Best Picture Challenge: Coda

 In the last few years you really can see a pattern of what movie the studios think are going to get them an Oscar. The last few years there have been a lot of civil rights movies. History, fictional, maybe a little bit of both? It was no a shock last year when the 2021 Best Picture was Green Book. I thought that we were going to get another movie winner that was about civil rights. I think lots of people were very shocked that Coda won this year. I can understand why when I watched it this past weekend.

Ruby is a unique individual with a unique family. Her family is deaf, and she is the only person in her family. She has grown up basically being the interpreter for family being the only one who can speak. She has done everything with her family but also doesn't fully feel like she belongs with her family because she is different from them. Her family being so different from the rest of the community she is in she doesn't really fit in with community either. There is one place where she feels like herself, that is when she is singing. She doesn't think much about what she is going to do with her life because she never things that she is going to leave. That is until her new Choir teacher see her potential and works with her to get into Berkley School of Music. At the same time her family fishing business is being threatened and Ruby is torn to what she needs to do.

Coda was nominated for lots of awards at the start of the year. The only other award that really stuck out to me was that fact that Troy Kotsur won Best Supporting Actor. I haven't heard of this movie until the nominations came out. It was until Mr. Kotsur won the award that is even knew that the movie was about a family that was deaf. Then I realized that Marlee Matlin was also in the film and I have seen her in other things, and I believe that she has won an Oscar in the past as well, and I really wanted to see this movie. Other than these things, I went into this movie blind. I had no clue what the plot was, I didn't know what was going to happen, but it was such a great movie! Growing up is hard, and you never feel like you fit in. I can't even imagine what it was like for Ruby. Then to have this incredible singing talent that your family just doesn't understand, and a family that the rest of the world doesn't understand, has got to be incredibly hard. 

This movie is charming, funny, sad, heartfelt, and just overall wonderful. This movie is going to stay with me for a while. It's beautiful in so many ways and I think everyone not only should see it, but I think everyone who sees it will enjoy it for many different reasons.