International Contenders: "Those Who Remained"

by Abe Fried-Tanzer

There are many films that have been made about the Holocaust, which to some may feel repetitive but ultimately represents a positive testament to the millions of people who lost their lives and whose fates, while assumed, may still not be entirely known. Invented characters can be useful to convey the experiences of the nameless within an enormous population that did not live to see its own story told. Hungary last won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film for the Holocaust movie Son of Saul (2015), and now it could be in the running again for a smaller-scale Holocaust film Those Who Remained, which unexpectedly made the shortlist of ten films that are vying for the five nominations on Monday.

In this quiet, intimate drama, Klára (Abigél Szõke) clings to the hope that her parents may still be alive as she tries to conduct a normal life with her remaining local relative, Olgi (Mari Nagy), in the aftermath of the Holocaust...

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International Contenders: Estonia's "Truth and Justice"

by Abe Fried-Tanzer

When someone is young, the future can be full of hope. There is endless time to truly build something, and, if it’s difficult to get a dream off the ground right away, there may be other opportunities and options down the road. Working toward a goal, however, requires some sort of anchoring to the present so that a person doesn’t become too bogged down in the lack of progress and isn’t ever able to appreciate what it is they have on the way there. If eyes are only on the future, those who have spent every moment working may feel as if they’ve missed their entire lives once they actually stop to take it all in.

In Truth or Justice, Estonia’s finalist for Best International Feature this year, Andres (Priit Loog) buys a large farm and moves there with his wife Krõõt (Maiken Schmidt). He soon meets his neighbor Pearu (Priit Võigemast), an alcoholic who has already driven away two previous owners with his dishonest tactics...

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100 Most Popular Foreign-Language Films of 2019

Our year in review party . A different list each day! Here's Nathaniel R...

With Parasite sucking up so much awards oxygen, it's easy to let the good news slip by that it was hardly the only great film out there that played with subtitles. Pedro Almodóvar and Zhang Yimou's return to triumphant form (and box office success) with Pain & Glory and Shadow, respectively, were just two of many other goodies that delighted cinephiles and critics at movie theaters and festivals this year. 

Yes, it's time for our annual look back at international non-English language fare in cinemas. [For comparisons sake here are the lists from 2018, 2017 and 2016] For the purposes of the following list we skipped documentaries and animated films to keep the list more focused (and avoid arguments about dubbed versions or whatnot). Please note: This list does not include Portrait of a Lady on Fire since it's not getting a proper release until 2020. It made a very strong $118k in its Qualifying Week before getting pulled.

TOP 100 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS OF 2019
Domestic Box Office Grosses Only - Figures as of March 12th, 2020
🔺= still in theaters | ★ = TFE recommends

01 ★🔺 Parasite (Neon, South Korea, October 11th) $53.1
Bong Joon-ho's Palme D'Or winner took American arthouse theaters by storm and expanded beautifully through word of mouth and aggressive smart publicity from Neon, making it the biggest foreign hit in the States since Hero (2002/2004)...

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Looking back at 2019 Filmmaker Interviews

by Murtada Elfadl

2019 gave me the chance to speak to a few filmmakers about their films, their process, what they think their art contributes to the world. These filmmakers came from all over the world, and the breadth of their experiences and the topics they tackled is astounding. As the year comes to an end and we look back at the moments that stood out, here are some of the most fascinating insights I heard.

Recently The Farewell was not allowed to compete in the main film categories at the Golden Globes, and accepted only as a “foreign” film when its story is quintessentially American. After all the United States is a country of immigrants. Some people’s insistance on calling The Farewell foreign when it's so American just indicates that they don't think anyone whose 1st language isn't English is American enough despite their contributions to this country. When I talked to Lulu Wang during the summer, I asked her if she thinks her film being not entirely in English might limit its appeal...

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Best International Feature: Norway, Taiwan & Mexico's contenders

by Cláudio Alves

In a few days, we'll know the ten finalists for the Best International Feature Oscar. Until then, I shall continue exploring some of the 91 submissions. This batch includes last year's champion, Mexico, a prize-winning literary adaptation from Norway and a queer tragicomedy from Taiwan that's currently on Netflix. They're a varied bunch and represent the offerings of countries that have previously achieved great success with the Academy.

First, let's peruse the wintry wonders of the Scandinavian submission…

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