AGAIN?! Academy's foreign language committee releases shortlist, makes major snubs ('Gomorra,' 'Captain Abu Raed'), industry outraged

Last year, the Academy's foreign language "phase 1 committee" -- which consists of several hundred Los Angeles-based members who divide up and screen the foreign entries, with minimal attendance requirements and a bizarre vote-tabulation process -- created an uproar by failing to include two critically-acclaimed films, "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days" (Romania) and "Persepolis" (France), among the 9 films on the shortlist from which they would ultimately select 5 nominees for best foreign foreign language film.

The very public drubbing that the committee received prompted the Academy to make some major changes in the way the shortlist and nominees would be determined this year and going forward. However, as revealed by this morning's announcement of this year's shortlist -- which has the industry up in arms today due to the appalling exclusion of two of the year's most acclaimed foreign language films, "Gomorra" (Italy, d. Matteo Garrone) and "Captain Abu Raed" (Jordan, d. Amin Matalga) -- little seems to have changed.

Who am I to comment on this? Well, for one, someone who saw more of the foreign language entries than many members of "the phase 1 committee." This year, I watched several dozen of the most celebrated (by critics, festivals, etc.) foreign language submissions prior to this announcement so that I could offer an informed opinion when it came. And, in fact, I correctly predicted seven of the nine that were selected this morning (out of 65 that had eligible).

The nine films chosen for the shortlist are:

1. "The Baader-Meinhof Complex" (Germany, d. Uli Edel), a star-studded action film adapted from a best-selling book of the same title, examines the evolution and devolution of the West German RAF, the nation's most active domestic terrorists during the 1960s and 1970s.
2. "The Class" (France, d. Laurent Cantet), a minimalist drama that examines racial and ethnic tensions in modern-day France by focusing on a high school classroom in which a teacher (played by the man whose book inspired the film) and his students (also non-actors) butt heads daily, won the Palm d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival.
3. "Departures" (Japan, d. Yojiro Takita), a visually beautiful, funny, soulful look at an unemployed young man who stumbles into a profession that society and even his own wife regard as taboo, yet everyone employs at one time or another in Japan -- an NK artist, who presides over the ceremonial act of cleansing and clothing the dead.
4. "Everlasting Moments" (Sweden, d. Jan Troell), the latest film from the Oscar-nominated director of "The Emigrants" (1971), tells the moving story of a woman -- an abused wife and mother of a large brood -- who finds fleeting respites from her personal troubles and creates a meaningful identity of her own through the use of an old camera that she discovers.
5. "The Necessities of Life" (Canada, d. Benoit Pilon), a deeply moving drama, is about the experience of one victim of the tuberculosis epidemic that swept through the Intuit population in northern Canada during the 1940s and 1950s, who is introduced to the larger world during attempts to treat him at a hospital in Quebec.
6. "Revanche" (Austria, d. Gotz Spielmann), which means "revenge" in German, is the unlikely yet somehow believable story of a prostitute and her pimp's errand boy who fall in love and decide to run away from him, but first stop to rob a bank, at which point their plans go horribly awry.
7. "Tear This Heart Out" (Mexico, d. Roberto Sneider), which turns a popular book into the most expensive movie ever made in Mexico ($6.5 million), is a story about post-revolution Mexico (1930s and 1940s) as witnessed by a teenage bride.
8. "Three Monkeys" (Turkey, d. Nuri Bilge Ceylan), a stark drama in which a dislocated family tries to block out the truth about their dark past in order to stay together, won Ceylan the Best Director award at this year's Cannes Film Festival. 
9. "Waltz with Bashir" (Israel, d. Ari Folman), a pioneering animated-documentary about the merits, shortcomings, and long-term implications of the 1982 Israel-Lebanon War, won the Golden Globe for best foreign language film earlier this week.

All nine are, to varying degrees, solid choices. You will find few who dispute that. You will find many, however, who believe that "Gomorra" and "Captain Abu Raed" are as good if not better than any of them. While it's surprising that they weren't among the phase 1 committee's six selections, it's unconscionable that they also weren't among the three additions to that list made by the 30 members of the foreign language film award executive committee, which was ostensibly created to prevent egregious oversights like these.

"Gomorra" is the higher-profile snub. The film, which was adapted from a controversial best-selling book, shows the inner-workings of the Camorra, the oldest organized criminal organization in Italy, which originated in Campania and now operates in and around much of Naples, as well. It's gritty realism and use of young non-actors is evocative of some of the most celebrated Italian films of the post-WWII era. It was one of the most critically-acclaimed and top 10-listed films of the year (our own Kenneth Turan is a big backer). It was nominated for the Palm d'Or and won the Grand Prix at Cannes, won the best film prize at the European Film Awards, and was nominated for best foreign language film at the Golden Globes. Additionally, it came from Italy, a country that has received more foreign language Oscars than any other (13), and more foreign language nominations than all others except France (34 to 27). This year, it was widely considered a sure-thing that it would pick up at least another one of the latter, if not the former, as well.

When I spoke this evening with Jonathan Sehring, the president of IFC Entertaiment -- the studio behind both "4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days" and "Gomorra," as well as two of the films that were included on this year's shortlist, "Everlasting Moments" and "The Necessities of Life" -- he was still reeling from the news. "I know I speak for the entire country of Italy and a lot of people in the critical community when I say that it just doesn't make sense and there's something wrong with the foreign language committee as a whole," he told me. "It's still broken."

Sehring noted that despite the endorsements the film had received from festivals, critics, and even Martin Scorsese, he was never confident that the rules changes had corrected the foreign language committee's underlying problems or that the committee would pick "Gomorra" for the shortlist. "I was hoping they would. Did I think they would? No, we were concerned. We got messages that the initial screening didn't go well, so you figure you're vying for one of three slots," he said, referring to the executive committee's slots. "It just demonstrates the foreign language committee's aversion to graphic violence, I guess. I mean, I don't know -- I look back at 'City of God' not getting a nomination. I look back at our experience with '4 Months' not getting a nomination. And now this?"

Asked for suggestions about how the foreign language selection process might be improved, Sehring added, "You would hope that they would pay attention to the critical response around the world. You would hope that they would take into account world cinema awards. I don't know. How can they get it so wrong two years in a row? It's a real disappointment, and we're sort of dismayed, but it's not gonna stop us from distributing movies like '4 Months' or 'Gomorra,' and we'll soldier on."

The exclusion of "Captain Abu Raed" -- the first film ever submitted for Oscar consideration by Jordan -- stings even more on a personal level, as it was my favorite of all the foreign language films that I screened this year. The film, which was made on a shoestring budget of just $2 million, tells the story of Abu Raed (Nadim Sawalha, a 73-year-old who is the only professional actor in the film), a humble airport janitor who finds a pilot's hat in the garbage, wears it home, and is mistaken for a real pilot by the local children (all real orphans). After initially insisting to them that he is not a pilot, an assertion they refuse to accept, the aging widower decides to embrace the identity as a way of encouraging them to do big things with their lives, while adding meaning to his own.

The scene in which one of the older children (whose father's abuse has made him angry and cynical) leads some of the others to the airport to expose Abu Raed as a fraud is one of the most heartbreaking I've ever seen on film. His pained smile upon being exposed is eerily reminiscent of Charlie Chaplin's in the most famous scene in film history, in "City Lights" (1931), when his tramp is recognized by a once-blind girl as the man who paid to restore her sight. "Captain Abu Raed" is the sort of movie Chaplin would have been proud to be a part of.

David Pritchard, the Emmy-winning producer of the film, told me this evening, "I'm disappointed, clearly, and I'm a little bit confused, if not a lot confused, and it's kind of one of these things where you don't know where to go with your emotions because you've invested so much in it." He is frustrated with the foreign language committee -- "Each year there's a controversy. Every year a couple of films get overlooked that deserved to be included" -- but is trying to take the news in stride. "I think our film was better than some of them, but that's me. And to be in the company of 'Gomorra' and other films from the past that got snubbed? I'm actually in pretty good company."

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Photos: "Gomorra" (IFC Films), "Captain Abu Raed" (NeoClassics Films)

Comments

[Rand Thornsley]

Taste is subjective; "Gomorrah" does not deserve an Oscar, this over-long multi plot drama without resolution fails to keep an audiences attention; on the other hand "Captain Abu Raed" should not have only been shortlisted, it should be a strong candidate to win...it is one of the best foriegn language films I have seen in YEARS!

[Nathaniel R]

I don't know about the unconscionable part...

it is theoretically possible that the phase 1 committee left out THE CLASS and WALTZ WITH BASHIR you know... given the choice between those or GOMORRA, I'd choose them too.

THE CLASS is such a major achievement I'm just relieved that that's in there. Because it's not Baity in anyway.

[Onzlo]

Captain Abu Raed should be winning an Oscar.

[Dr.Maurice Sweiss]

I had the pleasure of viewing the film Abu Raed last year in Duby while on a business trip.I thought it to be one of the most powerful films I ever seen, yes it was made with small budget and it lacked the fancy Hollywood flashy special effect, but it is a film that speaks to the hearts and minds of the audience, it addresses social issues that is rarely addressed in real life, it gives hope and encouragement. The film brought tears to my eyes in a delightful way. I thought Mr. Matalga done agreat job. I am hoping that snubbing this film is an oversight and not done by a committee with an agenda.

[Matthew Lucas]

I just popped in my "Captain Abu Raed" screener last night, and I definitely agree with you, it is a beautiful film. I'm not a huge fan of "Gomorrah," it's a good film but not a great one. "Abu Raed," on the other hand, is one of the most deeply touching films I have seen in a while.

What a shame.

[gorelick]

Why have a committee at all, then?

Why not just have a BCS-type system which tabulates critical reviews, film-festival prizes, and marketing budgets and then coughs up a list of five nominees?

[R V Allen]

Many fine films nominated are eliminated from the final list, out, but this year's nominees included "Crossing," a daramatic and gripping Korean movie that has all the power of a "Schindler's List" or "The Lives of Others." It is a highly accurate depictoon of the true conditions in North Korea, where human rights are denied systematically and the entire nation is a essentially a prison camp. Those that manage to escape into China face huge obstacles and dangers, with many Korean women sold as wives, forced into prostitution or are otherwise exploited. "Crossing" is shortly available on DVD; highly recommended.

[Rocco P.]

As an Italian American, who has to battle discrimination every day of my life in regard to organized crime allusions, and other slurs, I am very, very happy that Gomorra did not receive an Academy Award nomination for best foreign film.
Italian Americans are fed up with movies, TV programs, etc. about organized crime. There are so very many topics that these two filmmakers could have done a movie about. Hoorah for Hollywood! Wake up ItalianAmericans and Italians. Where is your self-esteem?

[Elena]

Sig. Rocco,

Si dovrebbe vergognare.

Italy is oppressed by this evergrowing plague, devastating our institutions as well as our economy, freedom and dignity.

It's not by ignoring the problem that italians will look better in the eyes of the rest of the world.

Try to read Saviano's book and ask yourself why you are actually NOT leaving in your mother country.

VERGOGNA

[Eric Sundt]

Unbelievable… it’s simply unbelievable that, Captain Abu Raed, was not included, especially, in lieu of a film that is filled with professional talent… unbelievable…

[Carl B]

Captain Abu Raed speaks to the heart of films like Il Postino and Cinema Paradiso and ironically sits with an Italian film waiting for it's just due. It presents a mighty lead performance and an elegant filmic composition to have come out of any culture, much less the first to come out of Jordan in decades upon decades. It stands shoulder to shoulder with the other nominees and should be formally acknowledged and included amongst them by the committee.

[Joyce]

I have been hoping to buy a video of Captain Abu Read. It ranks right up there as one of the best , if not the best films I have ever seen in my life. It is magnificent, wonderful touching and agonizing. The script, the acting and the photography are par excellence. It is a superb film. in all aspects
Perhaps the people choosing movies for awards are mentally challenged.