The 95th Academy Awards for films released in 2022 – better known as the Oscars – will take place on Sunday night in Los Angeles. Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the ceremony will be streamed live in India from 5.30am onwards on Monday on Disney+ Hotstar.
Indians have at least three reasons to tune in. Naatu Naatu from SS Rajamouli’s RRR is heavily tipped to win in the original song category. Composed by MM Keeravani, written by Chandrabose, sung by Rahul Sipiligunj and Kaala Bhairava, and choreographed by Prem Rakshith, the earworm will also be performed during the ceremony alongside three of the other nominees in its category (Lady Gaga won’t be performing Hold My Hand from Top Gun: Maverick since she is in the middle of a shoot).
The nominees in the long documentary format include Shaunak Sen’s acclaimed All That Breathes, a chronicle of pollution, bird rescue, and religious identity in present-day India. Kartiki Gonsalves’s The Elephant Whisperers, about a pair of pachyderm protectors, has been nominated for a Documentary Short Film award.
Deepika Padukone is among the presenters for an event that represents the culmination of a long and punishing awards season. Ten films are competing for the biggest prize. Before tuning into the Oscars, here is a last-minute cheat sheet on the movies that have been deemed the “best” of 2022.
While some of the films are being shown in theatres, others are available on streaming platforms. A nominated movie is likely to be removed from cinemas if it doesn’t win any major award.
All Quiet on the Western Front
Where to watch: Netflix.
Edward Berger is the second director to adapt Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 pacifist novel. The first adaptation, by Lewis Milestone, was released in 1930 and is considered one of the greatest war films of all time.
Berger’s version revisits the source novel from the German perspective with which it was written. All Quiet on the Western Front examines the closing weeks of World War I through the traumatised eyes of teenage soldier Paul (Felix Kammerer). Praised for its performances, depictions of trench warfare, and camerawork, the German-language production has gained immense topicality because of Russia’s ongoing military assault on Ukraine.
The Banshees of Inisherin
Where to watch: Disney+ Hotstar.
Martin McDonagh’s existential comedy is about matters small – an old friendship shatters overnight on a whim, causing ripples in an Irish village – and large – the Irish Civil War of 1922-23. The film stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon and barry Keoghan in the main roles.
McDonagh’s screenplay and direction have been widely praised for distilling the essence of conflict, sharply observed characters and a seriocomic study of the Irish psyche. All this plus a miniature donkey named Jenny.
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Where to watch: in cinemas.
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, who jointly direct as Daniels, made their feature debut in 2016 with the surrealist comedy Swiss Army Man, about a corpse that is given a new life by its suicidal possessor. In Everything Everywhere All At Once, Michelle Yeoh plays a Chinese-American laundromat owner whose spot of tax trouble leads into a multiverse that shows her all that she is and all that she could have been or can be.
As Best Picture nominees go, this movie is considered among the most experimental in recent memory, featuring examples of genre-jumping mischief that usually exist on the margins of Hollywood. Apart from Best Picture, the film has 10 more nominations, including best actress for Yeoh.
Tár
Where to watch: in cinemas.
Todd Field (In the Bedroom, Little Children) takes cancel culture head-on through his study of Lydia Tár, a fictitious music composer and conductor who is accused of sexual abuse. The film is noted for its rigorous examination of the debate that is roiling cultural circles: can artists and the art they produce be separated from one another?
Apart from Best Picture, the film also has a nomination for Cate Blanchett in the best actress category.
The Fabelmans
Where to watch it: in cinemas.
Might a septuagenarian ruin the show for the young and upcoming lot? Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, a fictionalised account of his formative years, has seven nominations in heavy-hitting categories – apart from Best Picture, the film is up for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
The Fabelmans stars Paul Dano and Michelle Williams as a Jewish couple whose failing marriage affects their son Sammy. Mitzi (Williams), who encourages Sammy’s amateur filmmaking experiments and drifts away from her husband towards his colleague, exerts an especially deep influence on the future director of Hollywood moneyspinners.
Top Gun: Maverick
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, BookMyShow Stream, Google Play, YouTube Movies, Apple TV+.
Steven Spielberg recently praised Top Gun: Maverick star and co-producer Tom Cruise for having single-handedly saved Hollywood by bringing audiences back into the cinemas. Joseph Kosinski’s sequel to Top Gun (1986) is marked by dazzling aerial feats of flying, Cruise’s dependable screen persona, and a crowd-pleasing vibe.
Avatar: The Way of Water
Where to watch: in cinemas.
James Cameron’s much-awaited sequel to Avatar (2009) has four nominations, three of them in technical categories. Avatar: The Way of Water sees a renewed battle over habitat between the fictitious Na’vi tribe and a military corporation. Cameron’s fantasy adventure, which has been a global blockbuster, is expected to easily win the Visual Effects Oscar at the very least.
Elvis
Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, BookMyShow Stream, Google Play, YouTube Movies, Apple TV+.
Baz Luhrmann’s biopic of Elvis Presley stars British actor Austin Butler in a breakout role as the legendary American singer-songwriter. The film co-stars Tom Hanks as Presely’s controlling manager who exerts an ungodly influence on the impressionable star.
While reviews are divided on Luhrmann’s approach to the material, Butler’s immersion into his role has been roundly praised, earning him a best actor nomination.
Triangle of Sadness
Where to watch: in cinemas.
Reputed Swedish director Ruben Ostlund’s English-language satire takes aim at late-stage capitalism. Triangle of Sadness is set on board a luxury liner that runs into rough weather and worse, exposing the true nature of its passengers. Fans of the movie have praised its acerbic wit, performances, and commentary on the limited horizons of the one per cent.
Women Talking
Actor-director Sarah Polley’s Women Talking is considered the most unassuming entry among the Best Picture nominees. Polley, adapting Miriam Toews’s 2018 novel of the same name, confronts longstanding sexual abuse among a secluded Mennonite colony in Bolivia.
Drawing from real events, the film sees its female cast debate the revelation of sexual crimes. Will they do nothing, fight for justice, or leave the community? Polley has also been nominated in the Writing (Adapted Screenplay) category.