Over several decades, the Telluride Film Festival has built the reputation of possessing potential Best Picture Oscar contenders. Last year, the winner of the most recent Best Picture Oscar Spotlight was showcased. Other Oscar nominees from last year (not exclusive to the Best Picture field) included Carol, Steve Jobs, Anomalisa, and many others. The latest Best Actress Oscar winner Brie Larson (for 2015’s powerful Room) name-dropped the Telluride festival in her acceptance speech, which seemed to put the show on the map in the mainstream.
This year, advance passes sold out after only a month and a half on sale. These passes’ prices range from $390 to $3,900 and at best, you’d probably be able to catch 5-8 films your entire stay due to limited theaters and overlapping screenings. Those passes are even more expensive in principle when you consider that the full film program isn’t revealed until the day before the festival opens. This illustrates how much goodwill Telluride has built since its incarnation.
The 43rd show in the Rocky Mountain state came and went this past weekend, and critics are buzzing to say the least. My intentions are to eventually attend a similar festival in the future, but in the meantime, here I’ll do my best to summarize critics’ thoughts and polls down to 3 of the most-discussed flicks.
Arrival
Arrival‘s well-received arrival should surprise no one. This was clearly already on our radar, and our assumptions were correct: the consensus is director Denis Villeneuve‘s latest is one of the best thinking man’s sci-fi films. When critics surveyed others in the audience, they received a more mixed reaction.
However, critics themselves largely laud Arrival, specifically praising Amy Adams‘ performance and the plot’s very cerebral elements. Personally, Stanley Kubrick is my favorite creator of anything to exist, so when I hear Kubrick’s name evoked in descriptions of this movie, my hype elevates from 10 to 11. While this feature may not speak to all audiences, it sounds utterly perfect for me and those with similar taste.
La La Land
I lost my train of thought briefly as my brain disappeared in that beautiful trailer for La La Land. In 90 seconds alone, writer/director Damien Chazelle grasps perfect camera placement, lighting, and set design, and blends those components with charming original music and undeniable actor chemistry.
He gave audiences 2014’s Whiplash (one of my personal top 10 movies of all time) and gave Telluride this generation’s Singin’ in the Rain, according to several critics. When you correlate any film to arguably the best musical ever made, you know you’re in for a multi-generational classic. The talk out of the festival is Chazelle also delivers a continuous shot opening sequence for the ages, compared to Touch of Evil‘s iconic opening. These are just a few of multiple reasons you should be psyched for this picture’s general release.
Moonlight
A few critics listed writer/director Barry Jenkins‘ Moonlight as their favorite from Telluride. This under-the-radar film follows a black man through 3 stages of his life as he struggles with his sexual identity. Surely the provocative topic for some, Moonlight has critics’ attention to put it mildly.
The movie stars Trevante Rhodes as the lead Chiron, and the effortlessly-skilled Mahershala Ali as Juan, Chiron’s father. Judging from the trailer and critical reaction alone, it’s probable this could not only bring us powerful cinematic performances and moments, but also score several Oscar nominations including Best Picture. Although, the same could be said for all of these choices and then some.
Honorable Mentions & Final Thoughts
To ensure no titles are snubbed, other movies that received a mostly-positive reception included Manchester by the Sea (previously screened and lauded at Sundance Film Festival), Una, Things to Come, Norman: The Moderate Rise & Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, Sully (out this Friday, September 9th), and many, many others.
Before this month, I admittedly wasn’t aware of Telluride Film Festival and its impact to the industry. Now it’s a go-to hotbed filled to the brim with Hollywood’s best cinematic outings. Remember the titles mentioned in this article (specifically the 3 that were singled out) as they are likely to circle back around come award season.
