{"id":6230,"date":"2016-05-25T23:19:33","date_gmt":"2016-05-25T17:49:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6230"},"modified":"2016-05-25T23:19:33","modified_gmt":"2016-05-25T17:49:33","slug":"the-five-films-that-flew-under-the-radar-during-oscar-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=6230","title":{"rendered":"Uncut Gems, Hustlers, For Sama: The Five Films That Flew Under the Radar During Oscar Season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

W<\/span>ho would\u2019ve thought that it was still possible to be surprised by the Academy? Especially in a year when the Oscars<\/a> continued to make headlines not for its nominations but for its inexplicable snubs. As has now become tradition, the Academy chose to disregard acknowledging any female directors<\/a> in the Best Director line-up \u2013 Greta Gerwig earned only an Adapted Screenplay nod. Gerwig\u2019s Little Women<\/em><\/a>, perhaps the year\u2019s most inventive film was shut out from the shortlist as were the lead turns in two of the other invigorating films of the season: Adam Sandler in Josh<\/em> and Benny Safdie\u2019s Uncut Gems<\/em> and Jennifer Lopez in Lorene Scafaria\u2019s Hustlers<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, for an award body with a predictable set of nominations<\/a> and eventual winners (you could see that Brad Pitt win coming), the Oscars did throw us a surprise by awarding Bong Joon-ho\u2019s masterful Parasite<\/a> <\/em>for four prestigious honours \u2013 Original Screenplay, Best International Feature, Best Director, and Best Film. Even then, there are quite a few experimental films that remained underappreciated and by extension, underseen, due to the Academy\u2019s penchant for being biased toward recognising prestige, auteur-led outings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But now that the award season is finally over, the good news is that your watchlist doesn\u2019t have to include films that the Oscars approve of. Below is a list of five films that flew under the radar during award season but represent some of the most audacious filmmaking of the year:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Uncut Gems<\/strong>: Josh and Benny Safdie\u2019s Uncut Gems<\/em> is without any exaggeration the best film of the year that condenses the lifetime of a panic attack<\/a> in just two hours. Featuring a sensational performance by Adam Sandler as Howard Ratner, a gambling addict who keeps owing people money by the minute, the crime thriller<\/a> boasts the kind of fluidity that makes filmmaking look and feel like a magic trick. Bonus? You get to watch Adam Sandler punch The Weeknd, set to the tunes of Kendrick Lamar. It\u2019s as electric as it can get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Uncut Gems<\/em> is streaming on Netflix India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The Farewell<\/strong>: Lulu Wang\u2019s The Farewell<\/em> is easily the best film that you might not have heard of this award season. A bilingual<\/a> comedy-drama headlined by Awkwafina (she won a Golden Globe for her performance) in her first dramatic role, Wang\u2019s autobiographical film follows a Chinese family which decides to not let their grandmother<\/a> know of her impending death and schedule an impromptu family gathering instead. Told from the perspective of Billi Wang, the Chinese-American granddaughter, Wang grapples with heady themes like identity and the immigrant experience with a joyful touch that never loses track of humour or of the sentimentality that makes family<\/a> so indispensable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s hope it gets an India release soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. I Lost My Body<\/strong>: Nominated in the Best Documentary<\/a> shortlist, J\u00e9r\u00e9my Clapin\u2019s I Lost My Body<\/em>, an animated French fantasy drama is one of the most moving films of the year. The film that premiered at Cannes Film Festival<\/a> last year, chronicles the journey of a severed hand that escapes from a lab to find its way back to its rightful owner. Besides being a captivating visual affair, I Lost My Body<\/em>\u2019s charm lies in being utterly strange and yet wholly poetic. It\u2019s unlike anything you\u2019ve seen this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I Lost My Body<\/em> is streaming on Netflix India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Hustlers<\/strong>: Based on Jessica Pressler\u2019s 2015 New York Magazine piece<\/a> \u201cThe Hustlers at Scores: The Ex-Strippers Who Stole From (Mostly) Rich Men and Gave to, Well, Themselves,\u201d Lorene Scafaria\u2019s Hustlers<\/em> is an energetic, unforgettable heist drama. Starring Jennifer Lopez (the actress is also one of the co-producers) in a career-defining turn as one of the strippers, the film is intelligent and tender and makes the ludicrousness of its premise such a rewarding affair. It\u2019s almost impossible to not warm up to 50-year-old Lopez\u2019s shocking display of core strength as well as the film\u2019s undercurrent of female empowerment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hustlers<\/em> released in India in September and is now out of the theatres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. For Sama<\/strong>: Directed and narrated by Waad-Al-Kateab, For Sama \u2013 nominated for Best Documentary \u2013 is an important film of our times. The film is both a love letter to the idea of home as well as a mother\u2019s<\/a> apology to her daughter for choosing to stay back in Aleppo and raising her during the Syrian Civil War instead of fleeing. Movies for the most part, have the responsibility to recreate life, but For Sama<\/em> stands out for reflecting just how easy it is to erase any semblance of life. It\u2019s as urgent as a wake-up call can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s always another rewatch of Parasite waiting in case you\u2019re done watching all of these films.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Now that the award season is finally over, the good news is that your watchlist doesn\u2019t have to include films that the Oscars approve of. It\u2019s time you watch Uncut Gems, The Farewell, and these three other movies that are too good to miss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":6231,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture"],"yoast_head":"\nUncut Gems, Hustlers, For Sama: The Five Films That Flew Under the Radar During Oscar Season<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Now that the award season is finally over, the good news is that your watchlist doesn\u2019t have to include films that the Oscars approve of. 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