In Contention

Tag: Mongol

  • Foreign film watch: Uruguay, Mongolia submit

    By the Will of Genghis KhanToday is officially the Academy deadline for Best Foreign Language Film submissions — though countries have made late entries in the past — so expect more titles to trickle in through the day. (Our contenders page is presently up to 59 titles, and counting.)

    Greece, for example, is widely expected to submit Cannes prizewinner “Dogtooth” as their entry later today — we’re just awaiting the official announcement.

    Two to formally add to the pile, however, are Uruguay’s “Bad Day to Go Fishing” and Mongolia’s “By the Will of Genghis Khan.” The latter country, making only their third ever submission, are seeking a first nomination; Uruguay, meanwhile, is still seeking a breakthrough after their only nominated film (“A Place in the World,” 1992) was disqualified by the Academy for having too little local input.

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  • Netherlands, Kazakhstan enter Oscar ponies

    Marco Borsato and Andrew Kintu in The Silent ArmyThanks to regular commenter Jonathan for alerting us to the news that The Netherlands has selected Jean van de Velde’s “The Silent Army” as their entry in the Best Foreign Language Film race.

    The film, which played in the Un Certain Regard strand at Cannes this year, is set in East Africa, and follows the plight of a widower on a quest to rescue his young son’s best friend, after the boy is recruited as a child soldier by a rebel army.

    Extensively recut after receiving a critical drubbing in its home country in 2008 (the casting of local pop star Marco Borsato accounting for much of the jeering), the film’s reception at Cannes was improved but still somewhat tepid, with many critics citing excessive sentimentality and political correctness as major debits. (Not that either of those qualities is a disadvantage with voters in this category.)

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