I Told You So!

I spent most of yesterday trying to avoid hearing Oscar news so I could watch it last night with some friends. Its a tricky act and I didn't make it. I knew 'Hurt Locker' came in as it is so extraordinary that it popped up in the main news sections on most media.

Of the film's Best Picture Award, Sandra Hall - film critic for the Sydney Morning Herald, told me 'The Hurt Locker' had almost been pulled for review, so little confidence did they have in it! These sort of upsets, when great blockbusters like 'Avatar' are raking in the dollars are quite unusual. Unusual for a woman director of a war film, unusual for a film without a major star and unusual for the editing, sound mixing and script writing to achieve such acclaim in this world wide forum for film!

I loved the 'The Hurt Locker' and I am still stunned at Kathryn Bigelow's achievement. What a world we live in when all those years of feminism have led us to this radiant woman and her muscular achievement illuminated with such wit and warmth that despite the hellfire, there is something infinitely beautiful about the story.

She had collaborated with Mark Boal on another story about war,'The Valley of Elah' which was a lot darker.They are a great combo and you only have to see their acceptance speeches to realise how shocked about their six awards they were themselves. Kathryn Bigelow looked as though she had to mentally keep herself upright! It was a delight to see her trio of lead actors line up arm in arm behind her too.

So...here's to you:

Kathryn Bigelow - Best Director
Mark Boal - Best Original Screenplay
Bob Murawski and Chris Innis - Best Achievement in Film Editing
Paul N. J. Ottosson - Best Achievement in Sound Editing
Ray Becket and Paul N. J Ott0sson -Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
THE HURT LOCKER - BEST MOTION PICTURE OF THE YEAR!
Click here to see a Kathryn Bigelow post Oscar interview:

Stand up that Girl.

I am a child of war. I am the daughter of a soldier and granddaughter and niece. I grew up surrounded by men and women who had fought and survived a world war. I remember our vicar used to creak down the aisle on one false leg (blown off in aerial combat) and my piano teacher had half one hand sheared off (hit by a doodle bug when riding her bike). I like and admire soldiers and I always feel revulsion when confronted by indulgent or melodramatic soldiery in movies. This is not one of them.

Right from the start you're in there with the American bomb disposal unit in Iraq. There is little if any music and the style is sparse and realistic. Now just how realistic is a moot point as the director is a woman and she is filming only miles away from the real Iraqi border. Added to this she is a person of some composure when constantly asked about her gender. The truth of the matter is that she is an attractive, stylish woman who leaves no fat on her product.

I think gongs of all varieties must go to her, her Actors, her scintillating Sound designer (I could have sworn the bullet casings of one gun battle ricocheted round the back of my seat),the Editor and Director of Photography.

The cast and crew shot in Jordan with Iraqi extras. There were few frills and they were hot and bothered. You will recognise some faces but particularly a new star in Jeremy Renner - an actor with serial killers and vampires in his repertoire. But if all this puts you off, beware. There are grace notes amongst these events that will never leave you.

Director Kathryn Bigelow used four cameras to capture the action. She says of her shooting style..."We experience reality, by looking at the microcosm and the macrocosm simultaneously. The eye sees differently than the lens, but with multiple focal lengths and a muscular editorial style, the lens can give you that microcosm/macrocosm perspective, and that contributes to the feeling of total immersion."

Wait til you get there. You'll know what she means.

To see a trailer of The Hurt Locker' Click here: