Wednesday saw the foreign language film selectors taking off their thinking caps and resting on the hope that their official submissions for Best Foreign Language Film appeal to the temperamental Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Cinematical notes that this year 51 countries submitted what they consider their finest products, from the usuals such as Italy and France, and others like Jordan who submitted a film, “Captain Abu Raed,” for the first time ever.
Most of the titles, which had to have played in their native countries for at least a one week run, us ordinary folk have never heard of, but quite a few of the submitted films have been bouncing around the festival circuit so their inclusion isn’t a surprise, and to our unknowing minds they seem to be the frontrunners for the gold too. France, who have submitted a film since 1965 when the category was first included in the official Oscar ceremony, selected the Palme d’Or winning “The Class,” over many other hopefuls including Philippe Claudel’s “I’ve Loved You So Long.” France has been nominated for more Foreign Language Oscars than any other country, but Italy holds the crown for the most wins. This year, they selected Matt Garone’s “Gomorrah” to represent their country, which won the Grand Prix at Cannes this year, over another Cannes-featured film “Il Divo.”
Turkey picked the freaky looking “Three Monkeys,” Israel the animated pseudo-documentary “Waltz With Bashir” and Norway the Cannes and Telluride tested “O’Horten.” So far that makes five highly regarded entries, and if someone asked me to place a bet on the final five to be picked, I’d hand them those five titles on the basis that I know little to nothing the other submitted films. At this point in time, it really is anyone’s guess.
Sweden chose “Everlasting Moments” by Academy Award Nominee Jan Troell (“The Emigrants”), which played at Toronto getting lukewarm reviews. Screen International said, “This picture has quality stamped all over it, awards are likely to come its way whether for direction.” Germany picked “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” which just opened there to a less than desirable box-office opening. Argentina went with Pablo Trapero’s “Lion’s Den,” which played at Cannes this year where Andrew O’Hehir said, “Lion’s Den” is marvelously shot and acted, constantly surprising.” Spain, who have 19 nominations and 4 wins in this category, chose “The Blind Sunflowers,” which failed to ignite Variety’s enthusiasm, “Top-notch cast feels wasted, with most of the content rerun from previous Civil War dramas.” Mexico chose “Tear Up My Life,” and their excellent “Silent Light” never made it past the shortlist last year.
Similar to Mexico’s unfortunate shut out last year, the same happened to Romania with their jaw-dropping “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.” This year, they are going with “The Rest is Silence.” For the complete list, Wikipedia has our backs. That list, of course, is the first of many, many shortlists to follow over the coming months and the final five is always completely unpredictable, so it will be most interesting to see how it all pans out.
This post is courtesy of our friends at Fataculture.
