OVP: Best International Feature Film (2023)
The Nominees Were...
Io Capitano, Italy
Perfect Days, Japan
Society of the Snow, Spain
The Teachers Lounge, Germany
The Zone of Interest, United Kingdom
My Thoughts: Trying to game out the Best International Feature race has become something of a guessing game in recent years, one that has invited a lot of heavy scrutiny online. One example of this is Anatomy of a Fall, which was not chosen by France for this field, even though in retrospect it certainly would've gotten a nomination. Instead, France chose The Taste of Things, an honestly better film that is far more within the more traditional confines of a category that has transformed dramatically. In the 1980's, there wouldn't have been a question of whether the Oscars would pick a sentimental film about a husband-and-wife running a Michelin-style restaurant vs. a cold, methodical crime film about the intricacies of the French court system. But in 2023, it's an easy answer-even if France didn't choose Anatomy of a Fall (and Emmanuel Macron's politics aided the choice), it certainly would've, for the record, gotten a nomination had it been their selection whereas The Taste of Things was not.
But let's take a look at the films that did get a nomination, including the one that would've been Anatomy's chief rival at the Oscars, The Zone of Interest. Jonathan Glazer's masterpiece is a brilliant look at evil, and the way that it can infiltrate into our lives in ways that make it commonplace. I love the use of sound design here, obviously, the way that it serves not just to underscore to the audience how vicious everyone in the film is, but also to show how easily this could be so many of the people we pass in the streets. There's a specificity to the cinematography, and uniformly good acting (including Sandra Huller in an even better showcase than she got in Anatomy of a Fall).
Io Capitano was the most recent of any 2023 nominated films I've seen (it was one of the only films I wasn't able to catch before the Oscars came out). The lead performance here is solid, but it doesn't make up for a bad script. The movie is trying to do too much, alternating between magical realism, a family drama, and deeply unsettling reality. The ending of the movie, in particular, feels wildly unearned, and honestly like it was recalling a moment earlier in the film that got cut on the editing room floor.
The Teachers Lounge is a good lesson in patience, and I don't entirely mean that as an insult. The movie's thriller aspects makes absolutely no sense if you think about them for longer than three seconds (this school employs the stupidest people on the planet, and sometimes it doesn't even feel like they're doing it to advance the plot). But if you are able to check out from that, especially in the first half, you do get a compelling movie that will keep you involved while you're actually watching it...just, again, a really stupid one.
Society of the Snow suffers from a trapping of this genre of movie (disaster film in extreme conditions), forgoing characterization in favor of showing realism. There are too many side and supporting characters in this picture for my liking, and you don't get to grow with them so much as they just become placards on the screen when they die. The actual filmmaking here genuinely works (the plane crash is harrowing, as is the later avalanche), but it stretches for too long when you aren't invested in the actual characters themselves. A case of a movie looking good, but not being good.
Few filmmakers are as consistently visually arresting as Wim Wenders, but it's not just in the cinematography that Perfect Days finds its grace. The story itself is really special, looking at the life of a man who cleans public toilets (not exactly the thing you'd normally expect as the source of a great movie idea), and creates a compelling character portrait. Wenders' film is a bit of miracle because it makes the mundane seem not only interesting, but also poignant. Think of how much of our lives are filled with the routines of brushing our teeth, washing our car, making our meals...all in the quest of finding some sense of balance from any chaos that may enter it. It's really good stuff-highly recommend if this is one of the 2023 titles you skipped.
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 International Feature Film. The Globes chose Anatomy of a Fall as their victor, beating Io Capitano, Society of the Snow, The Zone of Interest, Fallen Leaves (Finland), and Past Lives (United States). It's worth noting that technically the Globes category name is "Non-English Language Film" which is how Past Lives makes it, even though the film has large portions in English (it's a good movie, but I personally think this is a weird nomination). In sixth place, I'm guessing it was a battle between Fallen Leaves and The Taste of Things, both of which I predicted to get a nomination (I only got 60% of this lineup right).
Films I Would Have Nominated: Fallen Leaves and The Taste of Things are better than, well, 60% of the nominated movies.
Oscar’s Choice: With Anatomy of a Fall not in the running, we got what likely amounted to a landslide victory for The Zone of Interest, the only Best Picture in the heats.
My Choice: Yeah, there's just no beating The Zone of Interest-it's too good of a movie, and will be tough to beat even in the Best Picture field for me. In a normal year, something as artful and special as Perfect Days would be worthy, and it gets a shiny silver medal, but you can't beat The Zone of Interest. Behind these two are The Teachers Lounge, Io Capitano, and then Society of the Snow.
Those are my thoughts-what about you? Are we all on the same page that this should be The Zone of Interest, or does someone want to pick something else? Doesn't Wim Wenders feel like a really strong choice for an Honorary Academy Award at this point-how do we make that happen? And where do you land on the "they've should've submitted Anatomy of a Fall" conversation? Share your thoughts below!
Past Best Foreign Language Film Contests: 2000, 2001, 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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