In Contention

Tag: Kawasaki’s Rose

  • Foreign Oscar update

    I neglected to mention this over a busy weekend, but the deadline for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar submissions passed on Friday. That doesn’t necessarily mean we have all the contenders set in stone, however — we’re still waiting on the official list from the Academy, which always features a couple of latecomers and a switched selection or two.

    Still, to all intents and purposes, the eventual Oscar shortlist is set to come from the 62 titles entered thus far. (Check out our updated list here.) The most notable submission among the last-minute stragglers is Argentina’s “Carancho,” a romantic legal thriller from director Pablo Trapero — whose previous feature, the strong female proson drama “Lion’s Den,” was the country’s unsuccessful Oscar submission in 2008.

    The film stars Ricardo Darin, a familiar face to that voting branch; the Argentine superstar has headlined five of the country’s last nine entries, including reigning Oscar champ “The Secret in Their Eyes.” The film played in Un Certain Regard at Cannes, where it was rather well-received. I’ll be catching up with it at the London fest this month.

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  • ‘Biutiful’ enters foreign Oscar race

    The list of submissions for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar has been fairly short on widely-known auteur names thus far, so expect a lot of awards-watchers to zero in on Alejandro González Iñárritu’s “Biutiful,” which has just been announced as Mexico’s official entry in the race.

    As with “Pan’s Labyrinth” four years ago, the country has opted for a high-profile Spanish co-production — set and filmed in Barcelona with a Spanish cast — with the Cannes seal of approval.

    Given its name appeal, and the likely accompanying push for star Javier Bardem in the Best Actor category, many might see “Biutiful” as a slam-dunk for a nomination, but I remain less sure. (Even if Bardem does pull through, it could still miss in the foreign race — see “Volver” in 2006.) The film is a relentlessly downbeat and occasionally inscrutable slog that has so far inspired as much critical scorn as admiration — it won’t enjoy the same hip cache that helped Iñárritu to a nomination here 10 years ago for the more universally liked “Amores Perros.”

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