Determining the nominees for the Academy Award’s best documentary and foreign language film categories can be tricky, primarily because the films, usually considered art-house fare, either rely on sometimes unpleasant real-life subject matter or–heaven forbid–are subtitled. Their somewhat limited appeal means that these films are often unavailable to people who live anywhere other than Los Angeles or New York.
Of course, there is one documentary in contention this year everyone has heard of, a little film about some Antarctic penguins–but that’s a rarity. We thought we’d give our users a chance to find out about the other films, as well.
Here’s a rundown of the nominees and their chances of taking home the gold.
Documentaries
Darwin’s Nightmare
This docu examines the ever increasing strife between starving African locals and rich businessman making money off their resources–in this case, fish. But not just any fish, the Nile perch, who, in the 1960s, were released into Lake Victoria–which stretches lazily across the Tanzanian plains–and wiped out practically all other life. Survival of the fittest. Although disastrous for the local communities, the situation is a bonanza for the multinational factories that process and ship tons of perch abroad.
Oscar worthy? This Nightmare does seem somewhat intriguing, even if it is about fish. But the film probably won’t be swimming away with the gold.
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
By now, we’ve heard the riches-to-rags catastrophe that was the Enron debacle, but the documentary takes us inside–from the corporation’s inception to its eventual implosion. Once the largest buyer and seller of natural gas in the world, Enron became one of the largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. history. Ambition and innocence were nowhere to be found, nor was any documentation of what really went on throughout Enron’s demise. But the evidence would later turn up, shredded and discarded like a Mafioso who knew too much. This is where Enron starts–with the anatomy of the topsy-turvy scandal.
Oscar worthy? As one of the more talked about documentaries of 2005, Enron certainly has the makings of an Academy Award winner: controversy, corporate denigration, larger than life characters. If it weren’t for those darn penguins…
March of the Penguins
Penguins is this year’s little film that could–and boy, could it. Released during the heart of the summer blockbusters, the film struck a chord with moviegoers and it became the most successful documentary ever made, grossing an amazing $77.5 million. It tells the story of the emperor penguins, who, each March, hop, slip, slide and quasi-fly 70 miles–yes, 70 miles–across Antarctica’s icy terrain to mate and produce offspring. The females go off to get food, leaving the males, huddled against the harsh cold and starving, to tend to the eggs and newborns. Talk about a reversal of roles. Some make it, some don’t, but to see a newborn penguin peering from underneath its parent’s protective belly is heartbreaking.
Oscar worthy? Some might argue Penguins is too much of a crowd pleaser to win the Oscar, that it is simply a glorified National Geographic episode. But given the fact the filmmakers shot most of it at the source–the terribly unforgiving Antarctica–means the film has got cute AND danger, rolled into one. Definitely an odds-on favorite.
Murderball
Without a trace of political correctness, Murderball tells the gritty and often amusing tale of the highly competitive, but unfortunately obscure sport of wheelchair rugby. But don’t offer these hardcore athletes any sympathy: They don’t want any. Whether by car wreck, fist fight, gun shot, or rogue bacteria, these men were forced to live life sitting down. In their own version of the full-contact sport, they smash the hell out of each other in custom-made gladiator-like wheelchairs. And no, they don’t wear helmets.
Oscar worthy? Hard-hitting, funny, poignant and thrilling, Murderball is a breath of fresh air as far as documentaries go, a more than worthy entry into the documentary Oscar race. But it may not have what it takes to beat the competition.
Street Fight
The film documents the turbulent campaign of Cory Booker, a 32-year old Rhodes Scholar/Yale Law graduate running for mayor of Newark, N.J. against Sharpe James, the four-term incumbent twice his age. An urban David and Goliath story, the film chronicles the young man’s struggle against the city’s entrenched political machine, shedding light on important questions about democracy, power, poverty and race.
Oscar worthy? Certainly powerful and resonating, Street Fight may still be a little too small and personal to get the notice, especially mixed in with this stellar list.
[PAGEBREAK]Foreign Films
Don’t Tell (Italy)
Sabina (Giovanna Mezzoqiorno) is having strange nightmares which torment her. Finding herself pregnant, she is forced to open a disquieting window onto her own inner life: her memories, her adolescence, her family, bourgeois rituals at once both strict and reassuring. But these are only the surface. From deeper down something much darker and more disturbing is about to be revealed.
Oscar worthy? Introspective and creepy, Don’t Tell is a well-crafted, superbly acted film. But on this year’s gritty, controversial list, it doesn’t really stand out.
Joyeux Noel (France)
When World War I breaks out in the lull of summer 1914, it’s hell. But Christmas arrives and a momentous event forever changes the destinies of four characters: an Anglican priest, a French lieutenant, an exceptional German tenor and the one he loves, a soprano and singing partner. During this Christmas Eve, the unthinkable happens–soldiers come out of their trenches, leaving their rifles behind to shake hands with the enemy.
Oscar worthy? Same goes for Joyeux Noel. It’s a sweet, moving, funny tale, showing the brotherhood of man, a sort of anti-war movie, which is nice. But it’s probably not going to win the Oscar.
Paradise Now (Palestine)
The film follows two young Palestinian men and best friends, Saïd (Kais Nashef) and Khaled (Ali Suliman), who embark upon what may be the last 48 hours of their lives. Saïd is approached by a point man for an unnamed Palestinian organization, who informs Saïd that he and Khaled have been chosen to carry out a strike in Tel Aviv. They have been chosen for this mission as a team, because each had expressed a wish that if either is to die a martyr, the other would want to die alongside his best friend. But the plan goes wrong, and Saïd and Khaled are separated.
Oscar worthy? Oh, you betcha. Not only is it timely, it could perhaps shed some light on those belief systems that seem so foreign to many of us. As the Golden Globe winner, Paradise has a fairly good shot at taking home the statuette.
Sophie Scholl (Germany)
In 1943, a group of college students mount an underground resistance movement, called the White Rose, expressly to bring down the Third Reich war machine. This true story re-creates the last six days of Sophie Scholl’s life, the only female member, who is captured during a dangerous mission to distribute pamphlets. Unwavering in her convictions, her cross-examination by the Gestapo quickly escalates into a searing test of wills as Sophie delivers a passionate call to freedom and personal responsibility.
Oscar worthy? Ah, another stirring well-made movie about the horrors of WWII Germany. Even though it isn’t about the Holocaust, it is close enough, which usually scores major brownie points with Academy members–just not this year.
Tsotsi (South Africa)
A drama tracing six days in the lonely, violent life of Tsotsi (meaning “thug”), a ruthless, young gang leader. Bolstered by his small crew of social rejects–a failed teacher, a dim-witted heavy, and a cold-blooded assassin–Tsotsi refuses to think further ahead than the raids of the coming night. But when an impromptu car jacking results in the accidental kidnapping of an infant, Tsotsi comes to care for the child and begins to gradually rediscover his humanity, dignity, and capacity to love.
Oscar worthy? The powerful Tsotsi offers the only other real competition for Paradise Now. If you had to put cold, hard cash on any of the Foreign Language contenders, this might be the one to bank on.
