It's usually best to approach Best Foreign Language Film with a fair bit of distance. In most categories it pays to go with your gut, but in this one it almost always pays to try and second-guess the Academy's softened tastes. The widely believed reasoning behind this paradox is that only a small cross-section of the membership – those with the luxury and inclination to attend the official screening of the nominees – may vote on the winner. This group typically skews older, and never bodes well for edgier critical favourites.
