by Nathaniel R
The Netherlands have submitted the magical realist drama Buladó for the upcoming Oscars. It's the third feature-length film from 42 year-old biracial director Eché Janga. It's a rarity for a Dutch submission in that it doesn't take place in The Netherlands but in one of the former Dutch colonies. It's set in the Caribbean Island of Curaçao (Janga's father is Curaçaoan) and is largely in the language of Papiamento rather than Dutch.
The Netherlands have an interesting Oscar history because they've won nearly half the time when nominated but the nominations are not super common. They're currently in their longest Oscar drought ever as they haven't been nominated since 2003 (despite three finalists since then)...
The Fourth Man (1983) was a big hit in American arthouses but way too filthy for Oscar voters
Generally when countries do well with the Oscars over a long period it has a lot to do with homegrown auteurs. Part of the problem with The Netherlands is that the films of their most famous living director (Paul Verhoeven) and even some of their less famous directors are too extreme for the sensibilities of Academy voters, even when they're well received by critics and other awards bodies (think Elle, Soldier of Orange, and Black Book) develop cult classic status (The Fourth Man, Showgirls, Starship Troopers) or are box office smashes in the English language (Basic Instinct, Total Recall).
Let's look at the country's Oscar history...
THE NETHERLAND'S OSCAR STATS
Submitting since 1959 (the fourth year of the competition)
53 Total Submissions
7 Nominations (and 3 Additional Finalists)
3 Wins
KEY SUBMISSIONS
Turkish Delight made Rutger Hauer an international star
- The Village on the River (1959) Nominee Director Fons Rademakers (1920-2007) was behind the first Dutch film nominated AND the first to win, nearly three decades later.
- Turkish Delight (1973) Nominee
- Soldier of Orange (1977) Paul Verhoeven's film is considered one of the greatest Dutch films of all time but it failed to make Oscar's list despite a Golden Globe nomination
- A Woman Like Eve (1979) The first time The Netherlands sent a female director was this drama from feminist Nouchka van Brakel about a woman leaving her husband for another woman. They've sent several female filmmakers since then.
- The Fourth Man (1983) One of the raciest films we can recall being submitted to Oscar -- homosex, heterosex, extreme violence (it's Verhoeven, what do you expect?), and sometimes combinations of those things -- and supposedly the biggest Dutch hit ever within US arthouses... but Oscar passed as you would easily expect. (I rented it on VHS in the late 80s when I was too young for it and was absolutely scandalized.)
- The Assault (1986) Winner
- The Vanishing (1988) This morbid thriller and international hit was disqualified for some reason (and then remade in English with Jeff Bridges as the villain to diminishing returns, qualitatively speaking)
- Antonia's Line (1995) Winner
Character was the winner in a field with no clear frontrunner (the frontrunner was arguably Belgium's My Life in Pink given its BAFTA and Globe nominations but Oscar snubbed it come nomination time)
- Character (1997) Winner
- Zus & Zo (2002) Nominee
- Twin Sisters (2003) Nominee
- Black Book (2006) Finalist but this one sadly missed the nomination though it was widely regarded as a strong return to form for Verhoeven after his Hollywood years. Plus that spectacular leading performance from Carice van Houten
- Winter in Wartime (2009) Finalist
- Accused (2014) Finalist
Most Frequently Submitted Dutch Directors
Verhoven on the set of Black Book (2006) with Carice van Houten
- Fons Rademaker (5 submissions, 2 nominated films, 1 of which won)
- Paul Verhoeven (4 submissions - 1 nominated film, 1 finalist... he also had a submission from France recently with Elle which Oscar also passed on outside of Best Actress. Grrrr)
- Paula van der Oest (3 submissions - 1 nominated film, 1 finalist)
- Pieter Verhoeff (3 submissions, none of them nominated)
- [TIE] 2 submissions each, neither of them nominated: Mijke de Jong, Alex van Warmerdam, Nouchka van Brakl, Maria Petters, Rudolf van den Berg and Bert Haanstra