back

National Society of Film Critics Update
From Yahoo
Monday January 08 01:36 AM EST
'Yi Yi' named NSFC's top film
By Ian Mohr

NEW YORK (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Taiwanese helmer Edward Yang's "Yi Yi" (A One and a Two) took best film honors when the National Society of Film Critics doled out its year-end awards Saturday.

Although a surprising choice for the year's top film, "Yi Yi" has been no stranger to critics' awards-season kudos. The ensemble drama about a Taipei family in crisis recently racked up best foreign film honors from the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn. The project is a Winstar Cinema release.

Rounding out the top films of the year, according to the NSFC's weighted balloting system, were Steven Soderbergh's "Traffic" (USA Films) and Terence Davies' "The House of Mirth" (Sony Pictures Classics).

Overall, the NSFC's best-of list for 2000 continued this year's trend of critics organizations' rewarding indie fare while spreading the wealth among a broad range of films and distributors.

In the best director category, "Traffic's" Soderbergh beat out Yang as the year's top helmer, with Ang Lee in third for SPC's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon."

The 51-member NSFC convened at Sardi's restaurant Saturday evening to vote on its 35th annual awards. The organization is composed of critics from major publications in New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago and is chaired by New York Magazine's Peter Rainer.

Joining Winstar as another New York-based specialty distributor with awards-season swagger was Cowboy Booking International. The indie outfit's "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg" won best documentary after winning similar honors from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures and The New York Film Critics Circle. Director Aviva Kempner's story of the legendary Jewish baseball slugger, "Greenberg" was followed in the top docu category by Marc Singer's "Dark Days" and Spike Lee's "The Original Kings of Comedy."

Javier Bardem won the best actor award for his portrayal of gay Cuban novelist and poet Reinaldo Arenas in artist-helmer Julian Schnabel's "Before Night Falls" (Fine Line Features). Bardem recently captured a best acting Golden Globe nomination for "Night."

Following Bardem in the best actor category were Mark Ruffalo of Paramount Classics' "You Can Count on Me" and Tom Hanks for his role in 20th Century Fox's "Cast Away."

On the heels of her Golden Globe nomination last month, "Count on Me's" Laura Linney counted a best actress win from the NSFC. "House of Mirth's" Gillian Anderson was runner-up, followed by Ellen Burstyn of Darren Aronoksky's "Requiem for a Dream" in third. "Requiem" is an Artisan Entertainment release.

"Count on Me" also scored a win for best screenplay for writer-helmer Kenneth Lonergan, with Steve Kloves ("Wonder Boys") and Stephen Gaghan ("Traffic") in second and third.

Benicio Del Toro continued his awards-season success as his performance in "Traffic" nabbed him an NSFC win for best supporting actor. Del Toro is also a Golden Globe nominee in that category. Fred Willard came in second for his role in actor-helmer Christopher Guest and Warner Bros.' doggie mockumentary "Best in Show," while Willem Dafoe of E. Elias Merhige and Lions Gate Films' "Shadow of the Vampire" sank his teeth into third.

Actress-writer Elaine May won best supporting actress for her role in Woody Allen's DreamWorks release "Small Time Crooks." May was followed by Frances McDormand for two films -- "Almost Famous" and "Wonder Boys" -- and Marcia Gay Harden for Ed Harris' directorial debut, "Pollock."

Agnes Godard saw a best cinematography win for "Beau Travail," with Soderbergh following in second for "Traffic" and "Crouching Tiger's" Peter Pau third. (Soderbergh is credited as Peter Andrews for his cinematography work on "Traffic.")

Best experimental film went to Guy Maddin's "The Heart of the World."

In the special awards categories, the Film Heritage Award was presented to the National Film Preservation Foundation, and a citation went to writer-director Michelangelo Antonioni for his "half-century-long career."

The NSFC dedicated its 2000 awards to the memory of the late New York Times critic and onetime NSFC chair Vincent Canby.

THE END

back