In Contention

Tag: Lion’s Den

  • Foreign film shortlist to drop soon

    Waltz with BashirI believe the 9-title shortlist for Best Foreign Language Film is due today, but details on the announcement are oddly hard to come by, so I could be wrong.

    In any case, it’s one I’m having a tough time calling. The new voting system should ensure that some of the year’s most acclaimed contenders are spared the indignity of being left off the shortlist (as happened, notoriously, to “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” and “Persepolis” last year), so it’s difficult to see favorites “Waltz With Bashir” (fresh from its Globe win) and “Gomorrah” missing the cut. 

    I’d like to say that the best film of 2008, “The Class,” is similarly assured a spot, but it’s a risky, tough-minded docudrama, and I’m not sure how the committee (even the executive panel created to keep things in check) will respond to it — especially with “Gomorrah” and “Bashir” also occupying contemporary, genre-spanning territory. Fingers crossed. 

    Beyond that, my predictions get shaky. I think my projected list is a little heavy on European entries, but it’s hard to predict which one/s will miss. The Academy invariably throws a few less-heralded curveballs into the mix, but with 67 entries to choose from (and many of them fairly unknown quantities), it’s anyone’s guess which obscurities have caught the committee’s eye.

    (More thoughts, and my predicted shortlist, below the cut.)

    (more…)

  • Foreign film watch: all the contenders

    The race starts here. With the deadline having passed on Wednesday, 53 67 countries have submitted a candidate for the Best Foreign Language Film award.

    Now it’s all in the hands of the Academy’s notoriously obtuse foreign film committee. Under a new system aimed to avoid embarrassing exclusions like last year’s snub of “4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days” and “Persepolis,” the committee will vote on a six-film shortlist, while a smaller executive panel will add three extra titles afterwards.

    Looking down the list of titles, there aren’t any glaring omissions so far — and it’s nice to see left-field festival successes such as “Tony Manero” (Chile) and “Eldorado” (Belgium) in contention. There is still the problem of the ‘one film per country’ rule which means exceptional films such as “Il Divo” and “I’ve Loved You So Long” can’t compete. From a personal perspective, I’m also a little disappointed to see only two African entries: I fully expected Ethiopia to submit the much-acclaimed Venice success “Teza,” but it wasn’t to be.

    As I’ve said before, making predictions in this category is nigh-impossible, but for the hell of it (and so you can jeer at my foolishness come January), I’m hazarding a guess as to what the nine semi-finalists will be. My predictions, and a full list of the contenders, after the jump:

    (more…)

  • Russia, Argentina, Slovenia enter the derby

    This morning brings three more entries in the Best Foreign Language Film race. KIcking things off, Russia has selected Anna Melikyan’s “The Mermaid,” which won the Directing Award in the World Cinema section at Sundance, before going on to scoop a FIPRESCI prize at the Berlin fest.

    A modern-day fairytale about a teenage girl’s coming of age in Moscow, the film has inspired comparisons to “Amelie” from a number of critics. Variety praises it for its “abundant charm,” “bravura visuals” and “a winning personality all its own.” I’ve been intrigued by this one for a while.

    Meanwhile, Argentina has also gone with a success from the festival circuit: Pablo Trapero’s “Lion’s Den,” a story of a young woman’s imprisonment for accidental murder. The film played in competition at Cannes this year to enthusiastic reviews, including this rave from Andrew O’Hehir:

    “Lion’s Den” is marvelously shot and acted, constantly surprising, and completely focused on Julia’s struggle to get from one moment, or one day, to the next one rather than through some formulaic story arc … Martina Gusman (Trapero’s wife in real life) gives a vivid, ferocious, almost animalistic performance.

    Finally, Slovenia’s selection is “Rooster’s Breakfast,” a gentle study of small-town life that has been wildly popular in its home country but has virtually no international profile to speak of.

    Once again, feel free to share any further information or perspective on these (or other) foreign-language entries in the comments below.