Our third LION Award goes to Best Foreign Language Film, which got the least amount of votes out of all twelve categories with only 23 participants.
Come back tomorrow for Best Documentary Film.
This is not entirely my fault; a shortlist of 66 movies was submitted two months ago, from which nine, and ultimately the final five would eventually be selected. I waded through the list and, at time of writing, have reviewed sixteen of them. Of these sixteen, precisely two have made it to the final five. This, naturally, leaves me at a slight disadvantage when attempting to write about this category, so prepare yourselves for a lot of padding and editorial waffling.
In any other year, Hungary’s ‘Bibliotheque Pascal’ would have taken some beating in the ‘oddest film’ category, were one to exist, but this year it could only scrape a bronze medal. The aforementioned ‘Uncle Boonmee’ knocked it back, taking a well-deserved second, but both failed on two counts; neither were nominated for an Oscar, and neither were anywhere near as nutty as Greece’s ‘Dogtooth’. Remarkably, this dysfunctional family drama (and then some) has reached the final five. To those who have not seen it, all I can say is be prepared for a lot of head-scratching. One thing’s for sure, you won’t leave the movie early; you’ll be too intrigued by the fascinating, perverse story of three late-teens/early-twenties children who’ve never been allowed to leave their house. If this wins I’ll be stunned, although I loved it for its batshit-insane attitude.
Editor’s note: Welcome to the second of a 33-part series dissecting the 82st Academy Awards, brought to you by the Large Association of Movie Blogs and its assorted members. Every day leading up to the Oscars, a new post written by a different LAMB will be published, each covering a different category of the Oscars. To read any other posts regarding this event, please click the tag following the post. Thank you, and enjoy!
By Andy Hart of Fandango Groovers Movie Blog.
I recently compiled a list of my top ten movies of the decade; four of the ten, including the top three were foreign Language films. With this in mind it is no surprise when The LAMB announced its third annual “Devours the Oscars” I volunteered for Best Foreign Language Film. A quick search on the internet revealed that not only is the Best Foreign Language Film completely different to every other category, but that I had only seen one of the sixty-five submitted films. This makes the project a little daunting
As I mentioned above, the Oscar for the Best Foreign Language Film is unlike any of the other awards. The eligibility and selection process are completely different. Unlike the other awards the movie does not have to be screened in the United States in order to be eligible for competition, instead they must be screened to a paying audience in the submitting country for at least seven consecutive days during the eligibility period (October 1, 2008, and September 30, 2009). Obviously the film must be in a language other than English but as of 2006 films no longer have to be in an official language of the submitting country. This change did not extend to non-English speaking American films that are still ineligible.
As each country can only submit one film the submission process begins with a committee or jury of people from the countries film industry who select the film they wish to enter. English-subtitled (never dubbed) versions of the films are viewed by the Foreign Language Film Award Committee who selects the five official nominations. In order to vote the Academy members have to attend an official screening of all five of the movies, “screener” DVD’s are not used in this category. If a film is nominated it is also eligible for nominations in other categories that year subject to meeting their requirements but will not be eligible for nomination in subsequent years. Of this years submissions only The White Ribbon is eligible in other categories. It is rare for films to make the crossover, the best examples of movies that have in recent years are: Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Amélie (2001) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). Crouching Tiger is the most successful of the three achieving a nomination in the Best Picture category as well as winning the Foreign Language award.
In the past the award has been dominated by European cinema with Italy winning ten times from twenty-seven nominations and France receiving nine awards from thirty-four nominations. Spain, Germany, Sweden, Holland, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland and the Soviet Union have all won multiple awards. The only none European country to win more than once is Japan with four awards from eleven nominations. Amazingly neither Hong Kong nor China have ever won and have only been nominated twice each.
As I have been unable to see all the movies I have taken some of the descriptions from the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), these are clearly labelled as such. The nominations are:
El Secreto de Sus Ojos
Directed by Juan Jose Campanella
Argentina
Set in 1999, Benjamín Espósito worked as a federal justice agent in the 1970’s against a backdrop of political violence in Argentina. Haunted by his past and particularly a case he worked on where a young woman was brutally raped and murdered he sets about writing his story in the form of a novel. As he compiles the novel the story full of twists and turns is told in flashback before reaching a shocking conclusion.
Extremely well received the movie won all nine Clarin Entertainment Awards that it was nominated for and all five awards it was nominated for at the Havana Film Festival.
No UK or USA release dates at this time.
Ajami
Directed by Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani
Israel
Synopsis from IMDB: “Unlike many films from Israel which traditionally present an “Israeli” or “Palestinian” point of view, “Ajami” portrays a side of life that few ever see — Arabs living in Israel. In fact, not only is this film not primarily about Arabs and Israelis, it actually deals with conflict within the Israeli Arab world between Muslims and Christians.” Written, directed, and edited by Scandar Copti, “Ajami” is a two-hour “Crash”-like drama which looks at several violent incidents, some linked more than others, and then focuses on one in particular from different perspectives told through the use of flashbacks. The movie takes awhile to get going but once the viewer catches on to the device it becomes more compelling. The young people featured in the recurring storyline are quite endearing and easy to empathize with. This could be a coming-of-age story set anywhere in the world.”
Nominated for nine Awards of the Israeli Film Academy and won for Best Director, Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Music. It also awarded European Discovery of the Year at the European film awards and Golden Camera - Special Mention at the Cannes Film Festival.
Screened at last years London Film Festival and set for a limited national release in the USA from 3 February 2010.
La teta asustada (aka The Milk of Sorrow)
Directed by Claudia Llosa
Peru
Synopsis from IMDB: “Fausta is suffering from a rare disease called the Milk of Sorrow, which is transmitted through the breast milk of pregnant women who were abused or raped during or soon after pregnancy. While living in constant fear and confusion due to this disease, she must face the sudden death of her mother. She chooses to take drastic measures to not follow in her mother’s footsteps”
The film has won numerous awards already including the Golden Berlin Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival 2009, Best Film at the Havana Film Festival 2009.
Magaly Solier has won Best Actress awards at Film Festivals in Guadalajara, Lima and Montréal.
Screened at last years London Film Festival.
Un Prophete (aka A Prophet)
directed by Jacques Audiard
France
Malik El Djebena is a nineteen year old French-Arab sentenced to six years for an unspecified crime. He has clearly been in trouble all his life but this is his first time in real prison. Only semi literate and with no friends inside it isn’t long before he is targeted by the ruling gang who want to exploit him to their own ends. At first by accident more then by design he begins his rise through the ranks within the prisons ruling class. Always on the outside Malik doesn’t fit in with the Corsican gang that rules the prison but because of his involvement with them isn’t accepted by the Arab prisoners. The film works in an existential way as we see Malik develop as a character in the brutal and violent setting. There are also suggestions that the film is a political statement with the events within the prison reflecting social and political changes in France. Either way the movie works on a simpler more base a visceral level as a hard hitting dramatic thriller that is always compelling and often thought provoking.
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize a last years Cannes Film Festival, Nominated as Best Foreign Language Film at the Golden Globes and The BAFTA’s as well as several other awards and nominations.
Currently on general release in UK and limited national release in USA from 12 February 2010.
Das weisse Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (aka The White Ribbon)
Michael Haneke
Germany
A modern fable set in a small rural German village in the months leading up to the outbreak of the First World War. The film is narrated the local teacher who is now an old man looking back at the time. He explains that the events in the village could explain “things that happened in this country” without specifically mentioning the rise of the Nazi party or the events of either World War. Without explaining why he also questions the varsity of his own words before he tells the story. The story is told via a series of unexplained malicious acts and recriminations that become more serious and go unsolved. There is also a bold use of symbolism, notably the white ribbon of the title. Worn by the children of the village pastor disturbingly following a “cleansing” beating, they could represent the Swastika armbands worn by the Nazi’s or even the badges forced on others such as the yellow star. There are no intruders or outside aggressors, the villages’ problems are wholly internal. This is the films most direct statement on Germany of the era. The characters are also painfully unaware of the coming wars and that society is crumbling around them.
Has already won Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, three awards at Cannes Film Festival including Golden Palm. It has also been nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at The BAFTA’s, Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography from the American Society of Cinematographers and Best Achievement in Cinematography at the Oscars.
Had national releases in both the UK and USA last year
Editor’s note: Welcome to the third of a 24-part series dissecting the 81st Academy Awards, brought to you by the Large Association of Movie Blogs and its assorted members. Every day leading up to the Oscars, a new post written by a different LAMB will be published, each covering a different category of the Oscars. To read any other posts regarding this event, please click the tag following the post. Thank you, and enjoy!
By Stephanie of The Flick Chick.
Although the Academy has named some pretty solid films as Best Foreign Language Feature in the past, the fact of the matter is that the way the nominees are chosen ensures the ultimate irrelevance of the category. More often than not, the most acclaimed films that international cinema has to offer are overlooked due to the politics of the nomination process. Every country is allowed to submit one film for consideration (which is good for countries with smaller film industries, but bad for countries like France, Germany, Italy or Spain who are in effect penalized for the strength of their film industries) and a committee whittles the list down to nine potential nominees. Those nine films are then screened by a 30 member committee that determines which five will get to go to the big show. It is… not the best system, especially when you consider that so many films made today are the result of collaboration (both artistically and monetarily) between people from different countries, which can make it difficult to define what country a particular film properly “belongs” to.
That being said, despite the category’s shortcomings it does serve an important function by bringing attention to films that might otherwise never find an audience in the English-speaking world. This year’s nominees:
The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany)
Director: Uli Edel
Plot: The film follows the exploits of the Red Army Faction, a group of domestic terrorists who caused chaos in West Germany in the late 1960s and 1970s. The members of the RAF are the children of those who lived through the Nazi era and see the current political regime as just another form of Fascism, with many ex-Nazis in positions of power. To combat political oppression, the group employs kidnappings, bombings and assassinations, all in the name of making society more humane.
I’ve seen a couple of German films which deal with the issue of domestic terrorism (The Legend of Rita and The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum), both of which were fairly sympathetic to the terrorists but were also released pre-2001. I’m very interested in seeing this film to compare how the issue is treated by filmmakers creating in a post-911 world.
Germany’s Track Record: 17 nominations, 3 wins (1979, 2002, 2006)
The Class (France)
Director: Laurent Cantet
Plot: The plot sounds like something right out of the Hollywood playbook – a well-meaning teacher takes on students at an inner city school, where his efforts to teach are hindered by the clashing of cultures and the generation gap. He persists even as his students challenge his methods and somehow by the end of the school year he’s accomplished his goal.
Though the bare bones of the plot are familiar from dozens of other movies, by all accounts this film delves deeper than the average “teacher movie.” The students are played by non-actors and the focus is exclusively on their lives in the classroom and the ways that they learn and relate to each other. The film has been incredibly well-received, showing up on a number of Top 10s and winning the Palm D’Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.
France’s Track Record: 34 nominations, 9 competitive wins (1958, 1959, 1962, 1966, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1992), 3 honorary Oscars
Departures (Japan)
Director: Yojiro Takita
Plot: An unemployed cellist, having given up on his musical aspirations, returns to his hometown and tries to regain a sense of balance in his life. Looking through the classifieds, he finds a job which requires “assisting departures” and decides to pursue it, believing the position to be in the travel industry. When he arrives, however, he learns that the job is in a funeral home and would require him to perform the ceremonial aspects necessary before cremation can take place. He reluctantly accepts and, against all odds, finds himself enjoying his new life.
I haven’t heard, well, anything about this one so I’m not really certain how it’s been received by critics, though it has won a few festival awards.
Japan’s Track Record: 12 nominations, 0 competitive wins, 3 honorary Oscars
Revanche (Austria)
Director: Gotz Spielmann
Plot: A thriller about a thug who works for a brothel owner and falls in love with one of the prostitutes. The two run away together to the countryside, where they get involved in a botched bank robbery and are forced to cool their heels on the outskirts of the town, living with the thug’s father in his cabin. Their lives soon become tied up with those of a local cop and his wife.
This is another movie that I haven’t heard much about, though it’s been much lauded in both Germany and Austria. The trailer (slightly NSFW – gotta love European cinema) is intriguing, though it seems a bit spoilery.
Austria’s Track Record: 2 nominations, 1 win (2007)
Waltz With Bashir (Israel)
Director: Ari Folman
Plot: The film follows Folman as he attempts to remember his experiences as an Israeli soldier during the 1982 war with Lebanon. His inability to recall any of the events of this period bother him and in an attempt to understand what happened – and why he might be repressing it - he seeks out former friends, fellow soldiers, a psychologist and a reporter who covered the conflict. The story is related by means of a form of animation which combines classic animation with Flash cutouts.
A mixture of forms and genres, this animated documentary is certainly the leader amongst the nominees in terms of buzz, but it is also exactly the kind of film that the Academy has no idea what to do with, which is why it wouldn’t surprise me at all if it walked away empty-handed. It has garnered a number of awards as Best Animated Feature, Best Foreign Language Feature and Best Documentary Feature.
Israel’s Track Record: 8 nominations, 0 wins
Editor’s note: Welcome to the eleventh of a multi-part series dissecting the 2008 Academy Awards, brought to you by the Large Association of Movie Blogs and its assorted members. Every weekday leading up to the Oscars, a new post written by a different LAMB will be published, each covering a different category (or more) of the Oscars (there are 24 in all). To read any other posts regarding this event, please just click on the tag following the post. Thank you, and enjoy!
By DJ Heinlein of Matte Havoc.
In collaboration with my fellow LAMBs I have been assigned a special Oscars themed category in which I will be basing this entire article upon. I have been assigned to review the list of 2008 Oscar nominees for Best Foreign Language film. The task may be interesting and challenging since none of the nominees have been released into the theaters of mainstream America. I think I am up for the challenge.
I admit that I enjoy watching foreign films, because they can be a huge breath of fresh air. When shrouded within a room that plays the same American story lines repetitively the mental stimulation becomes clouded and the air in the room grows stale. I want something fresh, new, and mentally invigorating. That is when the outside world, also known as the foreign film market, can throw my mind for a loop. What concerns me is that the nominations for the 2008 Academy Awards list five different films in the Foreign Language category that I have not seen yet. The main reason for this would be that they are currently not playing at the local art houses. And if the titles ever have been listed on the marques of the theater I was too slow to have noticed their initial run. However, here are the list of nominations and a brief synopsis of each one alongside some of my own notable commentary.
TITLE: Beaufort (2007).
COUNTRY: Israel.
LANGUAGE: Hebrew.
[ View Trailer ]
SYNOPSIS: In 2000 the Israel Defense Forces are withdrawing from southern Lebanon. The military group has been a strong presence in the particular area of Lebanon for about eighteen years, and are suddenly packing up and starting to leave the territory. As the military forces are preparing for their change of location the story centers upon a small group of soldiers who lives their lives in the trenches of war and have to face the psychological and physical torments of war. The film’s story was adapted from the book with the same name that was written by Ron Leshem. According to a comment from the director he was influenced to create the film’s visual design from such notable classics as Das Boot (1981) and Paths of Glory (1957).
COMMENTARY: This film I could only imagine should strike a patriotic nerve among the Israeli citizens. The point that concerns me would be my hope to see something different. As I had alluded to in my opening statement it is wonderful to watch a foreign film to view a story that is different from the American films that I could see on any given weekend. At the core of the plot for Beaufort lies the same concept that I would see in any other war film that would be created by an American production house. However, I do believe there is the glimmer of hope that this film offers a new perspective to the American viewer. With the headlines that we read in the American papers about a war in the Middle East it may be a subject matter that feels so distant to some of us. Not every American citizen has a relative who is involved in the military. Not every American has taken a step outside of our country’s borders. But to the citizens of Israel it is a call of duty and an act of honor to serve in their country’s military. They can understand what it means to protect their home turf. This film should offer a unique perspective about the battles that occur in Lebanon and other parts of the Middle East and northeastern Africa. I look forward to watching this film to find out what makes interesting enough to be nominated for an Oscar.
TITLE: The Counterfeiters [a.k.a. Die Fälscher] (2007).
COUNTRY: Austria.
LANGUAGE: German.
[ View Trailer ]
SYNOPSIS: Based upon the memoirs of Adolf Burger the film’s story is about the largest counterfeiting operation in history. The character of Salomon Sorowitsch is the fictional counterpart for Burger’s real life persona. Saloman is a professional counterfeiter who lives with the sleazy underworld of alcohol and women in Berlin, Germany during the peak era of the Nazi regime. He is thrown into a concentration camp by a Nazi superintended who later shifts him and a few other counterfeiters into a special collections group to produce counterfeit foreign currency for the Germany government. The group’s illegal practice became known as Operation Berhard.
COMMENTARY: Honestly, I wonder how far from the tree this film lies from other class war camp films such as The Great Escape (1963) or Schindler’s List (1993). Don’t get me wrong here, because The Counterfeiters sounds like a promising film that I will definitely want to check out later on when I have access to watching it. Usually dramatic narratives of true events perform very well at the Oscar ceremonies. There have been several nominations and award winners that have been based upon memoirs or historical events. I can’t quite place my betting money on this film, because the topic may be a little over done. How many World War II films are really vying for the Oscar nod and will establish a guarantee win? This film does have its sentimental drawing power, and I’m looking forward to see if this will be the deciding factor for the big night.
TITLE: Katyn (2007).
COUNTRY: Poland.
LANGUAGE: Polish.
[ View Trailer ]
SYNOPSIS: The Katyn massacre, also the Katyn Forest massacre, was a mass execution of Polish citizens ordered by Soviet authorities in 1940.Estimates of the number of dead range from 15,000 to 21,768. The victims were murdered in Katyn forest, Kalinin (Tver) and Kharkiv prisons and elsewhere. About 8,000 were officers taken prisoner during the 1939 invasion of Poland, the rest being Poles arrested for allegedly being “intelligence agents, gendarmes, spies, saboteurs, landowners, factory owners, lawyers, priests, and officials.” (Borrowed on compliments of the Wikipedia entry for Katyn massacre.) The film Katyn is based upon the events that I’ve just described above that occurred during the time of World War II. The Soviets were the people responsible for the death for the thousands of bodies that were discovered by Nazi Germany in 1943.
COMMENTARY: Hmm, interesting! It’s another foreign war film. I wonder what’s on the mind of several countries throughout the world. This marks the third consecutive title out of the five films that I’m rolling through right now that deals with this heavy topic. There is a debate among a few people about the historical value of the film. Is it accurate? Will it reflect poorly upon the Poles, the Russians, or any other involved political group? The Katyn Massacre was one of many sad stories about the mass executions during the war. I had already mentioned about the correlation with the Oscar award winning film Schindler’s List which is another sad story about the war. I would consider this film has a strong possibility of winning the Oscar this year. Just don’t hold me to it if the film doesn’t win.
TITLE: Mongol (2007).
COUNTRY: Kazakhstan.
LANGUAGE: Mongolian.
[ View Trailer ]
SYNOPSIS: In the early 13th century a warrior was building his career to create an empire in which he was its ruler. The warrior’s name was Genghis Khan. The film’s story begins in 1172 with Khan as a child who suffers through the torments of slavery As he grows older he gains notoriety among his peers as he forms the early part of his career. By 1206 the nomadic clans of central Asia join together under his leadership to begin the quest for world domination. This film marks the first installment of a planned trilogy of the career of Genghis Khan.
COMMENTARY: Did you know that the several people over in Kazakhstan have stated their gratitude for Sacha Baron Cohen’s satirical character Borat? It’s true! It was mentioned that if it wasn’t for Borat then the country could have been overlooked by the Academy when the group was reviewing the submissions for the Best Foreign Film category. The comedic character has put the country on the map (in terms of recognition, of course). However, in regards to this film I think that it may be accepted by the American public for the way that it could be marketed to us. It appears to be a film about Mongolian people and the empirical world of Genghis Khan. It is now officially listed as an Oscar nominated film, which in its own right is a huge drawing power for people to grab the DVD off the rental shelf at Blockbuster. There may be a chance that a few viewers will want to watch this film because they heard it was produced by the country who is associated with Borat, but will it be a surprise to the viewer that this would be the only connection that the film and the character would have with each other? I believe the odds of this film winning the Oscar award are slim, but that shouldn’t hinder its chances of a worldwide audience.
TITLE: 12 [a.k.a. 12 razgnevannyh muzhchin] (2007).
COUNTRY: Russia.
LANGUAGE: Russian.
[ View Video Clip ]
SYNOPSIS: A modern Russian remake of the American classic 12 Angry Men (1957) the movie takes place in the republic of Chechnya where twelve jurors must decide the fate of a Chechen teenager who has been placed on trial with the charges of killing his Russian stepfather. Among the twelve jurors include a list of wide range of Russian citizens such as a racist taxi-driver, a suspicious doctor, a vacillating TV producer, a Holocaust survivor, a flamboyant musician, a cemetery manager, and several others.
COMMENTARY: There are several opinions floating around about this film. One of those opinions, which I agree with, is the question of how a remake was able to receive an Oscar Nomination? But then again I must broaden my viewpoint to think that the American film producers have a laundry list of categories in which they could submit just one single title. Those same American businessmen are probably being wise by not putting all their eggs in one basket, if you know what I mean. As for the foreign film producers who only have one category in which they could submit their film I would like to think that it is a very rough competition to gain any recognition for it. Imagine a world of over 200 recognized countries and a large number of them may have the available resources to create a feature film. If all those countries were allowed to submit only one film title to one award category and compete with a couple of hundred other countries then the possibilities of getting one of the five nomination slots could be rather rough. I would have to say that the country of Russia had considered this film their best representative film for the year.
Now what makes this year interesting, as if things should really be any different, is that four out of the five nominees deal with the subject of war and fighting. There’s two films about World War II, one film about the modern day civil unrest of the war torn area of the Middle East, and another film about the battle for world domination. Only one film differs from the rest of the group in terms of war related content, but it doesn’t stray too far from the realm of civil unrest when it focuses upon the trial of a murder case. Considering the topics in which the films have focused upon and the history of Oscar winners, I have come to a decision with placing my bet for this year’s winner. My vote will be cast for Israel’s submission Beaufort. Modern day war movies have proven to be the latest trend in the genre of war time dramas. Regardless of my vote, I would hope that the best candidate will win.
