Academy Announces Record-Breaking 85 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar Entries!!

Historically speaking, the Oscars have never been great about picking the right films to nominate for the coveted Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. And then, even amongst the limited selection, there’s rarely been a winner that was even the best amongst its brood. Last year, Son of Saul, a fine but limited film, beat out far more ambitious fare in Embrace of the Serpent, Mustang, and Theeb. In 2012, Amour, another fine but limited movie, won over No, Pablo Larrain’s funny, vital, and politically ambitious reflection of a media-fueled campaign to get rid of Pinochet. But hey, nobody’s perfect…

Still, it’s good to hear that, as Variety reports, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will be looking at some 85 entries for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. The list is long and just added another hefty abundance to my to-watch list, but already some prize masterworks already stick out. There’s no proper way to prepare the unindoctrinated about Paul Verhoeven‘s nefarious, brilliant Elle, a prize piece of psychological warfare weighted to the unvanquishable Isabelle Huppert as a deeply unsentimental CEO of a video game company. Then there’s the exasperatingly ingenious Toni Erdmann, the third film from Germany’s Maren Ade and proof positive that she is one of her country’s most refreshingly experienced artistic voices.

Perdo Almodovar‘s Julieta is easily one of the Spanish icon’s best works to date, a romantic, noir-tinged melodrama about a mother looking for her daughter, and Neruda, a devastatingly thoughtful, hugely fictional supposition on the poet-turned-politician on the lam from government agents, confirms Larrain as a heavyweight in the international cinema scene. There are plenty more highlights to take a look at below, and this does make me have a strange sort of sympathy for the Academy. I don’t envy having to narrow all of this down to a handful of worthy titles.

Here’s the full list of contenders via Variety:

Albania, “Chromium,” Bujar Alimani, director
Algeria, “The Well,” Lotfi Bouchouchi, director
Argentina, “The Distinguished Citizen,” Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat, directors
Australia, “Tanna,” Bentley Dean, Martin Butler, directors
Austria, “Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe,” Maria Schrader, director
Bangladesh, “The Unnamed,” Tauquir Ahmed, director
Belgium, “The Ardennes,” Robin Pront, director
Bolivia, “Sealed Cargo,” Julia Vargas Weise, director
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Death in Sarajevo,” Danis Tanovic, director
Brazil, “Little Secret,” David Schurmann, director
Bulgaria, “Losers,” Ivaylo Hristov, director
Cambodia, “Before the Fall,” Ian White, director
Canada, “It’s Only the End of the World,” Xavier Dolan, director
Chile, “Neruda,” Pablo Larraín, director
China, “Xuan Zang,” Huo Jianqi, director
Colombia, “Alias Maria,” José Luis Rugeles, director
Costa Rica, “About Us,” Hernán Jiménez, director
Croatia, “On the Other Side,” Zrinko Ogresta, director
Cuba, “The Companion,” Pavel Giroud, director
Czech Republic, “Lost in Munich,” Petr Zelenka, director
Denmark, “Land of Mine,” Martin Zandvliet, director
Dominican Republic, “Sugar Fields,” Fernando Báez, director
Ecuador, “Such Is Life in the Tropics,” Sebastián Cordero, director
Egypt, “Clash,” Mohamed Diab, director
Estonia, “Mother,” Kadri Kõusaar, director
Finland, “The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki,” Juho Kuosmanen, director
France, “Elle,” Paul Verhoeven, director
Georgia, “House of Others,” Rusudan Glurjidze, director
Germany, “Toni Erdmann,” Maren Ade, director
Greece, “Chevalier,” Athina Rachel Tsangari, director
Hong Kong, “Port of Call,” Philip Yung, director
Hungary, “Kills on Wheels,” Attila Till, director
Iceland, “Sparrows,” Rúnar Rúnarsson, director
India, “Interrogation,” Vetri Maaran, director
Indonesia, “Letters from Prague,” Angga Dwimas Sasongko, director
Iran, “The Salesman,” Asghar Farhadi, director
Iraq, “El Clásico,” Halkawt Mustafa, director
Israel, “Sand Storm,” Elite Zexer, director
Italy, “Fire at Sea,” Gianfranco Rosi, director
Japan, “Nagasaki: Memories of My Son,” Yoji Yamada, director
Jordan, “3000 Nights,” Mai Masri, director
Kazakhstan, “Amanat,” Satybaldy Narymbetov, director
Kosovo, “Home Sweet Home,” Faton Bajraktari, director
Kyrgyzstan, “A Father’s Will,” Bakyt Mukul, Dastan Zhapar Uulu, directors
Latvia, “Dawn,” Laila Pakalnina, director
Lebanon, “Very Big Shot,” Mir-Jean Bou Chaaya, director
Lithuania, “Seneca’s Day,” Kristijonas Vildziunas, director
Luxembourg, “Voices from Chernobyl,” Pol Cruchten, director
Macedonia, “The Liberation of Skopje,” Rade Šerbedžija, Danilo Šerbedžija, directors
Malaysia, “Beautiful Pain,” Tunku Mona Riza, director
Mexico, “Desierto,” Jonás Cuarón, director
Montenegro, “The Black Pin,” Ivan Marinović, director
Morocco, “A Mile in My Shoes,” Said Khallaf, director
Nepal, “The Black Hen,” Min Bahadur Bham, director
Netherlands, “Tonio,” Paula van der Oest, director
New Zealand, “A Flickering Truth,” Pietra Brettkelly, director
Norway, “The King’s Choice,” Erik Poppe, director
Pakistan, “Mah-e-Mir,” Anjum Shahzad, director
Palestine, “The Idol,” Hany Abu-Assad, director
Panama, “Salsipuedes,” Ricardo Aguilar Navarro, Manolito Rodríguez, directors
Peru, “Videophilia (and Other Viral Syndromes),” Juan Daniel F. Molero, director
Philippines, “Ma’ Rosa,” Brillante Ma Mendoza, director
Poland, “Afterimage,” Andrzej Wajda, director
Portugal, “Letters from War,” Ivo M. Ferreira, director
Romania, “Sieranevada,” Cristi Puiu, director
Russia, “Paradise,” Andrei Konchalovsky, director
Saudi Arabia, “Barakah Meets Barakah,” Mahmoud Sabbagh, director
Serbia, “Train Driver’s Diary,” Milos Radovic, director
Singapore, “Apprentice,” Boo Junfeng, director
Slovakia, “Eva Nová,” Marko Skop, director
Slovenia, “Houston, We Have a Problem!” Žiga Virc, director
South Africa, “Call Me Thief,” Daryne Joshua, director
South Korea, “The Age of Shadows,” Kim Jee-woon, director
Spain, “Julieta,” Pedro Almodóvar, director
Sweden, “A Man Called Ove,” Hannes Holm, director
Switzerland, “My Life as a Zucchini,” Claude Barras, director
Taiwan, “Hang in There, Kids!” Laha Mebow, director
Thailand, “Karma,” Kanittha Kwunyoo, director
Turkey, “Cold of Kalandar,” Mustafa Kara, director
Ukraine, “Ukrainian Sheriffs,” Roman Bondarchuk, director
United Kingdom, “Under the Shadow,” Babak Anvari, director
Uruguay, “Breadcrumbs,” Manane Rodríguez, director
Venezuela, “From Afar,” Lorenzo Vigas, director
Vietnam, “Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass,” Victor Vu, director
Yemen, “I Am Nojoom, Age 10 and Divorced,” Khadija Al-Salami, director