List of submissions to the 94th Academy Awards for Best International Film

[anonymous1980]

Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, Bhutan (Pawo Choyning Dorji) 8/10 - A young man with ambitions to go to Australia to be a singer, is assigned by the government to teach in a remote village in the mountains of Bhutan, the titular Lunana. This is the first Bhutanese film I have ever seen so I have another new country to add to my list. This got a surprise nomination that this year's Oscars for Best International Feature. Watching it, I can definitely see why. Yes, going by the synopsis you can definitely see where this film is going. It's formulaic. It's just a different milieu. But you won't care. The best way I can describe it is a comforting warm hug. It will make you smile and even tear up in a few places. It doesn't break any new ground but if you want a nice, comforting, well-made film, you will be more than satisfied by this one.

Drive My Car, Japan (Ryusuke Hamaguchi) 10/10 - After experiencing a tragedy, a theater actor-director is commissioned to direct a production of Uncle Vanya and forms a bond with the young woman assigned to drive him around. Wow. To put it quite simply, an astonishing piece of work. It is a beautiful cinematic meditation on grief, art and life which I've never seen done better. The film, yes, it's a bit of a slow burn but it really sneaks up on you. Despite the fact that, yes, it's three hours long and mostly talking, I'm not lying when I say the time just flies by. And by the time one of the last scenes arrive, the emotion will just hit you like a ton of bricks. I was at a loss for words. It is a deep, profound work of art and of course, one of the best films of 2021. This is an absolute essential.

My preferences:

1. "Drive My Car"
2. "The Worst Person in the World"
3. "Flee"
4. "Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom"
5. "The Hand of God"

[anonymous1980]

Flee, Denmark (Jonas Poher Rasmussen) 8.5/10 - A gay Afghani man living in Denmark about to marry his boyfriend, shares his story about how he escaped Afghanistan and how he came to be a refugee. I've been hearing about this documentary all year last year. All the raves really made me want to temper my expectations of it. I finally got the chance to see it and it's a really, really fine piece of work. The use of animation to tell this compelling story that goes into all sorts of unexpected and sometimes scary directions is quite effective. You really do get invested in his story. Even though I was not quite as blown away by it as a lot of other people seemed to have been, I have to admit (it just missed my top 10). But it's still an excellent film which really must be seen.

[rolotomasi99]

A Hero, Iran (Ashgar Farhadi) 9/10 - A man, on furlough from jail for unpaid debts, finds a bag of gold and returns it to the owner and becomes a viral hero on the Internet. But of course, things will not always go well for him. The worst thing I can say about this film is that it's not as great as his master work A Separation (granted, few things are) or even his previous Oscar winner, The Salesman. But it is still a thought-provoking look into the double-edged sword of being viral and Internet notoriety. The intelligent script gives the audience a lot to chew on. The setting may be in Iran but a lot of the themes being talked about are universal. It is compelling drama but it's also a fascinating look at how the Internet has affected our lives and our moral fiber. An excellent picture.

Can it get in? Yes. And it deserves an Original Screenplay nomination as well.

Agreed!

It is available on Amazon for those with a subscription:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B09JR6GKQD/

[anonymous1980]

A Hero, Iran (Ashgar Farhadi) 9/10 - A man, on furlough from jail for unpaid debts, finds a bag of gold and returns it to the owner and becomes a viral hero on the Internet. But of course, things will not always go well for him. The worst thing I can say about this film is that it's not as great as his master work A Separation (granted, few things are) or even his previous Oscar winner, The Salesman. But it is still a thought-provoking look into the double-edged sword of being viral and Internet notoriety. The intelligent script gives the audience a lot to chew on. The setting may be in Iran but a lot of the themes being talked about are universal. It is compelling drama but it's also a fascinating look at how the Internet has affected our lives and our moral fiber. An excellent picture.

Can it get in? Yes. And it deserves an Original Screenplay nomination as well.

[rolotomasi99]

If you're in the US, I'm Your Man and Lamb are both available as rentals or purchases from all of the main streaming outlets.

I'M YOUR MAN is also available on Hulu for those with a subscription:
https://www.hulu.com/movie/im-your-man- ... 2dc5d6a915

[gunnar]

https://oscarshowcaseinternationalfilm.splashthat.com

You can register at the above link for a screening next Tuesday of a number of International Film contenders:

Great Freedom
Hive
I'm Your Man
The Good Boss

Apparently there will be a panel with the directors and a Q&A as well.

[anonymous1980]

The Worst Person in the World, Norway (Joachim Trier) 9/10 - This film chronicles four years in the life of Julie as she navigatest through some relationships. This is Norway's International Feature Oscar entry. It is a romantic comedy. Technically. I mean, you can see the story, all the narrative tropes are there. It's funny and quirky. But it also cuts a lot deeper than your typical romantic comedy. I think it's a romantic comedy with a fourth act. Renate Reinsve is amazing as the sort-of titular character. You love and root for her even if she does something annoying or aggravating. Indeed, the character could have been annoying but her performance gives it just the right amount of humanity and pathos. One scene made me grin like an idiot while I was watching it. Yes, this is one of the best films of the year.

Can it get in? Yes! It also deserves nominations in Best Actress and Best Original Screenplay.

[dws1982]

If you're in the US, I'm Your Man and Lamb are both available as rentals or purchases from all of the main streaming outlets.

[anonymous1980]

The Top 15 finalists and where to see them. Please let me know where we can see them:

Austria, “Great Freedom” - MUBI (2022)
Belgium, “Playground”
Bhutan, “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom”
Denmark, “Flee”
Finland, “Compartment No. 6”
Germany, “I’m Your Man” - Available for rent in the US
Iceland, “Lamb” - Available for rent in the US
Iran, “A Hero” - Prime Video (January 21)
Italy, “The Hand of God” - Netflix
Japan, “Drive My Car” - HBO Max (March 2)
Kosovo, “Hive” - The Criterion Channel (February)
Mexico, “Prayers for the Stolen” - Netflix (US only)
Norway, “The Worst Person in the World”
Panama, “Plaza Catedral”
Spain, “The Good Boss”

[Big Magilla]

The Hand of God, Italy (Paolo Sorrentino) 7/10 - This is a semi-autobiographical coming of age film about a football and cinema loving teenager in Naples who suddenly becomes an orphan and must deal with everything that comes with it. Yes, if you check my rating, I consider this a "good" rating, but I have to say, I can't help but feel a bit disappointed. I'm a huge fan of The Great Beauty and since then, Paolo Sorrentino has been giving me somewhat of a case of diminishing returns with me. He keeps going back to trying to become Fellini, it's starting to become a crutch. That said, this is still a beautifully filmed, nicely acted piece of work that has some nice moments (and some not so nice). It's a fine film. But it's not the masterpiece it was intended to be.

Watched this last night on Netflix. I wasn't a big fan of The Great Beauty and I loathed Youth, but this I liked.

It has a slow start with a lot of emphasis on the fictionalized Sorrentino's eccentric family and his even more eccentric neighbors, but it grows on you. It's reminiscent of Fellini, especially Amarcord, but also Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso and even Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers to an extent. It's definitely up the Academy's alley.

[mlrg]

I won't be able to see any more entries before the short list drops so here are my rankings:

In order of likelihood to be nominated:

3. Portugal

really?? It's such an art house film that I doubt it will even be shortlisted.... but Portugal was the football european champion 5 years ago and won the eurosivion song contest 4 years so everything can happen now

[anonymous1980]

I won't be able to see any more entries before the short list drops so here are my rankings:

In order of likelihood to be nominated:
1. Italy
2. Germany
3. Portugal
4. Iceland
5. France
6. Hong Kong
7. Kazakhstan
8. Saudi Arabia
9. Dominican Republic
10. Romania

In order of personal preference:
1. France
2. Portugal
3. Germany
4. Romania
5. Italy
6. Kazakhstan
7. Saudi Arabia
8. Iceland
9. Hong Kong
10. Dominican Republic

[anonymous1980]

My last three (maybe) before the shortlist drops.

Lamb, Iceland (Valdimar Johannsson) 6.5/10 - A married couple who work as sheep farmers find that one of their sheep has given birth to a sheep-human hybrid. They adopt this being and start to raise it as their child. Based on that plot description, this is a film that sort of defies explanation. Is it a drama? A horror film? A fantasy? Well, sort of all of the above. I do not want to give away everything but I will say that I found the eventual pay off of this kind of left something to be desired. There are some interesting things to explore that was suggested in the creepy trailer that they didn't. So, yes, there are some interesting ideas here and some really good performances. But overall, it's just okay. I would rank this as a bottom-tier of A24's series of sort-of-kind-of elevated horror films.

Can it get in? It could make the Top 15 but it's fighting to get that "weird movie" vote with a lot of other films so it's unlikely.

I'm Your Man, Germany (Maria Schrader) 7/10 - A woman is selected to try out a brand-new type of technology: A human-like robot designed to be a romantic companion. If this premise was made in mainstream Hollywood, it would most likely be a broad comedy of sorts with the robot getting into all sorts of hijinks. While this film contains some humor, it actually uses the premise to try and explore deeper things like the nature of humanity and the need for relationships. It's like if A.I. explored Gigolo Joe instead of David would be the most accurate way to describe this. Dan Stevens is really good as the robot. The film tends to overstay its welcome and becomes a bit tiresome after a while but I commend it for its efforts.

Can it get in? It has a good shot at getting to the Top 15 but getting a nomination will be tougher.

The Hand of God, Italy (Paolo Sorrentino) 7/10 - This is a semi-autobiographical coming of age film about a football and cinema loving teenager in Naples who suddenly becomes an orphan and must deal with everything that comes with it. Yes, if you check my rating, I consider this a "good" rating but I have to say, I can't help but feel a bit disappointed. I'm a huge fan of The Great Beauty and since then, Paolo Sorrentino has been giving me somewhat of a case of diminishing returns with me. He keeps going back to trying to become Fellini, it's starting to become a crutch. That said, this is still a beautifully filmed, nicely acted piece of work that has some nice moments (and some not so nice). It's a fine film. But it's not the masterpiece it was intended to be.

Can it get in? This will definitely appeal to a lot of Academy members so yes, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was left out.

[anonymous1980]

I'm trying to catch up on as many International Feature Film entries as I can before they drop the shortlists. Here's the first batch:

Holy Beasts, Dominican Republic (Israel Cardenas/Laura Amelia Guzman) 5/10 - An actress-filmmaker decides to complete an unfinished work of another filmmaker. This is an intriguing premise. It features a nice performance by Geraldine Chaplin with some support from Udo Kier. It's really beautifully shot in parts. But as it goes along, you wonder, "What's the point?" And by the time it ended, you are kind of still wondering that. Its central conceit of an artist's unfinished works is an interesting one worth exploring but it didn't do much with it. Overall, it kind of results in a half-baked 8 1/2 meets Day For Night type of film that just makes you wanna wish you were watching those films instead.

Can it get in? The filmmaking/art angle could intrigue some voters but I don't see a lot of people voting for this. So, no.

The Metamorphosis of Birds, Portugal (Catarina Vasconcelos) 8.5/10 - This is a hybrid sort of documentary, sort of autobiographical experimental narrative that explores the family history of the filmmaker. This International Feature Oscar entry from Portugal is what I can only describe as poetic. It is a beautiful and entrancing...I guess you could consider it a documentary, maybe an essay film perhaps...but it is a one-of-a-kind cinematic journey that's for sure. It may not be for everyone but people who can get into its wavelength will find themselves enraptured by the visual and emotional elements of this unique piece of work. It's a film I'm still thinking about as of this writing. Yes, this one is worth a look.

Can it get in? I do think this COULD make the Top 15 but it will be challenge.

Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Romania (Radu Jude) 7/10 - A schoolteacher gets in trouble when her sex tape gets uploaded on the Internet and viewed by her students. The plot seems simple enough, like at first glance you think it would be your run-of-the mill straightforward, raunchy sex comedy. But it's not. Well, it's a comedy. But it refuses to be anything but straightforward. I won't spoil what happens in this movie but there will be people who will be turning it off in the first minute and if that's not enough, there's a section here that will test some people's patience. The film, while still being a raunchy comedy, does try to dig deeper into its premise but it at times so muddled with everything else that's being thrown the audience's way. That said, it is a film that deserves a look.

Can it get in? I suppose if enough voters can make it through the first minute, it getting into the Top 15 is possible. I have to say, this one will get a harder time getting in than [i[Titane[/i]

[anonymous1980]

The Tambour of Retribution, Saudi Arabia (Abdulaziz Alshlahei) 7/10 - A son of a swordsman (executioner) falls in love with a daughter of a singer, causing some problems with social and cultural mores. To say the least. As I was watching this, I have to say that my limited knowledge and understanding of how courtship and marriage works in Saudi Arabia made this film a little harder to follow. I feel like I needed a refresher on what’s going on with the little intricacies and specific cultural aspects in order to truly understand. But I believe I got the big universal picture and it is a fascinating take on a sort of kind of love triangle in the context of this very conservative Muslim society. It’s worth a look.

Can it get in? This somehow sneaking into the Top 15 isn’t out of the question but I think some voters will have the same problem I had with it.