My Award nominations: Foreign Film

Just getting this category in under the wire because some titles waited until the last possible moment to open up. Anyway, I should always start with the disclaimer that my Best Foreign Film shortlist is often subject to change or revision if I eventually catch up with titles that I couldn't see in time (note that I haven't seen Blue Is the Warmest Color yet, but I may consider it next year when it'll be eligible for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar).

Check out the world cinema I most responded to this year.

One Category at a Time: Foreign Language Film

Last year was the first year that this category was open to all voting members of the Academy, courtesy of screener DVDs sent to all of AMPAS. Of course, with Amour also nominated for Best Picture that year, predicting this category was a no-brainer. Unfortunately for us this year, we have no clear frontrunner to point to a predictable result. Last year's obvious outcome made it impossible for us to truly gauge what sort of film will appeal to the entire Academy as opposed to the tiny older contingent that used to vote on this category. Let's take a look at the nominees:

Quick take on The Wind Rises and other late season catch-ups

It's getting down to the wire for me to see all of this year's nominated feature films. Not my fault! I swear! It's these damn late/limited releases making it nearly impossible for me to see everything in time. Thankfully, new technologies such as iTunes and Netflix and the like have granted me access to all the years nominated documentaries and some of the foreign films too. However, for some titles I've had to get real creative (and rely on my high school French), while for others I've simply had to wait for them to finally see the light of day. I finally had the opportunity to see what all the fuss is about The Wind Rises, and if I'm lucky, I'll be able to catch Omar the day before the Oscars.

For now, here are some capsule reviews from late-breaking docs and miscellaneous films that I simply haven't had the time to write about:

The Wind Rises

The life and times of Japanese aeronautical engineer Jiro Horishoki – who designed the deadly Zeros that Japan would use in WWII – is brought to life by the gifted hands of master animator Hayao Miyazaki, which may (or may not) be his final feature film. Beyond its linear biopic format, Miyazaki's [non]swansong is an artful ode to the winds of artistic inspiration and a poignant reminder that even products of impassioned creative genius can be warped for sinister purposes. Though conspicuously lacking in the fanciful whimsy and fantastical world-building on which Miyazaki has built his auteur status (although he still plies his visual imagination to Jiro's vivid dream sequences), this is perhaps his most mature work to date, eschewing the childlike worldview of his previous films and adopting a more adult writing style. However, that doesn't change the fact that what we're watching is still a straightforward biopic about a man who may be interesting as a research curiosity, but is pretty flat as a screen character. Unlike other Miyazaki films I've treasured over the years, this one actually had me checking my watch at various points throughout. The picture is a thing of beauty yes (and a feast for the ears as Joe Hisaishi's score is one of the year's best), but it hasn't the story to match.

*** out of ****