This is the year the Oscars found God – but can they keep the faith?
From Conclave to The Brutalist to A Real Pain, films about religion are unusually well represented at the Academy Awards – some with decidedly unorthodox themes
• Warning: contains spoilers
What Tony Blair’s former spin doctor Alastair Campbell said of New Labour – “We don’t do God” – applies also to the Academy Awards. The secular gong-dispensing rite annually sweeps religion off its proverbial red carpet. The last best picture winner to deal with the subject was 2015’s Spotlight, which hardly proselytised for organised religion – it dramatised the Boston Globe’s investigation into sexual abuse in the Catholic church. You have to go back to 1973 to find a movie with a priestly protagonist that really beguiled the Academy: William Friedkin’s horror movie The Exorcist received 10 Oscar nominations, winning awards for screenplay and sound.
This year, though, may be different. Two leading contenders, The Brutalist (10 nominations) and Conclave (eight), put faith front and centre. And let’s not forget the perversely charming Holocaust road-trip movie, A Real Pain, shortlisted for best original screenplay and best supporting actor, for Kieran Culkin. If not exactly a meditation on Judaism, Jesse Eisenberg’s film is a beguilingly thoughtful musing on Jewish identity from a self-consciously privileged actor-director whose ancestors survived the Holocaust. A Real Pain serves as a reflection on transgenerational trauma and the meaning of religion after Nazi genocide.
Continue reading...Topics
-
Oscars flashback: Documentaries about children prevailed 20 years ago
'Born Into Brothels' and a short about children marching during the civil rights era won Oscar gold in 2005.Los Angeles Times - 2d -
119-year-old bottle found behind crown above theatre stage
A theatre-lover was "astonished" to find a 119-year-old message in a bottle during a tour.BBC News - 3h -
MLS award predictions: Can Lionel Messi win MVP with Inter Miami, and Gregg Berhalter's coach of the year case
Plus which L.A. star will lead the league in scoring, and what high-profile signing is set to flopCBS Sports - 6h -
UK court refuses to say financier acted in 'good faith' in Vatican deal but says he wasn't dishonest
A British court has largely backed the Vatican and refused to declare that a London-based financier acted in “good faith” in his dealings involving the Holy See’s investment in a London propertyABC News - 9h -
Oscars flashback: Charlie Kaufman expresses 'Eternal' gratitude
Two years after pulling off a creative double nomination, Charlie Kaufman joined the winner's circle with his screenplay for 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'Los Angeles Times - 15h -
Vance keeps Senate budget plan alive
Politico - 2d -
Why the Price of Gold Keeps Going Up
The precious metal, considered a haven asset, is usually sought out by investors during times of turmoil.The New York Times - 6h -
Rubiales found guilty of sexual assault of Hermoso
Spain's High Court said on Thursday it had found former football federation boss Luis Rubiales guilty of kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent and set a fine of over €10,000 ...ESPN - 14h -
Salman Rushdie attacker found guilty of attempted murder
The man who attacked author Salman Rushdie while he was on stage at a 2022 lecture in New York was found guilty of attempted murder charges. Legal analyst and trial attorney Robin Nunn joins CBS ...CBS News - 5h
More from The Guardian
-
Trump removes Ice chief amid apparent frustration over rate of deportations
Caleb Vitello reassigned as administration reportedly unhappy at slow rate of arrests and deportations. Donald Trump’s presidential administration has reassigned its top official at US Immigration ...The Guardian - 4h -
US envoy to Ukraine hails Zelenskyy as ‘embattled and courageous leader’
Keith Kellogg takes different tone from Trump, who contrasted ‘very good talks’ with Putin with cooler relationship with Ukraine’s leader. The US envoy to Ukraine, Gen Keith Kellogg, has praised ...The Guardian - 1h -
Man stabbed at Berlin’s Holocaust memorial days before crucial election
German police have arrested a suspect after attack on Spanish tourist and say they have not yet found a motive. German police have arrested a man suspected in a stabbing attack at Berlin’s ...The Guardian - 6h -
Brazilian city in Amazon declares emergency after huge sinkholes appear
In Buriticupu, about 1,200 people risk losing their homes, and residents have seen the problem escalate in 30 years. Authorities in a city in the Brazilian Amazon have declared a state of ...The Guardian - 4h -
Israel-Hamas swap to go ahead despite claim child hostages were killed with ‘bare hands’
Ceasefire deal still on track amid uproar over fate of two Israeli boys and false return of their mother’s body. Israelis and Palestinians are bracing for another tense exchange of hostages, ...The Guardian - 9h
More in World
-
Extreme fire danger across most of South Australia and Victoria as cyclones threaten to form near Queensland and WA
Weather bureau forecasts temperatures as high as 39C in Adelaide, 36C in Melbourne, 30C in Canberra and 29C in Hobart. Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Extreme ...The Guardian - 45m -
Links to Rwanda fuel discrimination against DR Congo's Tutsis
Yahoo News - 1h -
US judge temporarily blocks Trump’s anti-DEI purge
Adam Abeldon rules that president’s efforts to ban DEI programs likely violate first amendment of constitution. A federal judge in Maryland on Friday temporarily blocked Donald Trump from ...The Guardian - 1h -
Hamas says it has handed body of Shiri Bibas to the Red Cross
Yahoo News - 1h -
US envoy to Ukraine hails Zelenskyy as ‘embattled and courageous leader’
Keith Kellogg takes different tone from Trump, who contrasted ‘very good talks’ with Putin with cooler relationship with Ukraine’s leader. The US envoy to Ukraine, Gen Keith Kellogg, has praised ...The Guardian - 1h
