LOS ANGELES — If I were a voting member of the motion picture academy (and don't worry, I'm not), the following represents how I'd cast my ballot in 11 key Oscar races. I hasten to add that while these choices represent my personal favorites among the nominees, only a few of them represent my actual favorites of last year.
Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to thwart the movie industry in 2021, it was a nonetheless a superb, resurgent year for movies. As such, its riches are only fitfully represented by an organization that despite its welcome and ongoing steps toward broadening and deepening its global membership, remains strikingly indifferent (or wholly oblivious) to some of the strongest movies being made, especially by American independent filmmakers and those the world over.
There was one glorious exception: a brilliant, boundary-shattering movie that, in a different year, might have stayed under the radar. Happily, it received its partial due from the academy this year with four Oscar nominations, including best picture, which it thoroughly deserves to win. And so, without further adieu …
