And the Losers Aren’t…

When it comes to the season of Academy Awards hoopla and second-guessing, Santa Barbara has had a special brand of skin in the game for many years, thanks to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF). By the time the proverbial envelopes are opened and Oscar history is made on Sunday night, we will have already been privy to many of the nominees, live and in person at the Arlington. The year 2022 has ushered out a strong and often artistically brave pack of films — many of which were conceived of and honed during the pandemic hiatus. 

Lines between art and blockbusters blurred. The critically and commercially boffo Top Gun: Maverick was a feel-good hit of the summer and beyond, feeling like a cathartic collective picnic after the pandemic storm. The wild multi-versal ride of Everything Everywhere All at Once was the best kind of sneak-attack hit, proposing fresh cinematic creative zeal. Women Talking, Sarah Polley’s understated, brilliant adaptation of Miriam Toews’s great novel, addresses universal subjects and feminist issues through deceptively simple means. 

As to why Steven Spielberg’s wobbly autobiographical flick The Fabelmans is getting Oscar love, there may be a Hollywood insider scoop I’m not in on. But subjective differences of opinion are what Oscar talk is all about.