ForeignLanguageOscar Tagged Articles at Cinematical

OK, I think this is the last narrowing-down-the-list that will occur before the actual Oscar nominations are announced a week from Thursday. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has whittled the candidates in the Best Foreign-Language category to these nine semi-finalists. It is from these that the five nominees will be chosen:

Revanche, Austria; The Necessities of Life, Canada; The Class, France; The Baader Meinhof Complex, Germany; Waltz with Bashir, Israel; Departures, Japan; Tear This Heart Out, Mexico; Everlasting Moments, Sweden; Three Monkeys, Turkey.

If the Turkish film is nominated, it will be a first for that country, which has submitted a film every year since 1992 but has never made the Big 5. The other countries have all been nominated before, though Mexico and Israel have never won.

These nine shortlist contenders were culled from 67 entries. After embarrassing situations in previous years where the Academy's stodgy old foreign-language nominating committee neglected films that should have at least made the shortlist, a new rule was implemented this year that allowed that group to choose only six of the nine semi-finalists. The other three were chosen by the Academy's "foreign-film executive committee," which skews younger and less boring. The Academy didn't say which films on the shortlist came from which group, though.

As you probably know, each country is permitted to submit only one film per year. If you want to see what everyone submitted this year -- and rail against the Academy for not shortlisting, say, Italy's Gomorra or Jordan's Captain Abu Raed -- the complete list is here.

The movie-turned-musical fad isn't just for rock-themed movies and cute romantic comedies anymore. Recently, I blogged about the Weinstein Co.'s plans to adapt Oscar fare like Shakespeare in Love and Chocolat for Broadway. Now, Variety reports of another Oscar nominee that's headed for the stage: Daens. Never heard of it? Maybe that's because it was up for the Best Foreign Film Academy Award 15 years ago and yet despite that honor, it doesn't seem to have ever played in U.S. theaters. The Belgian period drama won't be competing against other movie-turned-musical hits like Legally Blonde and Hairspracy, though -- at least not yet. Instead the production opens outside Antwerp this October.

Here's why it could successfully make it's way across the Atlantic: Variety compares the scenario of Daens, about a priest attempting to improve conditions in the textile industry in the 19th century, to Les Miserables, which has been an enormous hit on Broadway (as well as in London). Also, though the musical will be bilingual, with some characters speaking Flemish and others speaking French, there will be subtitles, which could also be used if a Broadway version wanted to retain the original languages. Of course, I don't know that the same tourists currently making Legally Blonde a success will want to flock to a musical they have to read. And it might make singing along a little awkward, too.

The foreign-language Oscar race is heating up, as a good deal of high-profile names are being added to the list of contenders. Earlier Kevin reported that Guillermo Del Toro's Pan's Labrynth is Mexico's submission, and Kim has pointed out that other familiar names like Deepa Mehta and Ari Kuarismaki plus the much buzzed-about The Lives of Others are all up for nominations, as well. The best odds of a guaranteed spot in the noms, however, has to be Volver, which has just been announced as Spain's official entry. This was a bit of a surprise considering Pedro Almodóvar's past couple films were not submitted by Spain (Talk to Her ended up being nominated for ,and winning, the Best Original Screenplay award), but seeing as the Academy loves him (he also won the foreign-language Oscar for All About My Mother), the country must have realized it is in their favor to let the filmmaker represent them.

Not only will Volver certainly be nominated, I figure it also has the best chance to win. Of course, the Academy could also give another director a shot this time around. No matter who gets the prize, this category is going to be a lot more interesting (and better filled) in 2007 than it was in 2006.