Medallion Media picks up Oscar-nominated documentary that had been barred from country whose fishing industry it bashes
Countries Jockey for Position in Oscar's Foreign-Language Category
Taiwan submitted a movie whose title is in Spanish. Spain considered a movie called “Map of the Sounds of Toyko.” Germany and Austria fought over a movie they both want to submit. The Netherlands submitted a movie with much of the dialogue in English, and Kazahkstan submitted one in which nobody talks at all.
Welcome to the Academy’s foreign-language film category, where things are always confusing, usually controversial and frequently confrontational.
The official deadline for submissions is October 1, by which point each country must submit a single film to the Academy. That’s when you get the first round of complaints, as various countries submit what critics, cineastes and other interested parties are sure are the absolute wrong films.
The movies they foolishly submit will then be screened for any Academy members with the time and the inclination to watch a lot of foreign films; from their votes, and the input of a blue-ribbon committee, a shortlist of about 15 films will be compiled. (Above, that's Germany's submission, "The White Ribbon. Photo: Sony Pictures Classics)
Then, no doubt, the second batch of complaints will begin, since that first round of voters has been notoriously unreceptive to the toughest and grittiest of international cinema.
With thanks to In Contention, Screen International, Variety, the Hollywood Reporter and the Gold Derby Forums at The Envelope, all of whom have done a lot of heavy lifting on this topic, here’s a list of who, as far as I can determine, is in the running so far:
Albania: “Alive!”
An Albanian college student returns to his mountain village for a funeral, gets caught up in the generations-long feud that has consumed the town, and then returns to the city to find his urban lifestyle threatened by the deadly traditions of his past. Writer/director Artan Minarolli says his film, made by a cast and crew of 15 different nationalities, was “born out of the need to show the colors and the complexity of a world in transition towards something mysterious and beautiful.”
Variety was lukewarm about the result, saying, “the shadow of the past and the burden of emigration hang heavy over the proceedings, though Minarolli … struggles to synthesize his ambitious themes, offering general outlines where telling details should be.” (Poster: WILDart FILM)
Argentina: “The Secret in Their Eyes”
A combination crime drama and love story, director Juan Jose Campanella’s first feature in five years (he’s been directing television, including episodes of “Law and Order: SVU” and “House”) deals with a former investigator who develops an obsession with a 35-year-old murder case. The film shifts back and forth between time periods as the investigator finds himself falling for his boss and drawn into dangerous situations.
The Hollywood Reporter called it “a riveting Argentine thriller spiked with witty dialogue and poignant love stories,” and predicted widespread international appeal. Screen Daily, meanwhile, found its length and pacing a problem, but said the film “packs an emotional punch,” which often as not is what the Oscar foreign-language voters are looking for. Campanella’s 2001 film “Son of the Bride” is a previous nominee in this category.
Official site, with trailer. (Spanish)
Armenia: "A Magician’s Autumn"
With a big musical (“Nine”) inspired by Fellini’s “8 ½” on the way, and the Academy mounting a recent exhibition of Fellini’s dream journals, why not another movie with a connection to the celebrated Italian filmmaker? Ruben and Vahe Gevorkyants have made a documentary about Tonino Guera, a close friend of Fellini and a screenwriter (“L’Avventura,” “Blowup,” “Amarcord”) who has worked with a variety of directors, also including Michaelangelo Antonioni and Andrei Tarkovsky. The Golden Apricot International Film Festival called the multi-faceted Guera “the last representative of the Italian renaissance.”
Peripherally, Guera may be back in the Oscar mix this year as one of the credited screenwriters of “Everybody’s Fine,” the upcoming film that has gotten some awards attention for Robert DeNiro’s performance. (In fact, he cowrote the 1990 Giuseppi Tornatore version of "Everybody's Fine," "Stanno tutti bene," on which this is based.)
At some festival showings, "A Magician's Autumn" has been referred to as “Autumn of the Magician.”
Australia: “Samson & Delilah”
As a predominantly English-speaking country, it’s rare for Australia to have a horse in this race – the country has submitted films four times in the past, but never been nominated. Hoping to buck the trend is this critically acclaimed drama about a romance between two Aboriginal teenagers who flee their homes when one of them is blamed for a death in the family. Low-key, often bleak, and performed by largely non-professional actors, Warwick Thornton’s drama, with dialogue in both English and Warlpiri, has received rapturous praise in Australia (“a triumph for all concerned … something close to a masterpiece … one of the finest films ever made in this country”).
It also seems to travel well, winning the Camera d’Or at Cannes in May. Variety predicted that it’ll become “a pillar of the fest circuit” in a review that began, “A meticulous portrayal of the chaotic existence endured by two Aboriginal teens on an Outback reserve, ‘Samson & Delilah’ is an engrossing and touching snapshot of an Australia too often left on the cutting-room floor.”
Austria: "For a Moment, Freedom"
Three separate groups try to smuggle friends or relatives out of Iran, establishing a fragile community of refugees in Ankara, Turkey.
