Last week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this year’s Oscar nominees, to be held later this month (February 26) in Los Angeles. Here’s a favorite category: the best photography. Hits such as Titanic, American Beauty and Avatar have already won in the same category.
For those who don’t know, the cinematographer is in charge of choosing the location and deciding which lenses, negatives and camera movements should be used for shooting, and is responsible for illuminating and framing each scene with the film director. In general, the one who best transposes the requirements of the script to the screen, we have separated the five Oscar nominees for Best Photography of 2017, are:
Moonlight: under the moonlight
The photograph is by James Laxton (never nominated in the category)
Do you like a good drama that makes you think? Here’s the movie. Directed and written by Barry Jenkins, the main character embarks on a journey of self-knownness as he tries to escape the world of crime and drugs in Miami. A dreamer, he finds hes he or she is in delicate situations about his sexuality and the meaning of love. Moonlight is a film of social importance. Regarding photography, the color palette is essentially blue and red, with an emphasis on American shots. Simple, but masterfully done.
Arrival
The photograph is by Bradford Young (never nominated in the category)
Who likes sci-fi drama?Arrival is the kind of smart movie that makes you leave the cinema aimlessly. Directed by Denis Villeneuve, Amy Adams plays Louise Barks, a linguistic expert who is summoned by the armed forces with the difficult task of contacting newcomers, who are aboard shell-shaped ships. Cinema works with both perception and reflection on the world and extreme situations. The photography is impeccable: it mixes the grandeur of open plans and many close-ups, expressing the emotions of Louise, who gives us the point of view of the whole story.
La La Land: singing stations
The photograph is by Linus Sandgren (never nominated in the category)
It is the most Oscar-winning film this year (14) and also a critic’s favorite. The director is Damien Chazelle, who tells the story of an aspiring musician and actress who meet and fall in love in Los Angeles. Starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, the musical features many film references to classic cinema. The photograph features warm, contrasting colors, as well as numerous open shots and wide-angle panoramas.
Lion: A Journey Home
The photograph is by Greig Fraser (never nominated in the category)
It is a film based on a true story directed by Garth Davis, which is about the Indian Saroo (Dev Patel) who lost his brother at a Kolkata train station and faced great challenges to survive alone until he was adopted by an Australian family. Unable to recover from what happened, he decided at 25 to find a way to find his biological family, the highlight of the photo lies in the combination of fast and slow shots that give new life to the film.
Silence
The photograph is by Rodrigo Prieto (was it nominated in 2006 for?The secret of Brokeback Mountain?)
Directed no less than Martin Scorsese, the film takes place in the 17th century, where two Portuguese Jesuit priests, Sebastian Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Francisco Garupe (Adam Driver), moved to Japan at a time when Catholicism was forbidden. his mentor, Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson), the Jesuits face violence and persecution from a government that wants to purge all external influences. Photography is due to the sobriety of colors in addition to the beautiful natural landscapes.