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:

TANNA ( AUSTRALIA)

Set against the backdrop of an active volcano, this South Pacific Romeo and

Juliet story of star- crossed 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 ... it’s the first Australian film to get nominated,” says Gregory Ellwood, editor at large of film site The Playlist. “That speaks to the quality. ( Thismovie 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 highestgrossing 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 an Oscar nomination for makeup.

THE SALESMAN ( IRAN)

A couple’s relationship starts to unravel during their production of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman in the drama from Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, whose A Separation won the foreignlanguage Oscar in 2012. In light of President Trump’s order seeking to ban travel from seven majority- Muslim countries, Farhadi said he wouldn’t be attending the ceremony. With “all this notoriety ... ( it) has an opportunity to win,” says Ellwood. “I don’t know if it’d be a bad thing if the academymade a statement by voting for The Salesman.”