A historic roar erupted Sunday night at the聽92nd annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles as a century of international filmmakers finally breathed a sigh of relief.
South Korean master Bong Joon-ho did what the Bergmans, Fellinis and Truffauts couldn’t, as the thriller “Parasite” became the first foreign-language film ever to win Best Picture, upsetting 鈥�1917,鈥� 鈥淔ord v. Ferrari,鈥� 鈥淭he Irishman,鈥� 鈥淛oker,鈥� 鈥淛ojo Rabbit,鈥� 鈥淟ittle Women,鈥� 鈥淢arriage Story鈥� and 鈥淥nce Upon a Time in Hollywood.”
It was a watershed moment for The Academy, which has traditionally favored English flicks. Michel Hazanavicius’ Best Picture “The Artist” (2011) was technically a French production, but it was a silent film with no language, while Bernardo Bertolucci’s Best Picture “The Last Emperor” (1987) was mostly English despite some Mandarin.
“This is the very first Oscar to South Korea,” Joon-ho said. “I will drink until next morning!”
“Parasite” won four Oscars total, including Best International Feature, Best Original Screenplay and聽Best Director, as Joon-ho upset Sam Mendes (“1917”),聽Martin Scorsese (鈥淭he Irishman鈥�), Todd Phillips (鈥淛oker鈥�) and Quentin Tarantino (鈥淥nce Upon a Time in Hollywood鈥�).
Many thought the directing prize would go to Golden Globe champ Mendes for聽filming “1917” to聽appear as an immersive single-take, an approach that paid dividends for Alejandro G. Inarritu in “Birdman” (2014).聽While the trick won an Oscar for “1917” cinematographer Roger Deakins, it wasn’t enough to topple “Parasite,” which kept us guessing every step of the way in a timely social commentary on class divides.
As expected, Joaquin Phoenix won聽Best Actor for his creepy yet heartbreaking performance in “Joker,” defeating聽Adam Driver (鈥淢arriage Story鈥�), Antonio Banderas (鈥淧ain & Glory鈥�), Jonathan Pryce (鈥淭he Two Popes鈥�) and Leonardo DiCaprio (鈥淥nce Upon a Time in Hollywood鈥�).
The win marked Phoenix’s first Oscar after three prior nominations for 鈥淕ladiator鈥� (2000), 鈥淲alk the Line鈥� (2005) and 鈥淭he Master鈥� (2012), not to mention 鈥淗er鈥� (2013). It also makes him聽the second actor to win in the Joker role after Heath Ledger’s posthumous win for “The Dark Knight” (2008).
“When he was 17, my brother wrote this lyric: ‘Run to the rescue with love and peace will follow,'” Phoenix said, dedicating his award to late brother River Phoenix.
Also expected, Ren茅e Zellweger won Best Actress for her role as an aging Judy Garland in “Judy,” defeating Charlize Theron (鈥淏ombshell鈥�), Cynthia Erivo (鈥淗arriet鈥�), Saoirse Ronan (鈥淟ittle Women鈥�) and Scarlett Johansson (鈥淢arriage Story鈥�).
The win completes a fairytale comeback story for Zellweger 16 years after her Supporting Actress win for “Cold Mountain” (2003).
“This past year of conversations celebrating Judy Garland across genders, across generations and across cultures has been a really cool reminder that our heroes unite us,” Zellweger said.
Brad Pitt won Best Supporting Actor for his role as a Hollywood stuntman in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” defeating a crop of living legends in聽Anthony Hopkins (鈥淭he Two Popes鈥�), Al Pacino (鈥淭he Irishman鈥�), Joe Pesci (鈥淭he Irishman鈥�) and Tom Hanks (鈥淎 Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood鈥�).
While Pitt had previously won for producing “12 Years a Slave” (2013), he had never won for acting despite a career of “Thelma & Louise” (1991), “Se7en” (1995), “Fight Club” (1999), “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001), “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (2008), “Inglourious Basterds” (2009), “Moneyball” (2011) and “The Tree of Life” (2011).
“I’m not one to look back, but this has made me do so,” Pitt said. “I think of my folks taking me to the drive-in to see ‘Butch & Sundance,’ loading up my car and moving out here, Geena [Davis] and Ridley [Scott] giving me my first shot [in ‘Thelma & Louise’], to all the wonderful people I’ve met along the way. ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,’ ain’t that the truth.”
Laura Dern won Best Supporting Actress as the divorce lawyer in “Marriage Story,” defeating Florence Pugh (鈥淟ittle Women鈥�), Kathy Bates (鈥淩ichard Jewell鈥�), Margot Robbie (鈥淏ombshell鈥�) and Scarlett Johansson (鈥淛ojo Rabbit鈥�).
The win marks her long overdue first win after a prolific career of “Blue Velvet” (1986), “Jurassic Park” (1993) and “Big Little Lies” (2017). Her father, Bruce Dern, never won despite two nominations, while her mother, Diane Ladd, never won despite three nominations.
“Some say never meet your heroes, but I say, if you’re really blessed, you get them as your parents,” Dern said. “I share this with my acting heroes, my legends, Diane Ladd and Bruce Dern. … This is the best birthday present ever!”
As for screenwriting, Best Original Screenplay went to the aforementioned “Parasite,” defeating Noah Baumbach (鈥淢arriage Story鈥�),聽Rian Johnson (鈥淜nives Out鈥�), Sam Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns (鈥�1917鈥�), and Quentin Tarantino (鈥淥nce Upon a Time in Hollywood鈥�).
Best Adapted Screenplay went to Taika Waititi’s “Jojo Rabbit,” defeating聽Greta Gerwig (鈥淟ittle Women鈥�), Steve Zaillian (鈥淭he Irishman鈥�), Anthony McCarten (鈥淭he Two Popes鈥�), and Todd Phillips and Scott Silver (鈥淛oker鈥�). The New Zealand native dedicated his win to other dreamers around the world.
“I dedicate this to all the indigenous kids in the world who want to do art and dance and write stories,” Waititi said. “We are the original storytellers and we can make it here, as well.”
Hildur Gu冒nad贸ttir won Best Original Score for “Joker,” while聽Elton John and Bernie Taupin won Best Original Song for “(I’m Gonna) Love Me Again” from “Rocketman.” Sir Elton had previously won for “The Lion King,” but it was the first win for his longtime songwriting partner Taupin.
“Ford v. Ferrari” dominated the technical categories with Best Film Editing and Best Sound Editing. “1917” won Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing and Best Visual Effects. “Little Women” won Best Costume Design, “Bombshell” won Best Hair & Makeup, and “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” won Best Production Design for its recreation of 1960s Hollywood.
“Toy Story 4” won Best Animated Film, just like “Toy Story 3” (2010). The beloved franchise probably would be four-for-four right now, but the category didn’t exist for “Toy Story” (1995) and “Toy Story 2” (1999) as it wasn’t invented until “Shrek” (2001).
“American Factory” won聽Best Documentary, following a聽Chinese billionaire who opens a factory in an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring 2,000 Americans.
Netflix’s “The Irishman” was the only Best Picture nominee not to win a single award, as voters either found the epic to be too long or voted against streaming content.
Instead, it was “Parasite” that left the biggest impact, becoming just聽the third Cannes’ Palme d’or champ to win Oscar’s Best Picture after “The Lost Weekend” (1945) and “Marty” (1955). It gloriously pulled聽off a feat that we rarely see on Oscar night — the best film actually won.
Jason ranked “Parasite” his No. 1 movie of the year. Read his review聽here.
