Jamie passion and passionfruit!

Best Director:

Nominees:

• Tim Burton (Corpse Bride)
• Tony Gatlif (Exils)
• Curtis Hanson (In her Shoes)
• Oliver Hirschbiegel (Der Untergang)
• Mike Leigh (Vera Drake)
• Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener)
• Martin Scorsese (The Aviator)
• Damian Szifron (Tiempo de Valientes)

A good selection here with the imagination of Tim Burton creating what will be an animated classic and the organic road movie of Gatlif in which his characters look for themselves and leads up to an amazing trance scene all on film.  Then  Hanson brings us a textbook comedy with meaning, Hirschbiegel attempts the impossible – an acceptable recreation of Hitler’s final days and Leigh recreates 50’s Britain down to a tee.  Meirelles’ version of John Le Carré’s, The Constant Gardener blends thriller, politics, social commentary and romance, Scorsese is responsible for another recreation – the Howard Hughes period and a textbook slapstick from Argentine Szifron.  How do we possibly choose?

Special Mention to:

Oliver Hirschbiegel (Der Untergang)

You have to hand it to him – his claustrophobic portrayal of life in Hitler’s bunker was gripping and rigorously enough done to be acceptable to most.

Winners:

Mike Leigh (Vera Drake)

Martin Scorsese (The Aviator)

In the end, I couldn’t separate them.  Leigh was all sombre restraint with a carefully built up look at the housewife turned abortionist.  Scorsese spared no effort or expense at giving us Howard Hughes and his world – almost the stuff of all fantasy!