France is the most-nominated country in the History of the Best International Feature Oscar, having conquered 39 nods over the decades. They'll probably up that number soon with Ladj Ly's Les Misérables. The likeliness of a nomination doesn't mean the selection of the country's Oscar submission was without controversy. Many a cinephile thinks Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire was more deserving. Without the benefit of being in the race for that particular trophy, the much-lauded period lesbian romance is likely to receive no Oscar love, even though it's eligible for most other categories
While it's rare for French films to be recognized outside the Best International Feature race, it's not unheard of. Since the beginning of the Academy Awards, 53 films have done so. That's not including documentaries or short films (or the number would be yet more inflated) . The Oscars may be very local in their tastes, but they've always shown a bit of Francophilia…
After perusing the History of the Academy Awards, I've come up with some interesting data. Let's start by listing the most nominated French Films ever. Here are the 11 most nominated French productions, in chronological order.
THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964)
5 nominations, 0 wins
- Best Original Screenplay (Jacques Demy)
- Best Original Score (Michel Legrand & Jacques Demy)
- Best Score, Adaptation or Treatment (Michel Legrand)
- Best Original Song (Michel Legrand & Jacques Demy)
- Best Foreign Film
A MAN AND A WOMAN (1966)
4 nominations, 2 wins
- Best Director (Claude Lelouch)
- Best Actress (Anouk Aimée)
- Best Original Screenplay (Claude Lelouch & Pierre Uytterhoeven) – winner
- Best Foreign Film - winner
DAY FOR NIGHT (1973)
4 nominations, 1 win
- Best Director (François Truffaut)
- Best Supporting Actress (Valentina Cortese)
- Best Original Screenplay (François Truffaut, Jean-Louis Richard & Suzanne Schiffman)
- Best Foreign Film - winner
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES (1978)
3 nominations, 0 wins
- Best Director (Édouard Molinaro)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Francis Veber, Édouard Molinaro Marcello Danon & jean Poiret)
- Best Costume Design (Piero Tosi & Ambra Danon)
CYRANO DE BERGERAC (1990)
5 nominations, 1 win
- Best Actor (Gérard Depardieu)
- Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Ezio Frigerio & Jacques Rouxel)
- Best Costume Design (Franca Squarciapino) – winner
- Best Makeup (Michele Burke & Jean-Pierre Eychenne)
- Best Foreign Film
THREE COLORS: RED (1994)
3 nominations, 0 wins
- Best Director (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
- Best Original Screenplay (Krzysztof Kieslowski & Krzysztof Piesiewicz)
- Best Cinematography (Piotr Sobocinski)
AMÉLIE (2001)
5 nominations, 0 wins
- Best Original Screenplay (Guillaime Laurant & Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
- Best Cinematography (Bruno Delbonnel)
- Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Aline Bonetto & Marie-Laure Valla)
- Best Sound (Vincent Arnardi, Guillaime Leriche & Jean Umansky)
- Best Foreign Film
LA VIE EN ROSE (2007)
3 nominations, 2 wins
- Best Actress (Marion Cotillard) – winner
- Best Costume Design (Marti Allen)
- Best Makeup (Didier Lavergne & Jan Archibald) – winner
THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY (2007)
4 nominations, 0 wins
- Best Director (Julian Schnabel)
- Best Adapted Screenplay (Ronald Harwood)
- Best Editing (Juliette Welfling)
- Best Cinematography (Janusz Kaminski)
AMOUR (2012)
5 nominations, 1 win
- Best Picture (Stefan Arndt, Margaret Ménégoz, Veit Heiduschka & Michael Katz)
- Best Director (Michael Haneke)
- Best Actress (Emmanuelle Riva)
- Best Original Screenplay (Michael Haneke)
- Best Foreign Film - winner
If you're wondering which category French cinema shows up the most often outside of Foreign Film, that's Best Original Screenplay. More than 20 such films have been nominated and two (1956's The Red Balloon & 1966's A Man and a Woman) even won the prize. Weirdly enough, considering the acting categories' usual tendencies, Best Actress is the second most popular category for French productions. Seven actresses have been nominated on nine different occasions, the most recent being Isabelle Huppert for Elle.
In an ideal world, Portrait of a Lady on Fire might be a strong contender for both those categories. However, such utopias are mere fantasies and the fact is Sciamma's latest wonder is likelier to get some love in the craft categories. Best Cinematography is its best hope. If nominated, Claire Mathon would be just the second nominated woman in the category's history, but the film wouldn't be the first French production to receive the stamp of approval from the cinematographer's branch. It would be the fifth, after Three Colors: Red, Amélie, A Very Long Engagement and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Can Portrait of a Lady on Fire overcome the Oscars' traditional aversion to non-English language works?