Oscars 2023: Running the Gauntlet

and here... we... go!

30 minutes. At dawn¹ for a mere half hour, the film world sits on the edge of anxiety as they wait to hear their name or project called. Excitement. Frustration. Elation. Disappointment. All within the span of one episode of Seinfeld.² A myriad of reactions but this is customary— we like to say we hate it, but we don’t. At least not entirely.

Obviously, to have the most informed opinion, you have to watch the movies nominated. A novel idea, I’m aware, but the shocking amount of certified members of the Academy that don’t care (or simply refuse) to watch the nominees is staggering.

At the time of writing and publishing this piece, I have seen 51% of the 2023 Oscar Nominees. 28 of 54. A respectable number for most, but I admittedly expected it to be in the 65-68% range. I blame the low(er) percentage on my dedication to watching far too many superfluous Netflix releases.³

Below are the remaining films I need to watch and the respective categories they are nominated in. The tentative plan is to provide a weekly update of my gauntlet run, giving quick thoughts and reflections prior to submitting my official predictions.

• To Leslie- Best Lead Actress nominee Andrea Riseborough⁴

• Living- Best Lead Actor nominee Bill Nighy

• All That Breathes- Best Documentary nominee

• A House Made of Splinters- Best Documentary nominee

• Argentina 1985- Best International Film nominee

• The Quiet Girl- Best International Film nominee

• Close- Best International Film nominee

• Tell It Like a Woman- Best Original Song Nominee- Applause

• Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths- Best Cinematography nominee

• Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris- Best Costume Design nominee

• The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse- Best Animated Short nominee

• The Flying Sailor- Best Animated Short nominee

• Ice Merchants- Best Animated Short nominee

• My Year of Dicks- Best Animated Short nominee

• An Ostrich Told Me The World is Fake and I Think I Believe It- Best Animated Short nominee

• The Irish Goodbye- Best Live-Action Short nominee

• Ivalu- Best Live-Action Short nominee

• Le Pupille- Best Live-Action Short nominee

• The Red Suitcase- Best Live-Action Short nominee

• Night Ride- Best Live-Action Short nominee

• The Elephant Whisperers- Best Documentary Short nominee

• Haulout- Best Documentary Short nominee

• How Do You Measure a Year?- Best Documentary Short nominee

• The Martha Mitchell Effect- Best Documentary Short nominee

• Stranger at the Gate- Best Documentary Short nominee

The Oscar Gauntlet is a harrowing task, only for the brave⁵ and the bold.⁶ It will test your mind, body, and your soul— it will consume your thoughts and push you to the cusp of madness. I can’t make any promises that you won’t lose friends or family, it is a risk you must be willing to take.

With all that said, there is no judgment passed (at least by me) on how you tackle these movies if you do decide to embark on this quest. Ultimately, any step towards exploring unfamiliar and new film territory is always a step in the right direction.

However, I would be remiss not to at least strongly encourage people to seek out the short films. Many are free online, some have a nominal paywall, and some are on popular streaming platforms as I write. Too often they are ignored and relegated to a “lesser” art form compared to their cohorts, but I have found that binging the shorts has been as rewarding as watching many of the nominated feature films.

For the Letterboxd gremlins, if you choose to track via Letterboxd, I have created a list of all nominees for easy tracking. You can find it here.

My expectations:

• to cry watching a few of the documentaries and shorts⁷

• to secretly⁸ stan Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

• to go through a phase where I feel inspired and tell myself, maybe one day I’ll make a documentary, but then do absolutely nothing about it.

Godspeed and happy watching!

1. It may not have been dawn for anyone outside of the west coast, but as a born and raised Californian, no other place exists except Southern California. It is arrogant, I admit that, but I live with this arrogance.

2. I could have chosen any 90s sitcom here. But I intentionally chose Seinfeld for one reason. Friends is dreadful.

3. Marmaduke. The Bubble. Purple Hearts. Choose or Die. Senior Year. Spiderhead.

4. This is a wild story for an entirely different day.

5. People with no social lives

6. Also people with no social lives

7. I can confirm that this has already happened with the documentary Navalny

8. I really mean publically because at this point I haven’t shied away from expressing my infatuation with Paddington Bear or Tron, why stop with Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris?