Val Saksornchai

The Oscars nominees are out as of yesterday, and I am over the moon!

For the first time in many, many years, I actually want to watch the show.

Here’s an excerpt from my Oscars Red Carpet Challenge post in 2014:

I am a fan of the Oscars. I used to watch it every year (or almost) when I was a kid. Then I went to study abroad and no longer had access to the live television broadcast. After six years of not being able to watch it, this year – finally – I am back home for the Oscars. So there was no question that I would get up at 5am to watch it. Thing is, the Oscars is long. You have the Red Carpet, Counting Down, the Oscars itself. Today’s broadcast, according to mom, will last until 12pm, which will make the entire ceremony 7 hours long.

Spending 7 hours watching the Oscars seemed perfectly fine in high school. Not so much when you’re revising for your final-year undergraduate exams while working a three-day week. So I had to find a way of making myself feel that this is time well spent, hence the Red Carpet Challenge.

Which makes it six years ago since I last saw an Oscars broadcast.

Why am I over the moon? Because of the Best Picture Nominees.

Out of 9 nominees, I’ve seen 7 (except for 1917 and Jojo Rabbit), and loved almost all of them. Ford v Ferrari was an exhilarating, beautifully-crafted movie that had me on the edge of my seat for the whole 2 hours. Joker was a little underwhelming for me – but I think that was a case of too-high expectations. Still, a good film.

Once Upon a Time… was magnificent. I loved, loved, loved it. I felt it wasn’t long enough. Parasite – ’nuff said. It was as hard-hitting and entertaining as a movie can be. The Irishman was… long.

Little Women – oh Little Women, I loved, loved, loved it. It was so different from the 1994 version. I loved the flashbacks, the way the story was portrayed (I’m a little affronted that Gerwig didn’t get a nod for Best Director). Marriage Story I also loved, not so much the first time I saw it, but the second time I realised what a brilliance it was.

Out of all my loves, I know which one I’m most rooting for: Ford v Ferrari. That’s my personal favourite. It’s a case of: I think this movie should win Best Picture as I came out of the cinema having just seen it.

But for the sake of progress, I’m also rooting for Parasite. Just because it’s a foreign language film doesn’t mean it needs to be limited only to that category. If it’s a wonderful film, it’s a wonderful film. And it got enough big nods to actually have a fighting chance! (Although the Oscars will probably go to someone else… 1917 maybe?)

So yes, the Best Picture nominees this year has me all excited. And the funny thing is that February 10 (which is when it would air in Thailand) is actually a public holiday! So if I really wanted to I could watch it. However, I’m saving up my public holidays to add to my annual leave, so that most likely won’t happen.

But still, you bet I’ll be glued to the screen, refreshing the winners’ list to see who takes the big prize.