In a year in which so many legendary filmmakers have popped up on the cinematic landscape with the likes of Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans (2022), James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), and Todd Field’s first film in 16 years, Tár (2022)—2022 is certainly not lacking in powerhouse directors making tremendous waves across the medium. One such artist that we, as fans and awards watchers, haven’t discussed in length is Alejandro González Iñárritu and his newest film, Bardo, The False Chronicles Of A Handful Of Truths (2022). Since its Venice premiere, the film has been perceived as divisive. This latest awards film from Netflix may seem dead on arrival. However, there is growing vocal passion for the film, including people within the Academy. Whether it’s Barry Jenkins interviewing with Iñárritu or Chloe Zhao leading a conversation with Iñárritu after a Los Angeles screening, there is growing passionate support for this artist’s latest cinematic effort. As the awards season calendar closes, it is easy to dismiss this film as not having any impact when it comes to the 2023 Oscars. However, I argue that Bardo (2022) shouldn’t be dismissed (just yet). Furthermore, I connect the film to how Iñárritu’s history with the Academy can still lend him credence to be recognized for Bardo (2022).

Iñárritu first burst onto the scene with his feature-length debut, Amores perros (2000), which surprised many critics and audiences with its unflinching brutal sequences of violence set against a hyperlink narrative of interconnected storylines that would be a staple for Iñárritu’s future films. It was Mexico’s first nomination in 25 years when Letters from Marusia was nominated in 1975. Amores won the BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language. Amores perros introduced Iñárritu to the world of cinema, particularly Hollywood, as his next collaboration would mark his first English-language film, 21 Grams (2003). Starring Sean Penn, Noami Watts, and Benicio del Toro, the film continued his non-linear interconnected storylines from Amores and met with critical and box office success. While Iñárritu wasn’t specifically recognized, he helped garner Oscar nominations for Watts as Best Actress and del Toro for Best Supporting Actor. This would mark Iñárritu’s consistent streak of actors in his films receiving Oscar nominations, further proving his ability to play to Academy sensibilities.

2006 saw Iñárritu at a new height of his awards success. Babel (2006) premiered to mixed-to-divided critical reception due to its overbearing melodrama and tiresome multi-narrative storylines. Still, it had better box office success, which netted the film seven Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Iñárritu’s first Best Director nomination, and Adriana Barraza & Rinko Kikuchi nominations for Best Supporting Actress. While the film didn’t win in its major above-the-line categories, it did win Best Original Score for Gustavo Santaolalla. The film also won Best Motion Picture – Drama at the Golden Globes. His first three films in his self-described “Death Trilogy” at its wrap established Iñárritu as both an acclaimed artist and an international artist that managed to cross over to Hollywood award success.

His follow-up film, Biutiful (2010), starring Javier Bardem in his first native Spanish-language role, arrived to a more muted reception from critics. They felt the filmmaker was obsessing too much with grimness and misery, and the film failed to compete at the box office. Despite all that, the film managed to pierce through Academy voters with two Oscar nominations for both Foreign Language Film and Best Actor. This was Iñárritu’s departure from the non-linear interconnected story narrative where he decided to turn his focus on an intimate character drama. This film also marked his co-writing collaborations with Armando Bó and Nicolás Giacobone, which they would continue working together in some variations.

One of these variations would be their next follow-up and Iñárritu’s biggest awards success to date, Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014). The film was met with high critical praise for Iñárritu’s direction, the ensemble cast of performances, and Emmanuel Lubezki’s cinematography (made to look like one continuous tracking shot). It was a box office hit with audiences alike. Set in the world of broadway theater that satirizes acting, Hollywood, and the struggle of being an artist, it was seen as a comeback vehicle for Michael Keaton, landing him his first (and only) Oscar nomination for Best Actor, as well as elevating Emma Stone with her first Oscar nomination for Supporting Actress and Edward Norton’s first nomination in sixteen years for Best Supporting Actor. The awards trajectory for Birdman is fascinating. At the beginning of the season, it was seen as the overall runner-up to a much more critically-lauded film, Richard Linklater’s Boyhood (2014).

In the early run of televised awards outside of the Industry, Boyhood won three Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture Drama & Best Director. At the Broadcast Film Critics Associations Awards, it won in four categories, including Picture & Director. It seemed Boyhood would be the film to sweep through the season between its critical reception and early frontrunner status. In a dramatic turn, Birdman won the PGA, DGA, and SAG Ensemble awards. This surprising dominance with industry guilds continued, as it would go on to win other guilds such as ASC, ADG, C.A.S., and CDG. This showed a stark contrast between what critics’ groups favored and what Hollywood industry awards preferred. Going into Oscar night, Boyhood and Birdman had a tally of six and nine nominations, respectively. While Boyhood would secure the win for Patricia Arquette for Best Supporting Actress (an award Boyhood had been consistent with winning at every awards ceremony), Birdman proved its Hollywood support, as it took home four Oscars—Best Picture, Best Director for Iñárritu, Best Original Screenplay for Iñárritu, Bo, Giacobone, and Alexander Dinelaris, and Best Cinematography for Lubezki. This was when Iñárritu was elevated to top-tier status in Hollywood, collecting three Oscars and being lauded for his filmmaking talent.

One would think Iñárritu would take a break after reaching the heights of Birdman, but following the Oscars, he goes back to finishing his next film, his grand epic western, The Revenant (2015). Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy, the film is an adaptation of the story of Hugh Glass and his fight for survival after a brutal bear attack. While the film did take a slight step down in critical reception, it is, to date, Iñárritu’s biggest box office success as well as securing twelve Oscar nominations across the board for its technical and storytelling achievements. While the story was criticized for being too dour and set within a long runtime, its filmmaking, cinematography, and acting were highlighted as being the film’s positive qualities. In a surprising turn of awards events, The Revenant began its award dominance by winning the top prizes at both The Golden Globes and BAFTAs for Best Film and Director, as well as Iñárritu winning his second DGA, thus making history as the first filmmaker to win a DGA award back-to-back. While the film failed to win Best Picture, it didn’t walk away without a historical night: Iñárritu became the third filmmaker in Oscar history to win Best Director in consecutive years (he joins the company of John Ford and Joseph L. Mankiewicz), DiCaprio won his first acting Oscar (an award many felt was long overdue), and Lubezki became the first cinematographer to win cinematography Oscars three years in a row.

After six films that have totaled thirty-three Oscar nominations and eight wins ranging from producing, acting, cinematography, and musical composition, Iñárritu is as much part of the Academy’s blood as a Spielberg or Martin Scorsese. It’s particularly noteworthy that he is one of few modern directors of color to have amassed that achievement. His latest film, Bardo, seems to have ended that critical and mass acceptance streak. The film has divided people due to its long runtime, feeling similar to 8½ (1963), the oblique nature of its free-flow narrative, and the overall sense of Iñárritu repeating certain themes he has discussed in previous films. Yet, unlike a majority of his films, a lot of critics have come to the defense of his effort, claiming it’s his most personal and much more emotionally palatable that speaks to the immigrant experience of being stuck between different worlds and commentating on one’s artistic achievements in the faces of assimilation. In terms of the slate of awards films, Netflix has to break through the Oscar conversation, Bardo would seem like a non-starter, and they focus their efforts on more favored films like Glass Onion (2022) or Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022). Yet, if there is one voting body in an awards season that would be far more receptive to Bardo, it would be the very same that has made him the divisive figure. For as many critics and audiences may not enjoy watching an Iñárritu, Academy voters have proven to be far more receptive to his films, even at his worst impulses. And with the kind of passion the film has been generating from directors and actors that feel Iñárritu speaks more to their artistic sensibilities, there could be an Oscar nomination morning in which Bardo can break through outside of its International category.

I am sensing there could be a Cold War (2018) scenario in play. While the film will be too divisive to make a ranked top ten ballot for Best Picture, individual branches such as the Directors of Cinematographers branch could gravitate to Bardo for those particular achievements. The ever-expanding membership of the Academy has proven to be more international and recognizes a wide variety of films not in the English language—a three-hour Japanese film like Drive My Car (2021) can receive nominations for Picture and Director; The Worst Person In The World (2021) can show up in Original Screenplay; Another Round (2020) gets a Best Director nomination, and the history-making Best Picture and Director winner, Parasite (2019)—the likelihood of Bardo being represented with Academy voters is more likely than previous awards bodies. There is no surprise this film hasn’t performed well with critics groups, the Golden Globes, and Critics Choice. We don’t know how it will play with BAFTA voters. This film would appeal to the perceptions of people working in the industry, hence, Oscar voters. It will not be a surprise if Bardo is entirely left off on Oscar nomination morning, proving that its divisiveness was to the film’s detriment. Should the film appear in a surprise Best Director or Cinematography lineup, it will not be a shock to anyone that knows Iñárritu’s relationship with the Academy.

Article Courtesy of Amritpal Rai