New Official Foreign Submissions. "Amour" Leads the Oscar Buzz

Hungary chose "Just the Wind / Csak A Szél"Ukraine, Hungary and Azerbaijan join the small ranks of countries who have officially submitted their Oscar submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category. The Ukraine chose the biopic Firecrosser and Azerbaijan went with Oscar's second favorite storyline in this category with Buta (young child befriended by old person). The big story here, though, if only for being a slight curveball, is that Hungary did not go with a totally outre effort as they've been prone to do as of late. Instead they went with a more sober traditionally artistic effort. Which is not to say that they aren't still pushing the boundaries of what AMPAS will watch. Just the Wind is reportedly harrowing and brutal, dealing with a series of racial murders and poverty.

[Hungary hasn't been nominated since the heyday of István Szabó who had four nominations in the 1980s. Szabó's films were so hot in the US arthouse that his actor muse Klaus Maria Brandauer even flipped over to Hollywood and became an Oscar nominated actor (Out of Africa) and international star for a time.]

You can read more about the films on the official chart, a staple of The Film Experience's famous Oscar coverage. Spread the word about our thorough submission charts!

Will Michael Haneke's AMOUR be a threat for high profile nods like actor, actress, director?

Austria through Iran 
4 official submissions thus far but it's Michael Haneke's Amour, from Austria, that's got all the buzz right now. Word has it that they've got their sights set higher than just a lone Oscar nod in this awesome but usually stand-alone category. His previous high profile (Caché had much last minute buzz though no nominations followed) and White Ribbon's two nominations make the case for golden momentum.

Italy through Vietnam 
3 official submissions thus far: Serbia, Ukraine, and Venezuela 

As always we'd love to hear about your home country's film options. You can email Nathaniel if you have a hot tip or news about your home's selection or the selection process itself.

Review: "Compliance"

Compliance is the kind of film I always hope to love. Ambitious, confrontrational, and very well acted films that rely on theme and character and ideas are jawdroppers for me in a way that explosions, stunts, and visual effects innovations almost never are. But ambitions and soulful actors can only take you so far when fundamental flaws get in their way.

It's best to see Compliance cold (as I did) with no knowledge of its subject matter. Unfortunately it's almost impossible to talk or write about without giving its game away which is why it's a tough sell (it's made $111,000 in limited release) though it's gripping enough should you buy a ticket. So read on at your own risk...

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This & That (And A Bit More On *That*)

Woodcutting Fool David Lynch carved
Go Fug Yourself on Reese Witherspoon (and child) in France
MUBI's Notebook lists favorite Cannes films of 2012 (the winner being way down the list)
Film School Rejects Why blockbusters need to get their third act together. Heartily agree with much of this.
TV|Line Smash will lose two of its major male characters in Season 2. Does this mean Dennis & Bobby get more screen time? (I know it doesn't but my wishful thinking can be noisy and demand sentences all its own.)

AV Club wins the Best Snarky Headline of the Week (*not a real award) with this beauty... "Malin Akerman is playing Debbie Harry, who is also blonde."
Pajiba Most Versatile Bruce Willis
No Film School Most Fascinating Michael Haneke 
Coming Soon new Les Miserables photos. Apparently the trailer arrives today as well. We'll hear the people sing tonight in a Yes No Maybe So post.
Rope of Silicon Batmobiles  

Splitsider the Joss Whedon Roseann episodes
Playbill free outdoor staging of the hilarious stage adaptation of Xanadu will play Park Slope Brooklyn this summer
Acidemic on reality-warping multiple viewings of three 'comedies of remarriage' The Lady Eve, Bringing Up Baby and Bell Book and Candle 
My New Plaid Pants The Exorcist for TV via Martha Marcy May Marlene director?!?
La Daily Musto international beauties Léa Seydoux and Diane Kruger go sapphic for a  lesbian Marie Antoinette film called Farewell My Queen.

KISS HER! 

The Release Date Shuffle: Michael Haneke's Amour will be opening (and thus Oscar qualifying) on December 19th a bit earlier than Haneke's previous feature White Ribbon which did one of those awful New Year's Eve weekend releases in time for Oscar; G.I. Joe: Retaliation's shocking pushback to 2013 is prompting specalutation about how bad it might be. Last second release shifts for wannabe blockbusters are rare as they're expensive to open... and I promise that's the last time we group G.I. Joe with Michael Haneke in a paragraph; The Life of Pi arrives one month early so you can gobble it up for Thanksgiving instead of unwrapping it at Christmas time which is the inverse of what happened with the new Barbra Streisand picture, The Guilt Trip; And finally yes... yes... Cuaron's Gravity, our most anticipated this year, is now our most anticipated of 2013 (sniffle) which means that we've got to update those Oscar predictions. I know I know. Don't rush me! (This weekend?)

A Personal Note: I thought a link list was in order to get back up to speed (as much as one can in a day)... I generally cull the links through a process of trying to keep up to speed with What's Going On even though "news items" are only like ¼ of the links shared. 

But I couldn't let this return to blogging (glad to be crawling back -- we should be back in full swing by Thursday night) go without a hearty thank you to all of you, the readers, who sent such kind words on facebook, by email or right here on the blog after my father passed away. I spent a week in Utah with my mom and siblings and there were tears and memories and even laughter, too. My mom demanded a correction from my memoir post though. The photo that I love of my parents was taken before they were married. Hey, I wasn't there - honest mistake. She told me an amazing personal story about it and, as it turns out, it's her single favorite picture of the two of them. Now, I ♥ the photo even more.

Cannes Jury Members Give Their Love to Haneke.

Jose here. In a truly unprecedented turn of events, Austrian auteur Michael Haneke has won his second Palme D'or at the Cannes Film Festival. Haneke now joins the ranks of the Dardenne brothers, Bille August and Francis Ford Coppola, among others, as some of the few filmmakers who have been able to achieve this feat. What's more surprising is that Haneke achieved it with two consecutive films and within the span of three years, his previous film The White Ribbon, won the Palme in 2009.

His winning movie Amour moved audiences and critics alike when it was shown in competition last week. People were surprised about the way in which his typical iciness shaded new light on the complex subject of mortality in a movie that deals with how a stroke shatters the stability of an older married couple. Some were pleased to realize Haneke had finally found his "heart" and the only thing that seemed to stand between him and his second Palme was none other than jury president Nanni Moretti...

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Cannes: The Usual Suspects

Jose here to discuss the lineup for this year's Cannes Film Festival. I know what I'm about to say isn't "cool" but aren't you tired of Cannes being Oscar's equally traditional but way more highbrow cousin? Why, you ask? During the past decade or so, it's become equally predictable to know what'll be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and what films will show up in the official Cannes lineup.

You don't believe me?  

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