Our Guide to the 2020 Oscars: What’s Worth Your Watch

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By Parisa Akbarpour

The Academy Awards have long been used as a tool to measure how good certain movies are, or which movies are worth watching. Sometimes though, there are arguments over whether or not the Academy chose correctly.

Of course, everyone has different tastes when it comes to film, but it’s no secret that the film industry is overwhelmingly comprised of the white, straight, cisgendered males. Therefore, most films that are nominated for Academy Awards also appeal to that demographic. It’s rare that we see a film that tells the story of a non-white, non-straight, non-cisgendered, or non-male win at the Oscars.

Despite this, we still shouldn’t discredit the progress that has been made. While we are seeing a shift towards a more diverse film industry, I think it’s incredibly important to use these awards as opportunities to thrust underrated films to the forefront of people’s minds. In other words: give minority films a chance to be made the norm.

When Moonlight won Best Picture over La La Land in 2017, it was a big deal – not just because of the infamous mistake that initially awarded the prize to La La Land, but because a film about a white, heterosexual love story lost to a film about two men of color navigating through their love story. It was the underdog narrative that had never been told before.

I believe films are made to evoke an emotional response inside someone. Movies are made to tell stories that are too hard to put into narrative words because the emotions are what tell the story. Moonlight is one of those films. You know a movie is “Best Picture material” when you feel different (in a good way) after watching it.

And with that, here are my thoughts on which films of the Academy Awards season are worth watching (in no particular order after #1):

Parasite directed by Bong Joon Ho

If you’re going to watch any movie that was made this past year, it should be Parasite. Having already won several awards at preceding award ceremonies (i.e. Best Foreign Film at the Golden Globe Awards and Best Cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards), it’s projected to do very well at this year’s Oscars. This chilling Korean thriller follows a low-income family that infiltrates the household of an extremely wealthy family by employing themselves as the family’s tutor, driver, housekeeper and babysitter.

I’m not kidding when I say that I didn’t look at my phone once while watching this movie. My eyes were quite literally glued to the screen, and I undoubtedly felt different after watching Parasite. It’s a revolutionary film about wealth inequality and class, combining every genre there is to create a story that I can’t stop thinking about to this day.

Little Women directed by Greta Gerwig

This might just be how I feel, but Little Women was one of the most overlooked films of the awards season. Greta Gerwig did a beautiful job making a version of the 1868 novel by Louisa May Alcott that felt entirely new. The cast does each character incredible justice, and you fall in love with each and every one of them. I could watch it a million times for Florence Pugh’s performance as Amy alone. The writing is intelligent and intentional, the score is emotional, and the cinematography feels like a forehead kiss. Everyone should see Gerwig’s Little Women.

The Farewell directed by Lulu Wang

Lulu Wang joins Greta Gerwig as another woman who had her spot as a Best Director nominee stolen by a man this year. Wang delivers an incredibly emotional film that follows the story of a Chinese-American woman (played by Awkwafina) burdened by the knowledge that her grandmother is expected to die within a month. She travels to China with her family under the disguise of attending her cousin’s wedding in order to see her grandma one last time. This movie makes you feel every emotion so intensely and teaches you a lesson about love.

And now for the films that weren’t nominated that I believe should have been:

The Last Black Man in San Francisco directed by Joe Talbot

The Last Black Man in San Francisco is probably the epitome of a film that lets emotion tell the story. Following the story of a man named Jimmie who can’t let go of the house he grew up in, the film’s broader message is about San Francisco’s unspoken reputation with gentrification. Hailed by critics for its cinematography, The Last Black Man in San Francisco feels as intimate as it looks.

Midsommar directed by Ari Aster

I honestly have no idea how this film didn’t get any nominations. I’ve seen it probably more than 10 times, including the director’s cut (which I highly recommend watching). In short, Midsommar is what would happen if you went to Sweden and ended up in a pagan cult that starts sacrificing people, and you’re having a bad trip while on mushrooms. As a horror film with an overexposed, vibrant color grade, Midsommar is somehow one of the hardest films to keep your eyes on. After his success with Hereditary, Aster delivered with Midsommar, and everyone should be paying attention to what he will do next.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire directed by Céline Sciamma

How Portrait of a Lady on Fire was not nominated for Best Foreign Film is a mystery to me. In this French film, a female painter is commissioned to create a portrait of a princess without her knowledge. After spending all their time with each other, the women fall in love. But the inevitability of the portrait being completed and the painter having to leave the princess troubles their relationship. The screenplay and cinematography feels similar to Call Me by Your Name, so if you liked that, then you’ll like this.

Booksmart directed by Olivia Wilde

Last but not least, this was, in my opinion, the feel-good-film of 2019. It’s extremely relatable, and it’s just a lot of fun to watch. Even after watching it five times I continue to laugh. Each character is someone we knew in high school; there’s the characters you love to love, hate to love and love to hate. If you’re emotionally drained from watching The Farewell or Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Booksmart is a great way to end on a happy note.