OVP: Best International Feature Film (2001)
The Nominees Were...
Amelie, France
Elling, Norway
Lagaan, India
No Man's Land, Bosnia & Herzegovina
Son of the Bride, Argentina
My Thoughts: Much of these 2001 write-ups have been focusing on some of my favorite films of all-time. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Moulin Rouge, AI...all of these movies sit prominently on my favorite movies list. As a year, it's a good vintage. But even in a year this strong, you're going to come across a dud, and that was the case for me with the Foreign Language Film (now called the International Feature Film category) race of 2001. This is a middling crew, and one that even looking back on it, before I got into my notes, I wasn't sure which I would pick, given that none of these were huge draws for me.
At the time, the biggest and most important film of this bunch for American audiences was Amelie. It was a hit (by subtitled standards in 2001) and scored five Oscar nominations. For me, the movie is somewhere in the middle. I loved the aesthetics, which inspired many imitators (including one of my favorite TV series, Pushing Daisies) in the coming years, and it's got a lot of whimsy, and solid casting from lead Audrey Tautou. But it also needlessly leans into its gross-out elements, frequently to the chagrin of the overall plot, and I don't think it quite accomplishes the juxtaposition to the lovable lead character that it was hoping to achieve.
Amelie's biggest competition in 2001 was No Man's Land, which was an unusual war film. Part satire, frequently meant to be darkly humorous, it's a movie with a solid premise (three wounded soldiers stuck in a trench in 'no man's land' where one can't move because he's on top of a land mine). It doesn't always work, with the lack of growth between the two men a plot hole that feels like it's conveniently forgotten, but the ending is brilliant, and leaves the audience culpable to a terrible secret.
Comedy is such an unusual choice for Oscar in this category, and something that he rarely does anymore, but was very popular to nominate from the late-1970's to the early-2000's. The strange thing about it is that this branch will nominate films that, were they in English, Oscar wouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole. A good example of that is Elling, which is underwritten, and the central friendship only feels unique if you are somehow someone who has never been friends with someone who is dissimilar to you. More forgettable than bad, but since Oscar made me watch it...not into it.
Son of the Bride is a sweet, if overdone movie. Starring Ricardo Darin (who regularly shows up in this category this century if you look out for him), this time getting to be a little bit sexy (not usually his MO), it's filled with a lot of heart and has an interesting story to follow. I'm not a huge fan of the "straight guy figures out he's been taking everyone for granted" motif, but if you're going to lean into that, at least make it an old-fashioned family-style movie such as Son of the Bride.
Given that its Bollywood releases are relatively profitable in the United States, and its sheer output, it's honestly kind of surprising that India only has three nominations (and no wins) at the Oscars, and Lagaan is the first time we've gotten to one of those citations (links to past contests at the bottom of this article). The film, for most of its runtime justifies its length, and would make a decent 150-minute movie. The problem is that it's a 224-minute long movie. The central love quadrangle is not handled well (it's clear from the opening song how it will end), and large swaths of the film feel like we're spinning wheels. But the cricket match is riveting, and Aamir Khan is strong in the central role.
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 No Man's Land, here over Amelie, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Behind the Sun, and Monsoon Wedding. Y Tu Mama Tambien is a good example of something we'll see a lot of the earlier we go back with this category-it was nominated for the Globes in 2001, but it was actually Oscar eligible in 2002 (and got in for Best Original Screenplay there). Some notable films that were eligible for Oscar in 2001 were the Globe-cited Behind the Sun, The Son's Room (which won the Palme d'Or), and Michael Haneke's The Piano Teacher.
Films I Would Have Nominated: I have not seen The Son's Room yet (it's the last screening I want to do before I get to my My Ballot in a couple of weeks for 2001), but The Piano Teacher beats every film in this lineup.
Oscar’s Choice: In an upset at the time, No Man's Land was able to beat Amelie, possibly the most Oscar-cited film in this category to lose...ever?
My Choice: It's between these two films for me as well, and I'm going to go with Oscar's pick, as I think the ending is more subversive than Amelie, and while the French film is more influential, in a silo I think No Man's Land is better. I'd follow that with Son of the Bride, Lagaan, and then Elling.
Those are my thoughts-what about you? Are you mad that both Oscar & I skipped out on the iconic French confection (usually more my jam) or are you staying put with No Man's Land? Why do we think that India is so under-represented in terms of nominations for this category? And had it been eligible, would Y Tu Mama Tambien have broken through here? 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, 2022
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