With France's official announcement that the blockbuster The Intouchables will be their Official Oscar submission for Best Foreign Film, is the race already over? Its global tally currently rests at an astounding $364 million dollars, most of that from overseas bank. The film hasn't been ignored in American arthouse theaters exactly but it's $9 million gross and mainstream appeal (it's even in the IMDb top 100) qualifies it as a major arthouse hit but no crossover slam dunk; roughly speaking it's a hit the way last year's foreign film winner, the instant classic A Separation, was or the way Beasts of the Southern Wild is.
French cinema has had a complex intermittently passionate long-distance relationship with Hollywood since cinema began and that is reflected in their Oscar success over the years both in this category and others. France leads all countries in most Foreign Film nominations by a wide margin (36 nominees to Italy's 26) but surprisingly they have not won since the Catherine Deneuve drama Indochine rocked US arthouses twenty years ago. Will this Gallic sort-of variation on Driving Miss Daisy (is that too dismissive?) be a lock for Oscar love or will last year's swerve towards critically prestigious international cinema signal a sea change to new glory days for the category? (Yes, I still have impromptu ecstatic flashbacks to A Separation's win)
OFFICIAL SUBMISSION CHARTS 2012 -- everything in one place as we do: posters, trailers, info. Pass it on.
Current Predictions - Australia, Austria, Denmark, France and Romania
Albania through Iran - 15 official submissions (thus far... updates in progress)
Italy through Venezuala - 16 official submissions (thus far... updates in progress)
Amelie netflix illustration by Tim Hodge (click for original source)A collection of France's biggest Oscar hits if you'd like to catch up with a movie marathon at home... after the jump
LA VIE EN ROSE (2007) - 3 noms/2 wins - Marion Cotillard, won the only acting Oscar given to a French language performance... unless you count Christoph Waltz's multi-lingual showoff work in Inglourious Basterds which consists of English, French, German and Italian moments
A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT (2004) - 2 noms / 0 wins *not submitted for foreign film
THE CHORUS (2004) - 2 noms / 0 wins
AMELIE (2001) - 5 noms / 0 wins *surprise loser of foreign film but AMPAS did love it
INDOCHINE (1992) - 2 noms / 1 win
CYRANO DE BERGERAC (1990) - 5 noms / 1 win
CAMILLE CLAUDEL (1988) - 2 noms / 0 wins (Isabelle Adjani of The Story of Adele H fame is the only actor twice nominated for French language acting but her earlier breakthrough was not submitted by France for Foreign Film and only received a Best Actress nomination)
AU REVOIR, LES ENFANTS (1987) - 2 noms / 0 wins
GET OUT YOUR HANDKERCHIEFS (1978) - 1 nom / 1 win
MADAME ROSA (1977) - 1 nom / 1 win
COUSIN, COUSINE (1976) - 3 noms / 0 wins
one of the greatest movies ever made
DAY FOR NIGHT (1973) - 4 noms / 1 win
THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOUISE (1972) -2 noms / 1 win ♥
A MAN AND A WOMAN (1966) -4 noms / 2 wins
THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964) - 5 noms / 0 wins in total from two different years afterwards they had to change the rules about foreign releases and Oscar eligibility. This movie has been certified 100% magnificent by Nathaniel.
SUNDAYS AND CYBELE (1962) - 3 noms / 1 win - the total from two different years
BLACK ORPHEUS (1959) -1 nom / 1 win
MY UNCLE (1958) - 1 nom / 1 win
FORBIDDEN GAMES (1952) - 1 nom and 1 honorary award before the category existed
MONSIEUR VINCENT (1947) - honorary award before the category existed
*the only French Oscar winner that Netflix doesn't offer is THE WALLS OF MALAPAGA (1948) which won an honorary Oscar
OFFICIAL SUBMISSION CHARTS 2012 -- everything in one place, pass it on!
Current Predictions - Australia, Austria, Denmark, France and Romania
Albania through Iran - 14 official submissions (thus far... updates in progress)
Italy through Venezuala - 16 official submissions (thus far... updates in progress)