OSCARS 2023: The Submissions from the Asia-Pacific (20 films)

The list hasn’t officially come out yet but The Wrap has seen the viewing assignments and it looks like we have 92 films competing. This is one short of the record of 93, which would have been broken if we didn’t have five major countries that decided not to compete- RUSSIA is boycotting (though they were invited), EGYPT and NIGERIA controversially decided to send no films despite a list of shortlisted candidates, and two countries (MALAYSIA and SOUTH AFRICA) formed committees and then failed to make any sort of announcement at all.

Here are the 20 candidates from the Asia-Pacific region.

I’ve seen eight of these films (highlighted in yellow) and was pleasantly surprised that most of them are quite good, though each has their strengths and weaknesses.

Number of Countries that have participated in the past: 28

Number of Countries that have participated this year: 20

(More statistics below)

FRONTRUNNERS:

1.  SOUTH KOREA- “Decision to Leave”  (Letterboxd: 3.9)

2.  PAKISTAN- “Joyland”  (Letterboxd: 4.0)

Most people agree that frontrunner “Decision to Leave” and underdog dark horse “Joyland” are the two leading candidates from Asia- and not just because they both won big awards at Cannes….Korea’s noir thriller ”Decision to Leave” is the buzziest film on the Oscar list. I’ve loved the three (yes, only three…) Park Chan-wook films I’ve seen but I’ve heard so many divisive things about the slow burn mystery of “Decision to Leave”. Some say it’s brilliant…others say it requires a second viewing to fully comprehend and appreciate (sorry, but who has time for that?)….others say it’s plods along. Korea is hot right now and I expect it make the shortlist but I’m not confident it can make the Final Five. Contrast that with “Joyland”. Though it has no distributor and fewer people have heard of it, reviews are stronger than “Decision to Leave”, including a 4.0 on Letterboxd (#2 in Asia) and 100% on Rotten Tomatoes (#1 in Asia). And the fact that a transgender love story was selected to represent conservative Pakistan shows you just how good the film is (though- in their defense- the Pakistani Academy, led by two-time Oscar winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, has always been be far more modern and progressive than the country itself). Although the film was later banned in Pakistan, I can confirm it is eligible. “Joyland” is probably the film I’m most worried about. Two years ago, Pakistani sent another controversial film- “Circus of Life” which was one of the two best films I saw that year…and it didn’t even get shortlisted. I’m seriously hoping “Joyland” avoids the same fate and follows in the footsteps of Oscar winner “A Fantastic Woman”.  

DARK HORSES:

 

3.  CAMBODIA- “Return to Seoul”  (Letterboxd: 3.5)

4.  JAPAN- “Plan 75”   (Letterboxd: 3.5)

5.   MONGOLIA- “Harvest Moon” (Letterboxd: 3.7)

Cambodia's "Return to Seoul" is essentially a French film. It represented France at Cannes, it's half in French, and director Davy Chou was born and raised in France to Cambodian parents. The film, about a Korean adoptee raised in France who seeks out her birth parents in Seoul, played at Un Certain Regard and has gotten warm notices. It's Southeast Asia's best chance for a third nomination (1993/2013) from the region. 

I have so much to say about "Plan 75", this year's incredibly original, heartbreaking, and deeply flawed film from Japan. Let's start with the positives. It's a great idea- not so far in the future, the Japanese government launches "Plan 75" to help curb the country's aging population, offering monetary rewards to the elderly who volunteer to commit suicide. Chieko Baisho gives an Oscar-worthy performance as a lonely old woman who feels compels to volunteer for the scheme after losing her job and her apartment. If only the film focused only on Baisho and her elderly friends (though that may be asking a lot of the octogenarian actresses), the film would be an "A". Unfortunately, we also have to meet a bureaucrat at Plan 75, an underdeveloped Filipina nurse, and others whose stories are less compelling and far less developed. Worst of all, the film fails to end its stories well. However, Baisho (who has the main story) is so compelling that this film may compete for 15th place. 

In Mongolia's delightful "Harvest Moon", a young fatherless boy living with his grandparents in rural Mongolia bonds with a man visiting from the capital. It’s a great, little film. The relationship between Tulga (the man) and Tuntuulei (the boy) is compelling and realistic…heartwarming without being saccharine…while also subtly conveying its message about the importance of fatherhood. The cinematography is Oscar-worthy and the Mongolian vistas are incredible. Unlike Japan, the film “sticks the landing” with a powerful ending. Unfortunately, the film has almost no buzz….and I worry about the film “standing out” in such a large field. The Foreign Film Committee has ignored even better films from Mongolia (“The Steed”, “Cave of the Yellow Dog”)

MIDDLE OF THE PACK:

6.  PHILIPPINES- “On the Job 2”   (Letterboxd: 3.8)

7.  AUSTRALIA- “You Won’t Be Alone” (Letterboxd: 3.6)

8.  THAILAND- “One for the Road" (Letterboxd: 3.5)

9.  TAIWAN- “Goddamned Asura” (Letterboxd: 3.2)

10.  INDIA- “Last Film Show”  (Letterboxd: 3.7)

I’ve seen three of these films (Australia, Taiwan and Thailand). They’re all good movies and one could potentially surprise, I think they’ll miss the Top 15. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons:

AUSTRALIA- “You Won’t Be Alone”

In a Nutshell: A Gothic fairy tale set in 19^th century Macedonia about a newborn baby cursed by an evil witch.

Pros:      It’s one of the most original films of the year…the young director is adept at creating a spooky atmosphere while also drawing out the tragic, emotional arc of the shape-shifting lead character. The film reminded me a lot of “Lamb”- the surprise finalist on last year’s shortlist- though “You Won’t Be Alone” is a lot better.

Cons:     It’s slow-moving and occasionally confusing (I was confused by the ending and had to go online to clarify). The horror-drama genre isn’t what Oscar typically goes for (though, once again, “Lamb”….)

TAIWAN- “Goddamned Asura”

In A Nutshell:    “Sliding Doors” meets “Magnolia” meets a mass shooting, on the island of Taiwan

Pros:      One of the more thought-provoking entries from Asia, asking questions about morality and fate, and “what if”…..whether a seemingly minor event or meeting can change the course of your whole life. While I was wondering “where is this going?” a few times, the film ultimately rewards the viewer.

Cons:     Reviews are markedly weaker than its competitors (it ranks 17^th out of 20 on Letterboxd, ahead of only Kyrgyzstan and the critically maligned films from Kazakhstan and Vietnam). The film doesn’t really hit its stride until halfway through, and some voters may not watch it all the way through.

THAILAND- "One for the Road"

In A Nutshell: A young man dying of cancer in Bangkok contacts his best friend in New York to ask for help in arranging a road trip to say goodbye to those he has unfinished business with. 

Pros: It's a relatable subject, it's produced by HK auteur Wong Kar-wai, and it won a surprise Jury Award at Sundance, showing it can resonate with American audiences. The first half is well-done, with important things to say about friendship and mortality.  

Cons: Unfortunately, the film veers off track and the second half is a mess, veering straight into the worst of soap opera melodrama territory and going on for far too long.  

I haven’t seen the surprising entries from India and the Philippines:

INDIA- “Last Film Show”

In A Nutshell:    “Cinema Paradiso”, except in a poor village in Gujarat

Pros:      Decent reviews. AMPAS has always liked movies dedicated to a love of cinema- most recently with the nominated “Hand of God” in this category last year.

Cons:     More than a month after India’s controversial decision, people are still talking more about how “RRR” deserved to represent India than about the quality of “Last Film Show”. It’s a small film with an annoying lead character.

PHILIPPINES- “On the Job 2”

In A Nutshell:    A 3.5 hour exposé of police corruption and censorship under President Duterte (2016-2022)

Pros:      Reviews have been very good.

Cons:     The film, which many thought would be ruled ineligible, is also airing on HBO as an edited miniseries- and its lengthy running time probably makes it more suited to television.

 UNLIKELY TO ADVANCE:

 

11.  NEW ZEALAND- “Muru”  (Letterboxd: 3.8)

12.  SINGAPORE- “Ajoomma”  (Letterboxd: 3.4)

13.  BANGLADESH- “Hawa”  (Letterboxd: 3.7)

14.  KYRGYZSTAN- “Home for Sale” (Letterboxd: 2.7)

15.  NEPAL- “Butterfly on the Windowpane” (Letterboxd: 3.9)

These five films will bring much-needed attention to their small local-language film industries, and I’m so glad that they all submitted films. However, their chances of advancing are slim.

“Hawa” is the first film from Bangladesh to gross over $200,000 in North America and reviews for this exciting thriller set on a fishing boat have been great in South Asia and mostly (but less) positive in North America. Tech credits are said to be a major step up for Bangladeshi cinema. Kyrgyzstan and Nepal have sent small films that will surely get lost in the mix. “Home for Sale”, about a Kyrgyz family threatened by loan sharks, quietly premiered at Busan 2022. The film has no buzz and is said to be a grim, “realism” drama that will make it difficult to stand out. “Butterfly on a Windowpane”, from Nepal, is an earnest family drama focused on the lives of a 13-year old girl and her mischievous little brother living in an impoverished village. This is a sincere but quiet and mostly forgettable film until the final minutes, which admittedly pack an emotional wallop, though I’m not certain Oscar voters will have the patience.

New Zealand’s “Muru”, about 2007 police raids on the country’s indigenous Maori communities, has gotten mostly good reviews but I’ve heard some say that the film is less impactful without the cultural context (though I would expect that American audiences will understand only too well police raids in minority neighborhoods), and that it punctuates the quiet drama with unnecessary action sequences. It comes out on DVD at the end of the month and I’ll try to see it then to judge for myself.

Alongside these four grim stories, we have Singapore-Korea co-production “Ajoomma”, which is a much lighter film about a shy Singaporean widow obsessed with Korean pop culture who travels to Seoul alone after her son says he is too busy to take her. This “late-in-life” adventure may resound with older voters and it sounds like a lot of fun, but reviews have been more “What a nice film!” rather than critical raves.

BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR:

 

16.  INDONESIA- “Missing Home” (Letterboxd: 4.1)

17.  HONG KONG- “Where the Wind Blows”  (Letterboxd: 3.3)

18.  CHINA- “Nice View”   (Letterboxd: 3.4)

19.  KAZAKHSTAN- “Life"  (Letterboxd: 2.8)

20.  VIETNAM- “Magnum 578"  (Letterboxd: 0.7)

First of all, the films from Kazakhstan and Vietnam just haven’t gotten good reviews so they’re out. Kazakhstan’s “Life” (Toronto) is one of the most interesting films on the list but this 3-hour film about a successful tech entrepreneur who accidentally loses the data, photo and memories of millions of people is said to be overlong and dramatically unsuccessful. Action flick “Magnum 578”, about a man seeking revenge for his kidnapped daughter, not only sounds a cross between Vietnam’s 2019 fun submission “Furie” and Liam Neeson’s “Taken”, but nobody seems to have a good word to say about it. An odd choice.

The other three are handicapped by their genres. “Missing Home” from Indonesia is a crowdpleasing comedy (with the highest score on Letterboxd; 4.1) about an elderly couple who have alienated all their three of their adult sons (their one daughter still lives at home, but she has her own problems) and who pretend to be getting a divorce to force them to visit. I loved it, and it’s prime for a U.S. remake, but it’s not serious enough to compete here. “Nice View”, a comedy-drama from China about a 20-year old trying to launch a business to pay his sister’s medical fees, is also very entertaining and unsurprisingly was a box-office hit in China. But- despite the serious subject matter- it is structured like an 80s movie from the USA, complete with musical montages and a lovable band of misfits who help the protagonist succeed. It’s a well-made film, but it’s also predictable and derivative.  

“Where the Wind Blows” (aka “Theory of Ambition”) is a big-budget, all-star triad film from Hong Kong. Hong Kong has sent countless crime dramas that look exactly like this and none of them (including “Infernal Affairs”) got shortlisted. The few reviews that are out there indicate a positive but unspectacular reception, and this is not going to advance.

Now the Statistics:

Who’s Missing?: Not many….but BHUTAN and MALAYSIA are noticeably absent. Bhutan was the surprise nominee at this year’s Oscars and I wondered whether that would inspire them to submit films regularly (they’ve got a small but prolific local film industry aimed at domestic audiences). But it seems they’ll only send films aimed at a more international audience. Malaysia has submitted fairly regularly since 2015. They formed a committee this year and announced a call for eligible films, so I’m not sure what happened to them.

AFGHANISTAN- whose government succumbed to brutal Taliban rule again in Summer 2021- is sadly in no condition to send films to the Oscars.

Also absent: FIJI (entered one film in 2005), LAOS (one film in 2017), SRI LANKA (two films 2003-2009), TAJIKISTAN (two films 1999-2005) and UZBEKISTAN (two films 2019-2021).

Genres: Less than half of the Asian countries have sent straightforward “dramas”. We also have three “dramedies” (China, Indonesia and Singapore), 1 horror-drama (Australia), one action movie (Vietnam) and six thrillers (Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Korea, New Zealand, Philippines, and Taiwan).

I’ve Already Seen: Australia, China Indonesia, Japan, Mongolia, Nepal, and Taiwan….and I plan to see Thailand before this list is published.

How Many Did I Get Right?: Only 5- Australia, Bangladesh, Korea, Pakistan, and Thailand 

Film I’m Most Excited To See: Pakistan’s “Joyland”. No contest.

Big Three Festivals:

·         Cannes- Korea (Best Director), Pakistan (UCR Jury Prize), Cambodia, Japan

·         Berlin- None

·         Venice- Philippines (Best Actor)

Women Directors-           Only one! ☹ Chie Hayakawa from Japan….5% …. How embarrassing!

Oldest and Youngest Directors- The senior director from this (very young) group is Korea’s Park Chan-wook, 59. The youngest director of all 92 competing films is 28-year old Tearepa Kahi from New Zealand.

Languages Represented- 20 films in 19 languages! Bengali, Cantonese, Filipino, French, Gujarati, Indonesian, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Kyrgyz, Macedonian (Australia), Mandarin, Maori, Mongolian, Nepali, Russian, Thai, Urdu and Vietnamese. The most represented language unsurprisingly is Mandarin Chinese (China, Taiwan plus parts of Singapore and Korea), followed by Korean (Korea, plus parts of Cambodia and Singapore).

How Many Have a Chance at the Shortlist?- From this group? Hmmm….Not that many….Maybe three or four?

Most Likely to Get Shortlisted for the First Time- Pakistan

Buzziest Films: “Decision to Leave”, followed by “Joyland”

Letterboxd Ratings (as of 16 November 2022):   Best: Indonesia (4.1), Worst: Vietnam (0.7)

Controversies and Changes: India was considered as one of the frontrunners to win the Oscar for box-office smash “RRR”. I think those claims were exaggerated but it was still a controversial mistake for India to reject this widely-loved film for a low-budget drama about kids going to the movies.

China’s frontrunner “Return to Dust” passed the Chinese censors and was released in local cinemas where it was a surprise box-office hit….before being mysteriously pulled and subsequently banned without any reason given.

The Philippines was criticized for not sending a film last year and the Director’s Guild criticized the Film Academy of the Philippines for not sending “eligible films” like “On the Job 2”. Most experts felt the film wasn’t eligible this year since it aired on HBO before appearing in Filipino cinemas, but AMPAS appears to have accepted it since it’s world premiere was at the Venice Film Festival.

Pakistan made this year’s most courageous choice, choosing transgender love story “Joyland”, which was perhaps surprising for not being especially controversial….

Oscar History:  Only two of these directors has been here before and neither one is Park Chan-wook (the Korean Academy didn’t submit “Oldboy” or “The Handmaiden”). Philip Yung represented Hong Kong in 2016 for the forgettable noir thriller “Port of Call” while Nattawut Poonpiriya represented Thailand in 2013 for the gonzo horror thriller “Countdown”. 11 of these 20 countries have been nominated in this category at least once (13 if you count nominations in other categories for Mongolia and New Zealand).

Most Notable Omissions: Besides the aforementioned “Return to Dust” (China) and “RRR” (India)?

Sometimes an underdog country has the bad luck to have two great films come out in one year and that certainly happened to Pakistan where “Kamli”, supposedly one of the best films ever to come out of Pakistan, had to compete against “Joyland”, a critical darling and the first Pakistani film ever at Cannes.  I was also sad to see New Zealand comedy “Nude Tuesday”- spoken completely in a made-up gibberish language without subtitles- lose out to “Muru”.

“Karmalink” (Cambodia) and “The Brilliant Darkness” (Vietnam) may have been hurt by the fact that they have American directors.

Also absent: Zhang Yimou’s “Snipers” (China), “Before, Now and Then” (Indonesia), “The Kashmir Files” (India), “Sales Girl” (Mongolia) and “Leonor Will Never Die” (Philippines). Some of these probably didn’t meet Oscar screening requirements.

Most Famous Faces: Internationally, it’s probably Swedish actress Noomi Rapace who co-stars as one of the village women in Australia’s “You Won’t Be Alone”. But we also have Tony Leung and Aaron Kwok (“Where the Wind Blows”), Tang Wei (“Decision to Leave”) and Cliff Curtis (“Muru”). 

Last Year’s Race: I saw 16 of the 18 Asia-Pacific submissions last year. My personal favorite was horror film “The Medium” from Thailand (A-) although I’m sure that AMPAS hated it. I’d put Bhutan’s “Lunana” (A-) in a close second place followed by “White Building” (B+), “When Pomegranates Howl” (B+), “Yellow Cat” (B+), “YunI” (B), “Hail Driver!” (B), “Escape from Mogadishu” (B), “Cliff Walkers” (B), “Bố già” (B), “The Falls” (B), “Rehana” (B-), “Drive My Car” (C; sorry, not sorry), “2000 Songs of Farida” (C), “Pebbles” (C-) and finally the abysmally sappy “Zero to Hero” (D). I couldn’t find the films from Kyrgyzstan and Singapore anywhere.