Se7en
1995/Drama, Crime, Mystery/USA
An urban horror disguised as neo-noir, this film keeps you in dark rooms with rotting corpses until the very last moment, only to burst out into the open at the end and explode in catharsis and painful shock at the same time. Fincher’s Best Film received only a nomination for Best Editing.
Fargo
1996/ Crime, Comedy, Drama, Thriller/USA, UK
At first glance, the relatively unassuming film by the Coen brothers quickly became a legend, a hallmark of the directors for millions of viewers, and an occasion for an ultra-popular series. But then the Film Academy nevertheless noted the film with two Oscars, drawing the attention of a wide audience to it, which could miss it at the box office. And already on video, a low-budget picture conquered the world.
Breaking the Waves
1996/Melodrama, Drama
One of the greatest films in history, a favorite of intellectuals and any viewer who watched at least the first few minutes and fell in love with a defenseless heroine, a “heart of gold”, living in a perverted world and performing an absurd, but so majestic act of love towards her husband. The “academicians” who looked down on von Trier wanted to award Emily Watson for the best role but changed their minds. And nothing else in this film attracted them. Instead, they honored the classic drama The English Patient.
Trainspotting
1996/Drama/UK
The anthem of a generation, a film in relation to which the word “cult” can be safely used, a picture that was impossible not to watch if you wanted decent people to talk to you at all. But the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences felt that even the Best Adapted Screenplay award for Danny Boyle’s hit would be too much. It remains to be hoped that he was not too offended, although this is his best film, which he could not surpass.
The Fifth Element
1997/Adventure, Action/France, USA
The best picture of Luc Besson, an absolute achievement of science fiction cinema, with which it is still customary to compare everything new in this genre, a magnificent cocktail of sound and image, a ready-made universe where you want not only to be for a while but also to stay alive. The “Academicians” nominated the film for the prize for the best sound editing, but then they decided that this was too much for a French film.