2023 Oscars – The Academy Awards are a celebration of high-tier moviemaking and aren’t supposed to be driven by popularity or common trends in entertainment. While superbly put-together movies tend to land the major awards, as do those who put in performances that topped the craft over the prior 12 months, the award-winners aren’t always the most entertaining in the eyes of general audiences.
Still, for those who love to appreciate movie-making at its finest, the list of award winners from the 2023 Oscars is a great place to start your search for the next flick to put on. As Canadian movie fans, there might just be another reason to explore those that came out on top as two Canadians walked away with major awards from the night in Los Angeles.
Will you enjoy the Canadian films that won Oscars?
As mentioned, some Oscar winners aren’t made for general audiences who’re, above all else, seeking an entertaining experience. However, there is a way to refine the choice and home in on the movies that will appeal to you, at least on the level of mood and preference.
For this, you can make use of a nominee flowchart to work out which 2023 Academy Awards pick you should stream. It all starts with a very simple question: “Ready to cry?” If not, you follow the right-side track of questions. If so, you go down the left side and into questions on complicated relationships and what kind of food you like.
At the 2023 Oscars, two Canadians – one via citizenship – walked away with top awards. Their two films fall on the left side of the flowchart, so you’d need to be ready to cry if you fancy watching either. With this as the first question towards them, if you’d prefer something more uplifting or a tight biopic, perhaps the Canadian Oscar winners aren’t worth a watch for you just yet.
Why The Whale and Women Talking should get your viewing time
Starting with perhaps the biggest story of this year’s awards season, Brendan Fraser marked a triumphant comeback to Hollywood in the starring role of The Whale as a morbidly obese father. A Canadian by citizenship, the Upper Canada College graduate thanked the film’s director, Darren Aronofsky, for bringing him aboard.
While The Whale wasn’t on the ten-movie shortlist of nominees for Best Picture, Fraser’s showing was powerful enough on its own to be a heavy and early favourite to snag him Canada’s first Best Actor in a Leading Role Award. If for nothing else than the return of a beloved 90s and 00s star, The Whale is worth a stream.
The other Canadian to snag an award in LA was Sarah Polley. Born in Toronto, the filmmaker earned the highest acclaim for adapting Miriam Toews’ novel Women Talking into a movie of the same name. The Ontario native even managed to sneak in a jokey dig at the Academy, “not being mortally offended by the words ‘women’ and ‘talking’ so close together.”
You may not be in the mood for a potential tear-jerker, but both The Whale and Women Talking are fully deserving of their Oscar wins and more than worthy of your viewing hours.
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