A bit of culture in the Big Apple

The holiday season is joined by another holiday, a lot more interesting and with broad cultural elements. It lasts until the middle of February and it's called the Oscar holiday season.

This month the films nominated for the great prize, or at least those vying for it, are being pulled out of the editing suites.

The US movie season is clearly divided: Winter is the romantic comedy and despicable horror movie season; summer is the time for youngsters and the fluffy comedies that fly by in the air-conditioned breeze; autumn brings the years' successful movies, and the heavy artillery starts arriving in winter.

But let there be no mistake, even before the films hit the big screens, they are already earmarked as nominees for the Oscars. The method is simple: Every large film studio chooses to promote a film or two with the best chances of picking up the golden statues.

Quite often, the considerations have nothing to do with cinematic qualities or artistic parameters, but rather cold, economic calculations that pertain to one basic question: Which of the movies has the best chance to create enough buzz to bring the Oscar.

It suffices to look at the superficial list of actors awarded the prize for leading roles in recent years to understand that it is almost always tarnished with irrelevant considerations, see Reese Witherspoon.

This is a fascinating struggle that forces everyone living in the US to watch every one of the movies. No one wants to be caught unprepared in small talk about the Oscar, which is invariably threatening to become the only small talk around.

Even the timing of the release of these films testifies to the intentions of its producers.

Almodovar's "Volvo" was released in the US six months after it was released in Europe, "The Queen" hit the theatres just a day before the tenth anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, and "Dreamgirls", which was completed a year ago, will only be released when the Oscar buzz begins to sound.

'The Lives of Others'

Beyond these three films, the German film nominated for the best foreign film "The Lives of Others" is also worth mentioning. We can only envy the Germans in recent years for the films they have produced.

No other nation is so courageously coming to terms with its past as the German people. They are opening more and more wounds and are dealing with them profoundly, coldly and courageously, yet with a fair measure of empathy.

After the extensive preoccupation with the Holocaust, the Germans have realized that enough time has elapsed and they can start coming to terms with their past as a divided country.

"The Lives of Others" as in "Au Revoir" and "Lenin," deals with East Germany, and sensitively and accurately traces what the Fall of the Berlin Wall symbolized for its people.

The film recounts the story of a Stazi agent (East Germany's secret service) that terrorized every citizen. I suggest running to see the movie which will only be released in January. If there is any justice in this year's competition, this film may very well take the Oscar.

Recommended art

Besides movies, there are some other things worth doing this coming month. No, I am not referring to the giant Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center that will undoubtedly attract all of America.

And I will also pass up on the giant Hanukkah lamp this year, particularly because they are not handing out doughnuts there, and that's the primary reason for attending the event.

The Metropolitan Museum is displaying several worthwhile exhibitions in parallel, and once again visitors find themselves hesitating over what exhibitions to see. A visit to the museum involves massive crowds; so you would be well advised to visit during a weekday when it is less crowded.

The first and most interesting exhibition called "Glitter and Doom," displays German portraits from the 1920's. Even if you don't usually take an interest in German art, this exhibition is well worth seeing.

The works are beautiful, and their artistic value is impressive. But the most fascinating aspect is the way the mood of society during this era is reflected in the art.

In this case, it is a fascinating, historic period – The Weimar republic, when the Germans were licking their wounds after the loss of WWI and forced to watch as its national resilience lost its stability.

This was the decade that preceded the Nazi regime's rise to power, and an in depth view of the artwork displayed at the museum reveals signs of the process.

From the museum you can continue to Broadway, where the musical Les Miserables by Victor Hugo will be performing for a few weeks.

The original production has been brought back to Broadway, after breaking a world record in the most viewed musical ever. The veteran production, just like an old woman from the Upper East Side, looks well kept and with a bit of renewed energy is showing no signs of age.

The cast of actors give a great performance and although this is a particularly long musical, three hours with an interval, it is well worth making the effort.

Another musical showing no signs of fatigue is "The Producers." However, there is no comparison between the current cast led by Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, but still the refreshing stage management, impressive actors, dancers and witty texts make this musical well worth seeing.

Tickets are not cheap and range between USD 50-110 for each of the performances.

Yaniv Halily is New York correspondent of Yedioth Achronot.