YOUR GUIDE TO THE BEST FOREIGN FILMS
Germany’s Toni Erdmann could become the first comedy since 2003’s The Barbarian Invasions to win best foreign language film at the Academy Awards. But don’t discount these other four contenders. USA TODAY’s Patrick Ryan takes a look:
LAND OF MINE (DENMARK)
A Danish- and German-language drama about German POWs sent to Denmark after WWII to defuse land mines. Many lost their limbs and lives in the process. “It is very moving,” says Gregory Ellwood, editor at large of film site The Playlist. “It’s a heart-wrenching story that many people don’t know about, even in Europe.”
THE SALESMAN (IRAN)
A couple’s relationship starts to unravel during their local production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a
Salesman in the latest drama from Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, whose 2011 movie A
Separation won the best-foreignlanguage Oscar. In light of President Trump’s executive order seeking to ban travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries, Farhadi announced last month that he wouldn’t be attending the ceremony. With “all this notoriety because of the Muslim ban, (it) has an opportunity to win,” says Ellwood. “I don’t know if it’d be a bad thing if the academy made a statement by voting for The Salesman.”
TANNA (AUSTRALIA)
Set against the backdrop of an active volcano, this South Pacific Romeo and
Juliet story of starcrossed lovers flew in under the radar after winning an audience award at the 2015 Venice Film Festival. “It’s notable for the history of the academy and how many great Australian filmmakers there are; it’s the first Australian film to get nominated,” Ellwood says. “That speaks to the quality. (This movie has) been a dark horse for a long time.”
A MAN CALLED OVE (SWEDEN)
The Swedish dramatic comedy — adapted from Fredrik Backman’s best-selling novel about a cantankerous widower (Rolf Lassgård) who befriends a neighboring Iranian family — is the highest-grossing foreign film of 2016 with $3.4 million. “I don’t think it’s going to win,” Ellwood says, although the film seems to be resonating with older voters. “It’s a crowd-pleaser, and the (aging) makeup transformation is very well done,” earning the movie an Oscar nomination for best makeup.