In Contention

Tag: Outside the Law

  • Three more join the foreign Oscar fray

    With the deadline for submissions not even six weeks away, expect a number of posts in this vein before then; for now, however, the number of formal entries for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar has swelled to a modest five.

    While the first two in the game, Greece and Poland, were reasonably high-profile contenders — the latter’s entry, in particular, sounds like something of a perfect Oscar storm for this category — the most recent three are rather less prominent. Romania, Morocco and Venezuela are all angling for their first ever nomination in the Oscar race.

    Of the three, Romania’s running duck in this race is perhaps the most surprising. The Academy has remained wholly resistant to the country’s critically hailed cinematic renaissance in the last decade; indeed, the snubbing of Palme d’Or winner “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” was one of the final straws that prompted a new voting system in the category. It’d be just like the Academy to finally relent for a film low on the radar, so perhaps Marian Crisan’s “Morgen” could be the one.

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  • Oscar’s foreign race hasn’t found the fix

    How do you solve a problem like Best Foreign Language Film? I’m not sure you can, but in the Academy’s case, it’s certainly not for lack of trying.

    The voting process in this eternally dissatisfying ghetto category is now such a Frankenstein’s monster of stages, rules, committees, sub-committees, longlists, shortlists and more committees that it’s a wonder they manage to wind up picking a single film at the end of it all — and rather less of a wonder that said film usually carries the stale whiff of a compromise choice.

    This year’s race, thoroughly mapped out by Kris in this week’s Oscar Guide, looks headed for a typically imperfect outcome — opinions on the five films that make up the category may vary, but few would argue that the overall slate represents the key stories of world cinema in 2010. The trouble set in early, with several of the year’s biggest crossover critical hits ruled out at the submissions stage.

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  • OSCAR GUIDE: Best Foreign Language Film

    The race for Best Foreign Language Film has been covered diligently by Guy Lodge here at In Contention throughout the season. I confess that I failed to see most of the 65 submissions and, as usual, waited until the shortlist was unveiled before I really dug into the titles.

    This category has, of course, been mired in controversy ever since “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” became the last straw for quality films failing to register with a general committee that has, well, questionable artistic taste. The implementation of a band aid executive committee scenario hasn’t done much more than elevate the cynicism surrounding the process, however.

    The nominees are:

    “Biutiful” (Mexico)
    “Dogtooth” (Greece)
    “In a Better World” (Denmark)
    “Incendies” (Canada)
    “Outside the Law” (Algeria)

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  • 2/18 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Buchareb on ‘Outside the Law,’ biggest lies in Oscar contenders, sound editing vs. mixing

    • Larry Rohter talks “Outside the Law” with director Rachid Bouchareb, who calls the film “a historical continuation” of 2007’s “Days of Glory” and mentions a third part is in the cards. [The Carpetbagger]

    • The biggest lies of this year’s Oscar contenders. [The Race]

    • As “The King’s Speech” dusts off its mantle, this taxing conversation keeps getting play. [Entertainment Weekly]

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  • Tweak this

    I’ve made one (and only one, lest I get carried away) change to my final predictions, FYI.  I think I’m going to switch my final foreign language pick from Algeria’s “Outside the Law” to — wait for it — Greece’s “Dogtooth.” My former line-up didn’t include one of the (perceived, as nothing is official) executive committee saves, and that would be a first (in the admittedly short history of the executive committee’s existence).

    Additionally, colleague Steve Pond reminded me that the final nominations selection committee tends to have more in common with the executive committee than the general committee (which narrows the field and later picks the winners).  Voting on the category took place after a series of screenings this weekend, so it’s all rather fresh.  So I wonder about the scrutiny Algeria’s entry has undergone vis a vis historical accuracy.

    The Swedish hopeful is highly unlikely to make the cut, from the way I hear it, while no one has really seen the Japanese entry in order to gauge.  So I’ll join Pond, as well as Guy, in picking an out-there selection for the fifth spot (not that it’ll have a chance in hell at winning).  Hopefully last minute jitters won’t get the better of me.

    My final (for real, this time) picks are here.

    [Photo: Kino International]

  • My dream Oscar ballot, part one

    For the past two years running, I’ve celebrated Oscar Nomination Eve by assembling my own ideal (and, usually, incredibly far-fetched) ballot, so here we go again. As well as a kind of last-ditch prayer to the Oscar gods, I also look on it as a salute to the worthy contenders who haven’t a hope in hell of hearing their names read out on Tuesday morning.

    At the request of some readers, I’ve bent the rules to accommodate several titles unfairly ineligible for Oscar consideration in any category: most of you are aware of the arcane ruling that has denied “A Prophet” the chance to ever compete in a non-ghetto category, while the TV airings of “Red Riding” and “Carlos” keep them out of the game too. I’m less clear on why the likes of “White Material” and “Fish Tank” aren’t on the Academy’s list of eligible titles, but they aren’t, and I must make my peace with that.

    Anyway, screw ’em: this ballot represents what I found most awards-worthy from all the theatrical features released in the US last year, and you can’t get fairer than that. I’ll begin, as usual, with the ten technical categories — in which I was pleased to end up with a healthy spread of 33 films across 48 slots. Jump in after the cut, and share your own thoughts in the comments. (Also, check out Kris’s very different ideal ballot here.)

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  • 1/21 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: French indignation, talking threads with costumers, Portman’s extended laugh

    • The French lose their marbles not just over the exclusion of “Of Gods and Men” from this year’s foreign film shortlist, but the INCLUSION of Algeria’s “Outside the Law.” [The Carpetbagger]

    • Elizabeth Snead talks to a number of costumers on this year’s awards circuit [Deadline]

    • Is this Banksy? [Cinematical]

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  • 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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  • ‘Life, Above All,’ ‘Uncle Boonmee’ enter Oscar race

    I lost track of the foreign-language Oscar submissions while I was away in Venice, so the entry of my own favored horse into the race seems like a good occasion to catch up. If you kept up with my Cannes coverage, you might remember that I made a slightly off-center prediction while reviewing the South African AIDS drama “Life, Above All” — that it would secure a Best Foreign Language Film nod next year, and could even be the film to beat for the Oscar.

    I stand by that call, and it remains on track: South Africa, seeking its third nomination and second win in the category since 2004, has predictably submitted Oliver Schmitz’s film to the Academy. (Thanks to Bianca Jacobsohn for notifying me.) The film recently had its North American premiere at the Toronto fest, where it seems to have been warmly received, and has already been adopted by Sony Pictures Classics — the studio that dominated last year’s foreign-language race with three of the five nominees, including the eventual winner.

    I maintain that the film’s child’s-eye focus and heart-tugging issue drama place it squarely in the Academy’s wheelhouse — that it’s also a strong film only helps matters.

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  • CANNES: All things being sequel

    I began my final day in Cannes with some dutiful, and not greatly anticipated, ticking of boxes, taking in my last two Competition screenings back-to-back this morning.

    That brings my final tally to an elegantly symmetrical 14 and 1/4 films seen of the 19 selected. (That sneaky fraction represents my fatigue-induced walkout on the bookies’ Palme d’Or favorite “Of Gods and Men.” Quelle dommage.)

    I was shooting for a 100% record when I arrived, but scheduling conflicts and screening shutouts conspired against me. As it stands, of the ones I missed, only “The Housemaid” is really nagging at me.

    I’ll post some thoughts on the runners and riders for the Competition gold later today; tonight, however, brings the Un Certain Regard award ceremony, where Claire Denis (hurrah) and her jury will reveal what they deem the best of the festival’s B-league. I’m doing even less well on the UCR front, having caught only 11 of the 19 selections, though the promising-on-paper lineup has generated surprisingly few talking points across the festival.

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  • CANNES PREVIEW: Sizing up the Competition, part two

    Continuing the breakdown of the 18 titles in contention for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, which begins Wednesday. (Catch up with yesterday’s preview here.) Among them is the film I’ve put a sneaky wager on to take the gold — though given the foolhardiness of predicting festival awards, I don’t encourage you to do the same.

    As we learned this morning, one additional title will be added to the Competition lineup over the course of the weekend; I will update accordingly. Let’s get back into it:

    “ON TOUR” (Mathieu Amalric)

    The pitch: Better known to most audiences as one of France’s finest actors, sometime filmmaker Amalric brings some lighter fare to the lineup, directing himself as the down-at-heel manager of a touring group of American burlesque dancers. Christina Aguilera does not star.

    Past form: Though his 2003 feature “Public Affairs” played Cannes in 2003, this is Amalric’s first brush (as director, that is) with a major festival competition.

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