"The King's Speech" reigns; "Marwencol" rules

The surprise Director's Guild Award for Tom Hooper and the awards from the Screen Actors Guild  --  Best Actor for Colin Firth and Best Ensemble Cast -- pretty much guarantee an Oscar sweep for "The King's Speech," the lush period biopic about King George VI, who, with the help of a non-elitist therapist managed to shake off a debilitating stutter, a toffee-nosed dissolute, Nazi-leaning  elder brother, and a paralyzing father complex, and, apparently, go on to win World War II singlehandedly. In short, a textbook case of an  Oscar shoo-in that will be studied by aspirants to the prize as a model to follow for years to come.

On the other hand, if you'd like to see a genuinely moving and inspiring film about another, humbler figure who transforms a disability into a redeeming asset, check out "Marwencol" at the Brattle heater Tonight. This film won't win any Oscars - the filmmakers couldn't raise the $25,000 or so necessary to fulfill the Academy's requirements to get a nomination. But director Jeff Malmberg did accept the Boston Society of Film Critics award for Best Documentary and the David Brudnoy Award for Best New Filmmaker at the group's award ceremony last night, which hopefully is some consolation.