International Feature - The Girl with the Needle (France) and The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany)

 

Denmark traditionally does very well in the Oscar race, and I've seen lots of terrific films in this category. This one is no exception. Karoline is a young factory worker whose husband hasn't been heard from in over a year since he went to war. Her boss seduces her and wants to marry her when he discovers that she is pregnant, but his mother is not having it. Alone and scared, she decides to go to the women's bathhouse and tries to give herself an abortion with a long knitting needle. Another woman and her daughter discover what she has done to herself, and they offer to take her in and help her. By day, this woman runs a candy store, and under the cover of secrecy, she also takes babies from desperate women who simply can't afford to raise them, and she tells the women that she gives the children to families eager to adopt. But there is a darker secret that Karoline discovers, and when she does, her life changes forever.

This was a depressing film on so many levels, but it was excellent. Of course, I never share the most important spoilers, but I can tell you that this is not the film to watch when you want to see something light. The Oscars are not exactly known for their upbeat selections, but this one is particularly difficult and offers the tale of another unintended consequence when women have their choices limited or taken away.

While Germany is credited for this International Feature, the film was shot in secret in Iran and smuggled out to be assembled and produced in Europe. It is set against the background of nation-wide protests against the oppressive government which our protagonist Iman's teenage daughters support, and in which he is forced as a judge to pass sentence (often the death sentence) against protestors who are brought before his court. He is given a handgun to keep at home and when the gun goes missing, he panics knowing that losing it could result in his own death sentence. He goes over the edge and threatens his family with interrogations that increase in intensity, ultimately causing his own downfall and the collapse of his happy family life.

While this film is very well done, it is another one that lasts almost three hours (with no intermission). I don't have deep knowledge of what it is like to live in Iran and there are many surprising pieces of the story reflecting a lifestyle of which I would never otherwise have known. On the other hand, almost every scene in the movie had me on the edge of my seat, as each piece unfolds and all one can see is danger and disastrous consequences around every corner. If this is life in modern day Iran, human rights abuses abound, and it is most accurate to say that there are really no rights at all. That's what it is like living in an autocratic theocracy, and perhaps this is the best possible lesson for our time.

Live Action Shorts - 5 nominees

THE AFTER: Misan Harriman and Nicky Bentham

The shorts are rarely light hearted and this year is no exception to that rule. Having said that, this heartbreaking and excellent short follows a father and husband whose wife and daughter are killed in a most horrific way, and how he must learn to cope following their deaths. David Oyelowo gives a masterful performance and this short film shows how fragile life can be.

INVINCIBLE:Vincent René-Lortie and Samuel Caron

Apparently based on a true story, Invincible follows the last 48 hours of a Canadian child's life in a detention center for troubled youth. He is so clearly smart and loved, and even the people at the center seem to believe in him. But he can't get out of his own way and when he makes a run for it, his despair about being able to get out of his last worst decision overwhelms him beyond repair.

KNIGHT OF FORTUNE: Lasse Lyskjær Noer and Christian Norlyk

This sweet short keeps up the tradition of the Danish shorts that are full of heart and humor. Two men find each other as they come to say goodbye to their beloved wives. When they get themselves into a seriously awkward situation at the morgue, all you can do is giggle while they comfort strangers who are also mourners. They support each other through a very difficult moment in their lives as only older tough men can do.

RED, WHITE AND BLUE: Nazrin Choudhury and Sara McFarlane

This was my favorite of the shorts, depicting the devastating consequences of abortion bans in so many states. I don't want to share too much about the plot because the twist toward the end of the film is so profound that I hope you'll see it yourself. A single, poor mother must contend with the worst of options while living on the edge of poverty at every moment, and her limited choices are devastating for more than just herself, but also for her two children, especially her daughter.

THE WONDERFUL STORY OF HENRY SUGAR: Wes Anderson and Steven Rales

This delightful short from Wes Anderson has all the weirdness that only Anderson can deliver with the most terrific cast. It is told with actors who are both acting out the plot and narrating the plot at the same time.  My favorite moments are when an actor will say a line looking away and then turn directly to the camera and say, "I said." It's the story of how one man came to see without his eyes, and another became obsessed with duplicating this talent.  It's a kooky little one from author (and known anti-Semite_ Roald Dahl.

Live Action Shorts - All nominees

 

An Irish Goodbye
Tom Berkeley 
Ross White 

A sweet and lovely film in which a brother comes home to help bury his mother.  His brother lives on the farm where they grew up, but can't live on his own because of his developmental disability. Ultimately, they agree that if the brothers can complete their mother's bucket list, then the brother who needs more care will agree to go to a care home. And the list is incredible! Finally the list brings the men together in the loveliest of ways, and this one is my pick to win.

Ivalu
Anders Walter 
Rebecca Pruzan 

Ivalu's has gone missing and her younger sister is determined to find her. The sister follows a black crow around her village with a secret suspicion that the crow is Ivalu. We learn slowly that Ivalu is being attacked by her own father, and that her disappearance is more of an escape.

Le Pupille
Alice Rohrwacher 
Alfonso Cuarón 

It's war time and this is a school for young girls in Italy. They are rebellious and wild, and the nuns aren't having it. When a wealthy woman brings a magnificent cake to the kids so that they will pray for her family, the nuns try to wrestle it from the girls' hands... except one little girl who wants a slice of cake! It was a cute little one and is favored to win due to Alfonso Cuaron's involvement, but this one was nothing so special that it should.

Night Ride
Eirik Tveiten 
Gaute Lid Larssen 

Ebba is waiting at the tram station in freezing cold weather.  When the tram finally arrives, the driver insists that it is time for his break and that the tram will leave in 30 minutes, though he will not allow her to come inside. She notices that the tram's doors are not locked and she climbs aboard. She can't resist! She tries the tram's levers and buttons and before she knows it, she's driving the tram. When she arrives at the next stop, she doesn't totally know what to do, so she stops and allows passengers to board. When some of those passengers begin to harass a young trans teenager, she steps in and rescues them (apologies, the film didn't make clear the teenager's pronouns, so I am using the generic "them.") and together they leave the tram. Which leaves the attackers to drive the tram and to be at the helm when... the police arrive. Great, funny, adorable ending.

Best Live Action Short Film
Cyrus Neshvad 

Oy, a tough one. A young teenager from Iran has been sent to Luxembourg to become the child bride of an older man. She does everything in her power to delay her departure from the airport, and when there is nothing left for her to do, she uses what little money she has to purchase a bus ticket. Her betrothed is furious and her father keeps trying to get her on the phone. Through a little bit of smarts and a little bit of courage, she finds a way to escape her fate.

Flee - 3 nominations

 

Best Documentary Feature Jonas Poher Rasmussen Monica Hellstrøm Signe Byrge Sørensen Charlotte de La Gournerie

Best Animated Feature Film Jonas Poher Rasmussen Monica Hellstrøm Signe Byrge Sørensen Charlotte de La Gournerie

Best International Feature Film Denmark

Flee is a powerful film telling the story of Amin (not his real name) as his family lives through a refugee crisis.  The family is fleeing Afghanistan and lands in Russia where their travel visas run out, and this puts them under a constant threat of deportation back to Afghanistan, where they will surely be killed.  Amin's mother is desperate to protect him from being sent back to Afghanistan, so she does everything she can to get him out of Russia and to Denmark where they have a relative.  The harrowing tale is truly the story of every refugee, their precarious lives, the tremendous risks they take, and the leaps of faith they must endure to attempt a better, safer life.  

This is the first time that an animated feature has also been nominated for Best Documentary and Best International Feature.  This one is just that good.  The most important thing that I hope this film will accomplish will be to build a sense of compassion for refugees among those who by happenstance were born in first world countries.  It is very easy to condemn and despise people from another country when you don't know their names and you don't know their stories.  It is much harder to act as Pharoah and harden one's heart when you realize that all mothers everywhere just want their children to grow up safely, no matter when they were born.

Foreign Film Nominees

Land of Mine (Denmark) - Martin Zandvliet

Land of Mine recounts the powerful true story of young German boys at the close of World War 2 who were trained to remove the land mines all over Denmark that had been planted by their fellow German soldiers.  The dilemma as a movie watcher is clear - all of the young people who were being put to work were clearly part of the German war machine so to root for them is to root for people who were part of the 3rd Reich.  Who knows what kind of atrocities they committed?  At the same time, many of these kids (probably age 14 - 17) died doing this dangerous work.  We see an evolution in the Dane officer who supervises them, who sees the difference between right and wrong in his own military world.  It's an excellent film.

A Man Called Ove (Sweden) - Hannes Holm

Makeup and Hairstyling - Eva von Bahr and Love Larson

Every year, I find a film that I refer to as the year's hidden gem.  I define the hidden gem by this criterion - a film that I hadn't heard of prior to the Oscar nominations which turns out to be among my favorites of the year.  This year, I have two hidden gems, and A Man Called Ove is one of them.  Ove is a curmudgeonly old man who is the self appointed neighborhood policeman.  He is the guy who leaves notes for people about which community rule they have violated, goes on rounds around the community every morning to check that everything is in place and as it should be, and yells at cars who drive on their roads, which they have deemed illegal.  One day, a family with two young daughters move in next door, and of course the entire family captures his heart, led by a pregnant and very tough mom who requires that Ove become more human.  At the same time, we follow Ove's young life with its share of tragedy.  This story is beyond touching and very much worth seeing.  It will fill your heart with joy.

The Salesman (Iran) - Asghar Farhadi

The Salesman captures the story of two married actors in Iran who are performing Death of a Salesman in Farsi.  One night, the wife goes home early and is brutally raped and attacked in her home.  The husband, Emad, sets off on a quest to find his wife's attacker, even if he is not clear on what he will do once he finds the man.  Meanwhile, his wife is suffering and he doesn't know what to do to support her - on or off stage.  It's a wrenching portrayal of a man who wants justice and a wife who wants peace.

Tanna (Australia) - Bentley Dean and Martin Butler

The story of two warring tribes who seek to find peace through the marriage of their children, but the son of one of the tribes and the young woman who is promised to the other chief's son have fallen for each other.  It's almost a reverse Romeo and Juliet.  The two young people run away to live on their own, but they discover that their choices are limited and their hope for the future is dwindling.  In addition, they realize that the consequences to their decision may have disastrous implications for their entire tribe.  The incredible part of this film is that the legend is being acted by real tribespeople in Australia, not professional actors.  It is a real accomplishment.

Toni Erdmann (Germany) - Maren Ade

I'm not even sure how to describe Toni Erdmann, except to say that if it were up to me, this film would be replaced by the excellent film, Elle, which didn't make the foreign film short list.  It's a tough one to describe - the main character is an older man who loves to pop in fake teeth and don wigs and act out absurd pranks in real life.  His daughter, a repressed business woman, is working to impress her company and a huge client, and is visited by her father who, when acting out these absurdist fantasies, calls himself Toni Erdmann.  She has the prankster inside of her, but it's buried deep deep under her perfect hair and perfect clothes.  While annoyed by her father, she also seems to love his antics because she keeps bringing him with her to extremely important events in her life. Their relationship arc is punctuated by a very surprising birthday party in which the daughter embraces Erdmann's crazy antics.  I didn't love this film, but in the right mood, it's like a traffic accident from which you can't look away.

A War - 1 nomination

Foreign Film - Denmark; Directed by Tobias Lindholm

"What would you if it were you" is the operative question surrounding this outstanding film from Denmark.  The film follows Claus Pederson, a leader of the Danish army stationed in Afghanistan. Claus is a true leader who boosts his soldiers' morales by going on patrol with them and leading them from the front.  At the same time, his wife is at home doing her best to care for her three kids while putting on a brave face for them, all three affected by their father's absence in different ways.

While on patrol, Claus and his troops find themselves engaged in a dangerous gun battle, and he makes the decision to call in air support so that they can evacuate a wounded soldier.  Afghani civilians are killed, and the debrief calls into question whether Claus operated under military rules of confirmation when making the decision to call in bombs from above, despite the fact that the attack stopped after those bombs were dropped.

Back in Denmark, a trial ensues in which the courts must determine if Claus should be held accountable for violating regulations, even though he clearly saved the lives of those under his command.

This film is deeply emotional and I'm very surprised it hasn't gotten more attention.  All of the actors are superb (at least three of them are from my favorite Danish show, Borgen), and the performances are outstanding across the board.  I would even suggest that the lead actor (Pilou Asbaek) should have been considered for an Actor in a Leading Role Oscar nomination.  I cried on more than one occasion watching this film, and the challenge of how to balance objective morality and military exigency is well portrayed.