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It’s that time again. On Sunday night March, 24, all of Hollywood will cram into the newly christened Kodak Theater to see and be seen and to hope for the ultimate honor: An Academy Award.
The 74thannual Oscar ceremony will no doubt be filled with all the pomp, circumstance and pretense that we have all come to expect from Hollywood. And if the pre-game jockeying for PR influence in the mass media is any indication of how eager some actors and actresses are to walk away with the coveted award, then this year’s festivities bode to be full of tension and drama as well.
As is the case in most years, Muslims don’t have much to cheer about. However, from the 2001 crop of Oscar nominees, there are a few bright spots.
Many Muslims are wondering: Will Will Smith win one for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali? Probably not. Although he did an exceptional job re-creating the champ’s verbal cadence and mannerisms, he just wasn’t Ali. That’s not Smith’s fault however. Ali was just simply so exceptional at being himself, that any imitator is bound to fall far short. However, beyond Smith’s performance lies the obstacle of an 800-pound gorilla by the name of A Beautiful Mind. Barring the unthinkable, this critically acclaimed film about the schizophrenic, genius Nobel Prize-winning mathematician John Nash should win the day; and Russell Crowe, who plays Nash, should easily foil Smith’s hopes to take home a Best Actor Oscar for Ali. Sorry Will.
It’s unfortunate that Smith doesn’t have a realistic chance for an Oscar because that means that once again Muslims will have to look beyond the major awards of the evening for any satisfaction. But that’s OK, because this year there are a few films of substance that actually have a shot at winning.
Maybe the most prestigious award that could be won by a film focused on a Muslim issue is Best Foreign Language Film. In this category, No Man’s Land stands as the odds on favorite. Having already won the Golden Globe Award in the same category, it will provide stiff resistance to the darling of the category, Amelie.
Reviewing No Man’s Land for IslamOnline, Hana Siddiqi had the following to say about the film: “A cross between harsh reality and political satire, No Man’s Land is a unique film that gives a somewhat personal understanding of the war in Bosnia from the point of view of some of its most active participants, the soldiers. The violence is not so much graphic and heart wrenching as it is illustrated in the view of the soldiers, making it a quick and in-your-face, sad-but-true reality.”
Perhaps No Man’s Land should win the award for the sheer fact that it deals with such important subject matter from a truly devastating and shameful period in Muslim and European history. However, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Academy over-looked the film in favor of the less substantive French film Amelie.
The dark horse in the Best Foreign Language Film category is Lagaan. In his IslamOnline review of the film, Mohammed Ayub Khan called it “a refreshing portrayal of rustic villagers as protagonists who stand up to the might of British imperialism.”
A movie that strikes personal chords with Indo-Pak Muslims, Lagaan tells the simple story of a colonial era village in India that rallies together for a game of cricket to decide whether they will pay the lagaan, or tax, for the next three years. In the context of this challenge, viewers are introduced to life under British rule, which left Muslims and Hindus alike deprived of dignity.
As interesting as this period piece was though, Lagaan probably doesn’t have the weight with the Academy actually win. But then again, it is an honor to just be nominated.
The only other film up for an award Sunday night that deals with issues of pertinence to Muslims is Promises. Having been a featured attraction at the traveling Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Promises may indeed have just the buzz it needs to win in the Best Documentary Feature category.
Despite criticisms from certain corners of the American Muslim community that the film tries to create a moral equivalence between Palestinians and Israelis, its subject matter – Palestinian and Israeli children – is sure to strike a chord with the Academy during this time of heightened tensions in Palestine. Because of Promises’ timeliness and its ability to elicit from audiences both laughter and tears, it has a very realistic shot at taking home an Oscar.
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