It's "Two of Us" for France. With so many Oscar nods will they ever win again?

by Nathaniel R

In something of a surprise move, France has selected the lesbian seniors drama Deux  (or Two of Us) for Oscar submission rather than their higher profile titles Summer of '85 with its EFA director nomination or Cuties with its hot potato festival run and Netflix controversy. This suggests that Two of Us might do very well in a month or three at the César Awards but for now let's talk France and Oscar as there's a LOT to discuss.

France is of course a total powerhouse at the Oscars. The Best International Feature Film category has existed as a competitive category for 64 years (as of last season) and France has been nominated in 59% of those races.

What's more they've tried to factor in to the competition 100% of the time! In point of fact, France is the only country that's never skipped an Oscar submission year.

FRANCE'S OSCAR STATS and key submissions after the jump...

Submitting since 1956 (the very first year of the competition)
65 Total Submissions 
38 Nominations (and 2 Additional Finalists)
9 Wins (#2 of all countries for wins)
3 Honorary Oscars (before the category existed)

France once rivalled Italy for most wins but they've had a lot of trouble actually triumphing in this Oscar in our current era...

Their most recent win was nearly thirty years ago with 1992's Indochine. But, regardless of "win" troubles, Oscar loves French films. They even nominate them somewhat regularly outside of the "foreign" category. 

KEY TITLES BEFORE THE FOREIGN CATEGORY EXISTED...

• A nous la liberté (1931) -First foreign language film nominated for any Oscar (Best Production Design)
• Grand Illusion (1937) First foreign language Best Picture Nominee before they dreamt up Honoraries for foreign titles. It obviously would have won the Oscar for Foreign Language Film had the category existed back then.
• Monsieur Vincent (1948) Honorary Award
• The Walls of Malapaga (1950) co-production with Italy Honorary Award
• Forbidden Games (1952) Honorary Award

KEY SUBMISSIONS - which is nearly all of them... 

The legendary Jacques Tati's "Mon Oncle"

• Gervaise (1956) Nominee
• Gates of Paris (1957) Nominee
• Mon Uncle (1958) Winner
• Black Orpheus (1959) Winner  (though some would argue it should have been a Brazilian win)
• La Verite (1960) Nominee
• Last Year at Marienbad (1961) weird that France's longest consecutive streak ended with a brilliant film that the Academy passed on. France has repeated that five consecutive nominee streak three times in their history. All three times they've had a winning film during the streak.
• Sundays and Cybele (1962) Nominee

• Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) Nominee
• Pierrot Le Fou (1965) - This marked the only time they submitted a Jean-Luc Godard film. The Academy did not love it. Though later they gave Godard an Honorary.
• A Man and a Woman (1966) Winner
• Live for Life (1967) Nominee
• Stolen Kisses (1968) Nominee
• My Night with Maud (1969) Nominee
• Hoa-Binh (1970) Nominee
• Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1971) Winner
• Day for Night (1973) Winner
• Lacombe, Lucien (1974) Nominee
• Cousin, Cousine (1976) Nominee
• Madame Rosa (1977) Winner - Currently its Italian remake, The Life Ahead, is a finalist for Italy's submission.
• Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978) Winner
• A Simple Story (1979) Nominee
• The Last Metro (1980) Nominee
• Diva (1981) Not the first French film wee Nathaniel ever saw but the first true French film obsession, rented on VHS in the late 80s and watched repeatedly. So brilliant but probably too youth-popular in its era -- think Germany's fate with their Run Lola Run submission --  to strike a chord with the Academy.
• Coup de Torchon (1982) Nominee

Isabelle Huppert & Miou-Miou in "Entre Nous" - this was the second consecutive year when an Isabelle Huppert picture was nominated. But, oddly enough, it didn't happen again until Austria's "Amour"

• Entre Nous (1983) Nominee
• Three Men and a Cradle (1985) Nominee - Two years later this one got an American remake which became the biggest blockbuster of the year.
• Betty Blue (1986) Nominee  This excellent erotic drama was one of the Academy's most daring choices in the 80s, since it opens with a graphic sex scene and played unrated in movie theaters where it was a major arthouse hit.
• Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987) Nominee
• Camille Claudel (1988) Nominee
• Cyrano de Bergerac (1990) Nominee
• Indochine (1992) Winner  France's most recent winner.  This has been a bizarrely long drought for them after 11 Oscar wins in the first 44 years of the Academy's foreign honors. It's been 28 years now without a win!
• Ridicule (1996) Nominee
• East/West (1999) Nominee
• The Taste of Others (2000) Nominee
• Amélie (2001) Nominee  One of the most shocking losers in Academy history since it had multiple nominations and was one of the most internationally successful French films of all time.
• 8 Women (2002) This was the only time France submitted prolific auteur François Ozon. The category that year really could have used this musical comedy to spice the shortlist up!
• The Chorus (2004) Nominee
• Joyeux Noel (2005) Nominee
• Avenue Montagne (2006) That this relatively blasé film was a finalist tells you what you need to know about the Academy's general love of French film and their undiscriminating taste in the same.

• The Class (2008) Nominee (and would have made an excellent winner *sniffle*)
• A Prophet (2009) Nominee
• The Intouchables (2012) Before the days of the Executive Committee this problematic crowd pleaser would have absolutely been a nominee. Instead it had to settle for being a Finalist; The Executive Committee has improved this category so much! This was remade in the US as The Upside and became a big hit.
• Mustang (2015) Nominee
• Elle (2016) / BPM (Beats Per Minute (2017) -Two years in a row France submitted absolutely brilliant films and the Academy balked both times, the films not even making the "finals" (it was especially strange in the former case given the general love for the film and its Globe win). A truly devasting two-fer snub for discerning cinephiles who love French films. Especially since the Academy has nominated many so-so films just because they love France so much.
• Les Miserables (2019) Nominee

Most Frequently Submitted Directors in Foreign Film 
France does not repeat directors very often in this category... Too much to choose from! 

François Truffaut

1. François Truffaut (3 submissions - 3 nominated films, 1 winner)
2. René Clement (3 submissions sort of. 2 were Honorary Award winners before the category existed. 1 nominee followed) 
3. Louis Malles (3 submissions - 2 nominated films)
4. Claude Lelouch (2 submissions - 2 nominated films, one of them won)
5. Jean-Jacques Beneix (2 submissions - 1 nominated film)
6. Claude Berri (2 submissions - neither of them nominated...weirdly his most successful international hits Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring were not submitted)

Most Oscar Honored French Artists

"Gowns by Jean-Louis" was the screen credit

1. Jean Louis (14 nominations, 1 win for Costume Design)
2. Michel Legrand (13 nominations, 3 wins for Music categories)
3. Alexandre Desplat (11 nominations, 2 wins for Original Score)
4. Maurice Jarre (9 nominations, 3 wins in Music categories)
5. Albert Wolsky (7 nomiantions, 2 wins for Costume Design)
6. François Truffaut (3 nominations for writing/directing) plus 3 nominations and 1 win in Best International Film*
7. [TIE] 5 nominations, 1 win each: Roman Polanski (Producing/Directing/Writing) and Georges Delerue (Original Score)
8. Jacques Demy (4 nominations Score/Writing/Song/Adapted Score) plus 1 nominations for Best International Film*
9. Jean-Claude Carrière (4 noms mostly for Writing, and 1 win for Live Action Short) plus an Honorary Oscar
   
   
10. Bruno Delbonnel (5 nominations for Best Cinematography)
11. Frédéric Back (4 noms, 2 wins in Best Animated Short)
12. Claude Lelouch (3 nominations, 1 win Writing/Director) plus two Nominations for Best International Film*
13. Costas-Gavras (3 nominations, 1 win Directing/Writing/Picture) plus one Nomination for Best Foreign Film which won* 
14. [TIE] 4 nominations each: Charles Boyer (Best Actor), Sylvain Chomet (Animated Feature x 2, Animated Short, and Original Song)
15. Jacques Yves Costeau (3 nominations, all winning in Documentary categories)
    
    Claudette Colbert getting her Oscar from Shirley Temple
16. [TIE] 3 nominations and 1 win each: Claudette Colbert (Best Actress), Michel Hazanavicius (writing/editing nominations, winning for Best Director), Gabriel Yared (Original Score), Raphaël Bretton (Production Design)
17. Louis Malle (3 nominations for writing/directing) plus 2 Best International Film nominees*
18. [TIE] 2 nominations, 1 win each: Simone Signoret, Juliette Binoche, and Marion Cotillard (Acting), Georges Périnal and Philippe Rousselot (Cinematography), Claude Berri (Picture/Live Action Short), Alexander Trauner and Pierre Guffroy (Production Design)
    
    
    
    
19. [TIE] 2 nominations each: Isabelle Adjani, Maurice Chevalier, Leslie Caron (Acting), Roland Joffé (Directing), Marcel Ophuls (Documentary Feature), Stephane Ceretti (Visual FX), Julie Delpy (Screenplay), Aline Bonetto (Production Design)
20. Agnes Varda (1 nominations plus 1 Honorary Award)
21. [TIE] 1 nomination plus a nomination for Best International Film* each: Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Jean-Paul Rappeneau

Comments

[James from Ames]

An interesting discussion could be had about what France has chosen to submit in this century. They sometimes choose what they view as artistic integrity over better contenders to take the award. For instance:

-- choosing The Chorus instead of A Very Long Engagement in 2004. VLE did very well internationally, but France said it was too Hollywood to properly represent it
-- choosing The Intouchables instead of Rust and Bone in 2012. Thinking goes that R&B's director had just gone to bat with Un Prophet a few years prior, plus The Intouchables was seen as a better all-over representation of the country

Those are just the two I'm aware of, but I bet there are others!

[Gwencrake]

Great article, Nathaniel!

A Man and a Woman (1966) is a winner, not a nominee!

[Dan Humphrey]

It is odd that DIVA didn't get nominated. I was old enough to see it in the theater when it came out, though my mom had to get me into this R-rated film. I remember that it was THE foreign film of that year, in terms of buzz. But Oscar was in a super serious mood in the early 80s, at least when it came to international films. Granola titles like THE BOAT IS FULL and MUDDY RIVER edged out more deserving films.

[Working stiff]

I worked with Albert Wolsky some years ago and had no idea he was French. Of course, his family fled to the States from the Nazis when he was a kid and he had no French accent whatsoever...

[cal roth]

I don't get why Louis Malle didn't win the Oscar for Le Monde du Silence since he directed it with Cousteau, got his credit and even shared the Golden Palm. This documentary rules are so strange!

Nathaniel, you forgot Albert Lamorisse here. Two nominations (Documentary/Screenplay), one win, for the wonderful The Red Balloon (improved by Hou Hsiao Hsien and Juliette Binoche!)

[Peggy Sue]

I'm disappointed. It's the one I was less curious about it. Maybe they're compensating for picking Misérables over Jeune fille.

Albert Wolsky!!! Tell us all about it.

[Owl]

Although I don't get the selection of certain films over others for the Oscars, I think the afterlives of films are ultimately the better judge. For instance, Last Year at Marienbad will always be kept alive in academic circles and cinephile groups, and as long as cult films are celebrated, Diva and 8 Women will always be watched and discussed through the years.

One of the forgotten films in the 2000s is La Chambre des officiers (The Officers' Ward, 2001) which is about the slow and agonising process of healing a badly disfigured soldier. It was quietly moving and the catharsis is not provided onscreen but what can be inferred after viewing the last images.

[Dl]

So many of the greatest French films weren't even in the discussion to be nominated. When you think of cinema, you think about France, and Italy. Who cares about winning the Oscar ?

[whunk]

France: the Meryl Streep of foreign language film awards. They'll win again one day.

[Lucky]

I don't always get their selections either. Besides what others mentioned before, Blue is the Warmest Color had a lot of buzz in 2013 winning the Palme d'or and all, and still they picked... Renoir?

[Joey]

I assumed that they didn't want to deal with the Cuties controversy and Summer of 85 might be sneered at for being "too similar to Call Me By Your Name" despite, you know, not being the same. I loved Two of Us when I saw it at Outfest. Super happy that it was selected. Barbara Sukowa is great!

[leon]

@Lucky, Blue is the Warmest color was release outside the deadline (October 5). The French Academy ask to Wild Bunch if they can release early but the studios were so stubborn saying they don't need that submission and would compete for the Oscar in the main categories LOL Blame the idiots of Wild Bunch

https://deadline.com/2013/09/why-wild-bunch-wouldnt-budge-blue-release-for-foreign-lingo-oscar-eligibility-588829/

[leon]

@Joey., yep. The anglosaxon critics and audiences weren't to in love of Summer 85 and the comparaisons to Call me by your name were harsh. Also, Maiwenn said some controversial stuff.

[Charlie]

We should have submitted La Vie en Rose in 2007, instead of Persepolis.

[Amirfarhang]

Charlie
I think both la vie en rose & diving bell and the butterfly had a better chance than persepolis
But persepolis is by far a better film

[Rama]

Where is Isabelle Adjani's honorary? lol she was marvelous in Adele H

[Charlie]

@Amirfarhang Diving Bell was produced by an US company (Kathleen Kennedy) and thus was ineligible for the Foreign Language Oscar.

[Charlie]

@James I still don't get why we picked La Douleur in 2018 instead of Custody (Jusqu'à la garde) who won Best Director & Best Debut in Venice and was a sequel of an Oscar-nominated short.

[Joey]

@Rama I am HERE for an Adjani honorary Oscar! Make it happen!

[Amirfarhang]

@Charlie
Thanks I didn’t know that

@rama & @joey
an Adjani honorary would be a dreamy moment but they have to award Deneuve first!
And I want the academy to present honorary oscars during the ceremony as they used to do
treating the legends the way they deserve!

[NATHANIEL R]

Amirfarhang, Rami, Joey --- seriously what is the holdup on giving Honorary Oscars to legendary foreign performers. They gave one to Jackie Chan which I dont object to but I fail to see why they haven't thought "LIV ULLMAN!" and "CATHERINE DENEUVE" both of whom have Oscar nominations and are insputably cinematic legends. It's crazy that the Academy braintrust doesn't go there.

[leon]

Considering how she burnt bridges in Hollywood and France for her erratic diva behaviour, I doubt Adjani would win an Honorary Oscar. And some of the stories behind the scenes won't help to her cause.