by Nathaniel R
Last year's international film Oscar race was one of its all-time most popular years with all of the pictures turning into arthouse hits (that never happens. Usually one is a flop). 2019's competition might be just as exciting. If countries choose well and the Academy follows suit, that is. Spain's Pain & Glory and South Korea's Parasite are the two highest profile international films in the race (both opening in early October in the US) and are likely to be successful in theaters, the former due to the consistent sales of Almodóvar imports and the latter due to its buzz and accessibility as entertainment. The third most high profile contender MIGHT be Portrait of a Lady on Fire from France. But France has yet to choose a film. UPDATE 9/20/19: THEY HAVE CHOSEN "LES MISERABLES"
They have however narrowed it down to three...
Portrait's presumed heavyweight contender is the Cannes hit Les Miserables which is not another telling of the Victor Hugo classic or remake of the British musical but a contemporary drama about tense relations between citizens and police which, like Portrait, has enthralled critics.
The third option is the very freshly arrived Proxima (which we reviewed at TIFF). That one stars Eva Green as an astronaut preparing for an internationally funded space journey. There's a lot of English in the film (Matt Dillon co-stars) but not enough to disqualify it as Green hops consistently from tongue to tongue speaking Russian, French, German, and English in the film depending on where the other actors/characters are from because Eva Green is magic and can transfix in all languages.
Still we suspect this is a nail-biter between Les Miserables and Portrait. If Portrait isn't selected we'll be sad (Chris and myself were obviously big fans at TIFF) but we'll console ourselves with the other 7 queer pictures in the running.
59 films are now officially submitted and you can see them on the Oscar charts or on our frequently updated letterboxd list if you're into that service.