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Why The Lord should go home with Oscar

© Kaisha Green

When I went to see "The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring" in late December, I wasn't fooled. December is the last month for a film to put itself into consideration for an Academy Award--it keeps a film recent in the mind of Academy voters for the nominations and final voting in the following three months. I knew that "Lord of the Rings" (LOTR) was winking at Oscar, but I had no idea how deserving it would be.

LOTR, the first in a trilogy which mirrors the trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, tells the story of Frodo, a young hobbit, as he is thrust into a battle for the very existence of all living races. We can all identify with the universal themes and archetypes packed into this film: Hope, Friendship, Love, Good, Evil....the innocent hero, wise advisor, mysterious stranger, evil nemesis...the list is endless.

A film made from a classic and beloved book, LOTR was already slated to become a classic in its own right and has already grossed more than all the other Best Picture nominees, 271 million dollars. That's not counting overseas, where BAFTA,the British version of our Academy, has already given Outstanding Picture honors to LOTR.

Why do I pick this film as opposed to its rivals for Best Picture? Let's look at the other nominees:

--"Gosford Park", a classic British comedy/murder mystery, is a fine film, but lacks the heady escapism that LOTR revels in;

--"In the Bedroom" is a devastating movie for sure, but it is more of a touching family drama than a driving cinematic experience;

--"Moulin Rouge" is drenched in color and mood (not to mention a fantastic rebirth of the film musical)-but it is a story about a few people, and not the entire human race;

--"A Beautiful Mind" is a true story of an American with an unbelievable and monumental story, but as in "Moulin Rouge", it does not engulf more than its own characters.

"The Lord of the Rings" is an old fashioned epic adventure, an instant classic in the vein of "Gone With the Wind" and "Star Wars". It is only the first installation in a series though, so Oscar may feel the ending was a bit incomplete.

Importantly, and almost eerily, LOTR appeared at the end of 2001, the year of the Attacks on America. In LOTR, the central theme is good versus evil-and hasn't the president said as much about our own world now? As Frodo didn't act until the ring was given to him, weren't we forced to act because of Sept. 11? Didn't you see in the meeting between the men, elves, and dwarves the coalition Americans were trying to build with countries around the world? As the Fellowship seeks to rid Middle Earth of evil, are we not trying to rid the world of terrorism (and does the fact that the Fellowship dissolves at the end give us any warning)?

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