Categories One-by-One: International Film

[Mister Tee]

When I saw the make-up of the short list, I thought this was an all-timer year, chiefly because I'd already heard of so many of the potential nominees -- typically, half of the nominees are blind dates on nominations day. Now that I've seen the full slate of actual nominees, I feel a bit let down, and can see how All Quiet seems to be lazing its way into an easy win. It's possible I'd feel differently if some of the short-list non-qualifiers -- Return to Seoul, Saint Omer, Decision to Leave -- had appeared here. (Disclosure: I've seen none of those. I missed Decision to Leave in theatres, and Netflix-disc has been laughing at me since its release, labeling it Long Wait week after week. Return to Seoul hasn't even opened in NY yet.)

As to the ones that did make it:

EO is certainly beautifully shot (discernible even on a home-screen), but I didn't have near the reaction to it that I did to Au Hasard Balthazar. I found it only intermittently engaging (though it did have a grabber ending), and it seems to me there had to be some career-nostalgia for its director to enable such an easy sweep of the three old-line critics' groups.

I'd guess Argentina 1985 is offering some competition for All Quiet among the "just tell me a solid story" crowd -- it's a very traditional and gripping enough film. For me, its clear problem is, it labors -- by subject matter -- in the shadow of Z, a movie which set a gold standard for political thrillers that has never been approached. Knowing there's a still-great movie sitting out there on such a similar subject makes one reluctant to get especially excited here.

Of the two movies dealing with quiet young folk, I can respect Close, but have more affection for The Quiet Girl. Close has a potent subject -- the unraveling of an early-teen friendship, with at least a tinge of gay panic mixed in (though the film is admirably ambiguous about how real this is) -- but its taciturn quality kept me at a distance for much of the way. My problem with the film was crystallized by the scene on the bus, where Leo's mother comes to break the news to him and finds herself unable to speak. I believed it initially; could feel the impossibility of her putting the horror into words for him. But the longer the scene went on, the more impatient I got with not the mother but the filmmakers -- I started to think, they've moved beyond lack of communication as human trait and made it an (annoying) narrative tic. This is a style with which I've always had difficulty, and the film, despite its strong central story, felt a bit remote.

The Quiet Girl is fascinating in that it doesn't, in the end, have much of a story -- nothing to compare with Close's central event -- but it keeps its audience on a hook by making it seem as if something awful might happen at any time. The portents are there, with the stepfather's initial coolness, the mother's skittishness (and paranoia about secrets even while clearly harboring one), the gossipy neighbor's inquisitiveness and cynicism. But, to our surprise, nothing awful does happen...until we get to the end, and the potentially horrible event turns out to be the possibility of losing all that's been gained. This is very simple stuff, but so artfully arranged that it reaches on a deep level; I was just floored by the final moment. I do think, under the old "must watch all four" system, this would be the film to watch for upset potential.

But that's not the world we live in, and, thus far, no film that's got a best picture nod alongside its International Film designation has failed to win the latter. You'd be foolish to bet otherwise.

[gunnar]

My personal preferences:

1. All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
2. The Quiet Girl (Ireland)
3. Argentina, 1985 (Argentina)
4. Close (Belgium)
5. EO (Poland)

It wouldn't bother me if The Quiet Girl pulled off the upset. I have it only slightly behind All Quiet on the Western Front. Close and EO are pretty interchangeable for me in 4th and 5th place.

[anonymous1980]

You know, I have a feeling if the Academy still had the "voters must see all five films and prove it" rule in place, I think All Quiet on the Western Front would've been vulnerable to an upset despite its across the board support much like what happened to films like Amelie, Cyrano de Bergerac and Pan's Labyrinth. I can see something like the emotional impact of The Quiet Girl possibly upsetting on Oscar night if this rule is still in place.

My personal rankings:
01. Close
02. All Quiet on the Western Front
03. Argentina, 1985
04. The Quiet Girl
05. EO

[Okri]

The nominees

All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany)
Argentina, 1985 (Argentina)
Close (Belgium)
EO (Poland)
The Quiet Girl (Ireland)

As All Quiet on the Western Front emerges from BAFTA with an iron grip on this category, I think it’s worth revisiting just how much stronger this category has gotten over the past 15 years. AMPAS rarely gets credit for what they do right, but the specific choices they made to improve this category have given us some consistently excellent, high-profile slates.

But let’s flashback to the 2007 Cannes film festival. Submitted films that received a Cannes prize include 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days (Palme D’Or), The Edge of Heaven (Screenplay), Secret Sunshine (Actress), Persepolis (Jury Prize) and Silent Light (Jury Prize). None made the Oscar shortlist. Even 15 years later, I find it legitimately staggering. Like most of us, I presume, I can recall nomination slates fairly easily but with this year, I genuinely have to google the race every time. And I’ve seen the films! And they’re not bad at all, but they are so thoroughly outclassed that it really makes you question what the hell this category was for if they were going to miss the boat this utterly [I know dws is fond of Katyn, but I would definitely sacrifice it to any of the above, though it wouldn’t be my first choice of sacrificial lamb]. But beyond that, every year had line-ups where high profile, obvious choices missed the cut. To see the changes like the jury “saving films,” the expansion of the longlist and the official language change has been utterly inspiring. All have led to improved line-ups, in my mind. Heck, I even like the one-film-per-country rule. Yes, it forces countries with exceptional film industries to choose among several buzzy candidates, but I’m okay with that.

Beyond that, its so gratifying to see the profile of the films nominated consistently higher than before. It’s hard to really know, admittedly, the profile of films in years past. Randomly plugging in films into box office mojo, they don’t have an entry for 2 of 1995’s nominees. Plugging in “The Other Side of Sunday” reveals that they tracked a gross of less than 5 thousand dollars domestically. There’s a pleasingly symbiotic relationship now between the films submitted and the category such that if a film enters the final list without much in the way of a profile, the nomination actually gives it a profile in a way I don’t think was always the case. And I do recognize the contradiction between wanting a high-profile line-up while holding back film nations that produce multiple buzzy entrants. I’m okay with that too.

I think it’s interesting to see just how All Quiet on the Western Front emerged as the lock this year. In another world, this could’ve been a race. And (as someone who rates this film highly but 4th amongst these five) I sorta wish it was. I’m trying to figure out why I underestimated the film, truth be told. It’s a war drama and they always do very well. It’s a remake landmark/classic/best picture winner, yes, but it’s a remake bringing the book back to its own cultural idiom, which feels like it is a bit exculpatory in this context. While familiar faces always assist in this category, it’s not as if Daniel Bruhl has a huge role (I’d assert he’s certainly less famous and/or impactful in his film has compared to Isabelle Huppert or Ricardo Darin). While some films emerged from the festivals with more excitement, they were let down by distributors who didn’t have the cultural penetration of Netflix (I’m thinking Decision to Leave and Alcarras with MUBI, Corsage* with IFC Films, Holy Spider at Utopia, Girl Picture at Strand Releasing, Joyland at Oscilloscope). None of Netflix’s entries had consistently positive support (White Noise, Glass Onion, Bardo, Athena) so it really just stood behind the most Oscar-like entry. But it also seems more organic than that.

So, if it doesn’t win, what will? I think Argentina, 1985 is probably the runner-up here, but closer to the other three. It’s basically Aaron Sorkin does the Junta. Ricardo Darin is familiar to AMPAS given his appearances in previous nominees. As for the other three? Well, applause for Jerzy Skolimowski who [I’m pretty sure] is now the oldest person to direct a foreign film nominee and dethroned Godard as the oldest prizewinner at Cannes; Lukas Dhont achieved what the Dardennes (an obvious influence on Close, imo) have been unable to do thus far and Colm Bairead’s film trounced Belfast at the Irish Film and Television Awards, so small victories where you find them.