OVP: Best Foreign Language Film (2003)
The Nominees Were...
The Barbarian Invasions, Canada
Evil, Sweden
The Twilight Samurai, Japan
Twin Sisters, The Netherlands
Zelary, Czech Republic
My Thoughts: It is hard to believe in the era of Parasite and Another Round, but there was once a time that the Best Foreign Language Film category (now called the International Feature Film race) was arguably the dullest category of the night with Oscar. This isn't an indictment of the international film scene (which is always vibrant if you know where to look), but from roughly the early 1980's to the early 2000's, the Oscars were famous for skipping over groundbreaking movies for the same tepid pablum, making this one of the harder categories to embrace if you're a completionist. 2003 is a good case of that, because while there aren't any out-and-out terrible movies in this bunch, there isn't really a masterpiece either.
A good example of that is Zelary, a love story set during World War II (it wouldn't be this race if there weren't at least one WWII epic in the midst). The film is good, if predictable. I liked the chemistry between the two leads, unlikely lovers thrown together by happenstance, but the first half drags too much, and I don't quite think the ending (one that has a lot of "isn't time bizarre?" going for it) feels earned (though I like the general direction it's taking). Zelary is good, but it's not great, and that's the problem-this is a category that should be getting you great.
Another case like that is Evil. Evil is, unlike Zelary, not your typical Oscar fare. Here we have a boarding school drama that incorporates a lot of physical violence, occasionally in a way that feels like it's toeing the line into a 1960's Stanley Kubrick film (without the avant garde)...Alex DeStrange would be right at home in this house. But while it's atypical, and the acting (particularly lead actor Andreas Wilson) is solid, it doesn't have enough substance to warrant a lot of discussion. I was glad Oscar nominated this, because I would've never sought something like this out and I did like it, but it's not a great movie.
Zelary and Evil are both good films, which is not something I can claim for Twin Sisters. The film has a lot of odd potential (two sisters, separated during World War II, end up in love with men on opposite sides of the argument which causes friction in their relationship), but it is so dull & doesn't really know how to handle the darkness of the plot (particularly for the sister who marries a Nazi). It ends up being a bit of a bad soap opera, and the ending is yawn-inducing (I won't get into spoilers, but it's an "only in a bad movie" sort of finale to the tale, and weirdly not the only terrible 2003 Oscar nominee that ends with a tragic epiphany).
The Barbarian Invasions also suffers from totally being all-over-the-place in terms of its story, to the point where I honestly found it confusing. I will admit I have not seen the first film that this was based on (in part because I didn't realize this was a sequel until after I saw the movie), but even with that context I doubt I would've liked Barbarian. Sex comedies always age like milk, and this one is filled with crude humor that feels queasy to me, and I honestly had no vested interest in the characters. Even if its jokes were bad, it commits an even greater sin than tackiness as a comedy as the film goes-it's boring.
The Twilight Samurai, like many of these films, is focused on a traditional story, one we know by heart. The idea of a single father finding unlikely love after the death of his wife is one that has been put to use in countless movies. But Twilight lucks out by having a fantastic lead performance from actor Hiroyuki Sanada, who does the difficult-he brings depth to an honorable man. The result is a slightly slow, but really purposeful movie, one that has a rich payoff in its ending, and it feels far more substantive than most of the other contenders in this list.
Other Precursor Contenders: Awards ceremonies like the Goyas and the Cesars aren't good representatives here since they're typically honoring the main films of a specific country, so I only count the Globes among the awards bodies we check-in with for Foreign Language film. The Globes went with Osama, which was submitted for an Oscar, but wasn't nominated (it was the first film to be made in Afghanistan after the fall of the Taliban), besting Monsieur Ibrahim, Goodbye Lenin!, The Return, and The Barbarian Invasions.
Films I Would Have Nominated: I don't see enough of the contenders to have a cohesive opinion here, and I don't have an obvious nominee I would've included that was in the running.
Oscar’s Choice: Honestly, this is one of those rare years where you'd be forgiven for thinking there's no clear frontrunner (or not remembering who won), but The Barbarian Invasions got into the best screenplay category, which gave it enough of a boost to take this prize.
My Choice: In a year where there's no film I love, the movie I come the closest to adoration is Twilight Samurai, which is going to get my vote...if nothing it's the movie that has stuck with me the most. I'll follow that with Zelary, Evil, Twin Sisters, and The Barbarian Invasions in the back.
Those are my thoughts-what about you? Are you with Oscar in favoring the Canadian health dramedy, or would you prefer my corner with the Japanese love story? Do you remember the big to do that happened when the Globes picked Osama as their winner? And what are some truly classic non-English films from 2003 we should all be celebrating instead of this rather mundane bunch? Share your thoughts below!
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