Best International Feature: France, Portugal, Spain

by Cláudio Alves

Europe is the most represented continent in the history of the Best International Feature Oscar. However, while some of its countries are regularly honored, others have been submitting for decades without luck. France, for instance, is the reigning champion of the category, having been nominated forty times. In contrast, Portugal - my country – holds the record for the most submissions without a single nod. For this chapter in our trip through world cinema, we arrive at these two nations' 2020 submissions as well as Spain's Netflix contender…

Click to read more ...

Showbiz History: Whoopi's win, Haji's legacy, and Aaron's scars

8 random things that happened on this day, January 24th, in showbiz history...

Jeanne Moreau, Marcello Mastroianni, and Monica Vitti in "La Notte"

1936 Anything Goes, the musical comedy hits movie theaters with Bing Crosby and Ethel Merman in the classic roles of Billy Crocker and Reno Sweeney.

1961 Michelangelo Antonioni's star-laden classic La Notte has its world premiere in Milan...

Click to read more ...

Best International Feature: Lesotho, Morocco, Sudan

by Cláudio Alves

Our first voyage through the Best International Feature contenders took us to the films of the latest Oscar champions: South Korea, Mexico, and Chile. Now, we shall turn our attention to nations that haven't been nearly as lucky with AMPAS. The entire African continent, in fact, has been chronically ignored by the Academy ever since the genesis of this award. Shining a light on the African cinema in contention this year, we find the first-ever submissions from Lesotho and Sudan, as well as a deadpan comedy from Morocco…

Click to read more ...

Revisiting 1989's International Oscars: Cinema Paradiso vs Camille Claudel vs Jesus of Montreal

by Nathaniel R

You've gotten to know Juan Carlos a little bit as a new contributor here at TFE. He hosts a podcast "The One Inch Barrier" which is how I sought him out to join us here. Each episode looks at one year of the Best International Feature Film race at the Oscars, moving backward chronologically. Each season covers one decade. I've finally made the time to guest-star, for the season four premiere to discuss a year that's deeply embedded in my history: 1989... aka the year my beloved Pfeiffer lost Best Actress. We discuss Italy's winner Cinema Paradiso which is all about moviegoing and nostalgia (so appropriate for the now), France's presumed runner up Camille Claudel (which was also nominated for Best Actress for Isabelle Adjani), and Canada's provocative Jesus of Montreal. A few other films make cameos, too, including Hong Kong's Painted Faces which is randomly streaming on Netflix; it was not nominated but makes an interesting companion piece to Cinema Paradiso.  

Please do share your feelings on these four films, none of which we've discussed on the site! 

Thoughts on "The Father"...

by Eric Blume

It's difficult to write reviews these days, because it feels like no film is ever actually "released", and all of us are scrambling to find what movies are even available, how they're available, if they're VOD, or on a streaming service, etc.  Sony Pictures Classics might have made a fumble mostly holding back from view director Florian Zeller's The Father, taken from his own play, starring Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman:  if more people could see it, everyone would be talking about it.

The Father is one of those Movies They Don't Make Anymore, i.e., a damn adult drama that challenges your mind and heart.  This is a film where the entire creative team treats the audience with dignity and respect, trusting that you're listening and paying attention, and they will reward you with literate ideas, high drama, and an emotional experience.  But The Father is more than just that:  the storytelling and the visual conceit of the film are surprising and demanding, and it is not a passive undertaking for the viewer...

Click to read more ...