Unofficial Academy Awards Discussion Board

And in the meantime, in Paris, The Brokem Circlo Breakdowm has won Best Foreign Film at the Cesars, beating not only The Great Beauty, but also Gravity, Django Unchained and Blue Jasmine. Surprising, but maybe not so much, considering that the Belgian movie has been a big box-office (and in some ways critical) hit in all Central Europe. We'll see what happens in Los Angeles.

As for the other Cesars, two of the most interesting French movies of the year - Blue is the Warmest Color and Stranger by the Lake - have only won one award each, and by the way in categories which don't even exist at the Oscars: Best Female Newcomer (obviously) to Adele Exarchopoulos and Best Male Newcomer to Pierre Deladonchamps. who also actually has the leading role in his movie (he's the young guy through whose eyes we see all the story).

It's possible that both movies were too extreme even for the French Academy - yet the big winner of the evening, Me, Myself and Mum (which I haven't seen - unlike those two others it has been a flop in Italy), is also what one could call "a gay movie" - though, from what I've heard, a much softer one, and a comedy.

I think it would still be eligible for submission by France for 2014 consideration, but I doubt they would bother since it was eligible for consideration in other categories in 2013 and failed to be nominated for anything. But you never know.

Oh ok. Adieu Blue is the Warmest Color then.

It missed the eligibility window by about 3 weeks. It was a major complaint against the Academy's aging release window rules (It's why a number of films that were just released early this year in the U.S. will be ineligible for submission this year).

No, Italiano, I do not believe it will be eligible next year because it was released in the U.S. in 2013. If it's submitted for foreign language film and not nominated, but is not released in the U.S. until the following eligibility year, it can still be nominated for regular competitive Oscars. I believe the reverse is not true. I'd have to dig through the rules to confirm.

I don't think it would have won (though it'd have deserved to).

But then - it can be submitted next year, can't it?

Thanks, Precious. I thought the eligibility period was 11/1-10/31 but it's actually 10/1-9/30 and the film wasn't shown in general release in France until 10/9. Apparently the 7/7 date on IMDb. for "Paris Cinema" doesn't count. It's a pity because the film would likely have won hands down had it been submitted and then nominated.

Big Magilla wrote:Can someone refresh my memory as to why Blue Is the Warmest Color wasn't submitted by France? I thought it had something to do with the French release date but that seems to be within the eligibility period so maybe I'm misremembering.

You are correct Magilla, it was not released within the eligibility period in France.

Can someone refresh my memory as to why Blue Is the Warmest Color wasn't submitted by France? I thought it had something to do with the French release date but that seems to be within the eligibility period so maybe I'm misremembering.

BJ, I answered by private message.

Can someone who has seen Omar do me a favor?

I'm probably going to sound like a humongous idiot for asking this, but I had trouble following the plot turns in the final few minutes of the movie, beginning with whatever the reveal was in the last Omar/Nadia scene that propels Omar to his final actions in the movie.

I assume I just missed a crucial subtitle at some point that left me confused, so if someone could be so kind as to help out an ignoramus here and explain what I missed (with spoiler alerts, obviously), that would be much appreciated.

Greg wrote:

ITALIANO wrote:For example just before Christmas I was in line in a bookstore, and there was this group of teenagers who were discussing about George Clooney's Academy Awards - had he won one, two or three? (One was mistakenly convinced that he had won something for Good Night and Good Luck, too). I found that nice.

Do you know of any Italians who have any of Damien's books?

No... I mean, it's not the first thing I ask when I meet someone honestly... But maybe some Italians do.

ITALIANO wrote:For example just before Christmas I was in line in a bookstore, and there was this group of teenagers who were discussing about George Clooney's Academy Awards - had he won one, two or three? (One was mistakenly convinced that he had won something for Good Night and Good Luck, too). I found that nice.

Do you know of any Italians who have any of Damien's books?

I've actually seen three of the contenders here and that includes The Missing Picture. Yeah, it's too weird to win. I liked it a lot though. I also liked The Hunt quite a bit. Mads Mikkelsen was terrific. But both pale in comparison with The Great Beauty.

OscarGuy wrote: Plenty of country songs have been ignored by the Academy for Best Original Song and films featuring country music have been few and far between. To say that this will appeal to Oscar voters is a bit blind.

Well... I guess it's still more accessible for Americans than Belgian songs would be - if only for the language...

I haven't seen any yet, so I won't comment (too much); however, there is a subset of Americans who love country music, but it's not an Academy thing. Plenty of country songs have been ignored by the Academy for Best Original Song and films featuring country music have been few and far between. To say that this will appeal to Oscar voters is a bit blind. The child death thing will appeal to them more.

I really think Omar has a weaker chance than The Missing Picture mainly because I've already seen it referred to by an Academy member as antisemitic. That's not going to help the film's chances. There are some still resistant to the notion that Palestine is considered a country for Oscar purposes. That being said, the dramatic and creative The Missing Picture (that trailer is so fascinating) will hopefully be seen. The entire membership was sent a screener of each of the five films, so responsible voters will watch it.