On March 12 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, on the evening of the 95th Oscars, one of these five candidates will take the stage to receive the statuette for best director: Steven Spielberg, Ruben Ostlund, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Todd Field and Martin McDonagh. Let’s see their chances of winning.
Also this year, while nominated films for no reason they continue to be 10, half (plus one, this year) remain the directors chosen to compete for theOscar. Which, if we think about it, is at least a contradiction, because the success of a film, commercial or otherwise, is due precisely to the “baton” of the director, a real orchestra conductor who ensures that the many departments that go to compose the final product play in unison. Among those who have been behind the camera of five of the ten nominated films, here is who will compete for the statuette on the night of the 95th Academy Awardsfamiliarly known as the Oscars, on March 12 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
Oscars 2023: the five nominees for best director
- Steven Spielberg per The Fabelmans
- Ruben Östlund per Triangle of Sadness
- Daniel Kwan e Daniel Scheinerts per Everything Everywhere All at Once
- Todd Field per TÁR
- Martin McDonagh for Island Spirits
Steven Spielberg: nomination Oscar 2023 per The Fabelmans
76 years old, author of films that have remained in the history of cinema and unattainable blockbusters, with some fiascos under his belt: among all Oscar nominees of this year, Steven Spielberg he is not only the oldest, but also the director who most represents Hollywood as an entertainment industry. But, oddly enough, this one didn’t shower him with accolades. With The Fabelmans Spielberg collects 22 nominations (including those as producer and screenwriter), 9 if we consider those for directing, but only 2 wins for best director: per Schindler’s List e Save Private Ryan, in our opinion superior films to those made later. This year’s nomination for a film with 7 nominations follows the generous one for his version of West Side Story last year, but we doubt he will take home another statuette, even if his (semi)autobiographical film contains enough rhetoric about the redemptive seventh art, to make the hearts of his peers flutter (not ours, notoriously of stone). Spielberg’s chances of winning the statuette for directing do not seem very high to us, but who knows, the Academy could reserve (for us) a surprise.
Ruben Östlund nomination Oscar 2023 per Triangle of Sadness
The outsider of the year is definitely the Swede Ruben Östlundcandidate for Triangle of SadnessPalme d’Or in Cannes (the second after the one for The Square), which arrives at the Oscars with three important nominations (film, direction and screenplay). But beyond the critical acclaim for this satirical, funny and decidedly “outrageous” story, we doubt it will go further, even if we are pleased that his talent is also recognized overseas. During the Cannes press conference the director said, speaking of his beautiful film: “We wanted to create a sort of roller coaster for adults, something fun, funny and challenging at the same time, which uses cinema as it should be used, that is to say a collective experience, which makes you wonder when you leave the cinema ‘what happened? and give you something to talk about.” And this and his future films will be talked about a lot, Oscar or no Oscar, even if seeing him take the stage would be a real surprise.
Daniel Kwan e Daniel Scheinert nomination Oscar 2023 per Everything Everywhere All at Once
And then there are them, i Danielthat is to say Daniel Kwan e Daniel Scheinert, the incredible phenomenon of this seasonwho with their lysergic, quoting and creative science fiction film, with a rather trivial moral and terribly long, Everything Everywhere All at Once (ben 11 we remember, eleven candidature) earned their place in Heaven after a career in music videos and the fart corpse film by Daniel Radcliffe Swiss Army Man (if you want, here our review). We are, as the writers of would write Boris, F4 or rather stunned, for so much success, which seems a little exaggerated to us. At the Independent Spirit Awards this film by A24 (which is on its way to becoming a real major) won in all the major categories. Surely the authors benefited from the pro-inclusivity climate in Hollywood, from the miraculous return to the cinema of the former child actor Ke Huy Kuan (very good, please) and the performance of the Hong Kong cinema icon (whom we miss so much) Michelle Yeoh. We throw our hands up to the majority, but if anyone deserves an Oscar, in this case, it’s the editor Paul Rogers, who certainly didn’t have our reduced ability to concentrate for such a demanding job. For bookmakers, however, the two Daniels are heavy favourites.
Todd Field nomination Oscar 2023 per TÁR
Per LIBRARYa busy, dense and beautifully challenging film (although as long as the others: it almost seems that today to be successful and be noticed it is a must touch or exceed two hours and a half of duration), Todd Fieldformer actor formerly directed by Woody Allen e Stanley Kubrickreceived his first Best Director nomination, following Screenplay (and Best Picture) nominations for In the Bedroom e Little Animals. Field returns to directing after 15 years and immediately hits the mark. A total of six nominations for the film, for which the director was awarded a BAFTA and which has at its center a story of power, told with the rhythms of a musical score (Field is also an appreciated musician). His chances of taking home the Oscar in this case seem minimal to us, even if some of the film’s six nominations could materialize (who knows if Cate Blanchettstratospheric as usual, will win Michelle Yeoh among actresses?).
Martin McDonagh nominated for an Oscar 2023 for Island spirits
Finally, last but not least, another European director later Ostlund: was born in London, but has his heart in Ireland, the land of his parents, the playwright and screenwriter Martin McDonaghauthor of the film that we preferred among all the candidates, The spirits of the island. It is not his first time at the Oscars, which he won in 2006 for best short film with Six Shooterbut it is for the nomination for best director, after those for screenwriter for Three posters in Ebbing, Missouri, category for which he gets one again this year. McDonagh is a great director of actors: for Three Billboards, Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell won the Oscar and the protagonists of The spirits of the island they are all candidates. But his chances of winning the Oscar for directing for this incredibly poetic and powerful film are, according to analysts, slightly better than those of Todd Field, which does not have much hope. Barring a dramatic turnaround in the last hour, or someone reading the name wrong, it’s very unlikely that Uncle Oscar will end up in his hands.
Whatever happens, it is good to remember that the Oscars, although considered the most prestigious award in the world, are not an indisputable guarantee of quality, so the best way to experience them while having fun is to see them as a game, perhaps by cheering for our favourites, but without being scandalized if they are left empty-handed.
(photo by Steven Spielberg, 2017, by Gage Skidmore; photo by Ruben Östlund, 2014, by Frankie Fouganthin; photo by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, 2016, frame the interviewer’s Swiss Army Man per CalTv: E; photo by Todd Field, 2007, Maggie Jumps; photo by Martin McDonagh, 2012, Tabercil).
