Sleep Deprivation, Hungarian Potatoes & Oscar Charts

Yesterday morning I had to pass up a chance to see Hungary's Foreign Film submission The Turin Horse which saddened me. But half an hour of footage of peasants boiling potatoes in black and white mixed with three hours of sleep (2011 Insomnia Plague right here!) would not be an ideal match. If I die from operating heavy machinery while sleep deprived (what if my computer falls on me?) please know that it was fun talking movies with you this past decade.

The Turin Horse -- not to be watched without sleep

OSCAR'S FOREIGN FILM RACE
But good news! This week I will be seeing Mexico's submission Miss Bala (more specifically I'm watching it as you read this), Iran's submission A Separation, Turkey's probable submission (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia) and what I suspect will be Argentina's submission The Student which recently received the Academy's official "go ahead, then" despite some initial concerns about its eligibility (something due to the format it was shot in). In other words, it's on! I don't think anyone, even those who say they do, knows what will happen this year with either the executive committee or the nominating groups given how many high profile critical darlings and crowd-pleasing baity entries are already in the mix to split all types of aesthetics in the voting. And we still don't even know about 20 entries including three big deal Oscar countries: Spain (19 noms, 4 wins) update: it's Pa Negre (Black Bread) a Spanish Civil War Drama that won big at the Goyas, Italy (26 noms, 10 wins) and the Czech Republic (8 noms, 3 wins). 

Joshua Marston shot by Andreas Rentz in Berlin, 2011CONTROVERSY
In related news, the controversies we've already noted here are covered over at Deadline in more detail in addition to the new but totally expected story that Albanian's entry "The Forgiveness of Blood" might not be deemed Albanian enough what with Joshua Marston (from California) in the director's chair.

Given that Marston was already booted out of this category once (Maria Full of Grace) due to his citizenship despite his international spirit -- consider that he has yet to make an English language feature -- we are reminded again how frustrating the Academy rules are. You do have to have rules, mind, but there are always casualties when the letter of the law rather than the spirit rules.

Please to enjoy the ever-expanding charts and pass them on! Nobody gives you this category like The Film Experience. 

Trailer for the Swiss entry and the entire Cuban film (if you can speak Spanish) after the jump.

SUMMER GAMES from Switzerland, a marital drama and coming-of-age story.

HABANASTATION from Cuba  this is apparently the complete movie (!) from YouTube provided you can speak Spanish. It looks at two boys of different socioeconomic classes in the same class room.

DISCLAIMER
For those of you keeping track who can't be bothered to look at our beautiful beautiful charts that brings us to 46 submissions. Bear in mind that none of these are set in stone. When the Academy announces the official list in October there is nearly always a casualty or a switcheroo from behind the scenes that contradicts what's previously been reported.

1. Albania - The Forgiveness of Blood, Joshua Marston
2. Austria - Breathing, Karl Markovics
3. Belgium - Bullhead, Michaël R. Roskam
4. Bosnia and Herzegovina - Belvedere, Ahmed Imamović
5. Brazil - Tropa de Elite 2,  José Padilha
6. Bulgaria - Tilt, Viktor Chouchkov
7. Canada - Monsieur Lazhar,  Philippe Falardeau
8. Chile - Violeta, Andres Wood
9. China - Flowers of War, Zhang Yimou
10. Colombia - The Colors of the Mountain, Carlos César Arbeláez
11. Cuba -Habanastation, Ian Padron
12. Czech Republic - Alois Nebel,  Tomás Lunák
13. Denmark - SuperClásico, Ole Christian Madsen
14. Finland - Le Havre, Aki Kaurismäki
15. France - Declaration of War, Valérie Donzelli
16. Germany - Pina, Wim Wenders
17. Greece - Attenberg, Athina Rachel Tsangari
18. Hong Kong - A Simple Life,  Ann Hui
19. Hungary - The Turin Horse,  Bela Tarr
20. Iceland - Volcano, Rúnar Rúnarsson
21. India - Adaminte Makan Abu, Salim Ahamed
22. Iran - A Separation, Asghar Farhadi
23. Israel - Footnote, dJoseph Cedar
24. Ireland -  As If I Am Not There, Juanita Wilson
25. Japan - Postcard, Kaneto Shindō
26. Lebanon - Where Do We Go Now?, Nadine Labaki
27. Lithuania - Back to Your Arms, Kristijonas Vildžiūnas
28. Mexico - Miss Bala, Gerardo Naranjo
29. Morocco - Omar Killed Me, Roschdy Zem
30. Netherlands - Sonny Boy, Maria Peters
31. Norway - Happy, Happy, Anne Sewitsky
32. Peru - October, Daniel Vega Vidal
33. Philippines - The Woman in the Septic Tank, Marlon Rivera
34. Poland - In Darkness,  Agnieszka Holland
35. Portugal - Jose and Pilar,  Miguel Gonçalves Mendes
36. Romania - Morgen, Marian Crisan
37. Russia - Burnt By The Sun 2: Citadel Nikita Mikhalkov
38. Serbia - Montevideo, God Bless You! Dragan Bjelogrlić
39. Slovakia - Gypsy, Martin Sulik
40. South Africa - Beauty, Oliver Hermanus
41. South Korea - The Front Line, Jang Hun
42. Sweden - Beyond, Pernilla August
43. Switzerland - Summer Games, Rolando Colla
44. Taiwan - Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale, Wei Te-Sheng
45. Venezuela - The Rumble of the Stones, Alejandro Bellame Palacios
46. Vietnam - Thang Long Aspiration,  Lưu Trọng Ninh

Comments

[Faux]

Nathaniel, just to correct your chart: Cuba was nominated once for Strawberry and Chocolate in 1995.

[Roark]

Are you going to catch The Turin Horse at the NYFF public screening? 'Cause you should!

[dinasztie]

I would love to see my country nominated for The Turin Horse. Gee, I want it badly. It's kinda impossible, though. Don't you think so?

[Ron]

Hi Nathaniel! Could you please correct the spelling of Phillipines to Philippines? Thanks. And here's a link to a trailer of sorts for the Philippine entry, "The Woman in the Septic Tank." More than a trailer, it's actually an entire scene in the film, one of the most memorable.

[Ron]

Sorry, here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IKH1KXS_s0&feature=share

[NATHANIEL R]

Ron - i checked the big chart for spelling before posting and rechecked now but it's already correct with two Ps ;)

Faux -- eek. fixed. I was moving countries around and it got the wrong tag. I've even seen that movie :)

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[Glenn Dunks]

The idea that The Forgiveness of Blood isn't "Albanian enough". Firstly because I imagine, like many others, the Academy rarely actually watch Albanian films to know what makes a film more or less Albanian. And secondly because, as someone who has actually seen Marston's film, there is nothing remotely American about it, despite it's American director. If this were made in America it'd be such a niche arthouse title that nobody would take it's Oscar chances even remotely serious, but through in an accent and subtitles and it's even less of an Academy style Americanised production. Ridiculous.

[Spartak2005]

Glenn,it's not about,how the film does look like,but how many local filmmakers took part in it...I also has seen it (at Jerusalem Film Festival),I specially stayed in to check the whole cast...I don't know the rules,but it seems very very narrow as the main people (cinematogropher,editor and so on) are American (or at least not Albanian),while the secondary cast are mostly Albanian.
If it still got disqualificated,I hope they submit Amnesty,cause I have seen it. :)

[Faux]

Hi again, Nathaniel. Finally Spain selects Pa Negre (Black Bread) by Agustí Villaronga for submission. FYI, Villaronga's the director of that artsy and disturbing and dark horror film In a Glass Cage (1987): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OhA_Q5e3qL0

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