The Last post of the year.
The scenes, actors, and movies nominated for these awards are only the ones that we have watched in my Art of Film class. Here they are:
North by Northwest
Spirited Away
High Noon
V for Vendetta
Elephant
Rushmore
Do the Right Thing
Casablanca
Good Will Hunting
M
Jesus Camp
Chunking Express
Run Lola Run
And The Bridge On the River Kwai
Best Film:
Good Will Hunting
This film won for overall enjoyment. I loved Matt Damon's character and could relate to him as a mathematician myself. I was impressed with Robin Williams more serious performances. Good Will Hunting showed me a part of the world that I don't often see. The relationships between characters was beautiful. It was beautifully directed. It has become one of my all time favorite films.
The Next Category is Worst Film (Ishtar Award):
This award goes to the film that was just not entertaining to watch. The winner will be a film that leaves viewers wondering where hours of their life went. Like the first Hulk.
I would mention more criteria if it weren't obvious to me that the winner is High Noon. I understood the symbolism behind the situation of one man fighting for whats right without any help, but it was just too much walking around doing nothing. Could have been shortened to a 15 minute film. Doesn't deserve a picture.
Best Actor/Actress:
I was thinking of going back to Good Will Hunting and choosing either Matt Damon or Robbin Williams, but after further thought, the role I was really impressed with comes from a short Film (Inja). Then even more thought caused me to make the award a four way tie.
The winners are:
Matt Damon for the role Will Hunting
Robin Williams for the role Sean Maguire
Anele Vellom for the role Young Thembile
Lizo C. Makambi for the role Older Thembile
Matt Damon gave a very complete performance. He played math genius, street boy, psychology patient, and boy friend, all at the same time.
Robin Williams extended his branches out of the world of comedy and into a serious role. His character was extremely funny, but his role was completely serious. His monologue on the park bench is one of my favorite scenes in the movie.
Anele Vellom was wonderful. I was surprised at how well such a younger person could play such a deep role. He made me fall in love with both him and his dog in 2 minutes. His reaction during and after the dog beating scene was spot on.
Lizo C. Makambi was also wonderful in the same exact role. However many years later, I could still see how the dog incident had been paining Thembile for years. He was likable in his more friendly interactions with his boss, and he reacted wonderfully to the situation when the dog stood in the way of his boss and his medication.
My Final Award is for best short film:
If you haven't realized it already from the other awards, Inja was the clear victor.
I was amazed at how emotionally invested I could be in a film in such a short amount of time. The film was short and sweet. It had more value than 90% of all full length films. It took hold of a controversial topic and turned it into its most fundamental emotional roots. The characters were all well developed. Some were even better developed than character in full length movies. Thembile only had to say two sentences to completely establish the nature of his character. I enjoyed watching this film just as much as Good Will Hunting.
