Review of Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) by Iowa B — 16 May 2015

It is rather amusing that "Birdman" won the Academy for best film, because it definitely isn't the kind of film you'll see at the Oscars, for better and/or worse.

It is, however, engaging(if you're not looking for steroid blockbusters, that is), funny and insightful as far as showbiz is concerned.

Innaritu's surreal/magic realism insertions work not necessarily because they are easily explained by the plot, but because, even without this aspect, they work as references/throwbacks or ironies.

The performances are accurate and there are some juicy characters(Mike is the chief among them) and - if you're into cinema or theater - the experience might be even more rewarding.

As I said before, it is interesting that "Birdman" grabbed the Academy Award for the best film. Interesting and funny. Because, in general, Oscars are for crowd-pleasers. I'm not suggesting that the Oscar films are bad, I'm suggesting just that, in general, are audience friendly.

Birdman isn't. Yes, it stars Michael Keaton and Edward Norton, but it isn't audience-friendly. And those of you who try to make it like this, please stop, because it's ridiculous.

But is it Oscar worthy? Couldn't tell. Haven't seen the rest of the nominated films . But could an less audience-friendly film grab an oscar? Should it? Of course! If it deserves it, yes.

Now, many people are living or feeding the delusion that the quality of a film is determined by how many people like it and if you and most of your didn't like a film, that film is bad. Nope, it doesn't work like that, I'm afraid. Cinema is not a big Miss Popularity contest. There are certain criteria to be followed and none of them imply the fact that a certain film "bored you", or "you just didn't like it", or "it doesn't make sense/it isn't interesting". These are not criteria, these are irrelevant things people gossip about while shopping or eating.

Amusingly enough, the film kinda revolves around what I said earlier, as well.

For being rather engaging, funny, well acted and well crafted, I give this 4 out of 5.