Best Foreign Language Film — 2018 Oscar Picks

Hungary’s On Body and Soul picked up the Golden Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival, but each of this year’s nominees have high praise. The Square from Sweden picked up Cannes’ coveted Palme d’Or and is our pick for the win this year.

Oscars 2014 – Best Documentary Feature

As always, some people’s favourite documentaries were snubbed such as Stories We Tell, but with the popular 20 Feet From Stardom and remarkable The Act of Killing we’ll still have a good race. All trailers are linked on the titles, and all but 20 Feet From Stardom can be found on Netflix.

1. The Act of Killing – A powerful look at the Indonesian genocide by getting the death squad leaders to recreate their mass killings. By using any genre they wanted to create these scenes, we witness an interesting insight into “how human beings commit atrocities and how we build normality around these atrocities” (Joshua Oppenheimer, director). The bold stylistic choices used in this film could easily give it the Oscar.
2. 20 Feet From Stardom – A musician’s underdog story about backup singers for some of the most popular bands that shows passion in art, something that the Academy voters may relate to.
3. Cutie and the Boxer – The “unusual love story” between a boxing painter, Ushio Shinohara, and his wife Noriko as she tries to find her own identity outside of being Ushio’s assistant (Zachary Heinerling, director).
4. The Square – Netflix’s first ever Oscar nomination comes by way of the Egyptian revolutionaries as governments are toppled.
5. Dirty Wars – America’s covert wars is the focus as journalist Jeremy Scahill chases down the truth.