by Nathaniel R
Park So-dam and Choi Woo-sik as con-artist siblings in Parasite (2019)
UPDATED SEPTEMBER 4TH 11:44 AM: The titles competing at the 92nd annual Oscars for Best International Feature are coming at us fast and furious now. In the past few days the number has climbed to an "official" 31 submissions... with probably 50+ titles still to come.
SOUTH KOREA
It was widely expected that South Korea would select Cannes Palme d'Or Winner Parasite to represent them but we've been surprised by the country's selection before (why oh why did they pass on The Handmaiden in its year - argh!). Thankfully they didn't surprise us this year. This is Bong Joon-ho's best movie ever, give or take the also-quite-brilliant but Oscar-shunned Mother (his only other film that was submitted by South Korea) so it would be sweet to see it actually compete for the gold.
Denmark's finalists, Romania's selection, and the official submission chart updates are after the jump...
ROMANIA
Romania shares with South Korea the distinction of being a much lauded/discussed national cinema with no Oscar nominations to show for it. We have Romania to thank, though, for the category's much-improved nature, since it was the uproar about the snubbing of 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) that got the ball rolling on the executive committee style rule changes. This year they've selected the Cannes title The Whistlers from Cornelio Porumboiu. It's a heist thriller about a shady cop and a secret whistling language led by the great Romanian actor Vlad Ivanov (Snowpiercer, 4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days). Porumboiu is one of Romania's most acclaimed directors. His best known features are 12:08 East of Bucharest (2006), The Treasure (2015), and the previous Oscar submission Police, Adjective (2009).
DENMARK
They've narrowed it down to three features but won't be deciding between them until September 24th: Queen of Hearts (winner of the World Cinema Audience Award at Sundance) which stars Denmark's frequently-brilliant Trine Dyrholm as a wife having an affair with her stepson, Before the Frost a 19th century drama, and Do you see the moon, Daniel? a true story about a Danish journalist taken hostage by the Islamic State. It's tough to say which of those three it will be but Daniel is a true story and it's just opening in Denmark this coming weekend and sometimes newness and trueness helps in these matters regardless of quality (we haven't seen any of the three yet so we have no idea which is most deserving... though Queen of Hearts definitely has the highest international profile). Denmark is Oscar's pet country at the moment having received 5 nominations, a win, plus two finalists that didn't quite snag a nomination... all in space of the last ten years!
SWEDEN
As previously mentioned on the blog Sweden had narrowed down their titles to three features and while we initially thought/feared that they wouldn't go with the gay romantic drama And Then We Danced as their title, they have selected it after all. It's also on the longlist for the European Film Awards this year.
OFFICIAL SUBMISSIONS + OSCAR CHARTS
Chart 1 -Afghanistan through Georgia
Here's a fun bit of trivia, Estonia's Truth or Justice, a 19th century drama about a farmer, comes from a previous Oscar nominee Tanel Toom. He was previously up for Best Short with The Confession (2010). Truth or Justice is his first feature so of he lept from acclaimed shorts to a nearly three hour drama. Go big or go home?
Chart 2 - Germany through Norway
System Crasher was the Silver Bear winner at Berlinale and is about a wild 9 year old girl that Child Protection Services can't figure out what to do with. Iran's film is about a Dutch woman who travels to Iran for the first time in search of her biological parents. Japan's is an animated feature from the director of Your Name!
Chart 3 - Pakistan through Yemen
Panama has previously only submitted documentaries to the Oscar competition but this year they went with a drama. Ukraine's title is a drama about a father and son transporting the body of their dead son/brother back to their homeland of Crimea.
Of the 31 official submissions thus far, the titles from Germany, Palestine, Romania, and The Ukraine are also on the 46-wide longlist of contenders for the European Film Awards. The title from North Macedonia is on the 12 wide finalist list of contenders for the European Film Awards Documentary Prize.