With the Oscars shortlists unveiled in late December, we now know the final 15 films in official contention for the five nomination spots for Best International Feature Film. And, for the first time in years, there are no painful snubs to speak of. Sure, as an Australian, I’m mildly disappointed to see You Won’t Be Alone didn’t make the final cut, but it was never really a major contender, so it wasn’t a surprise.
Naturally, there was one major international film missing from the final 15 in the form of RRR, but the Academy can’t vote for what isn’t submitted for consideration. It remains as baffling as ever it was not India’s submission, particularly as the film has picked up the most wins with the critics groups thus far. Maybe that merely strengthens its chances for a sneaky Best Picture nomination.
Unlike the last few years, that really leaves us without a solid frontrunner for the time being. Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave sits in that position for now, purely on the pedigree and reputation of the film’s highly-revered director. Even though most seem to agree it’s not Park’s best film, he’s never won this category before, nor even been nominated. With such a solid filmography, it’s plausible he could be looking at a “career win.”
But this race is far from over, especially given Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front nabbed five mentions on the Oscars shortlists i.e. every category it was eligible for. Netflix need to make this film a campaign priority immediately. And keep an eye on both Jerzy Skolimowski’s EO and Lukas Dhont’s Close. The former nabbed big wins from the Los Angeles and New York film critics groups, while the latter scored with the National Board of Review.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE PREDICTIONS:
1. Decision to Leave (South Korea)
2. All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
3. Close (Belgium)
4. EO (Poland)
5. Saint Omer (France)
IN CONTENTION
Argentina, 1985 (Argentina)
Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths (Mexico)
The Blue Caftan (Morocco)
Cairo Conspiracy (Sweden)
Corsage (Austria)
Holy Spider (Denmark)
Joyland (Pakistan)
Last Film Show (India)
Return to Seoul (Cambodia)
The Quiet Girl (Ireland)