hollywood
BEST FILMSOF 2017 MOTION PICTURE ANO BOUNTY
by chris carpenter A collective gay and straight gasp was heard around the world last February
when the gay-themed independent movieMoonlight won the Academy Award for Best Picture over the more expectedLa La Land. It was doubly surprising sinceLa La Land was initially, mistakenly announced as the winner. Needless to say, there will be more stringent controls at this year’s Oscar ceremony onSunday, March 4. There is also another chance for a gay-themed film to take home the big prize. Call Me By Your Name is all but assured of being nominated for Best Picture and no particular 2017 movie is considered a front runner at press time. Other likely nominees include Dunkirk, The Post, The Big Sick andLady Bird. As I’ve been determining my choices for the best films of 2017 (see further
THER GOLDEN LGBTQ YEAR?
below, it is clear that there were more great releases last year than in several previous years. Many of my fellow critics agree and have been expanding their traditional top ten lists to recognize additional worthy movies. This has not only been the case for mainstream productions, but for a greater-than-usual number of memorable LGBTQ-themed films as well. In addition to the much ballyhooed, same-sex romanceCall Me By Your
Name, Chile’sA Fantastic Woman and South Africa’sThe Wound are finalists for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.A Fantastic Woman features an acclaimed performance by a trans actress, Daniela Vega, as a woman trying to uncover the truth behind her lover’s sudden death. The film is currently nominated for a Golden Globe
award.The Wound, meanwhile, is a hard-hitting drama about two secretly gay lovers, who are helping with a traditional initiation of younger men. I had hoped that the French AIDS dramaBPM as well asTom of Finland
(from Finland, appropriately enough) would have made Oscar’s final cut. Both are excellent, insightful and moving. Britain’s gay love storyGod’s Own Country could also be recognized in other categories since it is an English- language film. Frequently described and compared to the modern gay classic Brokeback Mountain, it was recently nominated for a number of British Film Academy awards, or BAFTAs. Battle of the Sexes is probably this year’s most widely-known LGBTQ awards contender. A recreation of the 1972 tennis competition between lesbian champ Billie Jean King and male chauvinist Bobby Riggs, it stars last year’s Oscar winner Emma Stone and former Oscar nominee Steve Carell. Both are currently up for Golden Globes for their gutsy performances here. The following are my picks for the best movies of last year, which I have expanded from the typical 10 to 16 since some of equal excellence share similar themes, settings or plot elements:
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RAGE monthly | JANUARY 2018
| JANUARY 2018
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