Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car maintained its strong form of awarding ceremony as it was named Best Picture of 2021 by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) while Jane Campion was named Best Director for The Power Of The Dog.
It is the second major US Critics Award for Hamaguchi’s Japanese Oscar submission after the drama was recognized by the New York Film Critics Circle earlier this month. The LAFCA, which announced its winners live on Twitter on Saturday (December 17th), also awarded Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe the award for best screenplay.
Campion’s appreciation for directing reflects the New York Critics’ and LAFCA’s choices, which made it a good day for The Power Of The Dog when Kodi Smit-McPhee ranked for Best Supporting Actor alongside Vincent Lindon of Titane and Ari Wegner claimed the vest camera for himself.
In a rare surprise, Simon Rex was named Best Actor for Red Rocket on Saturday. The group stayed closer to the form book when they awarded Penelope Cruz the Best Actress Award for Parallel Mothers, whose Alberto Iglesias received the Best Music / Score Award. West Side Story’s Ariana DeBose won the competition for best supporting actress.
Celine Sciamma’s Petite Maman won the Best Foreign Language Award and Questloves Summer Of Soul received the Best Documentary Award. Flee won the animation award and is a triple threat this season in the foreign languages, animation and documentary categories. In early December he won the New York Critics’ Documentary Award.
In the most honest selection of the evening on the left, Steve Saklad won the best production design for the comedy by Kristen Wiig Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar. Prayers For The Stolen Director Tatiana Huezo has equated the New Generation Prize with Shatara Michelle Ford for the test sample.
Last year, Small Ax named Nomadland Best Film and Chloe Zhao Best Director. Acting awards went to Chadwick Boseman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Carey Mulligan (Promising Young Woman), Gynn Turman (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) and Youn Yuh-jung (Minari). Beanpole was recognized as the best foreign language film.
Earlier this month, the LAFCA issued a number of proposed screening protocols requiring the wearing of masks and evidence of a vaccine or recent negative Covid test at all personal screenings, and requested screener links to be sent in Cases where this was not possible to include journalists at “higher risk and / or people with disabilities”. The group suggested that the guidelines apply “beyond the scope of the awards season, beyond the scope of the pandemic and beyond the scope of our membership”.
All LAFCA 2021 winners:
best picture: Drive my car
Runner-up: The Power of the Dog
Best director: Jane Campion, The power of the dog
Second: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car
Best actor: Simon Rex, Red missile
Runner-up: Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power Of The Dog
Best Actress: Penelope Cruz, Parallel mothers
Runner-up: Renate Reinsve, the worst person of the day
Best supporting actor (Tie): Vincent Lindon, titanium, and Kodi Smit-McPhee, The power of the dog
Best Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Runner-up: Aunjanue Ellis, King Richard
Best animated film: Flee
Runner-up: Belle
Best documentary / non-fiction book: Summer of the soul
Runner-up: procession
Best foreign language film: Little mom
Runner-up: Quo Vadis Aida?
Best script: Ryusuke Hamaguchi and Takamasa Oe, Drive my car
Runner-up: Paul Thomas Anderson, Licorice Pizza
Best camera: Ari Wegner, The power of the dog
Runner-up: Greig Fraser, Dune
Best Editing: Joshua L. Pearson, Summer of the soul
Second: Andy Jürgensen, Licorice Pizza
Best music / score: Alberto Iglesias, Parallel mothers
Runner-up: Jonny Greenwood, The Power Of The Dog and Spencer
Best Production Design: Steve Saklad, Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar
Runner-up: Tamara Deverell, Nightmare Alley
New generation price: Shatara Michelle Ford, test sample and Tatiana Huezo, prayers for the stolen.
Douglas Edwards Experimental Film Award: The Works and Days (by Tayoko Shiojiri in the Shiotani Basin)
Career success: Mel Brooks.
