only film I have seen twice in he year of it's release. Certainly only one since I started blogging and although there are others, I am pretty sure that number is not in double digits. It might be shocking for many but I have very few re-watches. So this happens very rarely!

Philomena(2013): With this one, I have not only seen all the films nominated for best film Oscar for second year in a row but this might be the first time I have seen every single film nominated for top 8. Once again a film driven by one leading performance which was actually really good. As for the film, it was good but I didn't find it great. It was very sweet and nice but that's it. One thing I was very happy about though was Coogan kept himself in check. I can't stand that man for too long.

Saving Mr. Banks(2013): I can only wish I liked the film as a whole as much as I liked Emma Thompson. I think the problem here was my aversion to source material, Mary Poppins(1964). P.L. Travers was a total bitch to everyone at Disney and we were supposed to feel sorry for them. However none of that worked for me in the film. So, for me, they deserved to be treated the way she was treating them. So I was left with almost no character to root for, even those from her past .

About Time(2013): Sometimes you want to watch something that won't have you pick your brain at all. Since there is so much I really want to see, I rarely do that. I always feel my time is better invested in something with better returns but this one was a good watch for the mood I was in at that time because it is sweet and innocuous but falls apart completely the moment you go into logic. I can't call it a good film by any standards but I don't regret watching it either. I only wanted an easy-going film and I got exactly that. 

Total Count: 15. 13 First Time Watches and 2 Re-watch .

2014 YTD Count

Total Count: 35. 32 First Time Watches and 3 Re-watches.

Saving Mr. Banks will be my last official 2013 film. I certainly wish I had better reaction to the last film of last year but I have had enough of it now. With 70 films in the bag, month of March or better part of it will be dedicated to wrapping up 2013. Next time I will talk them will obviously be Oscar nominations but after that I will get into my lists of favourite male and female performances followed by Films. Given my schedule, I expect them to be done by mid-March which shall leave me free to watch everything else. As much as I loved 2013 as a year in films, it is kind of liberating to have much more choice. See you on the other side of the Oscars! 

So, how was your month? Did you see anything interesting? What do you think of the movies I saw? Any favorites?

February Blind Spot: How Green was My Valley

There are many films, especially those made decades earlier, where their reputation, good or bad but mostly bad, usually precedes their presence in pop culture references than anything that actually concerns film itself. And more often than not, these films are only remembered for all the wrong reasons for no fault of their own. My choice for this month’s blind spot, 1941’s Best Picture Oscar winner How Green was My Valley(1941) – ‘the film that beat Citizen Kane(1941)’ – is one such film. In February, all of us are in the high pitch Oscar fever with ceremony just a few days away. Since last year, I have been trying to get through all the Best Picture winners and hence, I thought it will be a good idea to choose past winner for this month. Last year I did the same thing with The French Connection(1971). I am continuing the trend this year with How Green was My Valley.

This is a story of Morgan family, 1 BIG family, leaving in one small village in South Welsh at the start of 20th century. Like many small villages, most men in village have one business. In this case, it is coal mining. Morgans have six sons and one daughter, Angharad . Their youngest son, Huw, is our narrator and protagonist. Their father and all five sons work in collieries.  Being a small and close-knit community that most villages like this are, Father Morgan is not only the patriarch of Morgan household but also a well respected, authoritative person of the community. Their daughter is the most beautiful face in the valley and their sons are voice of youth, young, dynamic leaders of tomorrow. What we get for two hours is this family, and subsequently everyone around them, going through uncertain phase of their life.

We see them going through workers strike that their father vehemently opposes but has to participate for the sake of whole community. We see them trying to live through consistently dropping wages but increasing risks and in case of Angharad who falls in love with Mr. Gruffydd, their local priest, but has to marry son of mine-owner because he thinks he will not be able to provide for her, we see whole community turn on to them for something she herself strongly opposed. However when it comes to Huw, family has high hopes for him. At least their father does; he has seen what collieries can do to man and very capable, hardworking men like his other sons. He doesn't want his eldest to go down that gutter as well and is visibly upset when Huw decides to follow their family tradition. Mother, on the other hand, seems quite contend with him following their father's or brother's footsteps. "If he could be as good a man as his father or his brothers, I will be fine with it", she says. There are many occasions when she says something like this, very simple and practical, and I love that about her.

I tried not to go into this one with too many preconceptions. In this case, it was slightly easier since only thing almost anyone talks about it is being ‘that’ film. It almost doesn’t exist beyond that but I will admit I wasn’t super excited about it either. And first 15 minutes confirmed my belief. It might be that I am watching too many 2013 movies in the past few months that theatricality of a 1941 film bothered me a bit initially. Not like I have that problem every time I watch a classic and I do watch fair amount of them but it was bit jarring this time around. It also could have been that voice over narration which felt bit too on the nose. I was almost certain then that I will just have to slog through this one. I was going to take this as a sort of dress rehearsal of what I expect majority of my 19 remaining Best Picture winners will be.

But then, something unexpected happened! As I kept going through it, I get more and more into it. That voice over narration disappeared almost completely. It appears here and there till the very end but not to the point of my initial annoyance. I got used to the type of acting and was even able to see beyond it. By the end of it, I was completely into it to the extent that I kept praying for Father to be well in the end from the second alarm blares over that valley. I credit most of this to its screenplay. What I find most interesting in it, apart from turning me around completely on it, is how much it manages to put in it in those two hours. There are almost too many characters for it to handle - 6 sons, their daughter, parents and few other add-ons like Bronwyn, their daughter-in-law, and Mr. Gruffydd, local priest. But it manages to give almost every one of them enough screen time to warrant their existence and at the same time keeping it easy enough to follow.

It is also funny that even though my favourite part of the film was screenplay, it was also the only department I had problem with. I like everyone in their respective roles, I like the direction, I also like how Ford makes it look like. But I really don't have much to say about any of them except it was good. Screenplay is something I have already praised for it's depth but I will go into couple of loose ends here as well. Movie starts with that voiceover narration I've already talked down. In it Huw talks about finally leaving the valley after 50 years. When it ends, he couldn't be more than 15. So what happens over the rest of 35 years that is worse than what we have already seen that makes him leave? I don't get why would Ford put that bit at the start if rest of film has no intention answering it. I don't want dwell too much on it since, as I said, I quite like this film but it was something he could have easily avoided.

So let’s address the elephant in the room – How does it measure up against Citizen Kane, Mecca of films? Let me make two things clear first. One, I have only seen Kane once, about three and half years ago, so the only thing that I remember about it is what’s Rosebud? Absolutely nothing else! So yes, it is highly overdue for a re-watch which brings me to my second point. Based on that first watch, I am not that big fan of it. Hence it never was high on my list of re-watches. My reaction to it was somewhat similar to that of Joey and Rachel’s(That’s a Friends(1994) reference for you. Go, figure!). I might have rendered my opinion useless after that preamble but at this point, I actually do prefer this one over Kane. And if you know your Oscars and your Citizen Kane, you would know that it was always going to be impossible for it to win. If there is anyone to blame here, blame Academy for making that decision; ‘tis the season after all!