By Danica Rivera
“Everything Everywhere All At Once,” ending the 95th Academy Awards ceremony triumphantly, winning a total of seven awards: best picture, best actress, best supporting actress, best supporting actor, best editing, best director, and best original screenplay.
The film has been making waves for its Asian representation in the film industry and the number of Asian actors that were nominated this season for an Oscar within a single year. With 11 nominations and now seven wins, the film’s significance has only grown more.
Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Stephanie Hsu have been winning praise from audiences around the world.
“Everything Everywhere…”, follows Chinese-immigrant mother, Evelyn Wang (Michelle Yeoh), and her bizarre journey through multiple parallel universes to save her own world and family. This movie vastly contrasts from the typical films about family dynamics and self-discovery because it’s weird and trippy. The off-putting visuals can easily cause confusion to certain viewers.
However, the metaphors and symbols in the film emit a comedic effect, for the most part, but also ultimately deepen the overall purpose and lessons behind the movie. This allows viewers to understand the characters’ perspectives and dispositions in a unique way.
The film is the first sci-fi production to win best picture within the Academy Awards’ 95-year history. The directors of the film, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, are the first directors to jointly win the best director award as non-siblings as well. Additionally, Yeoh and Quan won their first Oscars that night, followed by Jamie Lee Curtis (who played Deirdre Beaubeirdre in the film) for best supporting actress.
Yeoh became the first woman who identifies as Asian American to accept the Academy Award for best actress and Quan (who played Evelyn’s husband, Waymond Wang) became the first Asian actor to accept the best supporting actor award. It was an ultimate comeback from Quan after a long absence from acting and an ultimate success for Yeoh after working in the industry for years.
Furthermore, “Everything Everywhere…” achieving several awards from the Academy holds importance to not only the film’s team/crew, but the film industry as a whole as well. With this Asian-led film succeeding at the ceremony, it leaves room for further cultural representation, storytelling, and creatives to be displayed on the big screen in the near future.
The Plaid Press 