Christopher Nolan's biopic on theoretical physicist Robert Oppenheimer and Greta Gerwig's fantasy comedy are two of this year's top Oscar contenders.In these challenging times, the need for reliable local reporting has never been greater. Put a value on the impact of our year-round coverage. Help us continue to highlight LA stories, hold the powerful accountable, and amplify community voices. Your support keeps our reporting free for all to use. Stand with us today.
Ahead of the Oscars ceremony this Sunday, LAist reached out to film critic Carlos Aguilar. He grew up in Mexico City and Southeast L.A. andLAist: You likely watch dozens, maybe hundreds, of movies every year. How do you approach watching a film, especially when it’s not something you’re interested in?In a sense, the films I'm not already interested in can offer the most exciting experience. Those are the ones that could turn into a great discovery.
We often focus solely on the plot, on what is happening in the story, and can lose sight of cinema as a medium that utilizes image and sound to evoke a certain emotion or experience. I would say:Ask yourself: Why is a certain scene shot a certain way? What are they doing with the sound or the music, or lack thereof? Even if you don't arrive at an answer, you can try to notice how those choices make you feel or how they affect the way you are experiencing the film.
Learning new terms in my film production classes also expanded my appreciation of cinema. One example is the concept of “diagetic sound” in a movie. These are the sounds that exist within the world of the story, like a song that a character listens to on the radio. While I may have vaguely known that there are different types of sounds in movies, I didn't have the language to describe them.