With the Oscars 2024 gala just around the corner, Hollywood is preparing for a fancy night of celebration and cinema appreciation. Therefore, taking into account this latter idea, our Creative Director, Laia Aguilar, steps in to recommend her favorite films of all time that never won an Oscar award for best film. Now, that’s cinema appreciation that goes beyond awards.
5 Non-Oscar films Laia Aguilar urges you to watch
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3 minute read
Words by The Animals Observatory | March 10, 2024
Le otto montagne (2022)
Le otto montagne (2022)
This film gently follows the lives of Pietro and Bruno. Both started out in the same small alpine town as friends, but eventually Pietro left to live in the city. Although each one of them has different experiences due to their whereabouts, they reconnect at some point, showing us a story about friendship.
"It is a sensitive film that feels like a whisper, a tale that Chekhov could have signed. Everything works: the actors, its sober direction by Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch, even the landscape acts as another character in the plot, the wonderful soundtrack, not at all obvious and very risky. " states Laia Aguilar, when asked about what she loves the most about it.
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
A classic by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, who also stars in the film. It is inspired by all the Broadway Melodies that were made in Hollywood in the 1920s, a time of transition between silent films and talkies. In this context, we follow a love story between two actors, one of them already being a star, and the other one a hidden gem. "It's impossible not to wish for rain so you can jump in the puddles too. Watching Gene Kelly dance is a joy that I could never get tired of."
The African Queen (1951)
An adaptation of the novel featuring the same name by C. S. Forester, the film was directed by John Huston and it is set during the outbreak of the First World War, in the German East Africa late colony. There love blooms between the african queen actors, its main characters played by Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn.
"A story where they demonstrate courage and vulnerability at the same time. Its script speaks of the most universal themes: love, friendship, and even redemption. But it is also a thrilling story of survival." tells us Laia Aguilar, while adding "To me, it features one of the most precious endings I have ever watched."
Some like it hot (1959)
The Some like it hot movie is a comedy starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon introduces two men that, in order to escape the historic Saint Valentine's Day Massacre, pose as women. Nevertheless, while wearing their costumes, they both meet and fall in love with the same women, so the time for fun is served.
"It is so amusing that it can make the sun come out on the darkest day. There is not a single shot without a joke, nor a joke that is not great, in my opinion. Two magical duos that showcase Marilyn Monroe at her best: Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond in the script, and Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in the interpretation.
The Elephant Man (1982)
Not everything must be a comedy. This one is a black and white film directed by David Lynch, and it tells the story of John Merrick (played by John Hurt), a character based on Joseph Merrick, a man with a genetic disease that caused him malformations in his skin and body. He lived in England in the nineteenth century, and he was commonly known as "the elephant man".
The creative director considers it "one of the saddest films in the history of cinema. It is both a horror film and a story of friendship. The Elephant Man teaches us what innocence is and how difficult it is to survive in a cruel world. Its ending will make you cry buckets." This film incredibly didn’t get any Oscar award, after being nominated for eight categories.
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