One Battle After Another, with its hollow depiction of activism, is just the kind of film the Academy likes to reward, writes a film critic. The movie stands with immigrants, but without sticking its neck out
Social media is abuzz with conversations about Javier Bardem’s unequivocal political declarations, at the just-concluded Oscars. “No to war. And Free Palestine,” the globally acclaimed Spanish actor said, while on stage at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, to announce an award.
“I really appreciate his voice in a room like that, where literally no one else said anything,” the young actor Hannah Einbinder remarked afterwards. While stars in attendance made no effort to camouflage their reticence, about the most pressing world issues of the day, members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which administers the Oscars, kept up their tradition of voting for films that appear to be brave, without quite being so. The selection of One Battle After Another for the year’s Best Picture Oscar exemplifies this decades-long trend.
“I really appreciate his voice in a room like that, where literally no one else said anything,” the young actor Hannah Einbinder remarked afterwards. While stars in attendance made no effort to camouflage their reticence, about the most pressing world issues of the day, members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which administers the Oscars, kept up their tradition of voting for films that appear to be brave, without quite being so. The selection of One Battle After Another for the year’s Best Picture Oscar exemplifies this decades-long trend.