OVP: Best International Feature Film (2022)
The Nominees Were...
All Quiet on the Western Front, Germany
Argentina, 1985, Argentina
Close, Belgium
EO, Poland
The Quiet Girl, Ireland
My Thoughts: A year after three of the International Feature films were nominated in other categories, 2022 brought that watershed moment back to earth with only one film nominated, and it was dominating the other nominations to the point where this category became something of a gimme answer in terms of your predictions. This, of course, is one of the main reasons that I love doing this project. I don't have to pick from the expectations that AMPAS has set up-I just get to pick based on the actual nominees they pulled together.
This is good, because as we've established (links to all past 2022 contests at the bottom of the page), I'm not a fan of All Quiet on the Western Front. I think the concept behind the movie is really smart, and I loved the 1930 version. But I think remakes, especially of good movies, need to justify their existence, and this movie doesn't. More violence, more realism...this is the movies, that's not the sole reason to do something. The film feels like by giving us this more authentic visual appearance that they are taking away from the humanity of the movie, and all of the "ticking clock" moments with Daniel Bruhl steal from the movie's claustrophobia. Anyone who has seen the original got nothing out of this, including me.
The Quiet Girl is another movie that feels like you're trying to justify its existence the entire film. The movie is pleasant, don't get me wrong-watching a young girl go from being sad to finding an identity with temporary parents who love her in a way she's never felt...this is the sort of movie that, had it been in English, would've made a fortune in the 1980's. But there's nothing special here, and I think most of the critics who celebrated this were more so focused on how they don't make this type of movie in America anymore...not on whether or not it was any good.
Argentina, 1985 is one of those movies that I imagine are kind of hilarious on some level for people from the country it's based in to read American reviews. The trial in question here, which I knew next-to-nothing about, is as famous in Argentina as the OJ Simpson verdict would be in the United States, so there's more pressure in the home country to make this compelling as opposed to the US where you have actual suspense in the outcome. I don't think it ended it well, and it didn't have enough perspective along the way to give us a proper conclusion, but I was intrigued even if the film itself isn't particularly special.
EO is not a film that you can accuse of being staid, predictable, or without humanity. It's an odd movie, sometimes a manipulative one, but it's one that is going outside its mold which already gained some points for me. I loved the lack of proper narrative, as we see the world through the eyes of a donkey, and in many ways this is the most Malick-like film I've seen in a while that wasn't from the master himself. It's always hard to give credit for solid acting to an animal, but, like, you'll love EO by the end of this (and you'll love the camerawork even more). The French acting legend (I won't spoil who) randomly showing up in a cameo actively made me gasp, which is really all I want from a movie.
Finishing off the quintet is Close, one of those movies that holds up better when you're watching it than when you actually think back on it. The film's first half, when it looks at the two main boys' lives and the toll that happens when homophobia (even if they might not be gay-the film isn't totally clear on that, and I honestly feel like this is a rare time that actually works better for the plot) starts to judge the closeness of their friendship. The back half of the film, when tragedy ends their friendship, is less interesting, particularly as it doesn't have the clarity in the screenplay to take the lens off of the two boys, which it needs to do in order to talk about one of the boy's mothers, who becomes crucial to the resolution of the movie. Interesting, but not ultimately successful.
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 Argentina 1985 as their winner (a fact I had totally forgotten), atop All Quiet on the Western Front, Close, Decision to Leave, and RRR. From the shortlist of 2022 contenders, I'd say the most likely options were Decision to Leave (South Korea), Joyland (Pakistan), Bardo (Mexico), and Saint Omer (France). Bardo obviously made it in another category, so it'll be remembered as the probable sixth place, but my money is that it was Decision to Leave, given its overall critical acclaim.
Films I Would Have Nominated: Decision to Leave is better that every other movie nominated here, and Oscar needs to issue a formal apology for not nominating it.
Oscar’s Choice: The easiest of victories for All Quiet on the Western Front.
My Choice: I'm picking EO, and by a relatively wide margin; in a set of movies that aren't trying, it does, and frequently succeeds. Behind it I'd go with Close, Argentina 1985, The Quiet Girl, and All Quiet on the Western Front, in that order.
Those are my thoughts-what about you? Are you with Oscar, favoring the young men in the trenches, or do you want to join me as a donkey crisscrosses Europe? Which of the four runners-up do you think was closest to another nomination? And how did they skip Decision to Leave? Share your thoughts below!
Past Best Foreign Language Film Contests: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
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