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Each year, Oscar-nominated films cause a lot of controversy. In anticipation of the ceremony, which will take place today, we are studying the plots of films from the award list together with a psychologist.
Dementia
«Father», Florian Zeller (6 nominations)
The protagonist Anthony (Hopkins) has progressive dementia, an unfortunate old man lost in his own memories. He wanders in his memory, as in a maze with dead ends, enters the room in the morning and leaves it (or not) the day before yesterday, or even a month later. Alas, Anthony is unable to resist the natural laws, according to which the body and consciousness inevitably decline. In the end, due to illness, he turns into a helpless child who only cries and waits for his mother. The director shows the disease through the eyes of the patient himself, which makes the drama truly heartbreaking.
school bullying
«Better days», Derek Tsang (1 nomination)
Instead of equations and English conjugations on the eve of the most important exam, Chen Nian, an excellent student, is forced to think about how to protect herself from bullying. Recently, her friend, unable to bear the bullying of her classmates, committed suicide. The next target is Chen Nian. Against the background of school bullying, a poignant and tragic love story is born between an excellent student and a fearless bully, to whom she turns in search of protection.
Narcissism
«Munk», David Fincher, (10 nominations)
Herman Mankevich, nicknamed Mank, is a rumpled and prematurely aging screenwriter. He considers himself a genius, but for some reason he has been doing all sorts of hack work all his life. No matter how fruitful his work, the name does not reach the credits.
One day, Munk finds himself with a broken leg away from the social scene, in a village in the middle of the desert. There, he is working on a screenplay for prodigy director Orson Welles, recreating one of America’s most powerful men, media mogul William R. Hearst, as the protagonist. And at the same time, he reflects on the narcissistic society to which he belonged, realizes himself and his place in the Hollywood studio system of the 30s.
Experiencing loss
«Land of nomads», Chloe Zhao (6 nominations)
Bo and his wife, Fern, lived peacefully on the outskirts of the city of Empire before the onset of the economic crisis. The husband died, the hometown was empty, and life goes on. Fern gets behind the wheel of a trailer, puts all the most valuable things in it and tries to escape from the loss. The route is not built, but the wheels are spinning: from Christmas to Christmas, the heroine lives with seasonal part-time jobs. A long meditative journey slowly but surely gives rise to the hope that Fern will still be able to shed the burden of the past and say goodbye to the shadows of unfulfilled hopes.
The theme of experiencing the loss of a loved one, perhaps, was revealed in more detail this year by Oscar nominees, and in completely different formats: from the animation Forward, where the brothers come to accept the death of their father, to the documentary sector in the Romanian Collective, where the authors make sense of the mass deaths caused by the fire in the Bucharest club.
Self acceptance
«The sound of metal», Darius Marder (6 nominations)
Drummer Ruben, whose main passion is music, whose love is guitarist Lou, toured all over the country without sparing the membranes. Everything changed when one morning, instead of the sounds of drums, his world was filled with ringing silence. A desperate musician who has forever lost his most precious thing — his hearing — has to go through a touching and difficult path of self-acceptance. And come to the conclusion that healing is not a return to the turbulent past, but the comprehension of the present, unprecedented and unheard of before …
Middle age crisis
«One more», Thomas Vinterberg (2 nominations)
Four forty-year-old friends found themselves in the epicenter of a midlife crisis and feel a complete paralysis of their mental strength: no meaning to life, not the slightest hint of joy. Friends dream of returning to a sweet dream, where each of them is forever young, forever drunk. “But what if you test the theory of the Norwegian psychiatrist Finn Skorderud on yourself about the lack of half a ppm in a person’s blood for complete happiness?” heroes decide.
However, no matter how much you pour, sooner or later it will be time to sober up and get through the crisis in order to move on.
Finding a Destiny
«Soul», Pete Doctor, Camp Powers (3 nominations)
Joe Gardner dreamed of a successful career as a jazzman since childhood, but instead, day after day, he is forced to teach music at school part-time. His dreams of destiny are completely crossed out by the harsh reality, where instead of “I want” — “I must”. But what if at some point you give in to the mood and go on a difficult path, the purpose of which is to know yourself and find the meaning of life? And even if for this you need to rebel, die, resurrect, and more than once!
This parable seems at first to be just a light cartoon. But she is able to drag any adult into painful existential comprehension of her own existence. Simply put, to force them to look for answers to questions about what happens to the human soul after death, and most importantly, what it does before life.
Postpartum depression and child loss
«Fragments of a Woman», Cornel Mundruzzo (1 nomination)
Sean and Martha were happy and expecting a baby. Alas, the painful birth (shown, which is worth knowing in advance, with all the details) ends in tragedy: the newborn girl dies after having been in this world for only a few minutes. A bitter loss takes the couple from the heights of bliss to the depths of inner hell.
Martha tries to sue the midwife, quarrels with her husband and mother, behaves destructively. However, she copes with what happened as best she can. After all, the way of experiencing grief and finding peace of mind is different for everyone. So, the co-authors of the film, Cornel Mundruzo and Kata Weber, recreated their own experience of losing a child in the film.
Abuse experience
«Promising Girl», Emerald Fennel (5 nominations)
Cassandra is in her early thirties and her life is far from the American dream. Once the girl showed promise, but now she dropped out of medical school, works as a waitress in a cafe, lives with her parents. All her thoughts and energy go into planning revenge for a friend who committed suicide after being raped. Unrestrained in her thirst for justice, Cassandra administers bloody justice over the patriarchal world.
Crisis of family life and identity crisis
«Minari», Lee Isaac Cheung (6 nominations)
In pursuit of the American dream, the head of the Korean family, Jacob, transports his wife and children to Arkansas. Without consulting anyone and spitting on the needs of his son suffering from heart failure, the father spends all his savings on a plot of land in the wilderness. There, he plans to grow Korean fruits and vegetables for sale. Introduction to a foreign culture becomes a real test, the difficulties of assimilation reveal a family crisis. While all means and forces go to the realization of a dream, marriage bonds threaten to fall apart.
Salvation comes from where it was not expected: the individual American dream is opposed by the Asian force of community. Narcissistic arrogance and the value of personal achievement are opposed to family values and the ability to trust loved ones and nature. Instead of a harvest from a super-managed farm, minari is an unpretentious weed seasoning that grows on its own, you just need to sow its seeds in the right soil.