Year in ReviewPt 1 of Many
It's time to wrap up 2010. You'll have to have patience since The Film Experience likes to do this piecemeal... and often! Let's do it every day at 10 AM or 10 PM or both when we magically have free time. How about that? We'll start with the US box office.
Box office hits get much coverage in the media so let's just dispense that basic "smash hit" list quick-like and move on to more interesting less covered seat-filler topics. All figures on all lists are up until the December 18th. And please go easy on any errors as I am unskilled at math is not my strong suit.
Please read the title in your best exasperated Nomi Malone voice. Plz and thx. I can't read the words "different places" without hearing Showgirls in my head.
The big critics prizes (Los Angeles and New York) have come and gone but more cities are following suit declaring their bests. Now, by the magic of the expandable post, we can share them all without appearing to be as dull obsessive and monotonous about what we do here at the film experience as those investigations into unsolved cold cases are in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
I've lept from Nomi to Noomi so I pray you're still with me.
I just watched the first film in the Millenium trilogy months after the hoopla and and I'm sorry that I have to ask it: WHAT is the big deal? It's so inelegantly structured as a film and so TV like in its choices. It's also a shade too enamored of the misogyny it condemns. I'd been vaguely curious to see it because audience identification with this violent barely verbal girlwoman fascinates me; what does it say about us that it's been such a great year for aspergers anti-heroes (see also: Social Network)?
The best moments in the film were rare tossed off funny bits, usually courtesy of Michael Nykvist (who you'll recognize from the great Swedish picture Togetheror the Oscar nominee As It Is In Heaven) and a few fine details within Noomi Rapace's leading work as the very popular Lisbeth Salander. You can sometimes catch Lisbeth trying to decipher her own impenetrable emotions as if they're as myterious to her as they are to us, which was a very nice actorly touch. Noomi was recently nominated for the "Critics Choice" and though she's good in the role, I can't say it was the revelation I'd hoped for given the acclaim and the sudden explosion of job offers that followed the trilogy (I'm actually totally weirded out that anyone -- in this case the film's director -- thinks she's been mistreated or cold shouldered by Hollywood).
In other words, I'm interested to see what Rooney Mara does for David Fincher in the same role; every once in a blue moon cover versions are better than originals. We'll see.
Mostly I was disappointed in the writing and filmmaking and that it felt like a television show. Just about the only visual thrill in the long film was the scene where black and white photos are made to move as continuous negatives chase each other. That image is smartly repeated. They must have known that it really worked. The scene haunts like the girl's a living ghost, which is a neat trick given the narrative. We wonder, along with Mikael Blomkvist, what spooked this dead girl and redirected her blurry gaze away from the camera.
In short... Noomi: B/B+ Movie: C Opportunity to See David Fincher Take a Crack At This Material: B- On this last. Fincher is one of my favorite filmmakers but I'd rather he do something else since this film already exists but he's very talented and he'll surely improve on it... though I'll miss the Swedish authenticity given that they're not changing the locale and given that I'm never very excited about people remaking foreign films for America. But my main question is: Why does he want to do yet another unsolved mystery/serial killer story? It's too early in that career to start repeating himself, isn't it?
What were we talking about?
Oh, yes, critics prizes. If you'd like to discuss Toronto, San Diego, San Francisco and who dared to plant a flag that didn't say "Social Network!" on it >GASP!<, read on.
As of tonight the BFI London Film Festival is done for another year. It's been a stellar year all told, if the surplus of reports are to be believed. And I'd willingly add a further approving nod to the list. I didn't manage to see everything I wanted (juggling festival times and dates with travel arrangements is an art – one that's open to fateful intervention...and multiple tube delays), but what I saw was on the whole a bumper crop. Roll on next year, I say. Here are five previous reviews, selected from the films I saw: Uncle Boonmee, A Screaming Man, Winter Vacation, Rare Exports and What I Love the Most. And below are five final mini reviews of a few festival highlights.
Thomas Vinterberg introduced his new film, Submarino, in a cheeky fashion: “if all goes well, you’ll be depressed at the end of the film. Enjoy yourselves!” It was no happy time sure, but it was an enthralling film, despite its determinedly grim subject matter. It follows two brothers’ hard, poverty-stricken lives in contemporary Copenhagen; a family tragedy as kids has left them scarred and emotionally unable to cope with adult existence. Hope is hard to grasp, but not too far away; redemption comes at a cost but may just stop dead the cycle of despair plaguing one or both of the brothers. The characters' direness isn’t forced or over baked and sympathy is well-earned. Lead actors Jakob Cedergren and Peter Plaugborg are excellent as, respectively, the older and younger siblings. Vinterberg’s humanistic approach is thoroughly rewarding and the tautness of the script ensures we become embroiled in the brothers’ plights. It’s strangely an easy film to like, but not always pleasant to watch. B-
Submarino
Abel, the second directorial effort by actor Diego Luna, was a complete contrast to Submarino (I saw them consecutively). The story of a boy, the titular Abel, who returns home from a stay at a psychiatric hospital to resume living with his mother and siblings – only to assume the role of patriarch of the house, brought on by his father’s disappearance years earlier. The family go along with the ruse in the hope that it aids the boy’s recovery. It’s an amusing, sweet-natured look at how families are truly peculiar to themselves more so than to others. It also questions the role of the father in modern Mexican life and makes more than a few choice and aptly conveyed criticisms of male-dominated hierarchies.
What follows is a strange amalgam of old and new links. It's a frankenstein roundup, stitched together over the past four days from aborted link posts that were accidentally unposted... until now. "IT'S ALIVE!"
/FilmJon Hamm as Superman? Movie|Line's failed/jokey photoshop attempt at the same thing utterly delights me (pictured left) I Just Want to Be PerfectBlack Swan website devoted to Nina's (Natalie Portman) psyche. Cinema Blend a look at the newly announced cast of The Hobbit. With pics. Why do I feel that this movie is going to be such a disaster when I love the LotR trilogy? I guess I've lost faith in Peter Jackson given that the beauty of King Kong was smothered by a lack of self-editing and then we got the disastrous The Lovely Bones.
ONTD Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen. I must have slept through this pairing. This is news to me. Cinematical Pixar gives its first female director the book (Brenda Chapman was to helm The Brave previously due out in 2012...but you know, I assume this could delay the movie). Boo. Montages (in Norwegian) a look at what's coming up very soon in Norwegian film. The writer is most excited for The King of Bastøy starring Stellan Skarsgard, Kristoffer Joner and Benjamin Helstad. The film takes place in 1915 and is based on a true story about a youth prison. Hmmm. Could it be next year's Oscar submission? It's never too early to start thinking about that given that the Oscar eligibility calendar is already in the 2011 film year now when it comes to Best Foreign Language Film.
(Partially) Off Cinema Tiger Beatdown "No One is Ever On Your Side" excellent, excellent article on Mad Men's Betty Draper Francis. A must read for fans of the show in case you missed it. Benefit of the Doubt on Metroid, feminism and the Aliens franchise (if you're curious as to why that's suddenly in the air again, it's due to the box set's release Alien Anthology.) Moby Lives on literature's problems in reflecting our internet ruled new world: timeliness or timelessness? The Faster Times a list of all the new shows coming to Broadway in the spring. The Oatmeal How to Pet a Cat. Hee
Something That's Really Bothering Me
Did you read the NY Times piece about the shortage of memorable lines in the movies these days? I suppose it's only helping them that everyone has been talking about the piece and linking to it (like me) for a couple of days but I do not understand the response. I've only read a couple of "in response" articles but they seemed to join in the lament. The article cites 90s films like Terminator 2, Forrest Gump and Jerry Maguire as among the last mammoth 'quotables.' Some response articles are saying things like "yeah, it's sad that movies aren't literate anymore..." I'm sorry but Forrest F'in Gump and Jerry Maguire are not literate movies. They just had fun simple catchphrases. Why are people equating catchphrase-making with great screenwriting and extrapolating that into a lament for the state of modern cinema? Does that mean that Arnold Schwarzenegger movies deserved Best Screenplay Oscars? A lack of catchphrases does not a poor screenplay make. The article makes a vague statement indicating that these things can take time, citing "Plastics" from The Graduate as a line that percolated before boiling. But then it blames The Social Network for not having a great lines (um, excuse me? It has hundreds of great lines... it'll just take awhile for a few of them to rise to the top) Meanwhile The Big Lebowski is praised for "The Dude abides." Listen. The Coen Bros write great dialogue. But I was around in 1998 when The Big Lebowski premiered. It was received with pockets of enthusiasm (as their pictures usually are) but mostly a shrug, and some considered it a small setback after Fargo (which had been nearly as popular as Raising Arizona, their first mainstream breakthrough. Lebowski wasn't.) It was only years later after obsessive fandom had successfully added several fresh coats of "classic" paint on Lebowski that people were incessantly quoting its dialogue and acting like it was this huge hit and of the best films of the 90s.
The article does suddenly remember that "I drink your milkshake" (There Will Be Blood) permeated pop culture but completely forgets about "I wish I knew how to quit you" (Brokeback Mountain) which was quoted just about as often as movie lines ever get quoted. And then there are any number of lines from Mean Girls (Best Shot subject this week!) as reader Dom pointed out a few days ago. You or someone you know quotes that movie every day. I know, right.
I guarantee you that "milkshake" and "quit you"will never disappear. And that 5 years from now, some line from The Social Network will still be in the public vernacular. One day people might not even remember where they first heard the line they end up using from The Social Network it may dig so deep down into the bone marrow of everyday conversation. You think everyone who has ever said "fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night" was thinking of All About Eve (or had even seen All About Eve) when they first said it?
63 countries have now announced their Oscar submissions.Last year we had 65 films and the most ever, if my data is correct, was 2008 in which 67 countries competed for the coveted 5 slots. (If 10 is the number for Best Picture, shouldn't the corresponding prize for subtitled features, also be 10? ) In other words, numbers-wise, we're just about finished. The deadline has already passed but some countries are quiet about their submissions. The "official" official list will arrive any minute now... or next week depending on the speed with which AMPAS does their paperwork. Soon is the point.
A naked blue moment from Puerto Rico's Miente a.k.a. Lie. Spanish is the
language to know in this category. 11 of the 63 entries are in Spanish!
I've updated all the pages so you can see the info. The major contending countries, those frequently in the hunt, have all announced their representative films.
Germany to Nicarauga
(19 films. No word yet fromKyrgizistan, Lebanon or Malaysia.)
Norway to Venezuela
(21 announcements. No word yet from Singapore, Sri Lanka, Ukraine or Vietnam)
I wanted to highlight two important actors in this year's field.
First, we have to note the presence of the 60 year old actor Miki Manojlovic (pictured left). He is the star of two of the submissions this year: Bosnia's Cirkus Columbia and Serbia's Solemn Promise (also known as Besa). If headlining two of the 60+ submissions isn't enough of a mark of border-crossing popularity, consider that he also appeared in last year's finalist from Bulgaria The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner, Serbia's submission from 2007 The Trap and 25 years ago he was part of the Oscar nominated Yugoslavian hit When Father Was Away on Business back when subtitled films used to have long theatrical runs. (Sigh. Good times.) If he looks familiar to you you may have seen him in an Emir Kusturica picture (he's made a few) or in François Ozon's Criminal Lovers.
I also wanted to note the presence of Norway's Maria Bonnevie. She was born in Sweden to Norwegian actors and grew up in Norway. But today she a star of international cinema. She's another face that should be growing familiar to festival audiences and the voting body of this particular Oscar branch. She's headlined a past Oscar submission, Denmark's Reconstruction (2003), and won various best actress citations for I am Dina (2002).She starred in the Russian film The Banishment (2007) for the acclaimed director Andrei Zvyagintsev.She's representing Norway this year with Engelen in which she plays a drug addict mother. I am ashamedly (mostly) unfamiliar with her which I can't quite figure out as I love Scandinavian cinema and I have heard of many of her titles. She hasn't really crossed over or 'gone Hollywood' as some international beauties do (and directors, too, actually) once they make a name for themselves at home. But she did appear in that odd Antonio Banderas Viking picture The 13th Warrior (1999) which I have very foggy memories of and you may have also seen her, as I did, in the terrific Norwegian thriller Insomnia (1997). Yep, the one that Christopher Nolan remade quickly (The Let The Right One In to Let Me In trajectory has happened over and over again in the history of cinema)
Left to right: The Polar Bear King was one of her earliest pictures; Insomnia
wowed critics and then got remade; romancing Film Experience favorite
Nikolaj Lie Kass in Oscar submission Reconstruction; and The 13th Warrior.
Left to right: Best Actress wins for I Am Dina; the Russian film Banishment;
addiction drama Engelen, Norway's current Oscar submission.
Just looking at stills from her filmography makes me assume she's like the Nordic Cate Blanchett. She's a few years younger but she looks similarly dramatically versatile is what I'm saying.
Three Questions For You:
Are you a fan of Bonnevie or Miki?
Which of the 60+ submissions are you anxious to see in the unfortunately distant future?
Are you proud of yourself for being fluent in Spanish right about now? I'm jealous!
We haven't heard quite yet if Norway will submit A Somewhat Gentle Man for Oscar consideration but if they do the Skarsgård clan could take up two spots in the Academy's foreign film competition.
The Skarsgårds are totally taking over movies and television! Father Stellan has been in everything for decades now from blockbusters (Pirates of the Caribbean, Mamma Mia) to arthouse favorites and beyond. Alexander Skarsgård, his son (they're pictured left in an old photo), bouyed by the media's ravenous appetite for True Blood has become a hot commodity in the past couple of years. And now little brother Bill Skarsgård has the lead role in Sweden's Oscar entry Simple Simon.
Here's the trailer.
In other foreign film news we know that Peru chose Contracorriente (Undertow) which I previously reviewed and quite liked. It's got seaside beauty, and Oscar likes a good nature shot but it's also a gay romantic drama so who knows if they'll respond well. Meanwhile Hungary continues to rebel against well known Oscar taste by choosing films with a surreal bent. Good for them for being themselves.
Can you imagine how boring it would be for Oscar voters if they had to sit through 60 films that were all inspirational biopics, sports dramas or travelogues with old people and little kid in tow?
My best friend has always wanted to go to Iceland so this year we finally bought tickets. Can't wait to experience The Blue Lagoon and see the Northern Lights (again... they're so amazing). I'll be curating a mini Icelandic film festival before we go. We're going off season because we both love winter (our other friends just have to deal) and it's cheaper!
Though I've seen plentiful Scandinavian films, I think I've only seen two from Iceland: Blóðbönd (Thicker than Water) and Hafið(The Sea) both of which were rather intense family dramas and quite good ones at that. If you've seen any Icelandic films, do share in the comments. I've always wanted to see 101 Reykjavik (on account of my Victoria Abril love) but for reasons I can't fathom I've never rented it. That'll be the first selection in the mini-fest.
Iceland's only been nominated at the Oscars once, for Börn náttúrunnar (Children of Nature) by Friðrik Þór Friðriksson, arguably their best known filmmaker. Or he was until Baltasar Kormákur showed up. Baltasar, who also acts, is the current man getting international attention, English language remakes and the one Iceland keeps submitting for Oscar consideration.
Wonder what they'll submit this year? Both of those directors have new films but Baltasar's latest Inhale is in English with an international cast (Diane Kruger, Dermot Mulroney, Vincent Perez, Sam Shepard, etcetera) and thus ineligible. Friðriksson, on the other hand, made an Icelandic autobiographical mother/son alzheimer's film called Mamma Gógó. And, get this, it directly involves andreferences his Oscar success Children of Nature and subsequent financial struggles as his mother begins to fall apart. Here's the trailer (via Twitch)
More halfway mark articles comin at'cha. Just about anywhere you look online you'll see reports about this or that blockbuster and the top ten of the year and how superheroes, franchise/brands and animated films are still all the rage blah blah. You'll hear about the same movies over and over again. Why not look a little deeper? How about the foreign language films? Here's how they've done so far Stateside (box office figures as of July 1st).
Foreign (Box Office) Top Ten
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo(Sweden) $8.8 Scandinavia doesn't often claim the biggest hit, so good on them. Skål! In our modern marketplace, where more and more people wait for DVDs for anything other than films with 8 figure ad campaigns, 8 million is now a huge gross for a foreign film. The "hits" rarely make the kind of bank that they used to. Amélie's $33 back in 2001 seems like another era altogether. Even Pan's Labyrinth's $37 as recently as 2006 is a miracle. Especially when you stop to consider that Let The Right One In only managed $2 million in 2008 just two years later despite crazy passionate word of mouth.
Incidentally I tried to read The Girl... recently and just couldn't get into it but even just reading a small portion of the bestseller made this Nora Ephron spoof laugh out loud funny to me.
Kites(India) $1.6 Interesting that this internationally-minded effort with American setting, Mexican and Indian stars, and even an American "remix" didn't do any better than more traditional Bollywood entries did.
Mic-Macs(France) $.7 The latest from the visually gifted Jean Pierre-Jeunet (Amélie). Fun movie but also a bit exhausting. I suspect audiences will take to it in greater numbers on DVD where you can watch it in (set)pieces.
Vincere (Italy) $.6 A decent gross I suppose but IFC waited way too long after this film's first explosion of buzz to open it. Especially since Italy didn't even submit it for Oscar consideration. There was no use waiting since it couldn't use Oscar as platform anyway. And some films with passionate fans do better if people know that they're not eligible for the foreign film Oscar. People like to be outraged. Why not September or October back in 2009 hot off its Cannes buzz with an attempt to generate faux 'look what Oscar's missing' outrage?
Raavan (India) $.5 Starring the married superstars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai
South Korea's Mother just missed this top ten. Arthouse audiences and critics talked it up but Oscar passed. It waited and opened up shortly after the Oscar ceremony.
You'll notice that the top grossers are from Bollywood -- have they usurped France's spot as most reliable in the US market? -- or are Oscar holdovers. A few of these used the Oscars as a platform rather than risking regular release. Secret only showed itself in theaters once it could use the Oscar win as advertisement but that's a risky strategy since you can't guarantee a win. The two rather robust contenders it beat on Oscar night, France's A Prophet and Germany's The White Ribbon, had twin buzz trajectories: hot ticket Cannes debut, Cannes trophies, well regarded auteur at the helm, rave reviews. Ribbon opened with only those things to guide it last December. A Prophet, like Secret, banked on Oscar love for ticket sales, only opening after the expected but not guaranteed nomination. Box office result: Slightly smaller box office for Prophet than Ribbon.
What does it mean? Interpret as you will. I prefer to interpret things as "open when the film is ready" and stop making audiences wait! This is the age of gimme it now and film distribution is lagging compared to tv and music, which both seem to be (slowly) adapting to the instant gratification / 'on my terms' culture.
But then numbers are highly interpretable. It might simply indicate that Oscar means nothing unless you win.
FWIW:The Milk of Sorrow, Peru's first Oscar nominee, is the only 2009 Foreign Film nominee that never opened in the US. Such a shame. Sorrow's director Claudia Llosa was just invited to join AMPAS's directors branch. My favorite foreign release of 2010? Italy's I AM LOVE improved remarkably on second viewing and I was fond enough of it the first time. It's just ravishing and my only real concern about it the first time through was what seemed like a sexphobic denouement. On second viewing, I believe I misread the film initially, taking the narrative happenings too literally when the images were the key. Most of the film is shot, designed, scored and acted with a more symbolic, sensual, operatic mindset in mind. I suddenly have a lot of things to say about it but it feels like the kind of movie you only discuss once people have seen it. So I'll wait a bit more.
[box office note: It's currently grossed just under over half a million in limited release but it should end up as one of the top foreign grossers of the year when the year wraps.]
Oscar buzz for 2010? Those Oscar nominees we've just discussed are ineligible for further honors -- they already had their Oscar year -- so we look to Cannes buzz to guide us in predicting the Best Foreign Language Film Submissions for 2010. As for I Am Love... I think it's probably not so Oscarable (despite exquisite craftsmanship) but if it catches on in theaters, you never know. Oscar likes an arthouse hit. * *
tuesday top ten returns! It's for the list-maker in me and the list-lover in you
The Cannes film festival wrapped this weekend (previous posts) and the most recent Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film, The Secret in Their Eyes is still in the midst of a successful US run. That Oscar winning Argentinian film came to us from director Juan Jose Campanella. It's his second film to be honored by the Academy (Son of the Bride was nominated ten years back). The Academy voters obviously like Campanella and in some ways he's a Hollywood guy. When he's not directing Argentinian Oscar hopefuls he spends time making US television with episodes of Law & Order, House and 30 Rock under his belt.
So let's talk foreign-language auteurs. Who does Oscar love most?
[The film titles discussed in this article will link to Netflix pages -- if available -- should you be curious to see the films]
Best Director winners Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) and Milos Forman (Amadeus and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
Please Note: Filmmakers like Ang Lee (Taiwan), Milos Forman (Czech) and Louis Malle (France) have won multiple notices for their foreign language work with the Academy but I'm restricting this list to those directors who worked primarily in their native tongue throughout their careers. The three aforementioned men all had their biggest Oscar successes from English language films.
OSCAR'S TEN FAVORITE FOREIGN AUTEURS
The ranking that follows are somewhat arbitrary since we're dealing with different kinds of attention paid.
Honorable Mention:Ettore Scola (Italy), Bo Widerberg (Sweden), Carlos Saura (Spain) and Zhang Yimou (China) each helmed 3 Foreign Film Nominees over the years... the latter two for submissions from two different countries. Denys Arcand (Canada) and Nikita Mikhalkov (Russia) have each directed 3 Nominees one of which won the prize (The Barbarian Invasions and Burnt By The Sun, respectively). Mikhalkov, who also acts in his pictures, recently completed the sequel to his Oscar winner called Burnt by the Sun 2, but reviews have been brutal so we aren't banking on seeing it in the Oscar lineup next year. Finally, Jose Luis Garci (Spain) directed 4 nominated films, winning once for Volver a Empezar.
let's make this a top dozen
12István Szabó (Hungary)1938 - still working 4 Foreign Film Nominees (1 win) all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 5 nominations, 1 win LikeSpain's Garci, the last of the honorable mentions, Szabó directed 4 Foreign Film Nominees, winning once. But in the case of Szabó, it's a more surprising achievement. Unlike Spain, Hungary has rarely won much favor with Oscar. In fact, after Szabó's last nomination, Hungarian films have been completely ignored by the Academy.
In a remarkable hot streak in the Eighties, Szabo had four (!) Best Foreign Film nominations: Bizalom (1980), Mephisto (1981 winner), Colonel Redl (1985) and Hanussen (1988). The latter three all starred Klaus Maria Brandauer who became a fixture in international cinema after the success of Mephisto. It helps to speak several languages and be brilliant -- just ask Christoph Waltz (Yes, there are earlier incarnations of all success stories). Brandauer might have even won the Supporting Actor Oscar for his sterling work in Out of Africa (1985) had voters not been feeling sentimental for that Cocoon fella. Oscar was SO sentimental in the 80s.
But where were we? Ah yes. Szabo moved over to English language cinema (directing Annette Bening to a nomination for Being Julia) but he hasn't yet equalled those early Hungarian successes.
11Mario Monicelli (Italy) 1915 - still living 2 nominations (writing) | 4 Foreign Film Nominees all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 6 nominations, 0 wins
He's best known for kicking off the commedia all'italiana movement in cinema and for the classic Big Deal on Madonna Street but Oscar's love for him stretches over six movies (His two screenplay nominations weren't even from his foreign film nominees). Monicelli turns 95 (!) this summer. He hasn't directed a feature film since 2006 but you may have seen him as an actor in the Diane Lane vehicle Under the Tuscan Sun (2003).
THE TOP TEN
10René Clément(France) 1913-1996 1 Foreign Film Nominee | 2 Honorary Foreign Film Wins (before category existed) all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 4 nominations and 2 honorary statues
The Academy gave out 8 special foreign language film Oscars before they decided they needed to give foreign films their own category and René Clément won the prize twice during those years. In those days Oscar only had eyes for France, Italy and Japan. The Walls of Malapaga (1949) was his first win and he won again shortly thereafter for his internationally renowned classic Forbidden Games (1952). Games even won a second Oscar nomination for story two years later once it finally hit American screens (this is before they changed the rules to prevent films from competing in more than one year). That film was in some ways the perfect embodiment of Oscar's foreign type before Oscar even knew it had one: young children as protagonists + World War II.
The Academy created the foreign language film category as we know it in 1956 and Clément's was there again as a shortlister for the Emile Zola adaptation Gervaise (1956).Though that film was his last foreign film nominee, he continued to make movies for another two decades including such well regarded films as Purple Noon (1960) and Paris Brûle-t-il? (1966) which received two Oscar nominations in other categories.
09Luis Buñuel (Spain) 1900-1983 2 nominations (writing) | 3 Foreign Film Nominees (1 win) all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 5 nominations, 1 win
Oscar arrived at the Buñuel party conspicuously late. They even ignored Belle de Jour (1967) one of the best films ever, despite awards attention elsewhere. Sometimes they are well behind the curve. Notice how long it took Jacques Audiard (A Prophet) and Michael Haneke (The White Ribbon) to win attention. In some ways it's surprising that AMPAS got there at all with Buñuel given the director's penchant for sexuality and surrealism. Oscar somewhat prefers the chaste and the literal as you know.
Tristana and the years of critical acclaim preceding it, opened their hearts to his work at the dawn of the '70s. His follow up, The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), was a double nominee. Its win in the Foreign Film category has to count as one of the best but most unusual choices in the category's entire history. But then Oscar was at his most adventurous in the early 70s. Oscar and Buñuel had one last fling with That Obscure Object of Desire (1977). It was also Buñuel's last affair with the cinema. The father of cinematic surrealism was in his late 70s at the time and died in 1983.
08 Andrzej Wajda (Poland) 1926 - still working 1 Honorary Oscar | 4 Foreign Film Nominees all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 4 nominations, 0 wins and 1 honorary statue
Poland's most influential filmmaker was most revered by awards bodies in the latter half of the 70s and early 80s. He won 3 Foreign Film Oscar nominations in that period: Promised Land (1975), The Maids of Wilko (1979... retitled The Young Girls of Wilko) and Man of Iron (1981). To prove that it wasn't a temporary love, Oscar handed him an honorary statue for "five decades of extraordinary film direction" in March of 2000. He won a fourth foreign film nomination recently for Katyn (2007). His lauded filmography also includes Ashes and Diamond (1958) and the French biopic Danton (1983) starring Gerard Depardieu which received awards attention elsewhere but strangely no Oscar heat.
07Jan Troell (Sweden) 1931- still working 2 nominations (directing, writing) | 3 Foreign Film Nominees | 1 Best Picture Nominee all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 7 nominations, 0 wins
He's often forgotten in discussions of Scandinavian cinema (at least here in the US) since Ingmar Bergman casts such a long shadow. But Oscar was quite fond of him up until recently. His high water mark with the Academy was Utvandrarna (The Emigrants) -- strangely not on DVD --one of only five pictures to ever achieve both Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture nominations. Given Oscar history it's a bit odd that the Academy didn't jump on his latest picture Everlasting Moments (2008) and even with Max von Sydow in the lead role, Hamsun (1996) didn't win attention either.
06Pedro Almodovar (Spain) 1949- still working 2 nominations (directing, writing) | 1 Oscar (writing) | 2 Foreign Film Nominees (1 win) all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 5 nominations, 2 wins
Spain's most famous living filmmaker has a fascinating Oscar history. The Academy embraced his international breakthrough Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988) but then ignored the next ten years of his career. His Oscar comeback was the mature and wondrous All About My Mother (1999) which took the top prize, despite content that would normally scare them away. Given his global fame and AMPAS's familiarity with his mad melodramedic skill, you'd think he'd have more nominated films to his credit. Part of the problem is that the Spanish Academy, which makes Spain's choice about Foreign Film representation, hasn't always been gaga for Pedro's work. Famously they passed over Talk to Her (2002) in its year so Oscar handed that recent masterpiece a screenplay Oscar and a directing nomination instead. It's no small stretch of the imagination to say that it would've beat the German winner Nowhere in Africa that year to become Pedro's second winner in the category. Volver (2006) was weirdly snubbed in the Foreign category but managed the even more high profile Best Actress nomination and became Pedro's biggest stateside hit if you don't adjust for inflation.
05Francois Truffaut (France) 1932-1984 3 nominations (writing, directing) | 3 Foreign Film Nominees (1 win) all Oscar categories: His films have earned 8 nominations, 1 win
This icon started his career as an obsessive cinephile and provoactive critic at the magazine Cahiers du Cinéma. His feature debut, The 400 Blows (1959) kicked off the French New Wave and proved to be one of the most influential and acclaimed films ever made. That film won him the best director prize at the Cannes Film Festival at only 27 years of age. It also netted him his first Oscar nomination and more would follow. His classics include seminal features likeJules et Jim (1962) as well as Oscar-recognized favorites like Stolen Kisses (1968), Day for Night (1973 -winner), The Story of Adele H (1975) and The Last Metro (1980).
Film buffs will note that he also acted, even receiving a BAFTA nomination for appearing in his admirer Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). Here's Spielberg talking about working with him.
04Akira Kurosawa (Japan) 1910-1998 1 Honorary Oscar | 1 nomination (directing) | 3 Foreign Film Nominees (1 win) | 1 Honorary Foreign Film Win (before category existed) all Oscar categories: His films have earned 12 nominations, 2 wins and 2 honorary statues
Japan's most famous filmmaker spent over sixty years working in the cinema and his legacy is enormous. The Oscars don't paint a full enough portrait of his cinematic impact. Only two of his films won the Foreign Oscar: the game changing Rashomon (1951) which people have been riffing on ever since, making it one of the true must-sees for cultural literacy, and Dersu Uzala (1975) which actually won the prize for Russia rather than Japan. His other nominated films were Dodes'ka-Den (1970) and Kagemusha (1980). I can't recall the circumstances which led his King Lear style epic Ran (1985) to ineligibility in the foreign film category but the Academy compensated with a well deserved Best Director nomination for that classic.
Still, despite what would be more than plentiful Oscar attention for most filmmakers, this portrait feels incomplete. Major classics like The Hidden Fortress (1958), Yojimbo (1961) or The Seven Samurai(1954) had to make due with technical nods or none at all. They sure did owe him that honorary Oscar they gave him in 1990 "For cinematic accomplishments that have inspired, delighted, enriched and entertained worldwide audiences and influenced filmmakers throughout the world."
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The Top Three
Oscar's most beloved trinity of foreign language film auteurs (in terms of this list's criteria) had the good golden fortune to be doing incredible work during the decades when US movie culture was most enamored of foreign fare. That is, at least since the silent film era, before sound came crashing into cinema toppling it like the tower of Babel.
03Vittorio de Sica (Italy) 1901-1974 1 nomination (acting) | 3 Foreign Film Nominees (2 wins) | 2 Honorary Foreign Film Wins (before there was a category) all Oscar categories: His (directorial) filmography has earned 10 nominations, 3 wins and 2 honorary statues
The Bicycle Thief and The Garden of the Fitzi-Continis... the titles alone sound mythic somehow, having amassed so much cultural heft over the years. Those two Oscar winning classics aren't true bookends of de Sica's acclaimed filmography but since one is from the 40s and one from the 70s they work as such. This Italian neorealist and prolific writer/actor/director was celebrated often and seemingly continuously from Shoe-Shine(1947's honorary winner) through his supporting actor nomination for A Farewell to Arms (1957) and onward until the Fitzi-Continis. His swansong The Voyage (1974) didn't win awards but it was a fitting goodbye, since it allowed him to reteam him with his frequent muse Sophia Loren.
Loren & de Sica. They made beautiful films together.
I was a bit surprised to see his name above Kurosawa's in this listing given their name recognition value these days but he's a truly giant figure from world cinema history, popularizing neorealism in the late 40s and delivering multiple classics. He was also one of the principle authors of Sophia Loren's legend having directed her in both her Oscar winning role in Two Women (1961) and in celebrated films like Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (1964's foreign Oscar winner) and Marriage, Italian Style (1964). He also directed American screen giants like Montgomery Clift in Indiscretions of an American Wifeand Shirley Maclaine in Woman Times Seven (she was Golden Globe nominated for that multiple role performance). * 02Ingmar Bergman (Sweden) 1918-2007 9 nominations (directing, writing, producing) | Irving Thalberg Award | 3 Foreign Film Winners | 1 Best Picture Nominee all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 21 nominations, 7 wins and a Thalberg
This legendary Swede's body of work is so deep and impressive (not to mention deeply immersed in the human condition) that listing his numerous Oscar successes wouldn't even acknowledge what some would argue is his greatest achievement (Persona, 1966). That black and white masterwork in which a mute actress (Bergman's muse and lover Liv Ullmann) and her nurse (Bibi Andersson) become pyschologically fused has influenced much work since, including two of the greatest films from other world class auteurs (David Lynch's Mulholland Dr and Robert Altman's Three Women). Woody Allen never did his own Persona riff but he is arguably the most famous of Bergman's many auteur fans.
Bergman's filmography is essentially one treasure after another so we'll have to ignore the bulk of it for brevity's sake and point you to his Oscar films in case you haven't seen them. Program a mini festival at home. All three of his foreign film nominees won: The Virgin Spring (1960), Through a Glass Darkly (1961), Fanny And Alexander (1982). [Trivia Note: Sweden has never won the foreign prize outside of Bergman's work]
Cries and Whispers (5 nominations, 1 win for cinematography)
In addition to his foreign film winners Bergman's other gold successes include Wild Strawberries (1957) Face to Face (1976) and Autumn Sonata (1978). The Academy fell deepest into a hypnotic Bergman trance in the early 70s when they gave him the Thalberg award and then followed up that honor with multiple nominations, including Best Picture, for his great and disturbing female grief drama Cries and Whispers (1972).
01 Federico Fellini(Italy) 1920-1993 12 nominations (directing, writing, producing) | 1 Honorary Oscar | 4 Foreign Film Winners | all Oscar categories: His filmography has earned 23 nominations, 7 wins and 1 honorary statue
Last year's adaptation of Nine, itself adapted from a stage musical adapted from Federico Fellini's 8½ (1963) wasn't well received enough to spark a mini-Fellini revival in the media but the media was once quite enamored of all moving parts of Fellini's cinematic circus. That press conference scene in Nine was no exaggeration or joke. In fact, the word "paparazzi" sprung to life because of one of his best loved movies La Dolce Vita (1960) in which a male photographer's name is Paparazzo. Fellini's celebrity was vast and his actors were also sensations. His male muse Marcello Mastroianni never won an Oscar but he holds the record of most nominations for non-English language performances, three in total).
Though their sensibilities are vastly different, Fellini shares with Bergman, his only real rival for Oscar's foreigner crown, a prolific career and one with consistent inspiration and awards pull. Even before he won notices for his directing he was winning screenplay nominations for films he didn't helm.
How familiar are you with the films mentioned? I have a decent grasp of the Fellinis, Bunuels and Kurosawas. I'm nearly a completist with the Almodóvars (duh). But I need to get down to serious business on the Bergman's (small percentage despite my love. What's that about?) and I'm almost completely ignorant on the de Sicas and the Troells. So many I haven't seen.
My baby kitten Montgomery hasn't been a kitten in a decade. This is my favorite photo of his childhood to your left. He is 11 years old now. He's had a lot of health problems lately so I just got back from yet another expensive trip to the vet. But anything for my baby. If it's between him and the rent, I'll be looking for a comfortable cardboard box big enough for both of us to sleep in.
All of which probably made me a sucker for How to Train Your Dragon's pet-love sentiment. I finally saw the hit yesterday. (I'm not used to being so behind the curve but I got caught up in festival world for a month there.) What is Toothless other than a scaly superpowered cat and what is Hiccup other than a boy who really loves his cat/dragon?
I really responded to the story for these personal reasons but it also surprised me. I hadn't read a lot about it so I didn't really know the plot outside of the what the trailer offers.
It's surprising to find a movie -- even a cartoon --that actually champions a boy for being sensitive and smart rather than impulsive and athletic (though Hiccup has those more traditional traits, too... the movie just downplays that he does). That the movie has been such a hit with moviegoers despite being far less gender-rigid than most animated films is a bigger surprise.
But before I get carried away assuming some kinder, gentler thread in moviegoing emerging after years of increasingly extreme bloodlust, I should note that when I went to buy my ticket, the 11 year old girl in front of me in line excitedly asked for Nightmare on Elm Street. So same as it ever was. Only I suspect I got the way sweeter deal as movies go. Even though I had to buy one of those ridiculously expensive 3D tickets.
I fear that the movie industry has basically given up on increasing the moviegoing habit. They're willing to price themselves out of true relevance just like Broadway did. $17.50 was way too much to pay for the movie even though I loved it. And the fact that I'm saying that, someone who believes in the sanctity of moviegoing and finds it many times preferable to home viewing, should be worrisome to the industry. If you are even willing to alienate the people who do still go to the movies every single week... who exactly will keep going to the movies? Or will everyone eventually do like my non-movie oriented family where they'll see like 1 or max 2 movies in a theater per year and otherwise watch only television?
But back to Tame Your Dragon for two hot seconds.
One. I want to adopt Toothless. He's my new dream pet. But I can't because Monty is a jealous boy. He will straight up attack if there's a stuffed animal anywhere near me. No joke.
Two. What the hell was with the Scottish accents for Vikings? Vikings are Scandinavian! Now, I suppose there is an argument about cross-pollination and Norse control of Scotland to be made but Viking mythology belongs to Scandinavia. Just because both begin with "Sc" doesn't mean they're completely interchangeable. That's like assuming that if a bitch is from Chicago that's like being from China. Or that New Yorkers are impossible to separate from New Zealanders. I think if you drop Woody Allen into the Shire or ask Frodo to intern for Miranda Priestley, there's going to be chaos!
Hollywood's confusion about geography is just as funny as New York's. That happens to 'center of the world' places. One of my favorite New Yorker covers of all time illustrates this (lol). Maybe Hollywood needs a cheatsheet?
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