Fresh off an awards sweep at the 79th BAFTA Film Awards, Paul Thomas Anderson gave typically succinct answers when asked whether or not high-profile film personalities have an obligation to speak out on matters of politics. “I’m not a politician, I’m a filmmaker,” Anderson said when asked about the issue as he walked the red carpet Sunday night. “I try to do it through the work.”
Paul Thomas Anderson wins big at BAFTA
Anderson’s latest film, One Battle After Another, which draws its narrative from Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland, won six awards Sunday night, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Supporting Actor went to Sean Penn, while others went home with awards for Cinematography and Editing.
Anderson may have dodged giving an overtly political speech Sunday night, but One Battle After Another is giving an awards show speech of its own. The film tells the story of a burned-out former revolutionary, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and his daughter as they evade a hyper-militarized government agent, Colonel Lockjaw (Sean Penn), in the sanctuary city of Baktan Cross. The film touches on matters of immigration detention and authoritarianism, an overtly political statement from Anderson, who is not typically known as an overtly political filmmaker.
The film has been characterized by critics as the most overtly political work by the director thus far, even as he himself resists the notion of being a political voice. For the director, the 160-minute narrative seems to be the politics, while the soundbite is relegated to the awards ceremony itself.
While accepting the Best Director honor, however, the director took a moment to reveal a more emotional side as he recognized his partner, the late Adam Somner, a producer on the film. The director ended his acceptance speech by quoting Nina Simone: “I know what freedom is: it’s no fear. Let’s keep making things without fear. It’s a good idea.”
Anderson, with six wins out of 13 nominations, is now a frontrunner as the Oscars near on March 15. His biggest competition is Ryan Coogler’s genre-defying epic Sinners, which currently boasts the most nominations with 16.
While the director himself may choose to speak politics into a microphone, the subject matter of his most recent film ensures that the conversation is being had.
