The 97th Academy Awards are just around the corner, and the nominations are spurring a mixture of praise and controversy among Pepperdine students.
“Emilia Pérez” led the pack with 13 nominations, the most for any foreign film in Oscar history, sparking intense controversy over its representation of Mexican culture and the transgender community, as well as its overall production quality.
Junior Screen Arts major Thomas Chang was not a fan of the film.
“If there’s anything that I think shouldn’t win in the Oscars this year, it is ‘Emilia Pérez,’” Chang said.
Best Picture
The 2025 Best Picture nominees are as follows: “Anora,” “The Brutalist,” “A Complete Unknown,” “Conclave,” “Dune: Part Two,” “Emilia Pérez,” “I’m Still Here,” “Nickel Boys,” “The Substance” and “Wicked.”
Junior English major Judah Fullman said he hopes “Dune: Part Two” wins.
“I kept going to the theater, I kept seeing new things,” Fullman said. “But nothing in my mind got better than ‘Dune: Part Two.’”
Chang was also a fan of the movie.
“That movie was firing on all cylinders,” Chang said. “Like, cinematography is beautiful, visual effects, good.”
Fullman and senior Screen Arts major Hailey Ponchione both said they saw and enjoyed “Wicked.”
“It’s a little bloated, but it is admittedly incredibly impressive on a technical scale — the amount of musical numbers they were able to pull off, especially in a market that doesn’t like musicals anymore,” Fullman said. “I would safely say I’d watch it again.”
Fullman also watched “Anora” and “The Brutalist,” but said he didn’t enjoy them and generally prefers non-indie films. On Rotten Tomatoes, the films have 94% and 93% ratings respectively, making Fullman’s opinion a deviation from critical consensus.
“Emilia Pérez”
“Emelia Pérez”’s Best Picture nomination was hotly contested, both between Fullman, Ponchione and Chang and between moviegoers voicing their opinions on social media.
Ponchione said she didn’t agree with the film being nominated.
“It sucks that something that’s this popular is only popular because of, like, who you know and whoever you are, but not because it’s a good film that accurately represents the community you’re trying to portray,” Ponchione said.
Fullman said he did not enjoy the musical aspect of “Emelia Pérez.”
“I don’t think the musical numbers add anything, and I think they’re pretty terribly done, especially with the counterpoint of ‘Wicked,’” Fullman said. “I think the musical numbers with ‘Wicked’ were very well done.”
Ponchione said she took issue with the film’s depiction of Mexican culture, which she thought was stereotypical and offensive. Jacques Audiard, the film’s French director, was widely criticized for his self-described lack of research.
“You’re telling me in the entire actor community, you couldn’t find any Mexicans who could properly portray this film and do it well?” Ponchione said.
Best Animated Feature
On a more positive note, Chang said he thought there were many well-deserved Animated Feature Film nominees. This year, “Flow,” “Inside Out 2,” “Memoir of a Snail,” “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” and “The Wild Robot” were nominated.
“’Inside Out 2,’ that was one of the only movies that made me, like, cry in the theater,” Chang said. “Genuinely one of the most relatable, like, third acts.”
Chang also liked “Flow,” the first Latvian film to be nominated for an Academy Award. The film is also an International Feature Film nomination this year.
“They made just the story about survivability and, like, lasting through change, with no words,” Chang said. “And the main character is a cat, and I liked it a lot.”
Despite strong contenders, though, Chang said his pick for Animated Feature Film was “The Wild Robot.” He said the film’s depiction of parenthood, a story about a robot raising a duck, was well-written.
“But, I don’t know, it’s hard for me to say I like one over the other,” Chang said. “Those three movies are so solid and they’re, like, some of my favorites that came out in general this year.”
Snubs
Although “Challengers” had four Golden Globe nominations and a win for Best Original Score, it failed to pick up any Oscar nominations. Fullman said he believed it deserved a nomination for Music (Original Score), Directing and Cinematography.
Fullman also said “Nosferatu” was snubbed for Best Picture and Directing.
“Robert Eggers not getting any shoutout for directorial talents at all for Nosferatu feels like a crime,” Fullman said. “I think that was a serious missed opportunity.”
The 97th Academy Awards ceremony will take place March 2 at 4 p.m. Late-night talk show host and comedian Conan O’Brien will host the event this year.
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Contact Henry Adams via email: henry.adams@pepperdine.edu
