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Image courtesy of IndieWire
The annual Academy Awards ceremony is coming up very soon and meanwhile, we are still in the Valentine’s Day mood. What time could be more perfect to watch romantic films that are also nominated for Oscars?
This year, there is a wide spectrum of romance films between the nominations. There is an option for the lovers of fantasy genre, films that take place in historical Europe, as well as a film that is based on a true story that happened not so long ago.
The following three are romantic films nominated for Best Picture:
“The Shape of Water”
Image courtesy of Fox Searchlight
This film is set in America in the year 1962. A cleaning lady works in a hidden high-security government laboratory. Her life changes forever when she discovers a secret classified experiment. Michael Shamberg, who is an Oscar-nominated producer, has said that this film is “well designed, well shot, well costumed, well acted, well made, and it moves you.” “The Shape of Water” has received 13 Oscar nominations. It is an unusual love story between a woman and a man-like sea creature.
“Call Me by Your Name”
Image courtesy of Vulture
This film is set in 1983 in the north of Italy and is about a 17-year-old American boy, Elio Perelman, who spends the summer in his family’s villa. One day, he meets Oliver, a 24-year-old graduate student who arrives as a summer intern to help Elio’s father, a professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture. Soon, the two develop romantic feelings for each other. This film is an adaptation of a novel by André Aciman. “The pleasures of art, music, food, natural beauty and sexual awakening are evoked and celebrated in “Call Me by Your Name”, an almost sinfully enjoyable movie that both observes and obeys the languid rhythms of a torrid Italian summer,” writes the movie critic, Ann Hornaday.
“Phantom Thread”
Image courtesy of Time
This film, set in 1950’s London, is a love story between a dressmaker and his muse, who he accidentally meets on a holiday in the English countryside. Film critic, Anthony Lane, writes: “The new Paul Thomas Anderson film, “Phantom Thread,” is about many things: clothing, sewing, driving, the risk of love, the exercise of power, and, above all, breakfast.” It is nominated for six Oscars.
“The Big Sick”
Image courtesy of Slate
Here is a romantic comedy nominated for Original Screenplay this year. It is based on a true story about a Pakistani-born comedian, Kumail Nanijani and grad student, Emily Gordon. They fall in love, but have to deal with Emily’s mysterious illness and the culture clash between their very different families. You can watch it on Amazon Prime Video, if you happen to be a member.
Put your raincoat and boots on, go to the cinema and decide which film you think is going to win an Oscar this year, while enjoying a good dose of romance.