"BASHIR," "THE CLASS" MAKE UP OSCAR BEST FOREIGN FILM SHORTLIST

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released the list of nine foreign language films that have made it to the next round of voting:

Austria, "Revanche," Gotz Spielmann, director
Canada, "The Necessities of Life," Benoit Pilon, director
France, "The Class," Laurent Cantet, director
Germany, "The Baader Meinhof Complex," Uli Edel, director
Israel, "Waltz with Bashir," Ari Folman, director
Japan, "Departures," Yojiro Takita, director
Mexico, "Tear This Heart Out," Roberto Sneider, director
Sweden, "Everlasting Moments," Jan Troell, director
Turkey, "3 Monkeys," Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director (above, with his cast and crew at the 61st Cannes Filmfest photocall)

The five finalists will be announced on Thursday, January 22 along with the nominees in other categories.


Hmmm... What were they thinking? Italy's award winning crime drama Gomorra (Grand Prize, Cannes; Best Film, European Film Awards; Best Foreign Film nominee, Golden Globes, Independent Spirit Awards) is the most high profile film to be snubbed in the shortlist. Sundance Filmfest entry The Mermaid (from Russia) and U.S.-Jordan co-production Captain Abu Raed failed to make the cut, as did the Spanish family drama The Blind Sunflowers and Cannes Un Certain Regard winner Tulpan (from Kazakhstan).

And what about Ploning, Judy Ann Santos' labor of love and the Philippines' entry to the 81st Oscars? 'Nuff said.

Here are some notes regarding the shortlist:

I was expecting that Gomorra will be excluded from the shortlist, given the controversies surrounding the novel and the film. (Maybe some Academy members were afraid that the Italian mafia in the U.S. might create havoc on Oscar night…) Adroit editing though, even if the pacing was predictable.

The Baader Meinhof Complex has controversies of its own too. Family members of the protagonists in the film were protesting the factual basis of the story. Its director (the critically reviled Uli Edel of Body of Evidence infamy) and producers might be forced to re-shoot some scenes. Expect the film to be excluded from the final five.

Maria Larsson’s Everlasting Memories is from two-time Best Foreign Film contender (and 1971 Best Director nominee Jan Troell (The Emigrants; The New Land), and the old fashioned story (family drama) is something that most Academy members (the elderly) can relate. Hence, it’s in.

Austria’s Revanche is a women’s film with some typical issues (sex, prostitution, destitution) in the plot. Given the limited release box office success of last year’s winner, the Holocaust thriller The Counterfeiters, expect director Gotz Spielmann to continue the country’s winning streak at the Oscars.

Last year’s Palme d’Or winner, Entre Les Murs (a.k.a. Behind the Walls or The Class) is commercially accessible, considering the familiar plot and characters. Think of it as the true-to-life, French version of Dead Poets Society and Dangerous Minds. Reserve two seats for first time nominee Laurent Cantet (Resources Humaines; L’Emploi du Temps).

Last Sunday’s Golden Globe Best Foreign Film winner Waltz With Bashir is a politically correct choice for the Academy’s sentimental actors’ branch. Topicality is a big issue here, and Ari Folman’s seamless and impartial depiction of the subject matter (despite its indulgent narrative devices) are enough to sustain the film’s surprisingly potent critical reception in North America. This is Israel’s seventh Best Foreign Film nominee, though I don’t think it will win. (Even in the Best Animated Feature category, where WALL-E is the predestined champ.)

Other out-of-left field finalists include the Japanese tradition versus reality drama Departures (”the most successful commercial and internationally critical film since Masayuki Suo’s Shall We Dance?” according to Asia Pacific Arts Best of 2008 article), the routine Mexican telenovela-lite Tear Your Heart Out, Canadian documentary filmmaker Benoit Pilon’s upcoming IFC films release The Necessities of Life, and Turkish auteur (and last year’s Cannes Filmfest Best Director winner) Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s family dysfunction study Three Monkeys. This is Ceylan's (pictured above with his cast and crew at Cannes last year) second film (after 2003's Distant) as Oscar entry of Turkey, though critical reception was mixed.

Here are my predictions for the five nominated films:

"The Class," France
"Everlasting Moments," Sweden (Actually, it's a Swedish-Danish co-production.)
"Revanche," Austria
"3 Monkeys," Turkey
"Waltz with Bashir," Israel

Bet on Jan Troell to triumph on Oscar night. (As the saying goes, "the third time's the charm." Ask French director and 2003 Best Foreign Film winner Denys Arcand of The Barbarian Invasions and you'll know why.)