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All season long, Sian Heders movie was overshadowed by bigger, starrier contenders.
But none of that mattered come final voting.
CODAs victory was a historic Oscars moment for multiple reasons.
AfterThe Hurt LockerandNomadland,CODAis only the third film directed by a woman to win the top Oscar.
It peaked at the right time.
To say no one sawCODAcoming is a slight overstatement.
Still, theres a pattern Ive noticed about Apple TV+ projects.
It doesnt live or die based on its first-week numbers the way, say, a Netflix movie does.
Enough Academy voters got onboard thatCODAwound up with three nominations.
What explains the turnaround?
And here, paradoxically, is whereCODAs muted opening actually seemed to help it.
The power of the Kotsur.
Speaking of discoveries,CODAs Oscars campaign benefitted from having a perfect pitchman in Troy Kotsur.
It helped, of course, that he had given the performance of his life in the movie.
It was the right movie for the moment.
It was a moviemovie, a film whose primary goal was provoking an emotional response in the viewer.
The artistry it used to accomplish this wasgenuineif more subtle than most of its competitors.
The Zeitgeist played a part, as it always does.
And, of course, the pandemic had already nudged the door open for aCODAwin earlier in the process.
As movie theaters shut down in quarantine, streaming-only projects became the only projects.
What does this win mean forCODAs legacy?
That may be true.
Now its the Best Picture winner.
Thats not going away, either.
