International Features

IO CAPITANO: Italy

While international films can be difficult to watch, this one was absolutely brutal.  Seydou and his cousin Moussa leave Senegal dreaming of going to Europe to find jobs and send money home.  They are 15 years old and they know that it can be risky, but they have saved their money and set out not telling anyone from their family. The hardships they endure include being kidnapped, beaten, starving, and near death more times than I can count, and the film shows both the horrors and the occasional kindnesses they receive along the way. What shows through more than anything is not just their grit, but especially Seydou's humanity, his sense of morality and character, and that nothing will stop him from achieving his ultimate goal. This is an incredible cinematic feat, but it is NOT for the weak of heart.  I cried many times.

PERFECT DAYS: Japan

I really really wanted to love this movie.  It is from Wim Wenders who is responsible for movie masterpieces like Paris, Texas. And, the lead character Hirayama who is a diligent toilet cleaner by trade (and whoa, the public toilets featured are nicer than some people's homes for the designs and architecture, plus the Japanese people must be much more restrained than public toilets you find in the United States, so often soiled by the grossest of indiscretions). He appreciates all of the small things in life, and his daily routine, from which he never deviates, is simple.  He is an avid reader and a music lover. But this slice of life movie offers very little by way of plot (and I think that might be the point) - the first nearly 45 minutes is two full day rotations of his routine from dawn to dusk. I rarely enjoy slice of life films, and though this was certainly one of the better ones, if you like an engaging plot, this might not be for you.

SOCIETY OF THE SNOW: Spain

Society of the Snow is actually nominated for two Oscars, including for Makeup and Hairstyling.

On the other hand, Society of the Snow is Spain's version of the plane crash in the Andes. In the United States, the film was called Alive, and this is a far superior telling of the experience. After the crash, those left alive went through horror after horror, and the plane crash itself is responsible for only some of the deaths on the mountain. The crew had to balance conserving their small number of resources with building enough muscle and strength to try to hike their way out of there. The performances and indeed, the makeup and hairstyling, are phenomenal.

THE TEACHERS' LOUNGE: Germany

Carla, a teacher in a public school loves her profession, and loves her students. Some thefts in the teachers' lounge leave one of her students accused of the crime. She decides to set up a sting operation, leaving her wallet exposed and her computer open and recording. When a colleague's uniquely patterned shirt is identified in the video, all hell breaks loose at the school. Carla is attacked for gathering evidence illegally, and the colleague's son (one of Carla's students) begins to act out as he tries to discover why his mother has been placed on administrative leave.  It's an emotional journey as Carla begins to doubt her own accusation and the other teachers get whipped into a frenzy.  It's a really good movie that is absolutely worth your time.

THE ZONE OF INTEREST: United Kingdom

As a reminder, The Zone of Interest is actually nominated for 5 Oscars including Best Picture, and you can find the review of this film earlier in the blog list.

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.

The Hand of God - 1 nomination

 

Best International Feature Film

Italy

Italy's entry for international feature film is Paulo Sorrentino's most personal, semi-autobiographical film where he revisits his family and his hometown with its cast of oddball characters.  His aunt who is just a little off who loves naked sunbathing in front of her entire familly, his loudly bickering parents, and the whole village of folks who helped shape his character.  Tragedy strikes and both of his parents are killed in a freak carbon monoxide poisoning incident, and he must figure out how to go on.

The film will surely make you good or better about your own family!  As always with Sorrentino films, the setting is magnificent. I am definitely ready to take a trip to Naples!  While this is surely not Sorrentino's best film, I enjoyed it.

The Life Ahead - 1 nomination

 

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song)
Diane Warren (music by/lyric by) 
Laura Pausini (lyric by) 

For song "Io Si (Seen)"

Mama Rosa is a Holocaust survivor running a sort of day care for local children of working women (generally, prostitutes).  She meets Momo, a Senegalese 12 old boy who is living with Rosa's doctor as a foster child when Momo robs her.  The doctor implores her to take in Momo and he pays her to do it.  Momo has a tough life working for drug dealers, with the wrong kind of influence in his world.  Over time, Rosa and Momo develop a strong bond and they both become better people thanks to this important relationship.  Rosa makes Momo promise that she will not die in a hospital, and when she is taken there for a health incident, he sneaks her out and hides her in the basement, where he dotes on her and cares for her as though she was a member of his own family.

The Life Ahead is a very sweet film and Sophia Loren still has her chops.  The song, which you can hear here, is beautiful and represents Diane Warren's 12th Oscars nomination with no wins.  I don't think this year will break her losing streak (and frankly, she should have won for Til It Happens to You, which she wrote for a documentary called The Hunting Ground), but you can see why Warren continues to earn accolades for her compositions.

Watch the trailer here.