This week, the second installment of our ongoing “The Road to Oscar” series appears, and these first two previews share an inspiring common ground that’s a departure from the red carpet, glitz and glamour norm typically associated with the Academy Awards. Consider the feedback from directors Chris Weitz in last month’s (10/21) SHOOT feature and Lucy Walker in this issue–both their projects contain a greater sense of purpose, sharing human stories that offer insights into related issues.
Weitz directed A Better Life, which has generated Oscar buzz for lead actor Demian Bichir who portrays undocumented immigrant and hard working single dad Carlos Galindo. The movie centers on Galindo and his efforts to make a better life for himself and his teenage son. It’s also a story about a father desperately trying to reconnect with his son in order to keep him from getting pulled into the local gang life.
Although A Better Life had a limited life in release, it’s taken on other lives, transitioning Weitz from the filmmaking phase to the advocacy phase. “People in the political community started seeing this film,” he said, “and became interested–the National Council of La Raza got interested, as did the National Hispanic Caucus. We had a screening at the congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s annual meeting. The film connected with those advocating for immigration reform…It’s not a political film per se. But people from think tanks have told me, ‘You can pause this film at about 20 points–one relates to the Secure Communities Act, another to The Dream Act, another to the position of immigrant workers in our society.’
“The story, though, is a human one,” continued Weitz. “No one comes out and states a political position. The characters are just doing their jobs. There’s no villain per se. The heroism is often quite quiet.”
Weitz related that in its own way, A Better Life “addresses what is going to be the biggest social issue of our time which is the question of immigration and how to treat those [undocumented workers] already in this country.”
Weitz cited Bichir’s “understated performance as opening the door for audiences to meet him half way in understanding the character. He plays a man who’s spent the majority of his life not trying to be noticed….For me, there’s so much more at stake in this film due to what it’s about. It means a great deal to me that Demian be nominated.”
From Weitz’s long-form feature, we move onto a short film, The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom, directed by Walker, and which is one of eight entries to make the Oscar Documentary Short Subject shortlist.
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom plays like a poem showing how the people of Japan are coping with the devastating earthquake which hit the country on March 11, resulting in a horrific tsunami and nuclear radiation crisis. For many, the inspiration to persevere and come out the other side hopeful and renewed comes from the ancient Japanese cherry blossom which grows in the spring, signaling a new beginning.
Though the disaster in Japan was recent, Walker observed, “It’s already being forgotten. My hope is that the documentary will keep what happened front and center.”
Gene Hackman Died Of Heart Disease; Hantavirus Claimed His Wife’s Life About One Week Prior
Actor Gene Hackman died of heart disease a full week after his wife died from hantavirus in their New Mexico hillside home, likely unaware that she was dead because he was in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease, authorities revealed Friday. Both deaths were ruled to be from natural causes, chief medical examiner Dr. Heather Jarrell said alongside state fire and health officials at a news conference. "Mr. Hackman showed evidence of advanced Alzheimer's disease," Jarrell said. "He was in a very poor state of health. He had significant heart disease, and I think ultimately that's what resulted in his death." Authorities didn't suspect foul play after the bodies of Hackman, 95, and Betsy Arakawa, 65, were discovered Feb 26. Immediate tests for carbon monoxide poisoning were negative. Investigators found that the last known communication and activity from Arakawa was Feb. 11 when she visited a pharmacy, pet store and grocery before returning to their gated neighborhood that afternoon, Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza said Friday. Hackman's pacemaker last showed signs of activity a week later and that he had an abnormal heart rhythm Feb. 18, the day he likely died, Jarrell said. Although there was no reliable way to determine the date and time when both died, all signs point to their deaths coming a week apart, Jarrell said. "It's quite possible he was not aware she was deceased," Jarrell said. Dr. Michael Baden, a former New York City medical examiner, said he believes Hackman was severely impaired due to Alzheimer's disease and unable to deal with his wife's death in the last week of his life. "You are talking about very severe Alzheimer's disease that normal people would be in a nursing home or have a nurse, but she was taking care... Read More