It’s no exaggeration to call the race for Best International Feature Film one of the best of recent times. After a stellar year for world cinema, the Academy were spoiled for choice for their final five nominees. Sure, they still fumbled when they overlooked brilliant films like Titane, A Hero, and Great Freedom. And a few countries bafflingly submitted the wrong film like Spain not selecting Parallel Mothers and Brazil ignoring 7 Prisoners. Regardless, we’ve still ended up with five wonderful contenders.
While it was a competitive race for the five nomination spots, one film has dominated this category since November and feels like one of the biggest locks of the evening. After collecting three prizes at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and receiving a rapturous response during festival season, Japan’s Drive My Car zoomed into the frontrunner position early and refused to budge, particularly after it was declared Best Picture by the critics associations of Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Toronto, Seattle, and the National Society of Film Critics.
When Drive My Car became the first Japanese film nominated for Best Picture and Ryusuke Hamaguchi earned nods for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay with Takamasa Oe, this race was done and dusted. With wins at the Golden Globes, BAFTA, and Critics Choice, it’s the undisputed champion this season and the Oscar for Best International Feature will head to Japan for the first time since 2008.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FINAL PREDICTION:
1. Drive My Car (Japan)
2. The Worst Person in the World (Norway)
3. Flee (Denmark)
4. The Hand of God (Italy)
5. Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (Bhutan)
Will win: Drive My Car
Should win: Drive My Car
Possible shocker: Flee