Belgium, “The Broken Circle Breakdown,” Felix van Groeningen, director;
Bosnia and Herzegovina, “An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker,” Danis Tanovic, director;
Cambodia, “The Missing Picture,” Rithy Panh, director;
Denmark, “The Hunt,” Thomas Vinterberg, director;
Germany, “Two Lives,” Georg Maas, director;
Hong Kong, “The Grandmaster,” Wong Kar-wai, director;
Hungary, “The Notebook,” Janos Szasz, director;
Italy, “The Great Beauty,” Paolo Sorrentino, director;
Palestine, “Omar,” Hany Abu-Assad, director.
THE GREAT BEAUTY will win. Since it is making numerous Top Ten lists, that will peak the interest of Academy members. WADJDA wasnt as great as everyone said it was, but it should’ve at least been nominated. I wished BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR, A TOUCH OF SIN, and FIFTH SEASON were eligible. Now that would’ve been a great race!
Just wanted to add: if Sasha hasn’t seen it, she’s doing herself a disservice. This film is right up her alley.
Ryan, you didn’t ask but my take on Gloria. It’s nowhere as aesthetically developed as The Great Beauty, but it’s an absolute hoot and I have a hard time imagining that you or anyone else won’t at least have a good time. By the end, you just wanna dance.
The hunt should win now. It’s great and the strongest competition is out.
DBibby, totally agree about The Grandmaster. I think its easily his weakest film not called My Blueberry Nights.
I liked The Great Beauty, but Sorrentino sometimes doesn’t do it for me when he attempts to rely too heavily on surrealism. Some filmmakers thrive in that style, like Leos Carax with last year’s Holy Motors, but when Sorrentino does it if often strikes me as patently false. Basically I really, really hated This Must Be The Place for this very reason. This wasn’t a problem for most of Beauty, but there were moments I couldn’t hang with. I also had an issue with how quickly the film just glided right past the resolution of the stripper character. She seemed more essential to the story than the shrug of a resolution that she got.
All that being said, there was a lot to enjoy in The Great Beauty, even if it wasn’t one of my absolute favorite films this year. I’m looking forward to watching The Past this week.
Wong Kar Wai may deserve an Oscar (or several), but he certainly doesn’t deserve one for The Grandmaster. That was one beautifully-shot mess.
@Jake Bart: yay for Wong Kar Wai !
Am I the only one who did not like “The Past” ?
I know that “The Past” is not as strong as “A Separation” but not even being in the short list is a bit odd since it has been nominated in most awards even if it has not won any. I thought Wadjda is definitely going to be nominated but it’s not even in the short list!
Anyways, my choice is “The Great Beauty” but I think The Hunt will win this one..
As submitted (the U.S. cut) it’s not a sterling effort, but I hope Wong Kar Wai gets in for THE GRANDMASTER. The man deserves an Oscar, dammit.
Not surprisingly ‘The Good Road’ did not make the cut. India should have sent ‘The Lunchbox’ instead. ‘The Past’s exclusion is surprising.
Heck yes Broken Circle Breakdown!
The “socialist/psychologist” should have read “sociologist/psychologist!”
The HUNT should win and very likely will win ….accusations of that sort are indeed the post modern version of ”Methinks I spy a Witch ” ?
Paranoia is indeed timeless and those kind of evil accusations should be ”read between the lines ” and a movie like this reminds us of that
Brazil got it up the butt… Again.
All the while Fernando Meirelles, José Padilha and Walter Salles are wasting their talent on international productions (I say that despite my love for On the Road and The Constant Gardener).
JP, I totally agree with what you say about this category at the Oscar.
That said I don’t know, I think The Hunt is good and that The Great Beauty is such a bad movie that it does a full circles and becomes something perceived as brilliant. Cinema is subjective and I’m surely missing something, The Past is a great subtle film and it’s not in the top 9… 9, they couldn’t have a top 10? why is that they have a short list of 9? just because they have to see 3 film a day for 3 days to decide the 5 noms? To me it is Just Stupid.
“The Hunt” was very well done, but does anyone else share this little quibble with me? I realize that it’s a very rural community, but the head of the kindergarten, the socialist/psychologist and even the parents handled the accusation and questioning so unbelievably poorly for 2012/13. After that, everything else was aces.
The Academy needs to make some reflections about this category. One more year in which mostly everyone will look at the category from the Globes and say… it’s so much better than the category at the Oscars.
Gloria, Wadjda and The Past missing a top 9 is just bizarre. And they didn’t even have the most commented foreign film of the year and Palm D’or submitted.
OT:
“The Dublin Film Critics Circle plumps for GRAVITY”
http://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/screenwriter/2013/12/18/the-dublin-film-critics-circle-plumps-for-gravity/
and maybe not as relevant around these parts, but a lovely and remarkable video top 10 list by director Edgar Wright who admits not having seen several year-end titles.
http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/at-the-movies/a538976/edgar-wright-reveals-his-10-favorite-movies-of-2013.html
I can relate to Ryan having to catch up with docs & FLFs for months
I can relate to those who haven’t seen Gloria (it’s in trailers though)
I can relate to everyone who haven’t seen any of these friggin’ films
I get to watch FLFs only when they’ become available on Netflix
Last year’s Kon Tiki is on Netflix but it’s in English, I want it in Norwegian!
I order FLF DVDs from Amazon but only the ones released several years ago coz they’re cheap (like Profumo di Donna, it’ll arrive within a week)
Cambodia is no stranger to Oscar, native Haing S. Ngor won one
From what I’m reading, The Great Beauty will be a shoo-in winner
I’m sad about the Wadja snub, but not concerning the movie with this title on it, but the snub of another great movie by master, genius, Andrzej Wadja – in my book of 20 best directors of all time.
His biopic of Lech Walesa, “Walesa, Man of Hope”, deserved to be nominated.
I think will be among the final five nominated: “Great Beauty”, “The Hunt” and “Two Lives”. I have my doubts: “The Grand Master”. Oh, man, I wish it will be nominated: The Missing Picture,” Rithy Panh (based on his previous works; haven’t seen this yet, but this guy is amazing).
Favorite to win: “Great Beauty”, with “The Hunt” in second place.
I guess Gloria and Child’s Pose are missing from those eligible. I can understand The Past exclusion. It was pretty good but we can leave it at that. The Hunt has been remembered for FLF only, what about Mads?
Bryce, lower your expectations with A Touch of Sin. I hope you like it though.
oops, The Great Beauty slipped to my my “where is” -list.
The Great Beauty and The Past are the best films I have seen this year.
I really loved Italy’s entry, The Great Beauty, so am very glad that it made the short list. It’s wonderful. If you haven’t seen it yet, and you like foreign films (who doesn’t?), give yourself a Christmas treat and go see this film.
What? Where is The Past, The Great Beauty, Wadjda and Gloria?!?!?
And those Danish people know how to do the lobbying, The Hunt is a very good movie but last year, A Royal Affair wasn´t that good at all…
not surprised canada’s entry, Gabrielle, didn’t make it this year. It’s a sweet film, but i feel like i’ve seen it done before
Sad they didn’t choose Gloria and The Past. Gloria is one of the year’s best, and I also think it could make the best actress cut.
Only one Nordic country. As expected, it was Jagten. Go Denmark!
there are several commitees that watch a dozen films each I believe., though I’m not sure abt the exact number. starting this year every academy member will have the right to vote to determine the winner.
Does anybody know how many academy members actually watch the broad selection of all 70 or so movies? I suppose there is some preliminary committee that sifts the craps out and picks the 9 shortlisted finalists. But how many members this committee has? I wouldn´t be surprised if just one.
Blue is the Warmest Color will be eligible next year in the Foreign Film category because it was released in October in its home country of France that is a couple weeks after the deadline. But it is eligible this year in other categories (picture, actress…) because it was released in Los Angeles dueing the calendar year.
Blue was not submitted because it was ineligible. It was ineligible because it opened in France past the cut off date.
Was eligible, but was not submitted, sadly.
Because Blue Is the Warmest Colour wasn’t eligible, Soren.
After the makeup/hair finalists, and now this, I have an uneasy feeling about how this academy votes/thinks
I’m so disappointed that The Past, Wadjda and Gloria are missing. 🙁
Why no Blue is The warmest colour?
And why is nobody mentioning its obmission?
Wadjda omission is regrettable. And the fact that Iron picker is still in the race is ridiculous. Otherwise…no surprises.
Ryan, Funny that you mention it as I was a few days ago thinking about Jep and Gloria and how different their lives and worlds are, but their specific afflictions are not at all different –kind of tying it all together with GRAVITY, other films, and the year’s cinematic patterns. Some years work like this, and I’m able to find big picture narrative among the films I loved the most. I realize I risk being only self-serving, but it’s quite satisfying. More on that later. To your point –totally different movies as I’m sure you already know. THE GREAT BEAUTY is sure to be in my top 10 and quite possibly top 5 when all is said and done. Similarly, I can’t envision a top 20 without GLORIA at this point p.s. My highest priority right now is A TOUCH OF SIN (see trailer)
My favorite thing: finding attachments and parallels between films. Especially films from the same year.
I won’t see The Wolf of Wall Street until Christmas. But from what I expect I’ll bet it bookends nicely with The Great Beauty
Unfortunately, The Past is snubbed by the Academy. I am so angry…
I saw Gloria today, Ryan. Was underwhelmed by it, but appreciated how well it had been written, directed and acted. A good film, but I wouldn’t have voted for it. I may not be Bryce, but if I’m to compare it to The Great Beauty… they’re extremely different films. I both loved The Great Beauty and was sometimes frustrated with it, but on average I thought it was very good, and better than Gloria.
The Wadjda omission doesn’t bother me, regarding its merits as a film. As a moment in film history, though, I’m very disappointed.
The Wadjda omission… As a moment in film history, though, I’m very disappointed.
I don’t have anything more to say. Just wanted to quote you.
One bright note is I hope Hany Abu-Assad reaps an Oscar since they stole his Oscar for Paradise Now some years back.
I really thought they would like Wadjda. I was sure it was going to win. well, never mind. My favorites now are The Great Beauty and The Hunt, though I haven’t seen all.
Who the heck picks these as the short listed films?!!
This is crazy! They left out some amazing films like The Past, Wadjda, and Gloria.
THIS STINKS!
WOW, no WADJDA? Idiots… Not only is it a wonderful story, executed perfectly, but it’s the most historically/culturally important film of the past decade (at least). Totally blown away by their stupidity.
No Le Passé and Borgman…. Now hoping for Jagten, La Grande Bellezza or The Broken Circle Breakdown
No fucking GLORIA?!?! This is bullshit. I can’t believe this travesty.
I need to see Gloria.
When I finally put my year end lists together, I’ll have 3 list as I always do. English Language, Foreign Language, Documentary. It’s lopsided if I don’t it that way –because sometimes I don’t get to catch up to all the doc and FLF’s for months.
But if I were to combine the lists, right now, I’d have a hard time deciding whether The Great Beauty or 12 Years a Slave is my favorite film of 2013. But I still have a few really major gaps to fill before I know if those two will remain at the top.
How does Gloria compare for you with The Great Beauty, Bryce?
Wow, no WADJDA or THE PAST. While I liked BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN, kind of surprised it made it over them.
THE GREAT BEAUTY is one of the year’s best films – from any country.
So delighted to see The Missing Picture and The Hunt both on here. It’s be great to see them nominated.
Missing are Renoir and The Past, and look who ain’t bothered at all:
ME! 😀 😀 😀