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2022 Foreign Film Oscar Analysis

2022 was a solid year for foreign movies and that was reflected on the Academy’s choices as well. This is a better than expected slate where I did not dislike any of the nominees. Three in particular were very strong. The Academy’s slate is European-centric and these movies are very different thematically speaking.

My Ranking of the Nominees:

5. All Quiet on the Western Front

This movie ended up receiving nine Oscar nominations in a major feat of support from the Academy. The technical aspects are truly terrific with a great score, strong cinematography and excellent effects and sound. It’s an epic movie for sure, but in its emphasis to thrill, it unfortunately lost a lot of its heart. The characterization is very mediocre, thus I did not care for what happened to them. The 1930 movie is a classic, but this modern adaptation lacked the narrative urgency and messaging of the original as it emphasized on frantic action instead.

4. EO

EO is a polish movie that effectively serves as a remake of ‘Au Hasard Balthazar’. Thus, we have two remakes on this list interestingly enough. It’s a solid film from a director that is older, but still managed to imbue the story with a lot of kinetic energy and artistry. The cinematography here is admirable and so is the acting. The problem is that this road movie is more style than substance with a clear lack of narrative momentum and/or strong characterization. The pacing is also too slow.

3. Argentina, 1985

Argentina, 1985 is hardly great at anything that it does, but it’s so competently made across the board that it is very difficult not to like this movie. The acting performances are terrific and the courtroom drama elements are also very strong. The highlight is its engaging pacing and lighter than usual approach that helped ease the tone significantly. This is the only movie from this slate that is not European and it’s the only courtroom drama. It’s not great, but it’s so easy to like that it just might be universal in its appeal.

2. The Quiet Girl

The Quiet Girl is an Irish coming-of-age drama that is simple to a fault, but it is nonetheless very charming in its slice-of-life storytelling and a great use of its countryside setting. The character development could have been better, but the movie’s empathetic approach worked in making you care for the protagonist while the ending was also quite moving. This is the first ever Irish movie to be nominated in this category due to it being in the Gaelic instead of English language, and that language is one of the defining factors that made the movie so unique.

1. Close

Although evidently the second half with the introduced theme of death struggled to compete with the first one, Close still remained and emotionally powerful, touching story throughout. This is a Belgian coming-of-age drama that deals with some interesting themes rarely explored in cinema, in particular focusing on male relationships and just how boys are not expected to be tender with each other. It’s a gorgeously made and superbly acted movie that is consistently very difficult to watch, but there is not anything quite like it on this slate, so it takes the deserved number one spot.

Films That Should Have Been Nominated:

You Won’t Be Alone – This Macedonian epic film is staggeringly ambitious in its thematic scope and approach. It is a fantasy movie that still very much operates as an epic historical drama. It is beautifully made and almost poetic in its quality. This is the best foreign movie of the year, but obviously a strange film like this would never have a chance to be nominated.

Speak No Evil – This Danish-Dutch co-production is clearly the best horror of the year and one of the most disturbing films I’ve seen in quite a while. It deals with some fascinating themes and it is wholly realistic and unique in character behavior and psychology. It’s not an easy watch, but it is essential for genre fans.

Corsage – Corsage is a very engaging Austrian period piece that set itself apart from others due to its appealingly more lightweight tone. Vicky Krieps is excellent in the main role and the family drama at the center of the story is very well depicted. It doesn’t have the most sophisticated script, but it’s so competently made that it worked nonetheless.