Oscar International Feature- the films from the Asia (20 films)

Although this is the largest group of films, I actually don't expect any of the films from Asia to make this year's shortlist. But the tearjerker from Thailand has been charming a lot of viewers so it's possible they'll surprise. 

I've been lucky to see two-thirds of these films so I feel qualified to make the ranking below. More than any other region, the Asian countries have selected films that prominently feature national cultures and traditions. In my opinion, a lot of them are better as cultural studies than as films....but always very interesting viewing. 

Here is a rundown of the 20 films submitted from the Asia-Pacific region:

Number of Countries Participating this year: 20

Number of Films Found Eligible: 19

Number of Countries That Have Participated in the Past: 28

Who’s Missing?: I was shocked to see NEW ZEALAND absent since they had their best-ever chance at an Oscar nomination in this category for Maori epic “Ka Whawhai Tonu” (recently renamed “Struggle Without End” for other English-speaking markets). Not submitting this film was idiotic and a major blow to Pacific cinema in indigenous languages.

AUSTRALIA and BHUTAN publicly launched an open call for submissions. Bhutan confirmed they only received one candidate and determined it wasn’t “eligible”, though it’s unclear whether that meant it wasn’t good enough or that it didn’t meet AMPAS requirements. The Aussies almost always send a film so it’s likely they didn’t receive any entries. And AFGHANISTAN hasn’t had a recognized committee since 2019, prior to the 2021 Taliban invasion.  

The other four absences- FIJI, LAOS, SRI LANKA, and UZBEKISTAN- have only entered once or twice and don’t appear to have active committees. Laos, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan had interesting candidates this year so it’s a shame that their film industries didn't take advantage of this opportunity to compete with the best of global cinema.

FRONTRUNNERS:

 

1.     THAILAND- “How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies” (Letterboxd: 4.3)

2.     MONGOLIA- “If Only I Could Hibernate” (3.7)

I'm surprised at all the buzz surrounding "How to Make Millions....". It's a lovely little film about a selfish unemployed slacker who decides to move in with his dying grandmother in order to get himself into her will. It's been a box-office hit not only in Thailand but in several countries in East Asia. It's certainly a charming crowdpleaser. But it' s also a fairly predictable film that strongly leans into its soap opera roots. I'd be happy to see Thailand make the shortlist for the first time but "Millions" strikes me as a bit light to make the list. 

If the Oscar system were more fair, "If Only I Could Hibernate" could be a fairly strong contender. People who watch it seem to love it but I think it's too small and low-profile to make the next round. The first Mongolian film at Cannes, this is a heartbreaking drama about a brilliant teenager from an impoverished family, who is forced to choose between pursuing educational opportunities, and taking care of his younger siblings who have essentially been abandoned by their alcoholic, absent mother. You can actually feel the frigid cold of Mongolia watching this movie...but ultimately, as I said, I think it's too small.  But go watch it if you can! 

DARK HORSES:

These three countries are praying for a miracle.

 

3.   CAMBODIA- "Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot" (3.4)

In A Nutshell: Three French journalists are invited to travel to Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge genocide. (This is one of the few films I haven't managed to see.)

Pros:  Director Rithy Panh got a surprise Oscar nomination for a similarly unheralded and relatively unknown film ("Missing Picture") and "Rendez-vous" is a far more conventional and baity film. This is essentially a French majority production, with high-level production values. Both Panh and the Khmer Rouge holocaust are known quantities with Oscar history. 

Cons: Very little buzz. Critical reviews are mostly positive but nobody is saying it's one of the best five foreign films of the year. 

4.    INDIA- "Laapataa Ladies" (4.0)

In A Nutshell: A dramatic comedy of errors about two veiled newlywed brides who accidentally end up switching places.  

Pros: The new Oscar rules mean that movies that more voters see automatically have an advantage to make the Oscar shortlist. "Laapataa Ladies" got Netflix distribution and is better than the Indian film that made the shortlist two years ago. It's a very entertaining film.....Efforts to increase diversity have increased the number of Indian AMPAS voters.....The film starts and finishes well. 

Cons: It's entertaining but it's not a potential Oscar winner....I can see why this was a big hit in India and why it got Netflix distribution but a lot of the film is rather silly and obvious....but a lot of people are going to watch it.....

5.    NEPAL- "Shambhala" (3.5)

In A Nutshell: A gorgeous road movie about a pregnant village woman who goes on an arduous journey through the Himalayan Mountains to search for her missing husband. 

Pros: The film is beautiful and was clearly shot in a harsh and challenging environment. If Oscars were given for "cultural interest", Nepal would probably win. Our heroine Pema is not just on a road trip...there is a mystery at the heart of her journey that I won't describe due to spoilers.  

Cons: Like the journey of Pema herself, the film sometimes meanders and gets lost....Some critics say it's overlong (not an unreasonable criticism). The film veers into Buddhist mysticism that may baffle (or bore?) some Western reviewers.  

MIDDLE OF THE PACK:

6.  MALAYSIA- "Abang Adik" (3.6)

7.   JAPAN- "Cloud" (3.4)

8.   PAKISTAN- "The Glassworker" (3.5)

9.   HONG KONG- "Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In" (3.7)

10.  KAZAKHSTAN- "Bauryna Salu" (3.5)

I've seen four out of the five films in this group....all except JAPAN. "Cloud" - a horror-thriller from prolific genre auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa - was a surprising choice for Japan. This isn't a genre that Oscar usually goes for, and "Cloud" was selected before the film was released commercially and got somewhat mixed reviews. For the record, it's about an Internet seller (think "Japanese eBay"....) whose life is put at risk.

HONG KONG's "Twlight of the Warriors: Walled In" is a bonkers all-star triad action movie set in a gangland tenement. Hong Kong sends these movies a lot and none of them have ever appealed to Oscar, including "Infernal Affairs", generally considered the best of its genre. If there was an Oscar for stuntmen, "Walled In" would win hands down. I hate action movies but there are some incredibly exciting scenes and shocking stuntwork. And, in fact, action scenes take up quite a bit of the film's running time....I liked the film. But other than the stuntwork, this is a formulaic mafia movie.  

"Bauryna Salu", from KAZAKHSTAN, is a film about an ancient Kazakh tradition (the titular Bauryna Salu) whereby a family with more than one son will send one to rural relatives who have none. 12-year old Yersultan basically grows up as his grandmother's farmhand and servant in the countryside but dreams of living with his parents. When his grandmother dies and he returns to his parents, he discovers he is basically a stranger. This is a very slow film that I don't think Oscar voters will like, but it's a fascinating window into traditional Kazakh culture and ends with a bang....and endings are important to me! 

MALAYSIA made history by choosing a Chinese-language film....which previously were not considered "Malaysian" even if all the actors and filmmakers were born and raised there. "Abang Adik" is a melodrama about two hard-working 20-something brothers (one of whom is deaf) who have no legal status in Malaysia because they cannot prove their absent fathers were Malaysian. The film is available on Netflix and has quite a lot of fans...but like so many of the Asian films, I think it was a little melodramatic to qualify here. But this was a great choice for Malaysia. 

Last, we have "The Glassworker", the anime nominee from PAKISTAN. A lot of people refer to "Glassworker" as Pakistan's attempt to channel Studio Ghibli. Japan was absolutely the inspiration for the movie...but it's a lot more Satoshi Kon, than Hayao Miyazaki. "The Glassworker" is set in an imaginary country at war with clear references and parallels to British-ruled Pakistan...but it's mostly about a father (the glassworker), his apprentice son, and the beautiful local girl the son is in love with. It's a charming labor of love which is at its best when showing the horrors of war and the beauty of music....and I liked it. But some critics find it slow or dull, and Latvia will overshadow it as the only animated film with a chance to advance. If you have a VPN, you can watch it for free (in English, not in Urdu) on SBS Australia. 

HIGHLY UNLIKELY

  

11.   TAIWAN- "Old Fox" (3.6)

12.   SOUTH KOREA- "12.12: The Day" (3.7)

13.   SINGAPORE- "La Luna" (3.6)

14.  KYRGYZSTAN- "Paradise at Mother's Feet" (approx. 3.4)

15.   INDONESIA- "Women from Rote Island" (3.2)

Not much to say about this group....but when you're ranked #11-15 in a weak Asian group, you're not going to make the shortlist. I saw the three films from Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. I really enjoyed "La Luna" from SINGAPORE, a comedy about a progressive feminist who moves to a conservative Muslim village after inheriting a house there....causing a scandal when she turns it into a lingerie shop. It's highly entertaining and dramatic, and is available on Netflix...but it's strictly a commercial effort. I despised "12.12: The Day", a plodding action thriller from SOUTH KOREA that I had trouble getting all the way through. The film, based on the real-life declaration of martial law in South Korea in 1979, consists mostly of Korean politicians and military officers shouting each other's names for two hours. I'm sure it's a compelling story for Korean audiences but I've lived in Korea, I was familiar with the 1979 incident and I was still confused half the time. I hated it though it admittedly has some good reviews. TAIWAN sent "Old Fox", a quiet little drama set in the 1980s, about a single father, his son and the neighborhood's cruel "boss" ("Old Fox") who takes the boy under his wing. It's a good movie but fairly forgettable. 

I haven't seen the other two. The film from KYRGYZSTAN is a religious drama that was a surprise box-office smash in the region, and follows a mentally disabled man and his elderly mother on a cross-country journey to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. I've heard good and bad reviews from Western reviewers; some say it's moving, other say it's boring....but ultimately it's probably too culturally alien and Islamic to get the votes it needs. "Women from Rote Island" was the surprise winner at the Indonesian Film Awards but this drama about misogyny and sexual assault in a remote island community is said to be a grueling and difficult watch....and reviews have been weaker than most films in this group.  

BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR:

  

 

16.  PHILIPPINES- "And So It Begins" (3.2)

17.   BANGLADESH- "The Wrestler" (approx. 3.2)

18.  TAJIKISTAN- "Melody" (approx. 3.1)

19.  CHINA- "The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru" (approx. 3.9)

20.  VIETNAM- "Peach Blossom, Pho & Piano" (approx. 2.7)

CHINA and the PHILIPPINES chose documentaries that will mostly be of interest to local viewers. The Chinese film (which was disqualified) is about an obscure 1942 incident during WWII when Chinese fishermen rescued a number of British POWs when the Japanese ship transporting them was sunk by Allied torpedoes. Variety called it "lumbering". The documentary from the Philippines, about the opposition's unsuccessful effort to win the 2022 presidential elections, has much better reviews. And U.S. audiences will certainly recognize (perhaps too much so) the pervasive disinformation and dirty tricks that the populist party uses against the more progressive party. But I predict this is a film that will appeal chiefly to the Filipinos. Full disclosure, I haven't seen either, nor have I seen the film from VIETNAM. "Peach Blossom, Pho & Piano" is a Vietnam War film made by the state film studio. Reviews simply aren't very good at all. Set in the 1940s and apparently some kind of romance (?), it ranks at the very bottom of the rankings for most ratings aggregators. 

I'm so happy that countries like BANGLADESH and TAJIKISTAN enter this competition. While these two films- "Melody" and "The Wrestler" - won't make the shortlist, I enjoyed these two very cultural interesting films. "Melody" is the first film to compete for Tajikistan in two decades. It's a majority Iranian production so I was surprised it was allowed to enter....and it's about a teacher at a school for sick children who travels to the countryside to record bird sounds to fulfill a child's wish. It is beautifully filmed but ultimately slight and forgettable. "The Wrestler", from Bangladesh, focuses its first half on the Bangladeshi sport of boli khela, a form of wrestling, in a small village. And the first half works well. The second half becomes more mysterious and ghostly (shades of "Uncle Boonmee"?) and works less well. But it certainly was an interesting little film. Both of these films are so obscure that even if they were up to the level of the other films, they still wouldn't be able to qualify for the shortlist.  

FUN FACTS:

Genres:       We have two documentaries (China and Philippines) and one animated film (Pakistan), plus one action movie (Hong Kong), two thrillers (Japan and Korea), and two comedies (India and Singapore). The other twelve are dramas.

I’ve Already Seen: I’ve seen twelve of the twenty films- Bangladesh, Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nepal, Singapore, Taiwan, Tajikistan and Thailand

Film I’m Most Excited To See: Definitely Rithy Panh’s “Rendez-vous avec Pol Pot” from Cambodia.  

Number I Predicted Correctly: Ouch, only five…..Cambodia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Pakistan and Thailand, though Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Kyrgyzstan and Nepal weren’t at all surprising. Two countries (Kazakhstan and Tajikistan) sent films that appeared to be eligible last year.

Big Four Festivals: 

·        Berlin-        Nepal

·        Cannes-     Cambodia, Hong Kong, Mongolia

·        Sundance-  Philippines

·        Venice-       Japan

None of these won any awards.

Women Directors- Only 3 films had female directors….the smallest number of any of the five regions- Ramona Diaz (Philippines), Zoljargal Purevdash (Mongolia) and Kiran Rao (India).

Oldest and Youngest Directors- 71-year old Fang Li from China was disqualified so the senior director in this group is 70-year old Phi Tiến Sơn from Vietnam.

Pat Boonnitipat (Thailand), Zoljargal Purevdash (Mongolia) and Usman Riaz (Pakistan) were all born within months of each other in 1990. They are all 34.

Languages – It’s a diverse group. Three films are in Chinese- Taiwan (in Mandarin and Hokkien), Hong Kong (Cantonese) and Malaysia (Mandarin and Cantonese). The film from China was disqualified for being mostly in English.

The other sixteen films were in Bengali, Filipino, French (Cambodia), Hindi, Japanese, Kazakh, Korean, Kyrgyz, Malay (Singapore), Mongolian, Persian (Tajikistan), Thai, Tibetan (Nepal), Urdu, Vietnamese and the obscure Rote language of western Indonesia. While the Kyrgyz film is mostly in Kyrgyz, the road movie boasts dialogue in seven regional languages.

How Many Have a Chance at the Shortlist?- Hmm…Not many….Two or three?   

Most Likely to Get Nominated/Shortlisted for the First Time- Thailand

Buzziest Films: “How to Make Millions” from Thailand, which has been a pan-Asian box-office smash

Letterboxd Ratings (as of December 2^nd, 2024):      Best: Thailand (4.3)….Worst: Vietnam (approximately 2.7)

Dumbest Decision:  Other than China sending an English-language film and New Zealand failing to enter?

The Asian countries often make poor choices, but it was India and Japan who failed to choose strongly favored potential Oscar nominees. the Film Federation of India wins this year's "Dumb" award.

Controversies and Changes: As mentioned before, CHINA was disqualified for sending a documentary that was mostly in English. While that was China’s fault, AMPAS didn’t allow them to send a replacement which seems unfair.

Less well-known is that MONGOLIA almost missed out this year when Mongolia’s selection committee foolishly announced that they would not be entering the competition after receiving only one submission- the critically acclaimed “If Only I Could Hibernate”, which was the first Mongolian film to compete at Cannes Un Certain Regard. There was no explanation given, but it was rumored that the committee felt the film did not show Mongolia in a positive light. The director called foul and launched a social media campaign to publicize the decision, forcing the committee to recant.

“Bauryna Salu” (from KAZAKHSTAN) and “Melody” (from TAJIKISTAN) tried to compete last year so I was surprised to see them on this year’s list. “Bauryna Salu” actually received two votes from the Kazakh selection committee in 2023 which decided to send nothing….they changed their release date and got chosen this year. “Melody” was submitted by an authorized selection committee last year and was allowed to re-enter this year.

Oscar History: Cambodia’s Rithy Panh is the only previous Oscar nominee competing this year. He got a surprise nomination for “The Missing Picture” in 2014.

Rithy Panh and Nepal’s Min Bahadur Bham are the only directors who have been selected before. Panh is here for the fourth time (after “Rice People”, “The Missing Picture” and “Graves Without a Name”) while Bham was submitted for “The Black Hen” in 2016.

Of the 19 eligible countries, three have won the Oscar (Japan, Korea, Taiwan), six others have been nominated (Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Kazakhstan, Nepal, and Vietnam), and one shortlisted (Pakistan). The other nine are waiting for their first trip to the second round.

Most Notable Omissions: 

  

The two shock omissions were Cannes Grand Prix winner ”All We Imagine as Light” (India) and Venice Grand Prix winner “Evil Does Not Exist” (Japan). Although I’m not excited to see “All We Imagine as Light”, it has been sweeping international critics nominations and would probably have easily gotten India a nomination. But the Indian selection committee implied it was not even seriously considered and that the lightweight crowdpleaser “Laapataa Ladies” was far superior. The Indian Academy was clearly jealous of the director of “All We Imagine”, who has clashed with the Indian government and who was shortlisted by France. As for Oscar winner Ryusuke Hamaguchi, I think the Japanese were trying to spread the wealth. Over the past two decades, they’ve almost never selected a director twice (just Yoji Yamada for “Nagasaki”…probably the worst-ever Japanese submission) and this seems to be an unofficial policy. So, they may feel that Hamaguchi got his Oscar and that a never-selected director like Kiyoshi Kurosawa deserved an opportunity.

“Black Dog” (Cannes Un Certain Regard) should also probably be representing China but the Chinese Academy simply doesn’t send quality movies anymore.

Also absent: “Aattam” (India), “All Shall Be Well” (Hong Kong), “Andragogy” (Indonesia), “Big” (Taiwan), “Bride Kidnapping” (Kyrgyzstan), “Exhuma” (Korea), “Road to a Village” (Nepal), “Gomburza” (Philippines), and “Time Still Turns the Pages” (Hong Kong)

Most Famous Face: The Hong Kong entry “Twilight of the Warriors” was an all-star endeavour featuring a who’s who of Hong Kong movie stars, including Aaron Kwok, Louis Koo and Sammo Hung. Irène Jacob, who gained fame and a Cannes Best Actress award for her work with Krzysztof Kieslowski in the 90s, stars in the Cambodian entry.

Last Year’s Race: I saw 17 of the 19 films sent by the Asia-Pacific countries last year, many of which were very, very good. I’d highly recommend “Halkara” (A-), “The Missing” (A-), “City of Wind” (A-), “This is What I Remember” (A-), “The Monk & the Gun” (B+), “Shayda” (B+) and “The Breaking Ice” (B+).

“Concrete Utopia” (B) and “Tiger Stripes” (B) were also good. I also saw “Autobiography” (B), “Not Friends” (B), “In Flames” (B), “Marry My Dead Body” (B-), “A Light Never Goes Out” (C+), “Glorious Ashes” (C+), Oscar nominee “Perfect Days” (C) and “The Wandering Earth II” (F).

I couldn’t manage to see the films from Bangladesh and India.