Kino on Demand (nd aktuell)

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The last calendar year was not a good year for films. Not because of the cinematic quality, but the livelihood. The production and marketing of the films were at stake because of the disease, which nobody wants to read a word about anymore. Unfortunately, this year doesn’t seem much better so far. The cinemas have been closed for months, film releases seem to be postponed every week into the uncertain summer. But, and Freddie Mercury already knew that: The show must go on. And so the Oscars will be awarded on Sunday evening in Los Angeles. Like every year. Or almost, because the pandemic etiquette is impressive: three negative tests for the participants, masks during breaks in shooting, temperature measurement and reduced seats. In addition to the now traditional Dolby Theater, part of the ceremony will take place in the Los Angeles Union Station, and switches from London and other locations will also be used.

If you now take a closer look at the most prestigious list of awards, namely that of the best film, you will notice that this year, in contrast to around 2020, a certain preference for basically US-American topics dominates. The two aesthetically outstanding comrades-in-arms “Nomadland” by director Chloé Zhao and “Minari” by Lee Isaac Chung, albeit quite different in terms of the subject matter, unite a kind of homage to the wild expanse of American rurality. In »Nomadland«, Zhao lets her protagonist Fern (an outstanding Frances McDormand, who at best receives the award in the Best Actress category) drive as a modern nomad in her van through a country shattered by the financial crisis, looking for seasonal work and ultimately himself. In Zhao’s film, which won the Golden Lion and the Golden Globe for best film in Venice in 2020, not much happens; and yet you hang on Fern’s face, spellbound, for almost two hours. »Nomadland« was accused of not approaching the injustices of Amazon contract workers politically enough – but Zhao’s film scores with something else, namely aesthetic perfection and a high degree of subtlety.

The fields and landscapes of the Ozarks in Arkansas also play an important role in “Minari”. The South Korean immigrant family Yi moved there in the 1980s to venture a fresh start after an unsuccessful time in California. Jacob (Steven Yeun) would like to go into business for himself with vegetable cultivation in order to finally get away from sorting out chicks after several years. Here, too, if you look closely, relatively little happens – and yet so much. “Minari” is a wonderfully told story about what it means to arrive somewhere new. About this finding your way around, the struggling with yourself that a life in a new country inevitably brings with it.

“Minari” and “Nomadland” are in the running with six nominations each, and one would wish both of them the Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. Youn Yuh-jung also deserves the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as the courageous grandmother in “Minari”.

The numerical favorite at the ceremony, with ten nominations, is “Mank” by David Fincher, a black and white strip about the screenwriter Herman J. Mankiewicz, starring Gary Oldman. Mankiewicz wrote the script for Orson Welles’ classic “Citizen Kane”, the development of which is also at issue. But giving »Mank« so many nominations is a nostalgic choice that underscores Hollywood’s love of self. Films about their own industry are simply very popular in the Academy, just think of Tarantino’s “Once upon a time in Hollywood”, which in 2020 also garnered ten Oscar nominations.

Nevertheless, a certain political awareness pervades the list of nominations. Aaron Sorkin’s “The Trial of the Chicago 7” deals with the anti-Vietnam War protesters, while “Judas and the Black Messiah” by Shaka King deals with Fred Hampton, an activist of the Black Panther movement. To speak of America finally confronting its structural injustices and war crimes goes a step too far – but it is gratifying to see a little historical reflection on one’s own problems in a country that is looking to the future.

Florian Zeller’s haunting quasi-chamber play »The Father« with Anthony Hopkins in the lead role – who at his elderly age can gladly take home his second Oscar for his role as a father plagued by dementia – deservedly co-nominated. “Promising Young Woman” by Emerald Fennell, about a woman who tries to avenge the rape of her best friend, and “Sound of Metal” by Darius Marder, about a metal drummer who is slowly losing his hearing, also find their way into this Found the podium.

It remains to be hoped that Thomas Vinterberg’s Danish film “Another Round” will be honored with the Oscar for best foreign film. Deep male friendships like this one rarely see these days.

So far so good. Still, the whole hoopla leaves a strange feeling this year. This may be due to the fact that in the wake of the corona pandemic, some studios have given their films to streaming giants such as Netflix and Amazon Prime – of the eight nominees for the best film, four are currently on video-on-demand services. The studios thought this was their best chance to get their film out there. But it has very little to do with cinema – and that’s what the Oscars actually stand for. The works of art flicker lonely on small laptop screens while there is a curfew outside. A sad spectacle. The cultural institution cinema, which sees film as a collective experience, without pause and rewind, tied to one place – it is more and more in danger, while Netflix and Amazon rub their hands over the consolidation of their monopoly of power. Well, dear readership – please go back to the cinema as soon as possible and help save the Titanic a bit. Until then, and we all know it: The show must go on.

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