Best International Film Reviews: Final Flurry before the Shortlist

by Cláudio Alves

The Oscar shortlists are almost upon us, culling the 90-plus Best International Film submissions to a measly 15-wide field. Unfortunately, that means we're running out of time to consider those unfortunate titles unlikely to catch AMPAS' eye, no matter how deserving they may be. This includes productions perchance a bit too low-profile and others whose style skews too far from the Academy's sweet spot. Sometimes it's a matter of formalistic austerity. Sometimes, unresolved bleakness or genre stylings do the troubling trick. So, from an Iranian movie set to an Alpine tragedy, going through multiple wartime tragedies and the domestic sorrows of an Irish girl, let's indulge in a final flurry of capsule-sized reviews…

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