‘1917’ won the Baftas for Best Film and Best Director for Sam Mendes on Sunday. This historic action film closely follows the journey of two British soldiers during the First World War, giving the illusion of a long sequence shot.
Already rewarded at the Golden Globes and named at the Oscars, ‘1917’ won in these two queens categories against ‘The Irishman’ by Martin Scorsese, ‘Joker’ by Todd Philipps, ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’ by Quentin Tarantino and ‘Parasite’ by Bong Joon-Ho.
Conversely, it is the disappointment for ‘Joker’, given a big favorite with 11 nominations but who is satisfied with three awards, or for The Irishman, empty-handed, produced by Netflix, while the platform had demonstrated its essential place the year last by winning the main prizes for ‘Roma’ by Alfonso Cuaron.
Joaquin Phoenix and Renée Zellweger
Joaquin Phoenix, impressive and disturbing in his incarnation of the Joker, was nonetheless crowned with the title of best actor by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta), facing Leonardo DiCaprio (‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood ‘), Adam Driver (‘ Marriage Story ‘), Taron Egerton (‘ Rocketman) and Jonathan Pryce (‘The Two Popes’).
Todd Phillips’ film star arrived in a tuxedo and sunglasses on the red carpet of the Royal Albert Hall, followed by Hugh Grant, Al Pacino, Scarlett Johansson and Prince William, the honorary president of institution. Environmental concerns oblige, all had been asked to recycle outfits already worn.
On the women’s side, the American Renée Zellweger won the Bafta for best actress for her interpretation of the legendary actress Judy Garland, deeply moving at the end of her career, in the biopic ‘Judy’. In particular, she won against Jessie Buckley (‘Wild Rose’), Scarlett Johansson (‘Marriage Story’), Saoirse Ronan (‘The Daughters of Doctor March’) and Charlize Theron (‘Scandal’).
‘Parasite’ also awarded
Having left with ten nominations, the ode to Hollywood in the 1960s ‘Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood’, Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, won only one prize, that of the best male supporting role for Brad Pitt. Martin Scorsese’s political-mafia thriller ‘The Irishman’, produced by Netflix and also named ten times, leaves without having obtained anything.
South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho is doing well, winning the Bafta for best foreign language film and best screenplay for ‘Parasite’, a family drama, mixed with thriller and also a social dimension, telling how an idle family invites itself into the daily life of a wealthy family, in an uncontrollable spiral.
‘Maddening’ absence of black actors
The Baftas have shown their concern for the climate crisis by giving up bags of little gifts that are not very respectful of the environment and by unfolding a red carpet in recycled materials. But this selection, carried out for most of the categories by the approximately 6,500 members of the Bafta, in particular professionals of the cinematographic industry, was strongly criticized for its lack of diversity.
Shortly before the ceremony, the president of Bafta Pippa Harris herself deplored the absence of women nominations in the best director category, when they ‘represent the future of the industry’. She also found it ‘exasperating’ and ‘disappointing’ that no black actor had been named within the main categories.
She promised a ‘far-reaching review’, which will ‘look into everything related to the award process’, but said it was a ‘whole scale problem’ film industry, the rewards of which are only the bottom rung.
‘Shocking invisibility’
Critics had started to flourish in early January on social media, in part under the hashtag #BaftaSoWhite (‘Bafta so white’). They then found an important spokesperson in the person of director Steve McQueen. ‘Black talents are far too neglected,’ stormed the Oscar-winning director of ’12 years a slave ‘in the newspaper The Guardian.
The British branch of the Time’s up foundation, a movement born in the wake of #MeToo, ‘recalled the performances of Lupita Nyong’o, Jennifer Lopez, Cynthia Erivo, Jodie Turner-Smith and Marianne Jean-Baptiste’, denouncing a ‘ invisibility all the more shocking given the choice ‘and the’ power ‘of the films with black or Asian actors this year.
/ ATS
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