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2012 Foreign Film Oscar Analysis

2012 wasn’t the greatest year for international cinema, but it was a pretty good one, which resulted in the competent Academy’s slate that was oddly very consistent in quality with each movie being very good, albeit not great. There are couple of movies from this year that would have been better choices to nominate, but still this list is very strong and it’s rare to find a slate filled with movies that I all really liked.

My Ranking of the Nominees:

5. Amour

This was a very strong slate of nominees and also a very consistent one as I have rated each and every one of these movies four out of five stars. Thus, it is difficult to rank them properly, but I have to go with Amour for the final placement. It did end up winning in this category and it’s superbly acted, memorable and emotionally powerful, but it’s also extremely depressing and just undeniably slow-paced as most Haneke movies are. It’s a deeply affecting, but hardly rewarding viewing experience.

4. Kon-Tiki

Kon-Tiki is a flawed movie owing to its too ordinary approach to storytelling, but the film succeeds as such a wonderfully old-fashioned and spirited adventure flick fueled by excellent direction from its talented directors, tight editing, great attention to detail and absolutely gorgeous visuals. It’s one of a couple rather traditional films on this enjoyable slate overall. It was also the most expensive film in the history of Norwegian cinema and that excess resulted in an undeniably gorgeous audio-visual experience.

3. War Witch

This Canadian war drama shot and set in the Democratic Republic of Congo offers a harrowing look into child soldiers happening on this continent. The second act is very sweet and romantic, but the other two acts are truly horrifying, a bit too much as the plot scenarios bordered on implausible in certain sections. The directing and acting are terrific while the magical realist elements are very interesting. It’s a difficult, but essential viewing experience and the most authentic movie on this list.

2. No

No is a Chilean historical drama that features excellent directing from the great Pablo Larrain and one of career-best performances from Gael Garcia Bernal. It’s a film that could have been more dramatic and engaging. It focuses too extensively on documentarian approach at storytelling. Still, the tone of optimism and importance is interesting while the dialogue and emotional investment are outstanding. You cannot go wrong with Pablo Larrain really and this is one of his most important works.

1. A Royal Affair

A Royal Affair is a sumptuous Danish period piece that is much less interesting in its romantic storyline and much more intriguing in its political subplot. The movie deals with the arrival of the Enlightenment movement to Denmark and all of those scenes were fascinating and insightful, if not particularly historically accurate. The highlight is the acting with Mads Mikkelsen delivering one of his career-best performances. It’s not a great film, but it’ a very good one and the most entertaining on this entire list, which makes it my number one pick.

Films That Should Have Been Nominated:

Yossi – Touching on the importance of body positivity and self-esteem, Yossi is an Israeli LGBT drama that is highly underrated and deserves more love for just how tightly scripted and emotionally engaging it is. It’s just a beautiful movie in its messaging, acting and heart. It’s difficult not to love it.

Blancanieves – Beautifully shot in gorgeous black-and-white cinematography that is also quite advanced in its techniques and featuring an eclectic mix of orchestral pieces and lively Spanish tunes in its score, Blancanieves is this incredible homage to silent cinema that is also very much contemporary. It’s another hidden gem that was overlooked by most awards.

Wadjda – This film follows a Saudi girl who wants to buy a bike to race a boy, but has to grapple along the way with her society’s backwards view of women. Unlike the above two movies, this picture is very much up Academy’s alley, which makes its snub puzzling to me. It’s an admirably feminist, important movie for its region and it should have unquestionably been nominated.