In Contention

Tag: The Silent Army

  • Netherlands switches Oscar submission to ‘Wartime’

    Winter in WartimeThanks to regular reader Jonathan for alerting us yesterday to the news that the Dutch have backtracked on their Best Foreign Language Film award, after their first selection, “The Silent Army,” was disqualified by the Academy. Martin Koolhoven’s well-regarded Second World War drama “Winter in Wartime” will compete in its place.

    “The Silent Army” was an unpopular selection in the first place, having been extensively recut after an initial critical mauling, and prompting complaints from Dutch industry insiders that it had too much English dialogue to qualify. In the end, however, it was the former rather than the latter issue that led to its disqualification — the initial cut of “Army” was released in 2008, and Academy rules forbid new edits of previous years’ releases from competing.

    (more…)

  • Netherlands, Kazakhstan enter Oscar ponies

    Marco Borsato and Andrew Kintu in The Silent ArmyThanks to regular commenter Jonathan for alerting us to the news that The Netherlands has selected Jean van de Velde’s “The Silent Army” as their entry in the Best Foreign Language Film race.

    The film, which played in the Un Certain Regard strand at Cannes this year, is set in East Africa, and follows the plight of a widower on a quest to rescue his young son’s best friend, after the boy is recruited as a child soldier by a rebel army.

    Extensively recut after receiving a critical drubbing in its home country in 2008 (the casting of local pop star Marco Borsato accounting for much of the jeering), the film’s reception at Cannes was improved but still somewhat tepid, with many critics citing excessive sentimentality and political correctness as major debits. (Not that either of those qualities is a disadvantage with voters in this category.)

    (more…)