European Film Awards 2006 at european-films.net
December 2nd, 2006 by Andre Soares
Boyd van Hoeij in the excellent european-films.net:
"The real battle seems to between Volver (also known as ‘the surprise looser’ [sic] at Cannes) and Das Leben der Anderen, which has been a surprise hit everywhere it was shown and raided the national German film prizes, the Lolas, earlier this year. It did not play at any major European festival (which Variety noted in its review of the film as particularly odd) but has won numerous prizes (including three Audience Awards) at smaller festivals. The two films also both have the most EFA nominations in total: six each."
In his Dec. 1 article, van Hoeij predicts the winners of the 2006 European Film Awards. (The ceremony is being held — at this very moment — in Warsaw.) In addition to listing the likely winners, van Hoeij also lists those who, in his opinion, should win.
Though I generally agree with his list of likely winners, I part ways with him when it comes to who should win. Van Hoeij is clearly a Das Leben der Anderen / The Lives of Others fan. Personally, in spite of an intriguing premise I found the German spy melodrama overlong and much too conventional. Directed by first-timer Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, Das Leben der Anderen revolves around a spy (Ulrich Mühe) working for the Stasi, East Germany’s feared state police, who begins to question both the ethics of his job and his allegiance to the Communist Party.
However, I must admit that most critics — and perhaps most filmgoers — are on van Hoeij’s side. Das Leben der Anderen has received excellent notices, it won seven Lola Awards earlier this year, and was enthusiastically applauded at the AFI FEST in Los Angeles last month.
I’ve only seen four of the six nominees for Best European Film, and of those Volver would be my pick. As far as I’m concerned, Pedro Almodóvar’s melodramatic comedy about redemption, mother love, and Anna Magnani hairdos is the best film I’ve seen in 2006 — though tied with Alain Resnais’s haunting Coeurs / Private Fears in Public Places. (For the record: The two Best European Film nominees I haven’t yet seen are The Wind That Shakes the Barley and Breakfast on Pluto.)
Full list of 2006 European Film Awards Nominees and Winners
Lou Ye’s SUMMER PALACE Controversy in Belgrade
Sundance Film Festival 2007 - World Cinema Competition: Dramatic
Sundance Film Festival 2007 - World Cinema Competition: Documentary
Sundance Film Festival 2007 - Independent Film Competition: Narrative
Sundance Film Festival 2007 - Independent Film Competition: Documentary
2 Responses to “European Film Awards 2006 at european-films.net”
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Little Miss Sunshine is the first film that I’ve seen in over a decade [don't get out that often] that made me laugh out loud. I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. A mush free movie. [translation = no sentimental slush]
“Van Hoeij is clearly a Das Leben der Anderen / The Lives of Others fan. Personally, in spite of an intriguing premise I found the German spy melodrama overlong and much too conventional.”
Yes and no. I liked (note: not LOVED) Das Leben der Anderen a great deal, and I appreciated what it tried to do. Incidentally, your description of Das Leben is an apt description of my feelings about Volver: I liked it as well, but it takes too long to get going: the beginning is a mess (except for the “girls trouble” joke) and the whole first third feels like a sophomore De La Iglesia film.
Also, for an Almodovar picture, I prefer him to be less conventional, which does not simply mean adding crossdressers or transsexuals, but something of the moral ambiguity that made Hable con ella and La mala educacion such intriguing films; both were superior films because of it. With Volver it was never a secret how things were going to turn out for the characters (apart from the unravelling of the ghost story, which has no emotional resonance to speak of).
Neither Das Leben der Anderen or Volver (or any of the Best Film nominees for that matter - I’ve seen them all) are in my soon to be published year-end top ten. Generally, I would have nominated much less mainstream fare, though there are two mainstream films in said top ten, just not any of the EFA nominees… (some of the titles in my top ten were released too late to be considered for EFA nomination).