Potential Winners of Best Foreign Film at the Oscars

A Potpourri of Vestiges Feature

The category of best foreign film at the Oscars this year is more competitive than ever, with a number of exceptional movies in the category. Although these may not be particularly mainstream movies they still have everything that viewers could ask for in a film.

Embrace of the Serpent is the film from Colombia this year and this came from director Ciro Guerra. The film shows Karamakate, the last shaman and member of his tribe, on two journeys through the Amazon with outsiders. They work over four decades to find a sacred plant that is hidden deep within the jungle. This is a coup for the director, as he was under consideration for a previous movie but never made it to the shortlisted nominations. The 37^th nomination for France came in the form of Mustang this year, though this narrowly missed out on being the 38^th, had Blue is the Warmest Colour made it to the nominations two years ago. Mustang examines the family dynamic in a conservative atmosphere, as five sisters are imprisoned by their family. This is the result of the sisters being spotted having fun and this is seen to be impure behaviour, then they are locked away from the world. This is the only female directed films in the category and the female perspective of the family comes through in every aspect of the film.

The nomination from Hungary comes from director László Nemes with his touching movie Son of Saul. This director is a fan of gambling, like those in PayPal casinos on www.paypal-casinos.co, and perhaps this is what really paid off. The movie puts viewers in the shoes of main character, Saul, who undertakes a journey to bury his son in a Jewish ceremony within a concentration camp. Fans of foreign film will be able to detect the directorial influences from names such as Ingmar Bergman and Andrei Tarkovsky. The first ever entry into this category for the country of Jordan comes from the surprise nomination of the film Theeb. The name of the film is shared by its main character, who becomes orphaned at an early age. The film examines the friendship of Theeb and his new companion that he finds near death in the desert. The cultural aspects of the film make it harder for Westerners to grasp but it’s an incredibly rewarding film.
The last nomination in the category is A War, from Danish director Tobias Lindholm. This film takes a snapshot of the military life that many soldiers endure in the Helmand province. The main character of the film, Claus, is a Company Commander in the army and makes choices through the course of the film that change his life forever. We encourage you to share your views/comments in the box below. As always your feedback is highly appreciated!  Previous Post: BAFTA 2016 Winners

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