Best International Feature: Chile, Mexico, South Korea

by Cláudio Alves

Nathaniel has recently shared the Best International Feature Contenders List and given us an overview of the stars and directors and stats. Like last year, I'll be reviewing as many of the contenders as I can get my hands on, beyond the reviews already shared here at The Film Experience for the submissions from Czech Republic, Georgia, Guatemala, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Palestine, Romania, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Venezuela. The number of contenders is at an all-time high!

To start our voyage around the world, let's take a look at the submitted films from the last three champions of the category: Chile (2017, A Fantastic Woman), Mexico (2018, Roma), and South Korea (2019, Parasite)… 

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Almost There: Juliette Binoche in "Three Colors: Blue"

by Cláudio Alves

With Pieces of a Woman having premiered on Netflix, Vanessa Kirby becomes one of the big contenders in this year's Best Actress race. She previously won the Volpi Cup, joining a selection of other actresses who managed to turn a win at Venice into genuine Oscar buzz. However, not every Volpi champion is as lucky as to get a nomination. In 1993, Juliette Binoche managed to earn the Cup for her studies of loss in the first part of Krzysztof Kieslowski's trilogy about Europe and the French Revolutionary ideals. Still, when Oscar nomination morning arrived, Binoche's searing work in Three Colors: Blue was not found amid AMPAS' choices…

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Mad for Mads: 10 reasons to love Mads Mikkelsen

by Cláudio Alves

Denmark's latest Oscar submission, Another Round, is now available to watch on VOD. The feature stars a cadre of stupendous Danish thespians, led by Mads Mikkelsen, one of the country's biggest names internationally. From his beginnings as a supporting player in indie flicks to mainstream gigs as portentous villains, the actor made fans of many a cinephile and charmed even more unsuspecting moviegoers. To celebrate the release of his latest project, I decided to take a look at the career and life of Mikkelsen, enumerating 10 reasons why I love the actor…

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How Had I Never Seen... "Beau Travail"?

by Cláudio Alves

People cope with stress in different ways. Earlier this month, when the US presidential election was unfolding and the world held its breath, I turned to Twitter to reminisce about 2020 cinematic excellence and try to calm my nerves. I also scoured the internet for good deals on physical media, a bit of retail therapy, adding more DVDs and Blu-Rays to a collection that has long ago surpassed a thousand films. Part of the new additions were my first ever Criterion editions! 

All this to say that the discs arrived this week and, since the Criterion Channel has a new collection of Claire Denis films, I decided to finally watch the much-lauded Beau Travail and write about the experience. And what an experience it was…

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Almost There: Norma Aleandro in "The Official Story"

by Cláudio Alves

One of the nominees from this Thursday's Supporting Actress Smackdown likely got her nomination due to thee Oscar buzz she had earned from a previous performance. While it was Gaby: A True Story that made Norma Aleandro an Academy Award nominee in 1987, it was her performance in 1985's The Official Story that put her name on Hollywood's lips. That Best Foreign Language Film winnere remains the crown jewel in the Argentinian actress' hallowed career...

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