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2015 Foreign Film Oscar Analysis

2015 wasn’t the greatest year when it comes to the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. That is because they entirely snubbed two of that year’s best foreign films, both of which I will talk about in the should have been nominated section later on. But first let’s rank the nominees, which are mostly very good, but far from exceptional.

My Ranking of the Nominees:

5. Theeb

Theeb follows a boy named Theeb who must survive in the desert on his own during the Great Arab Revolt. I had heard a lot about this movie before seeing it, and I was utterly disappointed with it. You would have thought it would be amazing given the strong reviews, but it’s just your regular coming-of-age drama that is just set in a different setting. Though the scenery is very nice and different, this is mostly an emotionally cold, not that engaging flick that is just serviceable and never anything more than that.

4. Embrace of the Serpent

Embrace of the Serpent is another immensely disappointing movie. Its cinematography is good and it is an intriguing film not only in its setting and characters, but also visually. However, everything else is not great as the film is too slow and boring, the characterization and plot both should have been better and the film is too artistic for its own sake. It is perfectly fine, but it never uses its great premise particularly well and it is a giant wasted potential. Both of these last placements are visually intriguing, but offering not much else in the process.

3. Mustang

Mustang follows five young sisters in a remote Turkish village. It shows the difficulties of growing up in a conservative society. This subject matter is very important, there is no doubt about it. The film is meaningful and dramatic while also being very realistic and relatable. Although sometimes the character development isn’t the greatest and some scenes are overly accentuated for effect, this movie is mostly very dramatic, moving and it offers a great look at the plight of women in these less-developed regions.

2. Son of Saul

Saul Auslander is a Hungarian-Jewish prisoner whose job is to bury the dead in the year of 1944. He takes a boy for his son and takes it upon himself to salvage a boy’s body and have a proper burial. That is the story behind this Hungarian movie that ended up winning the Oscar. And I am fine with that choice, but overall the film did seem too ambiguous and undercooked character-wise. But it’s technically impressive. Although its long take, over the head cinematographic approach is going to become popular later on, this is one of the first movies to fully utilize on it. The result is a very intriguing, different war movie that is also quite intense.

1. A War

A War is a Danish movie that deals with a Danish military company in Afghanistan that is fighting the Taliban while trying to protect the civilians, and how the commander is accused of having committed a war crime. The movie is interestingly, but also problematically structured as the first half is a full-on war picture while the second one is a courtroom drama. I personally found that second half to be the film’s driving point as it explores the complexities of war crimes and the conflict between professional and familial duties so intriguingly. The movie is also very well shot, well acted and so well directed. Although the winner itself is worthy, I would have still gone with A War for the Oscar.

Films That Should Have Been Nominated:

The Second Mother – Unfortunately, as I have stated above, the two best foreign movies were left in the cold this year. The Second Mother is a Brazilian drama that is dramatic, always engaging and it not only deals with some very interesting themes, but it also genuinely develops its characters and it makes you care for them in the process.

Dheepan – This observant and sophisticated drama is quite important and emotional to see. It is even charming at times with a surprisingly good humor. It is above all such a well crafted movie on all levels and without a doubt the year’s finest foreign film just behind the above flick. How this one in particular wasn’t nominated is beyond me as they usually go with stuff like this.

You can get the best nominee from this year on Amazon.