'Battle After Battle' triumphs at a docile and uncompromising Oscars

BarcelonaThe pulse between One battle after another and The sinners The Oscars already have a winner. Paul Thomas Anderson's film about a deranged, paranoid, revolutionary ex-activist facing off against the fascist military officer who has kidnapped his daughter took home six statuettes: Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Casting, and Editing. The victory ofOne battle after another, which had 13 nominations, It is the triumph of great American cinema, the kind that draws from the auteur tradition of the 1970s and aspires to portray American society with an uncompromising gaze. But above all, it is Anderson's triumph, who, after thirty years of an extraordinary career, has established himself, alongside Quentin Tarantino, as the most consistent and ambitious director of the 1990s generation. He is, in fact, the first filmmaker from this group to achieve a resounding Oscar victory. An act of justice for the author of masterpieces overlooked by the Oscars, such as Boogie Nights, Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, Phantom Thread either Licorice Pizza

The other big favorite of the night was The sinnersThe film, which held the record for the most nominations of this year's and the history of the Oscars (16 nominations), wasn't the dominant film some expected, especially the audience at the ceremony, who enthusiastically applauded every mention of the film. However, it achieved a respectable haul—the second largest of the night—of four awards: Best Original Screenplay for Ryan Coogler (the film's director), Best Original Score, Best Cinematography, and Best Actor, with Michael B. Jordan becoming the sixth African American actor to win in that category. He himself acknowledged and thanked the legacy of "giants" who came before him, such as Sidney Poitier, Denzel Washington, Halle Berry, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, and Will Smith. Finally, there were no surprises for Catalan cinema in the two categories in which it was nominated. Sirado: Amanda Villavieja, Laia Casanovas and Yasmina Praderas They haven't received the Oscar for best sound, which has gone to F1, and Sentimental value Oliver Laxe's film has won in the Best International Feature Film category. Thus, the two favorites from the very beginning of the Oscar race have won. Laxe, who told a Mexican television station that he wasn't disappointed because "just getting to the Oscars is already a victory," couldn't quite complete the incredible success story that began almost a year ago at the Cannes Film Festival, but the standing ovation it received both times its title was mentioned is no small feat. Sirado at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

But one of the most significant ovations of the night was the one the audience gave to the first words spoken by Javier Bardem before presenting the Oscar for Best International Feature Film: "No to war. Free Palestine." Bardem's outcry, who wore the same insignia as the Not in war The dress she wore more than twenty years ago at the Goya Awards has contrasted sharply with the silence of the vast majority of presenters and award winners at the gala, who avoided making political statements. There have been exceptions, such as the directors of the documentary. Mr. Nobody vs. PutinBut the second Oscars of Trump's second term have shown that Hollywood prefers not to directly challenge its president.

Oscar arrives 40 years later

The first Oscar of the night went to Amy Madigan for Best Supporting Actress for her outstanding role as a witch. in the horror film of the season, WeaponsMadigan was already nominated four decades ago for her role in Twice in a lifetime“‘What’s changed in 40 years?’ all the journalists kept asking me,” Madigan said. “Well, that little thing,” the actress said, pointing to the statuette. She is, in fact, the first actress to win an Oscar for a horror film since Ruth Gordon won in 1968 for *The Last Star*. The Devil's Baby.

The six Oscars ofOne battle after another, the four ofThe sinners and the one of Weapons This brings Warner's total to eleven statuettes, equaling the historic record already held by MGM the year of Ben-HurParamount, the one of Titanic, and New Line the edition ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Return of the KingWarner's milestone has a bittersweet aftertaste. the imminent sale of the studio at ParamountThe other company Warner wanted to buy, the Netflix platform, came in second in the ranking of most awarded studios this year with six Oscars, including three technical awards. Frankenstein by Guillermo del Toro and the two expected awards of The K-pop warriorsBest Animated Feature and Best Original Song for GoldenHowever, it wasn't the great musical performance that was expected.

In the acting categories, the big news is probably Sean Penn's third Oscar win for One battle after anotherWith this win, he ties the record of Jack Nicholson, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Walter Brennan as the most awarded actors in Oscar history—always trailing Katharine Hepburn's four Oscars, of course. However, Penn did not attend the Oscar ceremony and, therefore, did not accept the award. "Sean Penn couldn't come to the Oscars... Or he didn't want to," said the category's presenter, Kieran Culkin, before accepting the award on Penn's behalf. The actor's absence was partially offset by the Oscar for Best Actress for [unknown character]. Hamnet Jessie Buckley, the first Irish actress to win an Oscar, gave a moving speech and noted that the Oscar ceremony coincided with Mother's Day in the UK. "I would like to dedicate this award to the wonderful chaos of a mother's heart," the actress said.

But the anecdote of the night was the tie of The singers and Two people exchanging saliva In the Oscar for Best Short Film, a category presented by Kumail Nanjiani, who handled the unexpected situation well—better than the ceremony's director, who sabotaged the second speech—and quipped that "the Oscar for Best Short Film will end up being twice as long as the rest of the categories." The final touch was added by the ceremony's host, Conan O'Brien: "Congratulations to the winners, you've just ruined millions of bets around the world." It is, incidentally, the seventh tie in Oscar history, and the first since 2012. Another record of the night was that of Autumn Durald Arkapaw, the first woman to win (for The sinnersAn Oscar in the cinematography category.

Conan O'Brien, impeccable

The ceremony got off to a sensational start with an inspired and entertaining O'Brien, confirming his status as the best Oscars host since Billy Crystal. Both the opening costume gag and the witch from Weapons The jokes in the monologue were funny and resonated, especially when O'Brien recalled that it was the first edition in which there was no British performer nominated for best actor or actress since 2012. "A representative of the British said: 'Well, at least we We arrest our pedophiles“,” the first allusion to Trump in the script of the gala, which through a handful of gags has served as a sounding board for the transformations of the Hollywood industry and of the Oscar ceremony itself, which from 2028 onwards will be broadcast on YouTube, a circumstance that has prompted one of the presenters – and not only him! – to also take aim at Timothée Chalamet and his most recent controversy"Security is quite tight tonight. There are rumors of possible attacks from the opera and ballet communities." O'Brien also took a jab at the Netflix CEO ("We have Ted Sarandos in the audience. It's only the third time in his life he's been to a movie theater") and made a joke as silly and absurd as:F1 It performed so well at the box office that they are already preparing a sequel: Caps LockO'Brien handles all aspects of comedy well, and his humor is daring without being offensive; in other words, the perfect balance for an Oscars ceremony always eager to please everyone. The comedic routines of some of the award presenters have also worked well, especially Sigourney Weaver's "Yellow," the Baby Yoda of... The Mandalorianbut also that of Anna Wintour and Anne Hathaway, inspiration and protagonist ofThe Devil Wears Prada IIThe appearance of Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., two of the stars ofAvengers: Doomsday. These are, of course, three of Disney's big 2026 releases, the owner of the ABC network, which filled the gala with covert advertising. More successful was the decision to reunite the cast of the 2011 comedy. My best friend's weddingEven if it's just to enjoy the great comedic talent of Kristen Wiig, Rose Byrne, Maya Rudolph, Melissa McCarthy, and Ellie Kemper.

Although it lacked pacing and dragged on again (three hours and 40 minutes, 10 minutes shorter than last year), the Oscars ceremony had quite a few funny moments, such as Adrien Brody threatening to deliver another interminable speech before presenting the documentary categories: he joked about how furious Trump would be to see that the documentary about Melania wasn't nominated, and also hinted that "there are countries where their leaders don't support freedom of expression, but I'm not allowed to say which ones; leave it to North Korea and CBS." The fact that the most politically charged figures at the ceremony were two late-night talk show hosts and a Spanish actor like Bardem speaks volumes about Hollywood's reluctance to speak out against Washington.

In a year with many important deaths in Hollywood, the Oscars wanted to highlight some beyond thein memoriam of each year: first the most traumatic, that of director Rob Reiner, whose life was celebrated by his friend Billy Crystal, accompanied by a host of actors from the director's films. Catherine O'Hara and Diane Keaton also enjoyed a special segment, and of course, Robert Redford, whom Barbra Streisand remembered in a speech that ended with the actress singing a few lines from The way we were, the main theme of the romantic drama she and Redford starred in in 1973, Just as we were.

Oscars 2026 winners

[We write the film titles respecting the title under which they were released in Catalonia. In the case of films that include Catalan subtitles or dubbing when available on platforms, we write the title in Catalan.]

Best Film

• One battle after anotherdirected by Paul Thomas Anderson

Better direction

• Paul Thomas Anderson by One battle after another

Best Actress

• Jessie Buckley by Hamnet

Best Actor

• Michael B. Jordan by The sinners

Best Supporting Actress

• Amy Madigan by Weapons

Best Supporting Actor

• Sean Penn for One battle after another

Best International Film

• Sentimental value, directed by Joachim Trier (Norway)

Best Animated Feature Film

• The K-pop warriors, directed by Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang

Best Documentary

• Mr. Nobody against Putindirected by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin

Best Original Screenplay

• Ryan Coogler by The sinners

Best Adapted Screenplay

• Paul Thomas Anderson by One battle after another

Best photograph

• Autumn Durald Arkapaw by The sinners

Better assembly

• Andy Jurgensen by One battle after another

Best Original Music

• Ludwig Goransson by The sinners

Best Original Song

• Golden, for The K-pop warriors. Words and music: EJAE, Mark Sonnenblick, Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seon and Teddy Park

Better sound

• Gareth John, Al Nelson, Gwendoline Yates Whitle, Gary A. Rizzo and Juan Peralta by F1

Best Art Direction

• Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau for Frankenstein

Best wardrobe

• Kate Hawley by Frankenstein

Better makeup and hairstyling

• Mike Hill, Jordan Samuel and Cliona Furey by Frankenstein

Better visual effects

• Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett for Avatar: Fire and Ashes

Best casting

• Cassandra Kulukundis by One battle after another

Best Animated Short

• The girl who cried pearlsby Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski

Best fiction short film

• The singersby Sam A. Davis and Jack Piatt
• Two people exchanging salivaby Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata

Best Short Documentary

• All the empty roomsby Joshua Seftel and Conall Jones