It’s time for die-hard fans of Richard Linklater’s sublime 12-year project, “Boyhood,” to lick their wounds after the “Birdman” win at yesterday’s Oscars. If it’s any consolation, both “Boyhood” and “Birdman” were inventive and daring in their own ways, and a win for either should provide Hollywood with some incentive to jump out of its comfort zone and pursue interesting and subversive material. If one of the bland biopics like “The Imitation Game” or “The Theory of Everything” had won, we’d be looking down the barrel of lazy Oscar bait for years to come.
That being said, it’s perfectly understandable that Linklater fans are frustrated by the Academy’s vote. Perhaps in order to remind them that Linklater never needed the Academy’s support in order to create versatile and original material, YouTube’s Joel Walden put together a skillfully edited and brisk three-and-a-half minute tribute to the director’s filmography. Ranging from popular titles like “School of Rock” and “The Before Trilogy” to deep cuts like "Suburbia," "The Newton Boys," and even "Inning by Inning," Linklater’s documentary about University of Texas coach Augie Garrido, the tribute covers almost the entire career of Texas’ golden boy.
In between attractive young people contemplating the meaning of life, and attractive middle-age people contemplating the meaning of their own existence, we get gorgeous rotoscoped animation, youthful nostalgia, as well as lots and lots of existential dialogue. If you’re looking for a longer examination of Linklater’s filmography, be sure to watch the perfectly satisfying documentary “21 Years: Richard Linklater” (Our review can be found here). You can check out the tribute video below. [via Reddit]
I wouldn\’t say that the Academy\’s vote was just frustrating for "Linklater\’s fans". It was painful to watch for many cinema fans or filmgoers. But it wasn\’t surprising, though. The Academy usually ignores remarkable films about the everyday life of ordinary people, like Boyhood, and auteurs, like Linklater. They prefer to recognize cynic and bombastic works like Birdman, particularly when they mirror Hollywood\’s self-adoring image of itself.