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2021 Foreign Film Oscar Analysis

2021 was a pretty good year for foreign films and that strength was solidly reflected on the Academy’s own slate that was an obvious improvement upon the previous year’s list. While a couple of these movies did not appeal to me, most I really liked. This year was also great for other categories as evidenced by some of these nominees being nominated for a couple of major awards.

My Ranking of the Nominees:

5. The Hand of God

The Hand of God is another Sorrentino movie that I strongly disliked. This is an annoying movie fueled by bland or unlikable characters, a frustrating lack of themes or message and a very problematic structure consisting of overly disparate sequences strewn together incoherently. It’s a chaotic, pointless mess of a movie that really had no business being nominated, but of course the Academy is very much into Sorrentino as they rewarded him back in 2014. Still, it’s a shame that this weak effort got this place in front of other much more deserving movies.

4. Drive My Car

The Academy nowadays has finally begun to honor foreign movies in major categories. First, there was ‘Parasite’, which ended up winning Best Picture in an unprecedented turn of events. And now we have Drive My Car from Japan, a movie that received BP and directing nods. Unfortunately, I did not like this movie. It is well acted for sure and it has its memorable sequences, but as a whole the film is overlong, boring, too slow and simply too emotionally cold to care about more.

3. Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom

Of the five nominees, Lunana is the only one that got its country the first ever nomination and rightfully so as it’s such an endearing, lovely flick. This Bhutanese drama is authentically unique while wonderfully dealing with the issue of modernity versus traditionalism. Yes, its third act was just way too typical and predictable, but I adored the first half. The movie is a crowd pleaser that is very old-fashioned in its approach, but mostly for the better. I miss movies like this one at the Oscars.

2. Flee

Though hardly original at anything that it does, Flee still offers an honest, emotional look into the refugee experience through some interesting animation techniques and powerful narration. The protagonist felt a bit removed, but the movie is very well edited, structured and animated with some intense sections being particularly well crafted visually. Flee ended up receiving the nominations in the foreign and documentary categories as well, which was a major accomplishment. I still don’t find it to be the best foreign or animated movie this year, but it’s still quite strong.

1. The Worst Person in the World

The Worst Person in the World is this very dark Norwegian romantic drama that features a rather unlikable protagonist, but she does neatly function as a stand-in for all the indecisive young people of today. The performance from Renate Reinsve is incredible while the directing from Joachim Trier is outstanding. It’s far from an original film in its plot, but its execution is authentic and very cinematic, resulting in a couple of unforgettable sequences, the finest one being the gorgeous magical realist date in the mid-section. This film should become a classic in the romance genre as it’s quite a terrific viewing experience.

Films That Should Have Been Nominated:

I’m Your Man – I’m Your Man is this German science fiction romance mash-up that features a story we’ve seen before, but still the execution is so strong, emotionally resonant and thematically rich that I loved every second of it. It’s such a shame that it is so underappreciated by the majority of audiences.

Compartment No. 6 – 2021 was a great year for foreign romance movies and this Finnish charmer is no exception. The train setting is beautifully incorporated into the storyline while the characters are so wonderful that I ended up caring for both of them. It’s also an old-fashioned, sweet movie that’s difficult not to love.

Parallel Mothers – Parallel Mothers is very much a soap opera in some of its elements, but there is no denying the power in both of its storylines. Almodovar is great at generating amazing acting performances and emotional stories, and he did it again here due to a beautiful ending and a phenomenal turn from Penelope Cruz.