Vote on the Euro Film Awards (Plus: Oscar Submits)
Thursday, September 1, 2011 at 12:14PM While I normally approve not of "people's choice" awards -- that's what box office is for -- I do find the European Film Awards a curious beast worth noting each year. They have variety by way of scattershot film culture, there being no unifying "Hollywood" to control them. This year their People's Choice Awards -- which you can vote on and enter for a chance to win a trip to the awards in Berlin -- offers up an odd collection of Camp Comedy (France's star-laden Potiche), Royalty Porn (The UK's Oscar winner The King's Speech), Meta History (Spain's Even The Rain), Message Movie (Denmark's Oscar Winner In a Better World), Neeson-y Thriller (the international Unknown), Fish Out of Water Comedy (Italy's Welcome to the South), Ensemble Drama (France's star-laden Little White Lies), and even Animated Family Film (Germany's Animals United).
And the Nominees Are...
Go and vote...
...as long as you're not planning to help The King's Speech win yet more statues. Cinema-Gods help us all.
Meanwhile the Oscar Foreign Film submissions continue...
NORWAY
Anne Sewitsky’s debut Happy, Happy (Sykt lykkelig) which we've previously discussed (I heart the trailer) will represent the land of the midnight sun in this year's Oscar race. Previous awards under its belt include the Sundance Festival's World Cinema Jury Prize Dramatic which, if you'll recall, is the same prize that the great Australian feature Animal Kingdom got its first big boost from in 2010. Joachim Trier's Oslo August 31st is the loser in this Oscar scenario but here's hoping that both films get stateside distribution.
HUNGARY
Bela Tarr's The Turin Horse will represent daring Hungary in this year's Oscar race. Hungary nearly always competes for Most Atypical Submitted Film which is bad for their nominatability but great for proof of variety in that odd annual Oscar survey of what's happening in international cinema. This one will need a helping hand from that special committee that Oscar dreamt up to basically force critical darlings on to the nominated shortlist. The new system obviously paid off last year for Greece's Dogtooth. Cinema Underground tells it like so...
Not since Alexander Sokurov’s The Second Circle have I watched a movie that felt so much more like physical endurance than an active intellectual and emotional experience... The Turin Horse is a punishing film. The people in it are ugly and often cruel. Their lives are repetitive and arduous. There is little plot, little action, little change of scenery, but there are plenty of long, long takes in which no words are spoken.
And that's from a somewhat positive review.
Reader Comments (5)
That could describe just about any Bela Tarr film.
Being Hungarian, I always keep wondering at how bad submissions we give nowadays. After creating political controversy here, it's quite shocking that our committe submitted a Béla Tarr movie. I guess the snobism factor could help it, but I don't see much chance.
I guess once The Door is released, it could be a great contender with a 100% sure Best Actress nod for Helen Mirren. That story has everything Oscar loves. Holocaust, it's (almost) based on a real life story, death in the end, the stormy relationship of two women. I guess it could be a Foreign Language Contender. After all, in the awful situation the Hungarian movie industry is in, it was the only movie that got money. Plus I can't wait for the world to get to know Enikő Börcsök (the lead of Dear Emma, sweet Böbe if you know that one), the BRILLIANT-BRILLIANT-BRILLIANT actress I had the pleasure of seeing at theatre and then telling her how much I loved her. :D
They were so stupid not to submit Children of Glory for the Oscar in 2006, which was basically made for Hungary to win the Oscar. If only I could take over the charge there...:D
I was really disappointed when Oslo didn't get it, so I'm hoping it still gets U.S. distribution. Could not be more excited for it.
Oh Nathaniel! You better prepare yourself... I fear The King's Speech is going to sweep again.
I obviously voted for The King's Speech. I still don't get why that film has so many enemies... until I remember: oh, it defeated The Social Network. Only I find TKS slightly superior to TSN. But that's me.