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. While almost all of the expected contenders made it through, the snub of France’s entry, Titane was hard to swallow. While it wasn’t entirely a surprise (I had suspected the film would be “too much” for the Academy), it’s no less difficult to accept.
In last month’s piece, I told you to keep an eye on Japan’s Drive My Car, but even I couldn’t have foreseen what was to come. While the film has picked up the lion’s share of international category prizes from the critics groups, it stunned pundits when it was declared Best Picture by the critics associations of Los Angeles, New York, and Boston. It rockets into the frontrunner position for Best International Feature Film this month and it may even be in with a shot for nominations elsewhere like Best Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay. If it can land any of those additional noms, this race is over.
Norway’s The Worst Person in the World, Italy’s The Hand of God, and Denmark’s Flee have split the wins with the critics group who didn’t select Drive My Car, so we should consider them firmly in the race now. Likewise with Iran’s A Hero, which scored a win from the National Board of Review. If those are our final five, it’s a mighty solid category that may wind up looking better than the Best Picture race.
They are the five big-name contenders that seem like solid locks. But the Academy often likes to throw a surprise or two on nomination morning when it comes to the international race. Just last year, few predicted Hong Kong’s Better Day or Tunisia’s The Man Who Sold His Skin in the final five. That bodes well for dark horse contenders like Mexico’s Prayers for the Stolen, Bhutan’s Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, and Spain’s The Good Boss. My personal pick would be Austria’s Great Freedom, which isn’t receiving the love it deserves this awards season.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE PREDICTIONS:
1. Drive My Car (Japan)
2. The Worst Person in the World (Norway)
3. A Hero (Iran)
4. Flee (Denmark)
5. The Hand of God (Italy)
IN CONTENTION
Compartment No. 6 (Finland)
The Good Boss (Spain)
Great Freedom (Austria)
Hive (Kosovo)
I’m Your Man (Germany)
Lamb (Iceland)
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (Bhutan)
Playground (Belgium)
Plaza Catedral (Panama)
Prayers for the Stolen (Mexico)