Right now, there seems to be a movie out there for everyone. I carefully sent my parents out to the trend du jour double feature- people in wheel chairs living in Parisian apartments with floor-to-ceiling-doorways, also known as Amour and The Intouchables. I then cleared the house so I could invite my friends over to view an Academy screening of Les Misérables, the third Oscar candidate set in Paris. Viva La France!
My friends and I have seen Les Misérables at least five times, and I can’t seem to walk down the halls of my school without hearing passing-by students humming the musical score. The impact that this movie had on my peers was simply tremendous – I saw a number of Facebook “cover photos†referencing some poignant moment from this film. Also, despite the fact that I’ve seen this movie nearly half a dozen times, it never ceases to catch me emotionally off guard.
Most of the screeners this award’s season featured a crop of exceptionally talented young actors. Zaytoun, a left-field kudos contender set in the Middle East about a teen refugee, showcased a stellar performance by Abdallah El Akal, who is just 14 years old. El Akal played “Fahed,†in this gut-wrenching story of a child’s life in a war-zone.
Another mesmerizing actor is Sujar Sharma, who stars in the fantastic Ang Lee movie, Life of Pi. At only 19, he beat out over 3,000 adolescents for the role of “Pi Potel.†Beasts of the Southern Wild starred Quvenzhané Wallis, who plays the leading role of “Hushpuppy†in this critically acclaimed drama. Quvenzhané had to fib about her age during the audition process because she was one year younger than the minimum age (6) required to try out. She trounced 4,000 other auditioners, and her performance was absolutely riveting.
My personal favorite, Les Misérables (or otherwise known as “The Glums†in the UK), also gave prominence to two standout juvenile performances. Isabelle Allen and Daniel Huttlestone, who play young “Cosette†and “Gavroche†, had no film experience prior to their debut in this French musical. Allen had only been in her school play, while Huttlestone had theatre experience performing “Gavroche†at the Queen’s Theatre in London. He started his career by landing the role of the “Artful Dodger†in the 2009 production of Oliver! at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane when he was just nine years old. In fact, it was the 1978 production of Oliver! that influenced French songwriter Alan Boublil to adapt Victor Hugo’s novel into a musical, and the Artful Dodger was his inspiration for Gavroche.
Children and teens alike have dominated this year’s award selections; so, in the famous words of Cockney voiced-Gavroche, “This only goes to show what little people can do.â€
