Best Foreign Language Film: Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon
Other nominees: Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani's Ajami (Israel), Juan José Campanella's The Secret of Her Eyes (Argentina), Claudia Llosa's The Milk of Sorrow (Peru), Jacques Audiard's A Prophet (France).
Because only a relatively small group of Academy members vote in the special categories — short films, documentaries, foreign language films — winners often surprise and shock, e.g., last year's Departures over shoo-in Waltz with Bashir. Compounding matters, oftentimes those voters tend to be (much) older than the average Academy member, and their tastes are usually much more conservative. They're probably the people who placed The Blind Side at the top of their Best Film ballot, thus earning Sandra Bullock's sentimental drama a slot in that category.
In other words: any of the five nominated films in the Best Foreign Language Film category could win, though Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon is the one that to date has found the most favor, chiefly because it happens to be the only one that actually received a 2009 US release. Also on the side of Haneke's stark, black-and-white drama is the fact that it's set in Germany right before the outbreak of World War I.
True, the Academy love World War II movies, but in The White Ribbon Haneke clearly makes a connection between the youth of 1914 and the adults of the Third Reich. Kids do grow up, you know? And they become what they become. The problem is that voters (those who love The Blind Side) may find that fact too disturbing and opt for something else. But what?
Ajami is set in a violent Jaffa neighborhood; The Secret in Their Eyes revolves around an unsolved murder and deadly politics; The Milk of Sorrow deals with the consequences of rape, racism, and sexism; and A Prophet is set in a tough French prison. The closest to a "feel-good flick" is the allegorical The Milk of Sorrow and perhaps The Secret in Their Eyes, which in addition to death and politics also features a bit of romance. Even so, we're sticking to the safest — if downbeat — bet: The White Ribbon.
Photo: The White Ribbon (Films du Losange / Sony Pictures Classics)
I saw the movies nominated by the Academy for the Best Foreign Movie Award and
I was quiet impressed by The Milk of Sorrow. This movie portraits very intelligently
The violence against women issue which is so current world wide. It firstly focuses
on the effect on the victims as human beings and later in the impact they have in their
children which are collateral victims of the violence. The movie shows violence against
women as consequence of terrorism but it is obvious that in any war situation this problem would arise. The psychological aspect of it, makes the movie really interesting, the victims are marked for life out those horrible experiences. However, it takes strong women to get over those terrible times, start again and give themselves a chance in life. In the end you see Fausta a child of rape getting rid off all her fears and looking ahead with hope without feelings of hate or bitterness. It is a history that could be taking place in the middle east, south america, asia or africa these days. That makes it a very current topic!
On the other hand, the acting was really convincing. Magaly Solier was superb as a young women which is affected emotionally and psychologically by violence. Her caracter Fausta is also naive and defenseless against the hypocrisy of society and injustice. She was able to reflect all that effortlessly. Fantastic performance!.
The movie has a number of excellent photographic shots which gives it a very professional touch, pretty unexpected for a low budget picture. Moreover, the scenography tells the history of the victims of terrorism which had to leave their homes in the country side to find a safe place near the capital to start again. That is the reality of many underdeveloped countries where people migrates to the capitals escaping from something such as: poverty, abandonment, unemployment, civil wars, etc. This problem is not often displayed in the big screen.
In my opinion, The Milk of Sorrow is the best foreign movie made last year followed by Ajami which is also a brave representation of another current world wide issue: The situation in Palestine. The daily life for those who live in that place (where death is part of the background), which becomes harder as tolerance issues arise. However, it can be difficult at times to understand how the history unfolds. Very realistic scenography though!