And the Oscar goes to…
“Thank you, God,” Adrien Brody said after winning best actor for The Brutalist, a three-hour drama about a Hungarian architect and Holocaust survivor. It’s his second Oscar for a Holocaust film, following his 2002 win for The Pianist.
Quotable ► “I’m here once again to represent the lingering traumas and the repercussions of war and systematic oppression and of antisemitism and racism and of othering,” Brody said as he accepted the award. “I pray for a healthier and a happier and a more inclusive world, and I believe if the past can teach us anything, it’s a reminder to not let hate go unchecked.” Watch his emotional Oscar speech.
Catch up on our Brutalist coverage… Famed architect Daniel Libeskind on why 'The Brutalist' resonated so deeply Adrien Brody's performance in 'The Brutalist' hits home for descendants of immigrants and Holocaust survivors How the master builder behind ‘The Brutalist’ was inspired by her hometown synagogue How 'The Brutalist' misrepresents the Jewish architect's experience I’m an art historian who researches the Holocaust — here’s why I hated ‘The Brutalist’
Actor Kieran Culkin won best supporting actor for his show-stealing turn in A Real Pain, a Holocaust tourism film about a pair of cousins visiting the Majdanek concentration camp. Our Mira Fox called it “the least didactic Holocaust movie I’ve ever seen, a blessing to the genre.” Our Olivia Haynie adds that it “avoids the tropes and tragedies that have defined other Jewish Academy Award” movies.
Mikey Madison, who is Jewish, won best actress for her starring role in Anora, which also won best picture, best director, best editing and original screenplay.
No Other Land, about the Israeli demolition of Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank, won for best documentary. Filmmakers Basel Adra, a Palestinian, and Yuval Abraham, an Israeli, accepted the award. “My hope to my daughter, that she will not have to live the same life I am living now,” Adra said. And from Abraham: “We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger,” adding, “There is a different path” than the current war. Their speech received resounding applause in the Dolby Theatre.
A Complete Unknown, about a young Bob Dylan, began the night with eight nominations and ended it with nothing. Maybe Timothée Chalamet will have better luck playing his next real-life Jewish icon from midcentury New York — ping pong sensation Marty Reisman — complete with a scene-setting Forverts truck. Because if there’s one thing awards voters love, it’s table tennis. (Seriously! Remember that scene in Forrest Gump?)
Members of our culture team — Mira, PJ Grisar, Samuel Eli Shepherd — led by opinion editor Talya Zax — watched the Oscars from start to finish and opined along the way on the awards, the jokes, the fashion and much more. Enjoy their roundtable discussion.
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