Alan: I just reviewed this year's list of Oscar nominees, and of the films I have not seen, I have hyperlinked the ones that interest me most. (If you want immediate access to that hyperlinked list, go to the bottom of this page.)
Complete List Of Nominees
Generally speaking, the films that made their way to my "personal list" are foreign films, often about poor people "rising magnificently to the occasion of their lives," however simple or "back-water" those lives may be.
The remarkable aspiration and centered dignity of these "stars" are often more evident than they are in the nominated English language movies where, not-infrequently, we are called upon to cheer (or at least "pull for") characters who, in "the front part" of my life, would have been considered villains. (In some way, did America's enduring passion for anti-heroes contribute to the election of Malignant Messiah?)
The remarkable aspiration and centered dignity of these "stars" are often more evident than they are in the nominated English language movies where, not-infrequently, we are called upon to cheer (or at least "pull for") characters who, in "the front part" of my life, would have been considered villains. (In some way, did America's enduring passion for anti-heroes contribute to the election of Malignant Messiah?)
I'm writing this post from my studio apartment in Jalatlaco, Oaxaca, where yesterday, February 5th, I began my daily outing at a well-known urban marketplace I had never visited -- Mercado "La Merced."
Upon arrival, I almost bypassed a hand-written sign, taped to a courtyard wall, informing the public that there would be a celebration of El Niño Jesús at 6 PM, a couple hours hence.
Inside the sprawling pavilion, a fellow who was closing his market stall told me the celebration would include recitation of the rosary, followed by free food.
I spent the intervening hours wandering Oaxaca's streets, taking particular interest in my discovery of an old church dedicated to La Santísima Trinidad de las Huertas -- “huertas” meaning "orchards" or "vegetable gardens."
In the early 1500s, Mixtec people from Oaxaca's hinterland resided in this (formerly) outlying part of the city whenever called upon to render their colonial "labor tax," performing these “tequios” in the rapidly-growing, architecturally-grand colonial capital whose many construction projects required an abundance of bracero labor.
When not actual laboring to discharge the orders of their conquistador over-lords, these Mixtecs resided “en las huertas,” dedicating themselves to the fruit and vegetable trade.
I arrived back at Mercado "La Merced" as dusk darkened the city, one of the first congregants to take my place on a plain wooden bench.
A three-piece band was setting up - genteel fellows sporting elegant magenta shirts, pressed black slacks and fastidiously trimmed, straight black hair.
The focal point of our devotion was the omnipresent market altar, which in this nexus of time-space was dedicated to "Nuestra Señora de La Merced" - Our Lady Of Mercy.
Within half an hour the worship space was "standing room only."
The bass player performed double duty as “leader of the rosary,” and while we prayed, his fellow guitarists sang graceful harmonies.
In my particular section of the worship space, I sat in a circular formation of benches and enjoyed a full hour contemplating women's beautifully-wrinkled faces ... children who reminded me of the dicho that "all kids should have Mexican parents" ... and numerous ankles swollen by the passage of time.
When the rosary concluded, two recently-bereaved women were called to the altar so the assembly might pray for the souls of the departed.
Requiescat in pace.
Immediately after the ceremony, a bowlegged woman handed out yard-long, quarter-inch thick sparklers.
Harkening back to an annual Aztec ceremony in which all fire was extinguished throughout the realm, runners would then carry torches from Tenochtitlán's central altar where new, flint-struck fire had been kindled.
The woman to my left took her sparkler to the vigil candle on the altar, and from that lumbre all other sparklers were lit, spangling the entire space.
Then the convivio! ... the feast of “living together."
To begin, a cup of ponche was distributed, filled with sweet pieces of stewed fruit.
Next came a cup of atole, a pre-Columbian corn-based comfort food, second only to mother’s milk.
Then the tamales wrapped in corn husks - delectably moist, perfectly picante... two neatly-tied packets per person.
Dessert was a gelatin-topped pudding, followed by factory-produced bottles of juice: as luck would have it, mine was nearly iridescent pink guayaba.
And finally, a large, transparent bag of candies and cookies “for the road": it would not be right for anyone to leave empty-handed.
While chowing down, a young Dad named David dandled his-year-old son, Elian, on the bench next to me. The youngster was fascinated by my beard, stroking it time and again, gazing in my eyes, amused by his caricias.
All the while the band played on, culminating with a great rendition of the romantic Mexican classic, "Quizás, Quizás, Quizás." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdJ0KLJ3PmQ
After despidiendome de los pocos “neighbors” who remained, I stopped at a nearby serving station to thank the women who had labored long and hard to make this convivio happen.
Although there was a man in their midst, I said to them: “Siempre son ustedes las mujeres que coordinan estos eventos y nunca reciben el agradecimiento que merecen. Quiero decirles que yo estoy muy agradecido.” (“It’s always women who make these events happen and you never receive the thanks you deserve. I want to tell you that I am very grateful.”)
Lit up by their smiling faces I made my way along the dim corridor and into the night.
Best Foreign Film Nominees
For Sama
The Cave
Corpus Christi
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8649186/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
Pain and Glory
Parasite
(gets the highest Metascore of the films on this list)
Hollywood Film Nominees
Jojo Rabbit
(gets the lowest Metascore of the films on this list)
1917
PS Of the Oscar nominated films I have already seen, those that impressed me most were "A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood," "The Two Popes," "Marriage Story," "Little Women," "Knives Out" and "The Irishman."
Complete List Of Nominees
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