APPLES & ORANGES: The So-Called "Art" of Comparing Art

 

Just a few weeks ago, the social media account of PBS' Great Performances posted that they were going to do a sort of March Madness-esuqe Showtune Showdown which would pit various songs by Stephen Sondheim with selections by Cole Porter.

At first, I was kind of intrigued by this and even ended up sharing a couple of my personal votes on Facebook as the tournament went along.

However, what was sort of surprising me was how quickly I dropped out of even giving my personal votes. The reason? I felt like that the choices to choose from were simply too different and yet each offered something particularly special.

For example, the first battle was between Cole Porter's Night & Day and Sondheim's Send in the Clowns.

                

While Send in the Clowns is certainly one of those overdone songs that even non-musical theatre people know thanks to its Top 40 success, I do very much love it. However, a lot of why I love it depends on the power of emotion of the singer who is interpreting it...which is why I still very much love the original version by Glynis Johns for A Little Night Music as opposed to say the most famous version by Judy Collins.

Whereas something like Night & Day has one of those bouncy jazzy melodies matched with the typical fanciful Porter wordplay. I love both songs for different reasons but ended up going with Porter's piece.

The next battle was:

Porter's In The Still of the Night (and no, this song predated the 50s doo-wop track and has nothing to do with it)

Sondheim's Johanna

In this case, as much as I love Sweeney Todd, I don't really respond to the Anthony/Johanna stuff so I easily voted for Porter yet again.

The third outing was when I gave up:

Porter's You're the Top

Sondheim's Move On

With Sondheim's selection, I have strong attachment to the material as the musical it comes from, Sunday in the Park with George, is my favorite work of Sondheim's at least from an emotional standpoint.

Move On is a duet between the characters of Dot and George that serves as that musical's 11 O'clock number and it packs an emotional punch. I often quote lyrics from that song and think the message of it is profound towards artists of any kind.

And yet...

Porter's You're the Top is, arguably, the epitome of the "list song", in which the characters of Reno Sweeney and Billy Crocker each try to one-up each other with compliments.

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At words poetic, I'm so pathetic
That I always have found it best,
Instead of getting 'em off my chest,
To let 'em rest unexpressed,
I hate parading my serenading
As I'll probably miss a bar,
But if this ditty is not so pretty
At least it'll tell you
How great you are.

You're the top!
You're the Coliseum.
You're the top!
You're the Louvre Museum.
You're a melody from a symphony by Strauss
You're a Bendel bonnet,
A Shakespeare's sonnet,
You're Mickey Mouse.
You're the Nile,
You're the Tower of Pisa,
You're the smile on the Mona Lisa
I'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop,
But if, baby, I'm the bottom you're the top!

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And now, take a look at some of the lyrics from Sondheim's Move On:

[GEORGE]
I want to move on
I want to explore the light
I want to know how to get through
Through to something new
Something of my own

[GEORGE and DOT]
Move on
Move on

[DOT]
Stop worrying if your vision
Is new
Let others make that decision
They usually do
You keep moving on

[DOT and GEORGE]
Look at what you've done Something in the light
Then at what you want Something in the sky
Not at where you are In the grass
What you'll be Up behind the trees...
Look at all the things
You gave to me
Things I hadn't looked at 'til now Let me give to you
Flower in your hat Something in return
And your smile
I would be so pleased... And the color of your hair

[GEORGE]
And the way you catch the light
And the care
And the feeling
And the life
Moving on

[DOT]
We've always belonged
Together!

[GEORGE and DOT]
We will always belong
Together!

[DOT]
Just keep moving on
Anything you do
Let it come from you
Then it will be new
Give us more to see

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As you can see, Move On has a lot of overlapping lyrics and is telling a story within a show that may not have much (if any) context if you are unfamiliar with the material. It also may not appear, at first glance, to be that remarkable in terms of the lyrics. However, it doesn't need to have flashy lyrics...that isn't the point of the moment and Sondheim knew that.

And therein lies the whole issue with comparing art...and I am guilty of it quite a bit.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I adore Sondheim and his work. He had one of the most profound influences on me that one could possibly have...so much so, that even though I didn't know him personally (despite meeting him casually twice), he remains one of the only celebrities I actually cried for when they died. 

I think Patti LuPone recently summed it up best when she made a guest appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in which she stated that it was hard to choose a favorite Sondheim song because everything he wrote was so dependent on the character and story within the world of that musical that it could be hard to narrow down a choice. 

She hit the nail on the head.

I have tried coming up with lists of favorite Sondheim songs and it always changes, or I debate what I am exactly looking for in a song. The same could even be said for his full scores from each show because if you want something more tuneful, you might go for Merrily We Roll Along or if you want something more rhapsodic you might go for A Little Night Music or Sweeney Todd. 

Cole Porter came from an era where musicals weren't exactly concerned about a story. Everything was about the songs first and foremost while character development was arguably second...or maybe even third or fourth. It is kind of horrendous to look at musicals and their librettos from the pre-Oscar Hammerstein Book Musical era.

Porter was one of the only composers of that era who also wrote the lyrics on his own compositions, and he always had a very charming whimsical feel to his material that stands out. His lyrical work often didn't feel as labored as some of his contemporaries like Lorenz Hart, Ira Gershwin, or even the bird-obsessed Norman Rockwell-like work of Oscar Hammerstein.

Porter's music, much like the music of George Gershwin, is simply classic. Some of the best melodies in all of music were created by Porter.

When people have asked me who the best composer of music is, I usually say George Gershwin, but I would argue Porter is a close second. 

And yet here we are once again...comparisons.

Porter and Sondheim each bring something remarkable to the table and it was often impossible to choose a song without going into some kind of Calculus mode. Life is too short for that!

I am especially guilty of doing comparisons with movies all the time...and this particularly comes into play when you factor in award show nominations.

Here is a prime example; these were the Best Picture nominees of 2010:

127 Hours

Black Swan

The Fighter

Inception

The Kids are All Right

The King's Speech **WINNER**

The Social Network

Toy Story 3

True Grit

Winter's Bone

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I am not going to get into a specific debate over the race in terms of whether or not The King's Speech deserved to win (for the record, though: IT DID NOT), but I want to focus on 4 films in particular:

Black Swan, Inception, The Social Network, Toy Story 3

Each of these films brought something to the topic that I responded to in such drastic ways.

Black Swan was psychological thriller about an obsession and was quite dark in its approach.

Inception was a Sci-Fi/Action film that managed to take you into a narrative that managed to both confuse and enthrall all at once.

The Social Network took a story about a rather megalomaniac dweeb and made a courtroom deposition plot become enthralling thanks to such a witty and flashy screenplay.

Toy Story 3 was, perhaps, the biggest surprise for being a third film in a series and surpassing its two predecessors by having such a strong emotional storyline that climaxed to an ending that never ceases to move me every time I see it.

Usually, I narrow this down between the last two films. 

Do I vote with my head and go with the sterling Social Network? 

OR.

Do I vote with my heart and vote for Toy Story 3?

My vote has flip-flopped for the last decade.

And in the end, does it matter?

No!

Will I still debate it?

Probably.

I am only human...a sort of art-obsessed human, but so be it.

I do have to wonder why a lot of us, including myself, do get caught up in comparing everything whether it be theatre or film or TV or music or even something as basic as preferring to buy Peter Pan Peanut Butter over Jif or Skippy. 

The debate can be lively and maybe even a little fun, but it doesn't really solve or solidify anything. Everyone is going to have their own opinions...and sure, someone may read this and think that Cole Porter doesn't deserve to have so much praise and would rather listen to musicals written by Frank Wildhorn. 

I may question your artistic taste, but perhaps I would just keep my mouth shut.

It is also like the whole battle amongst filmmakers who are not fond of the Marvel Cinematic Universe dominance where legendary directors like Martin Scorsese refer to them as "theme park movies".

Movies about superhero worlds, whether they be Marvel or DC, do have potential. Look at Nolan's The Dark Knight, which quite surprised snobby 20-year-old me as having far more merit than I would've ever given a superhero movie credit for. 

And while I do not think Black Panther deserved a Best Picture nomination, it was a cultural touchstone that deserved the attention it got from the public.

And even this year, I was mostly bowled over by Matt Reeves' take on The Batman. 

I don't want to completely discount filmmakers like Scorsese here because I frankly couldn't care less about most of the films from these types of genres, but I do think merit can exist within them. And I have definitely received passionate and somewhat heated feedback from people who were happy to defend them. 

So, I suppose debate can be good. It is certainly better than hiding a lot of your emotions or not having someone to talk to about your experiences witnessing a piece of work.

In the grand scheme, maybe comparisons of multiple works aren't exactly healthy even if we will still always attempt to do it.

I suppose there is a reason why Theodore Roosevelt did once say:

10 Showtunes I Love From Musicals That I Don't Love

 Taking a detour from the film world, welcome back to the stage!

I have done posts about theatre in the past, particularly musicals, and I do always like to dip back into that world from time to time. I find musicals to be an interesting topic because I love a lot of them but many of them don't live up to the same artistic level that straight plays often achieve.

However, the amazing thing about a musical is how you can find yourself loving the music but then you don't connect with anything else. Most musicals, especially those done before the Rodgers & Hammerstein Renaissance of the 40s and 50s, were frivolous pieces that had no real plot or motivation. There was no real desire to tell a story through song...or that wasn't the main goal at least.

For that reason, I won't really focus on a lot of those older shows pre-1940 but what I will be discussing are showtunes that I am quite fond of from musicals that I am NOT fond of as a whole. 

This could mean I dislike the show or it could mean I flat out hate the musical. I can make that clear as I go along on a case by case basis.

I will be choosing 10 showtunes and I will keep it as one showtune from each show, though I may address additional songs from a particular musical if it is worthy of a mention.

This list will be in no particular order...but I will say that 10th selection will be a special case.

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The Spark of Creation from CHILDREN OF EDEN 

(Stephen Schwartz)

-Of all of the musicals on this list, I feel like Children of Eden is the one musical that I have had the most erratic of a relationship with. In terms of composers, Stephen Schwartz is someone that tends to have more hits than misses but he also suffers from a lot of filler.

Children of Eden is a musical that Schwartz himself is quite fond of and considers it to be his finest work...and I actually could understand that argument. The biggest problem with the show is that it feels incredibly bloated and it is held up barely by a very weak Book.

To sum up the show, Act 1 revolves around the story of Adam & Eve leading up to the feud of their children Cain & Abel while Act II goes into Noah and his family on the Ark.

"The Spark of Creation" is sung by Eve as she falls in love with the surroundings of her beautiful garden and will be followed by the Serpent's temptation.

You can hear a lot of Wicked influences in this score, and I think with this song, in particular, you can hear hints of something like "The Wizard and I".

The most famous production in the States came from NJ's Paper Mill Playhouse circa 1998 which led to a cast recording with Stephanie Mills playing Eve. Here, she tackles the song:

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Lonely Room from OKLAHOMA

(Rodgers & Hammerstein)

-There is only one production I ever auditioned for and got cast in that I regret ever doing it and feel it offered zero value to my theatrical goals. I have been in productions I loathed (one is even coming up next), but I cannot begin to say how little joy I felt doing Oklahoma. On closing night, there was no sadness...just complete relief. I think some of the only joy came from the comradery behind the scenes.

Oklahoma may be important in the history of the development of dramatic musical theatre, but as a show, I still think its trapped in very old-fashioned ideas and has a group of characters I care absolutely nothing about.

However, Jud Fry is such a dark and menacing character and after a whole act of featuring rather ho-hum material, the whole scene with Jud and Carly manages to give us the most intriguing dynamic yet. When Jud is left alone, he sings about the absolute despair he feels and the musicality of it is so tense that it is hard to believe that this was the same man who had just written the music for shows like Pal Joey and The Boys from Syracuse.

The best version of this song belongs to Shuler Hensley, who won the Tony in 2002 for his performance and, frankly, he couldn't have been more perfect.

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Ten Minutes Ago from CINDERELLA

(Rodgers & Hammerstein)

-I had the immense displeasure of acting in a production of Cinderella in college...to further add to the misery that had been brought upon me when I would've been in the ensemble of Oklahoma that previous summer.

I never minded the 1950 Disney film but it wasn't one of my favorites. I didn't think much of the R&H version either...and I recall being made to sit through a regional theatre production of it on a school trip back around 2000. 

It is such a bland and trite piece of work that certainly stands out as being mawkish among the other efforts that were written by Hammerstein, who is truly the Grandfather of the Modern American Musical.

Seriously...what in God's name is a lyric like "Do I love you because you're beautiful...or are you beautiful because I love you?"

I have seen some very beautiful people before and guess what? Didn't love them...in fact, in some cases I thought they were horrible human beings!

At any rate, prior to that ridiculous song, the Prince and Cinderella duet on "Ten Minutes Ago" which starts off with a rather basic setup in which the two converse over the effect they had on each other in such a short span of time.

Even as a young kid sitting watching a production in 2000, something about this delicate waltz just stood out to me. 

I think my favorite rendition has to be from the 1997 TV version starring Brandy.

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You've Got Possibilities from IT'S A BIRD, IT'S A PLANE, IT'S SUPERMAN

(Charles Strouse & Lee Adams)

-Not only is it weird that there is a musical about Superman, what is even more weird is that Superman is practically a supporting character in his own show.

When the musical premiered, it became more of a vehicle for dashing Jack Cassidy fresh off his Tony Award-winning portrayal as the original Stephen Kodaly in She Loves Me. Cassidy would play the cad-like Max, who is a fellow columnist at The Daily Planet who is vying for the attention of Lois Lane.

However, amongst this rather bizarre plot involving a romantic triangle and a scientist who loses the Noble Prize ten times is Linda Lavin as Sydney who sings the now-cabaret standard "You've Got Possibilities" in which she claims to Clark Kent that there is something underneath his dorky aesthetic.

Her recording of the song also got a random boost over publicity back in the 00s when it was featured in a series of commercials for Pillsbury products. Maybe you will recognize it here...if you aren't bowled over by the brilliant comic vocals of Linda Lavin.

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Screw Loose from CRY BABY

(Adam Schlesinger & David Javerbaum)

-I don't even know that I can fairly comment on a lot of Cry Baby anymore. It just so coasted under the radar and was relatively unremarkable...and yet it still managed to get some Tony nominations, including one for Best Musical.

However, one aspect of the show I do remember well is that Ali Mauzey as Lenora.

Mauzey would go on to play roles like Glinda in Wicked and even play Sydney in It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman doing a lovely job with "You've Got Possibilities"...but this was when I first discovered her...displaying her quirky weirdness in all its glory.

 

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Meadowlark from THE BAKER'S WIFE 

(Stephen Schwartz)

-The legend behind the out-of-town tryout of The Baker's Wife is epic. It doesn't hurt that Patti LuPone was involved with it, because that allows a lot of venting of the horrors to be put out into the world.

With this musical, we have yet another score by Stephen Schwartz. As I sort of stated when discussing Children of Eden, I think Schwartz might be the prime example of a composer who always seems to be linked to rather erratic or flawed projects but most of his work tends to shine through...and yes, I do include Wicked among the flawed group.

The Baker's Wife may be a show that suffers from a rather messy Book and ensemble numbers that are too bloated but most of the score is actually quite lovely.

Songs like "Where is the Warmth?" or "Meadowlark" have managed to find extensive life in the decades sense...and in the case of "Meadowlark", I have also dubbed it my favorite showtune in the past. 

I don't know if I would say it is the lyrics, but it is more so the melody/arrangement that drives it. When done well, this song can make me leap to my feet.

My favorite rendition of this, thanks to both the performance and the orchestra, is the divine Liz Callaway singing it at Carnegie Hall.

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Fifty Percent from BALLROOM

(Billy Goldenberg/Marilyn and Alan Bergman)

-When looking at the musicals directed and conceived by Michael Bennett, there is something rather bemusing seeing Ballroom smack dab between A Chorus Line and Dreamgirls. 

Based on a telefilm entitled Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, this musical tells the story of a widower (Dorothy Loudon) who ends up falling in love with a married man named Alfred (Vincent Gardenia), whom she meets at a local dance hall.

I find Ballroom to be a show that doesn't offer much, but what it does offer is a solid vehicle for its lead. Dorothy Loudon was coming off a Tony winning performance as the iconic Miss Hannigan in the original production of Annie and here, she gets to perform what might be one of the greatest 11 o'clock numbers in musical theatre history: "Fifty Percent".

Loudon's Bea is a woman who knows what she wants...and there is something rather empowering about seeing this woman not cower to moral expectations.

Here is her rendition from the OBC Recording of Ballroom. I think had it not been for Angela Lansbury's legendary Mrs. Lovett in the same category that Loudon might've won her 2nd for this song alone.

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I Love Betsy from HONEYMOON IN VEGAS

(Jason Robert Brown)

-I want to temper myself when it comes to Jason Robert Brown. 

This is a man who has immense talent and can wow with his material, but he is also a man who can also turn out merely adequate work in subpar musicals.

Very few musicals in recent memory have had such a bizarre response as Honeymoon in Vegas, which was already based off of a forgettable 1992 film that didn't exactly scream out a need for a musical adaptation. However, early response to its out-of-town tryout at Paper Mill was more than positive. In fact, former NYT Theatre critic Ben Brantley gave it a glorious rave.

Then...the show started previews on Broadway which lasted a FULL TWO MONTHS over the holiday season and into the winter. I saw the show very early in its preview run before a lot of the negative buzz took hold, but I found to be a very average and messy show that was mostly held up by some of the score and its performers...and the killer orchestrations done by JRB himself.

The lack of passion for the musical was evident when ticket sales and buzz seemed muted. There were even rumors that co-lead Tony Danza was actually offering to pay his own money to help keep the show open longer, but it closed not long before the end of the season.

The strange thing about the show was it still managed to get prominent attention, even from the likes of Stephen Sondheim, who said he marveled at the classy jazzy tunes and the lyrical wordplay of JRB.

I can't disagree...to an extent. The show was mostly a mess, but the score was still quite tuneful as a whole.

I would even go as far to say the show's opening number is one of the best in recent memory. It does set a great tone at the very least and is performed well by the delightful Rob McClure.

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An English Teacher from BYE BYE BIRDIE 

(Charles Strouse & Lee Adams)

-Speaking of great opening numbers, I have to kind of marvel at how unique it is to have the character of Rosie sing this number as opposed to Albert, who is really the leading character.

Rosie singing about the frustration she feels with Albert abandoning his literary aspirations just so he can write frivolous pop songs for Conrad Birdie sets everything up so perfectly. 

As much as I don't really like BYE BYE BIRDIE as a whole, I do think there are flourishes of good moments, but the sad truth is the show peaks right out of the gate with An English Teacher...and I will always adore Chita Rivera's performance of the song.

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Practically the whole score to ANNIE GET YOUR GUN

(Irving Berlin)

-Okay, sue me...I am cheating with this last one.

If someone were to ask me: Anthony, what is the best example of a musical that really has a lot of problems, but it still has a great score?

Easy.

Annie Get Your Gun.

This is a musical that has gone under multiple revisions in terms of its libretto.

You have lines about wondering how we stole this land from the "Indians" told as a joke, or who could forget the rather horrid "I'm an Indian Too" song sung by Annie?

However, there are several songs in this show that are simply classics:

You Can't Get a Man With a Gun

There's No Business Like Business

Moonshine Lullaby 

An Old Fashioned Wedding

I Got Lost in His Arms

I Got the Sun in the Morning

Anything You Can Do

Irving Berlin was quite possibly one of the more prolific composers to ever live. It was Jerome Kern that once said "Irving Berlin has no place in American music...he IS American music.

God Bless America? Irving Berlin

Easter Parade? Irving Berlin

White Christmas? Irving Berlin

So yes, the musical itself is highly problematic but the majority of the work done by the legendary Irving Berlin is simply just a classic batch of songs.

Here is a sampling:

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A Year Full of "MEH": Anthony's Top 10 Films of 2021

 

So yes...I was not as happy with 2021 as a year for film like I was for 2020.

I had thought there was a lack of excitement of film in 2020, but now I have realized that I didn’t give that year enough credit.

I guess you could say that hindsight is 20/20 for 2020...

Ha. Ha.

...no?

Anyway...moving on...

I didn't feel as much passion for the films this past year like I did for 2020 and especially for 2019 which was one of the best years for film in a very long time.

If you were to judge 2021 as a year of film strictly by the Academy Awards, it looks even worse than it actually is. That reminds of me 2018 when the Academy rewarded films like Green Book, Roma, and Bohemian Rhapsody while ignoring great films like Burning, Shoplifters, First Reformed, or not giving enough Oscars to films that deserved it like The Favourite.

The Best Picture win for Coda this year is one of my least favorite wins in its category...and other nominees like Power of the Dog were overhyped or baffling in its presentation like Licorice Pizza. 

There were certain gems that I do want to call attention to, so I will start off with a few Honorable Mentions and then we will go into the Top 10 proper.

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Honorable Mentions:

tick, tick...Boom! (Lin Manuel Miranda)

A very solid film adaptation of a musical that deserved a lot more recognition than the more famous piece by its composer. 

Oh, and both Andrew Garfield and Robin de Jesus were FANTASTIC in this!

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The Tragedy of Macbeth (Joel Coen)

Joel Coen’s dive into the world of German Expressionist-style or perhaps similarities of early Ingmar Bergman was a sight to behold.

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Dune (Denis Villeneuve)

I’ve never read the novel and only saw the rather bizarre 1984 David Lynch adaptation. Here, I can say that Denis Villeneuve proves he is one of the best filmmakers working today. 

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Summer of Soul...or When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised (Questlove)

A truly entertaining music documentary. It’s a shame it’s moment in the spotlight at the Oscars was overshadowed by that stupid slap.

----

Parallel Mothers (Pedro Almodovar)

Another great outing by the exuberant Almodovar, led by the career-best work of Penelope Cruz.

----

Memoria (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

A haunting film that further proves that Tilda Swinton is an actress who makes such bold and interesting choices in her career.

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#11 - In Front of Your Face 

(Hong Sang-soo)

My final Honorable Mention and my #11 film is perhaps the most obscure selection in some ways.

South Korea has been on a roll in the last few years with films like Parasite and Burning and the streaming series sensation Squid Game. In the case of a movie like In Front of Your Face, it offers a more grounded and genteel approach that might perhaps be a little more universal.

In Front of Your Face is another outing by Hong Sang-soo, whose filmography includes Our Sunhi and Woman is the Future of Man among others. He is a very talented filmmaker though he hasn't had the same widespread appeal and success of other South Korean filmmakers like Lee Chang-dong, Park Chan-wook, or Bong Joon-ho.

This would be my favorite work of his...and it is also his most emotional and assured.

Filmed during COVID and utilizing the setting complete with extras in masks, we meet former actress Sangok (Lee Hye-young) who is living on the futon of her sister Jeongok (Cho Yun-hee) as she is planning to meet with a young director and reconsidering starting up her acting career again.

But Sangok is a woman who carries a lot of hesitancy and weight on her shoulders...and she has to face a lot of personal demons as the film progresses.

When the film premiered to strong but quiet fanfare a year ago at Cannes, David Katz of TheFilmStage referred to Hong's style as being similar to that of German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder, who gave us some of the best films of the 70s such as Ali: Fear Eats the Soul and his magnum opus, The Marriage of Maria Braun.

This is high praise indeed...and I can see the comparison. It is subtle, but it is there. 

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THE LIST!

#10 - L'evenement (Happening)

(Audrey Diwan)

One of my favorite films of 2020 was Eliza Hittman's Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which was about a teenager who travels with her cousin from rural Pennsylvania to New York in order to obtain an abortion.

It was a film that both infuriated and enthralled me in how much someone has to go through all because of truly archaic and ludicrous laws.

In 2021, Audrey Diwan gave us L'evenement which tells the story of a young girl who seeking an abortion in 1960s France.

The film is actually based on a semi-autobiographical novel by Annie Ernaux and focuses on the similarly named Anne played by Anamaria Vortolomei.

Anne gets pregnant and suddenly sees her future of pursuing college slipping away. As she starts to progress further into her pregnancy, she looks to seek to get an abortion when she realizes her life may never be able to recover the way she would like it to...even at the risk of going to prison if caught.

While it didn't quite hit at the same level as Never Rarely Sometimes Always, I can't deny that I was still left angry by the fact that so many lives were negatively affected by such strict laws and religious beliefs.

Also, Anamaria Vortolomei is a young actress I was not familiar with and she most certainly wowed me with this performance. I would've given her an Oscar nomination for sure.

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#9 - The Souvenir Part II 

(Joanna Hogg)

I was very pleased with The Souvenir, which came out in 2019 and I think I actually found myself even more pleased with this follow-up.

The film still focuses on Honor Swinton Byrne's Julie as she recovers from the tumultuous and fraught relationship she had with an older man and puts that energy into making a film for her final school project.

There was something that felt so raw and piercing and deep about The Souvenir Part II. This is a film sequel that was made simply because Joanna Hogg had more of the story to tell and it wasn't a cash grab. Not only that, I feel like Hogg to the concept to a new level by changing up the tone into a meta-filmmaking atmosphere that blurs the line between real-life/fiction. 

Still another sterling performance by Honor Swinton-Byrne and her mother Tilda Swinton is also back to completely steal every scene she is in.

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#8 - Petite Maman 

(Celine Sciamma)

It was going to be hard to top Portrait of a Lady on Fire, but Celine Sciamma followed it up with a really lovely film that takes on another kind of complex female relationship.

Petite Maman revolves around Nelly, an 8-year-old who is deeply affected by the death of her maternal grandmother. When going into the woods to play, Nelly comes across a girl around the same age named Marion.

Marion's cheerful attitude provides great comfort to young Nelly, but when a rainstorm brings playtime to an end, Nelly realizes Marion might have a connection to her that she didn't realize.

Petite Maman is a strong follow-up to a film like Portrait of a Lady on Fire which had a very rhapsodic look at a forbidden lesbian love affair. Here, Sciamma goes off in a rather fanciful and bittersweet direction which shows great range and variety compared to her previous works. I would say this is easily her second strongest outing and she is officially a filmmaker I will gladly be on the lookout for. 

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#7 - Wheel of Fortune & Fantasy

(Ryusuke Hamaguchi)

2021 was a banner year for Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

He hit it big with Drive My Car (stay tuned for more on that film...), but a lot of film critics and fanatics found a lot to really like with his other outing this year: Wheel of Fortune & Fantasy. 

Told in three separate vignettes that are only connected in theme than by its actors, Wheel is a unique offering that has an intriguing first two-thirds and then really strikes with its final third in which two women who are seemingly strangers mistake each other for someone else only to find out that perhaps they can provide a little comfort to each other's lives.

I would argue the movie is more about coincidences or maybe happenstance encounters. 

The first portion tells the story of a love triangle in which two female friends who have a connection to the same man.

The second portion revolves around a college student who uses his older female lover to seduce a college professor whom he felt betrayed him.

The more bitter and sultry angles to these first two portions are certainly well portrayed but it was smart of Hamaguchi to end the film with that heartwarming third story. 

It leaves the film on a rather upbeat high.

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#6 - Titane

(Julia Ducournau)

Speaking of upbeat, Titane is anything but upbeat.

Perhaps one of the more volatile and controversial outings this year, Titane is 2021's Palme D'or winner at the Cannes Film Festival...and its omission from the Academy's shortlist of International Feature films angered many film buffs.

The film begins with young Alexia who is misbehaving in the backseat of her father's car and ends up causing him to crash the car. 

This accident leads to her needing a metal plate installed in her skull and as she leaves the hospital, she shows little interest in her parents but chooses to hug and kiss the car.

We then fast forward to an older Alexia, played by Agathe Rouselle. She is working as show girl for a motor show and seems to attract many suitors...but Alexia is not all what she seems.

I was not prepared for Titane. 

Even when it ended, I wasn't quite sure what I thought of it. I knew it was more positive than negative, but I just found myself intrigued and disgusted and impressed and...to further add to my shock...oddly comforted?

A lot of that comfort stems from the character of Vincent, played by Vincent Lindon, an older man who comes into Alexia's life as the film progresses. 

 I am choosing not to spoil more with this film. 

If you have seen the film before or you don't care about spoilers, you can read my original review of the film here:

ART ISN'T EASY: A Blog About....The Arts!: My Review of Julia Ducournau's TITANE (w/some spoilers) (anthonyjhost.blogspot.com)

This is a film that I recommend with some hesitation because I know it won't be for everyone.

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#5 - Passing 

(Rebecca Hall)

When Passing was first released, I remember the critical praise and buzz surrounding it and the thoughts seemed to be that it could be an outside dark-horse to get a few major Oscar nominations and that Ruth Negga was a frontrunner to win the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress.

Instead, Passing got shut out completely.

Read my original review for Passing here:

ART ISN'T EASY: A Blog About....The Arts!: My Review of Rebecca Hall's PASSING (anthonyjhost.blogspot.com)

Rebecca Hall's writer/directorial debut was sublime and, frankly, the fact she got shafted from recognition all season is nothing short of shameful.

Ruth Negga managed to get nominated for several precursor awards only to get snubbed at the end at the expense of Judi Dench's unremarkable performance in Belfast. Her work as Clare was quite the marvel as she plays the character who is passing herself off as white...and in the process, she really embodies Hall's desire to have the film feel like it has been lost to time.

Negga possesses the spirit of the women who dominated film in the Pre-Code era of Hollywood like Norma Shearer, Clara Bow, Mary Pickford, and Joan Crawford (the Grand Hotel era, not the Mildred Pierce era) and while it may seem a tad jarring at first, once I realized the intention, I was blown away.

Tessa Thompson doesn't quite have that same acting style, but I was blown away by her in this. As Irene, she watches her old friend pass herself off as white while being married to a proud racist who is completely oblivious to his wife's roots.

Thompson was an actress I admired but after this film, I became an unabashed fan. She was royally robbed of an Oscar nomination when I honestly would've considered giving her the win.

Passing was shafted. I hope time will be kind to this movie because the more I think about it, the more ridiculous it seems that it was ignored. Sadly, this won't be the last film on this list that ignored.

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#4 - Judas & The Black Messiah 

(Shaka King)

With how COVID affected the Hollywood system in 2020, many films were pushed to 2021 in hopes that they could have a proper theatrical release date. In the case of a film like Judas & The Black Messiah, it went from a scheduled August 2020 release date to being released simultaneously in theatres and on HBO Max in February 2021. That deemed it eligible for the 2020-2021 Oscar season as they changed the timeline thanks to the pandemic and the delays of some releases.

So yes, Judas & The Black Messiah is technically a 2021 film and it still stands out strong when put next to the films that came out in the remaining months of the year.

My original review for the film is at the following link: https://anthonyjhost.blogspot.com/2021/03/my-review-of-best-picture-nominee-judas.html

One of the many remarkable attributes of the film is its unapologetic take on the story...which is exactly what it needed. For something to revolve around the Black Panthers and particularly Fred Hampton, it needed to have a brash and progressive tone. 

Case in point: Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7 was set during the same time period in the same city and even featured the assassination of Fred Hampton as a subplot. That film was your typical Hollywood neo-liberal fluff with a final third of the film that felt insulting to the Leftist movement and the ideals of the Chicago 7 or the Black Panthers...oh and I will still never get over the sappy and cringe-worthy ending that felt as cliched as anything to come out of a movie in quite some time.

While Judas could've gone a little further, I was still quite impressed that a movie that was distributed by Warner Bros. actually had such a strong progressive edge. It also helps that Hampton's own son and his wife served as consultants on the film...and I admire the work that Shaka King and his team put into it. Read the review at the link provided if you haven't seen the film because I think you should seek it out!

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#3 - The Worst Person in the World 

(Joachim Trier)

Now let's get down to business....

We have reached The Worst Person in the World and with that, we have reached the first film on my top 10 to get a 5/5 rating.

I struggled greatly with this top 3 because in many ways, these three films are all so drastically different and it simply becomes an apples and oranges debate. 

I almost considered calling The Worst Person in the World my favorite film of the year when I was drafting this list last week...and maybe I will again if you ask me a month from now...but hey, this is just a snapshot after all.

If you read my original review for the film here...

ART ISN'T EASY: A Blog About....The Arts!: My Review of Joachim Trier's THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD (anthonyjhost.blogspot.com)

...you will see that I had some slight reservations about the pacing and the ending.

I feel less concerned about these criticisms now.

In the end, this film was a cathartic viewing experience and it was truly a delight to discover the brilliance of Norwegian actress Renate Reinsve who gave one of the best performances of the last couple of years in this film.

Joachim Trier gave us his best film yet and it was considered the final installment of his Oslo Trilogy. 

Consider seeking this one out, especially if you like films of the romantic variety that have a cynical edge of sorts.

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#2 - Drive My Car

(Ryusuke Hamaguchi)

The single deserving Best Picture nominee this year was...and it probably isn't a shock to those who know me that I would consider this film as such...Drive My Car, the nearly 3-hour long Japanese film about a theatre director/actor who is looking to put up a multi-lingual production of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima.

Our lead, Yusuke (Hidetoshi Nishijima) is also suffering from the abrupt death of his wife, Oto (Reika Kirishima), a screenwriter who tends to conceive her stories during sex. Prior to her death, Yusuke discovers her sleeping with a younger actor named Koji (Masaki Okada), but she never learns he witnessed it.

It is two years after her death that he accepts a residency at a Hiroshima theatre and chooses to do Uncle Vanya. As part of his contract, the theatre insists he be driven by a chauffeur to and from the theatre as the commute is roughly an hour. He, at first, chooses to use the car rides to listen to cassette tapes of his wife telling stories to inspire him only to discover that the lady driving him, Misaki (Toko Miura), may prove to be able to reach him during this time of grief.

Drive My Car might be one of the best portrayals of grief that I have seen in a film. As I stated in my original review (which you can find here: ART ISN'T EASY: A Blog About....The Arts!: My Review of Ryusuke Hamaguchi's DRIVE MY CAR (anthonyjhost.blogspot.com), Hidetoshi Nishijima and Toko Miura both give marvelous performances as people dealing with grief and a lot of repressed emotions. It is the best example of grief on film since Juliette Binoche in Krystof Kieslowski's Blue. 

Also, Masaki Okada as the young and virile actor Koji is another performance that deserved more attention than it got. He gives a very sterling monologue in the middle of the film that was such an enthralling moment.

Drive My Car managed to get nominations for Best Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and International Feature.

 It won the latter. It should've taken the other 3 too but aside from Campion's Directing win, it lost the other two to Coda...

Excuse me while I go break something in protest.

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#1 - C'mon C'mon

(Mike Mills)

For the last 3 years, I chose a foreign film as my #1 selection. I frankly could've easily done it this year too and it would've made sense as both Drive My Car and The Worst Person in the World have been showered with praise with many critics calling both of them the best the year had to offer.

Maybe this will change, but there was just this extra dash of warmth and heart and just all-around strong filmmaking that led me to giving Mike Mills' C'mon C'mon my vote for the best film of 2021.

It's not a long movie, it is not an epic movie, and it doesn't even really deal with any insane or bombastic topics.

It's a movie about familial relationships and we get to watch an actor like Joaquin Phoenix connect on a such a deep level with the young Woody Norman (who, by the way, has a very posh British accent in real life and you wouldn't know that at all watching him in this. He does a better job at mimicking an American accent than most adults!) and I loved seeing Gaby Hoffman get a role like this as she is a truly underrated character actress. She conveys such warmth while also showing her character's tired and nervous energy.

The greatness of Phoenix almost goes without saying, but I do think young Woody Norman easily gives one of the greatest performances I have ever seen by a child onscreen

Here is a link to my original review, where I go into a little more detail: 

ART ISN'T EASY: A Blog About....The Arts!: My Review of Mike Mills' C'MON C'MON (Starring Joaquin Phoenix) (anthonyjhost.blogspot.com)

I am truly saddened that this film has not managed to receive the exposure it deserves, and I would hope that over time, many will come to discover it and love it just as much as I did.

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IN CONCLUSION:

2021 as a Year in Cinema may not have excited me as much as other years have, but these films are certainly admirable efforts...particularly my top 3. 

I do have high hopes for 2022 as so many prominent filmmakers have movies lined up to be released this year: David Cronenberg, Park Chan-wook, Martin Scorsese, Yorgos Lanthimos, Sarah Polley, Hirokazu Kore-ada, Darren Aronofsky, Florian Zeller, Maria Schrader, and Steven Spielberg just to name a few. 

Until then, I will have to revisit these films and see if my opinions may have changed for better or worse.