I watched the film after it had cleaned up at the Oscars.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Would I agree with how the members of the Academy had voted? I was so impressed by<\/p>\n
Hamlet<\/i> that I was unsure whether I could recast my vote for another film. Already halfway<\/p>\n
through, I sensed that this is the very best film of the year. Yes, One Battle After Another<\/i><\/p>\n
deserved the six Oscars.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Best film, best director, and best adapted screenplay are all due to the artistry of James Paul<\/p>\n
Anderson, who is one of the best filmmakers of our time. Anderson took the 1990 novel<\/p>\n
Vineland<\/i> by Thomas Pynchon, which is set in 1984, and moved it with incredible skill to<\/p>\n
our times. When future historians want to understand the mood and feel of the<\/p>\n
contemporary USA, they can simply watch One Battle After Another<\/i>, which so adroitly<\/p>\n
captures it without ever becoming schoolmasterly or preachy. Left-wing and right-wing<\/p>\n
extremism are getting equal billing. Even though one can get depressed simply reading any<\/p>\n
morning in the 2nd reign of Trump, the film is not depressing because the pictures it paints<\/p>\n
are so well composed.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As I was watching the film, my thoughts traveled to Donald Trump’s reactionary senior<\/p>\n
advisor Steven Miller, who is the architect of the campaigns to turn USA cities into<\/p>\n
militarized zones. As the government is hunting down left-wing terrorists in the film, my<\/p>\n
thoughts traveled to the streets of Minnesota, where the American citizen Alex Pretti is<\/p>\n
unjustifiably gunned down by ICE agents. Sean Penn plays a role similar to ICE agents and<\/p>\n
delivers, again, a stunning performance that earned him the Oscar for best supporting actor.<\/p>\n
Sean Penn put himself in the illustrious group of actors who win an Oscar and do not even<\/p>\n
show up to receive it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As Donald Trump is waging war in Iran, weapons necessary for the defense of Ukraine are<\/p>\n
now redirected to the Middle East. The war in the Middle East is the best gift Trump could<\/p>\n
have made to Putin. Instead of attending the Oscars ceremony, Penn traveled to Ukraine,<\/p>\n
where he has spent a lot of time in these years to support Ukrainians’ fight for self-<\/p>\n
determination. Incidentally, Mr. Nobody Against Putin<\/em>, a film about a school teacher who<\/p>\n captures on video Putin’s indoctrination campaigns, won the Oscar for best documentary.<\/p>\n One Battle After Another<\/i> also won an Oscar for best casting and best editing. It beat<\/p>\n Sinners<\/i>, which won four: best actor, best music (original score), and writing for original<\/p>\n screenplay. Curiously, Marty Supreme<\/i> was nominated for nine Oscars but went home<\/p>\n empty-handed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One Battle After Another<\/i> is one of the best films I have seen in my entire life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"