Oscar International Film Nominees Can Thank Film Critics
variety.comPeter Debruge Chief Film CriticCritics matter. That’s how I interpret the love the Academy showed for “Drive My Car” this year, nominating the three-hour Japanese drama in four separate categories: best picture, director, adapted screenplay and international film, and in so doing, effectively issuing a referendum to the Spike Lee-led Cannes jury that awarded the Palme d’Or to the relatively divisive “Titane.”Sure, other non-U.S.
films have been widely recognized by the Academy before. “Parasite” scored six noms and won best picture just two years earlier, but that film was also a huge commercial phenomenon, earning $25 million by the day nominations were announced in 2020. “Drive My Car,” by contrast, hadn’t yet cracked $1 million.
Keep in mind: The Academy voters who select the international feature nominees watch every film that is submitted for that honor.
But in every other category, popularity matters, and nothing gets nominated unless a sufficient number of members watch — and respect — those films.To me, the Academy’s embrace of “Drive My Car” can mean only one thing: All the critical support for Ryûsuke Hamaguchi’s moving Haruki Murakami adaptation succeeded in convincing Academy voters that it was one of the must-see films of the year.It’s not often that the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.
Read more on variety.com
