Was 2014 a good year for foreign films, or do Oscar voters have no concept of what a good movie might be even if one walked up and kicked them in the groin? Perhaps a little of both. The Foreign Language category tends to be somewhat controversial in terms of what films make the final cut and which movies are left to the side. But in choosing from a category that has dozens of submissions from around the world, this branch of the Academy’s job is arguably more difficult than the the one supervising the Best Picture category, which also has the luxury of nominating ten choices. So undoubtedly some beloved films were going to miss out this year.
The official shortlist for Oscar Foreign Language film has been revealed, and there are some very high profile snubs, including the Dardennes‘ "Two Days, One Night," and Cannes winners like Xavier Dolan‘s "Mommy" and Nuri Bilge Ceylan‘s "Winter Sleep." But let’s face it: the voting branch had an embarrassment of riches to choose from.
"Leviathan" (which landed on our Top 20 Films Of 2014) made the cut, as did European Film Awards winner "Ida," "Force Majeure" from Sweden and "Wild Tales" from Argentina.
Check out the nine on the shortlist below and share your thoughts in the comment section.
Argentina, "Wild Tales," Damián Szifrón, director;
Estonia, "Tangerines," Zaza Urushadze, director;
Georgia, "Corn Island," George Ovashvili, director;
Mauritania, "Timbuktu," Abderrahmane Sissako, director;
Netherlands, "Accused," Paula van der Oest, director;
Poland, "Ida," Paweł Pawlikowski, director;
Russia, "Leviathan," Andrey Zvyagintsev, director;
Sweden, "Force Majeure," Ruben Östlund, director;
Venezuela, "The Liberator," Alberto Arvelo, director.