In 2022, two years and nine months ago, a tragicomedy won the Oscar for best film that hardly anyone had expected. Netflix’s The Power of the Dog with Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst was actually considered a big favorite at the time. It was all the more astonishing when another film title was pulled out of the envelope: Coda.
Instead of Spielberg or Dune: The remake Coda won three Oscars in 2022, including Best Film
In Coda, Ruby’s Rossi’s (Emilia Jones) family’s fishing business is threatened. While the teenager dreams of finally pursuing her passion – music – she also finds it difficult to leave her father Frank (Troy Kotsur), her mother Jackie (Marlee Matlin) and her brother Leo (Daniel Durant) to fend for themselves. Because Ruby is the only one in the family who can hear – a Coda, i.e. “Child of deaf adults” (child of deaf parents). It’s difficult for her to explain to her loved ones why she wants to become a singer, but she soon has to make a decision about what her future will look like.
Coda was a Remake of the French comedy hit Do You Understand the Béliers? by Eric Lartigau from 2014. In it, too, a young person managed the most important concerns as the mouth and ear of her deaf and mute family.
In addition to the trophy for the Best film Coda also won the Oscar for the Best Direction (Sian Heder) and the Best Supporting Actor (Troy Kotsur). The latter became the first deaf actor to win this award. With the main prize, Coda even beat out competitors such as Dennis Villeneuve’s Dune and Steven Spielberg’s musical West Side Story, which were also nominated this year.
Many attribute the fact that the Oscar favorite The Power of the Dog received no prize for Best Film to the Academy’s general aversion to Netflix, which as a streaming provider is the antithesis of cinema. It also streams Coda exclusively on Apple TV+even if it was previously released in cinemas in the USA.
Why does hardly anyone remember Coda’s Oscar win?
Coda is one touching but never cheesy storywho creates a haunting depth with looks and gestures. His honest exploration of a family loving and sometimes hurting each other brought thoughtful truths. Combined with the representation of a minority (the deaf and mute community), the tragicomedy was an important film contribution.
In the end there are such Feel-good films but often not the ones that stay in the memory for the longest time. Historical films like Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which won the Oscar this year, or more crazy material like Everything Everywhere All at Once the year before, are a topic of conversation for longer and are therefore more likely to be remembered.
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The selection of the best streaming films of the year ranges from action surprises and thrilling adventure films to intense dramas. But there are also comedies and documentaries.
This article appeared in a similar form on our sister site Filmstarts.