The San Diego Film Critics Society tends to go its own way when it comes to year-end film awards. For instance, last year most critics' groups chose Brokeback Mountain as the best film of 2005. The San Diego Film Critics, for their part, opted for King Kong. Hardly a superior choice, but different nonetheless. Other more esoteric picks include Almost Famous as the best film of 2000 and Vera Drake as their top choice for 2004. To a large extent, the San Diego critics' picks for 2006 demonstrate their continual avoidance of groupthink.
Even though the best film, best director, and best actress categories were filled with expected names — Letters from Iwo Jima and its director, Clint Eastwood, in addition to Helen Mirren for The Queen — several other top winners were total surprises.
Ken Takakura was voted the best actor of 2006 for his performance as a Japanese man who travels through China while trying to come to terms with his dying son in Zhang Yimou's Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (top photo) — which also happened to be the group's surprising pick for best foreign-language film.
The best supporting actor was Ray Winstone (right), who plays a military man in the Australian Western The Proposition, while Lili Taylor won as best supporting actress for her role as a barfly in the Norwegian/German/American co-production Factotum.
Edward Norton, whose films have been largely ignored by most critics' groups, was given the Body of Work Award for his performances in The Illusionist, Down in the Valley, and The Painted Veil.
Jason Reitman's Thank You for Smoking (adapted) screenplay has been honored elsewhere, but Karen Moncrieff's original screenplay win for The Dead Girl (above, with Toni Collette), about the mystery surrounding a young woman's death, was a first.
So far, no luck, but I'm still hoping to find Penélope Cruz's name listed as the best actress of the year by at least one U.S. critics' group. True, Penélope Cruz could never have played Queen Elizabeth II as stiff-upper-lippedly as Helen Mirren. But then again, Helen Mirren could never have played Anna Magnani as exuberantly sensual as Penélope Cruz.
And between the Queen of England and the Queen of Italian Cinema, I'd most definitely choose the latter.