Nearing the second half of 2016, there’s much yet to be revealed in global cinema, with major platforms in Venice and TIFF likely to unveil a passel of late staged awards contenders. But to reference archaic traditions, the mostly ineffectual distinction of a title’s selection as its country’s submission for Best Foreign Language Film is groundwork already laid in many regions (though we won’t see any official designations until later this year). Since each country is only allowed to submit one film, it gets to be a bit of an ungainly slog considering voters gravitate almost exclusively toward titles which won considerable accolades in their festival run or otherwise display mainstream sensibilities. Like the rest of the awards categories in these forums, a marketing campaign almost always dictates top tier contenders, but the Foreign Language category often yields some random surprises (presumably the result of skewed access to the available screenings of seventy or eighty plus offerings). With Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes behind us, I’d like to highlight a few contenders/countries worthy of distinction.
France –
It’s hard to believe Isabelle Huppert has never been nominated for an Oscar (she’s a record holder for the Cesar’s, having one once and also taken home the Best Actress prize at Cannes twice). This year, she was bypassed in Berlin and Cannes for two incredible performances, with Things to Come from Mia Hansen-Love and Elle from Paul Verhoeven, respectively. At the same time, I’d be extremely happy with either of these features snagging France’s slot for Foreign Language submission, with a preference for the Verhoeven considering its provocations.
Iran –
Since Asghar Farhadi’s latest, The Salesman, took home two awards from Cannes (bestowed Best Actor and Screenplay—perhaps the least offensive accolades to come out of this year’s embarrassing selections) it would be safe to assume he’s got a good shot at securing this slot for Iran. On the other hand, I would prefer Iran to give this distinction to Mani Haghighi’s A Dragon Arrives!, one of the best films in competition at Berlin (which went home empty-handed), a playful, genre splicing mystery as visually intoxicating as its narrative is unexpected.
Romania –
Another country with a strong list of auteurs to potentially pick from this year is Romania. My personal choice would be for Cristi Puiu’s latest, Sieranevada, wherein an extended family gathers after the death of a patriarch. Lengthy, even draining, it’s a dialogue heavy exercise which received mostly positive reviews at Cannes, but was out-raved by the latest from Cristian Mungiu, Graduation, by comparison a more obvious, less ambitious rehash of all the familiar themes we’ve already seen come out of the Romanian New Wave (he tied for a Best Director award at Cannes). Considering the considerable critical esteem of Graduation, Mungiu seems the likely candidate.
Brazil –
Although it went home (unfairly) empty-handed at Cannes, it would be hard to imagine Brazil offering any other title this distinction over Kleber Mendonca Filho’s exquisite sophomore feature, Aquarius. While it just won the top prize at the Sydney Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix for distribution, it features Sonia Braga in a career best performance as woman singlehandedly standing up to a real estate developer.
Germany –
And the film that should have won the 2016 Palme d’Or, Maren Ade’s formidable Toni Erdmann would seem to have a lock on Germany’s submission. Picked up by Sony Pictures Classics (they also bought Elle out of Cannes), the incredibly positive buzz should assist its stateside release, and with a little extra campaigning, perhaps even exist outside of the vacuum of the Foreign Language category.
It’s easy to venture predictions for many other titles, like the UK offering up Loach’s I, Daniel Blake, Venezuela choosing From Afar (which won Venice 2015 and was just released theatrically) or Italy submitting their Berlin winner Fire at Sea (though a documentary nomination is more likely). But, if nothing else of considerable merit were to be unveiled, the perfect list of nominees would eventually be as follows:
Toni Erdmann – Dir. Maren Ade (Germany)
Aquarius – Dir. Kleber Mendonca Filho (Brazil)
A Dragon Arrives! – Dir. Mani Haghighi (Iran)
Sieranevada – Dir. Cristi Puiu (Romania)
Elle – Dir. Paul Verhoeven (France)
