four awards for “Parasite” by Bong Joon-ho, including best film

The 92^e Oscars ceremony will go down in history. She saw triumph, Sunday February 9, Parasite, by Bong Joon-ho, the first South Korean film awarded in Los Angeles by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. This thriller won four Oscars: those for best film, director, international film (where it faced Wretched by French Ladj Ly), as well as the original screenplay.

Parasite, cruel satire on the gulf between social classes, had already been awarded the Palme d’Or at 72^e Cannes Film Festival, then the Golden Globe for best foreign language film. “Thank you, I will drink until the morning”said Bong Joon-ho as he accepted the award for best director.

For the experts, this is a huge twist: 1917, by Sam Mendes, was the favorite of the competition. However, the daring British war film won three technical awards, which are sound mixing, special effects and cinematography.

Joaquin Phoenix best actor, Renée Zellweger best actress

Less surprisingly, the prizes awarded to the actors are a carbon copy of those awarded at the Golden Globes. So, Joaquin Phoenix was crowned for the lead role in the controversial film Joker, by Todd Phillips. This is the first Oscar for the 45-year-old comedian who had already been nominated three times previously, including twice for a leading role.

It is also the consecration for Renée Zellweger, who was named best actress for her portrayal of Hollywood legend Judy Garland, in the film Judy by Rupert Goold. The actress of Texan origin had already received the Oscar for best supporting role for Return to Cold Mountain in 2004.

Brad Pitt and Laura Dern named Best Supporting Actors. With his role as a quiet stuntman in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, of Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt won against veterans Al Pacino and Joe Pesci (The Irishman), Anthony Hopkins and Tom Hanks. Quentin Tarantino’s film also won the award for best setting.

Laura Dern was recognized for her role as a ruthless lawyer in Marriage Story, of director Noah Baumbach. If she has already won five Golden Globes, it is the first Oscar for the actress who will celebrate her 53 years on Monday and who was nominated for the first time in 1992 for Rambling Rose.

“American Factory”, best documentary

Directed by Julia Reichert and Steven Bognar, American Factory, for which Barack and Michelle Obama bought the rights through their production company, received the award for best documentary. It chronicles the takeover by a Chinese billionaire of an automobile factory in Ohio, in 2014.

Pixar (Disney) studio feature film Toy Story 4, directed by Josh Cooley, was awarded the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. It is the tenth statuette obtained by the Pixar studio in this category which was created in 2002. A disappointment for I lost my body by Jérémy Clapin.

The Neighbors Window, by Marshall Curry, won the award for best short film, when Hair Love, by Matthew A. Cherry and Bruce W. Smith, receives the animated short film and Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl), by Carol Dysinger, that of the short documentary.

The soundtrack of Joker won the Oscar for best original music, (I’m Gonna) Love Me Again, in the movie Rocketman, is sacred as the best song. Side scenario adapted, it is Jojo Rabbit, by award-winning Taika Waititi.

In the more technical categories, Doctor March’s daughters, by Greta Gerwig, wins the prize for the best costumes; Le Mans 66, by James Mangold, the one for sound editing and editing; Scandale (Bombshell), from Jay Roach, the one for makeup and hairstyle.

A selection criticized for its lack of diversity

The Oscar selection was once again criticized for neglecting cultural and ethnic diversity, a recurring criticism. Apart from the British Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), all the actors and actresses competing this year are white and no woman has been selected from the directors.

The Academy of Oscars, however, has highlighted the fact that women have never been so present in the nominations: 65 out of 209 candidates in total. Perhaps to make people forget the controversy, the Oscars evening, produced by two women, chose a large number of international stars of various origins to present the prizes, among which the Spanish Penelope Cruz, the Mexican Salma Hayek and Israeli Gal Gadot.

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