comment #1

MiraJeffAICN says ...

If The Orphanage wins Best Foreign Film over 4 Months... it will be an even greater injustice than Diablo Cody winning Best Original Screenplay. The Orphanage was recycyled garbage that barely made sense. 4 Months... is a near-masterpiece and frankly I think Mungiu's script is good enough to merit a Best Original Screenplay nom and give Diablo some much-needed competition.

comment #2

NDH says ...

I haven't seen a great deal of the foreign films in contention, but I have seen 4 MONTHS, PERSEPOLIS and THE ORPHANAGE, which appear to be three of the frontrunners. I can say, without question, that 4 MONTHS is leagues above the other two. And I actually liked PERSEPOLIS a lot (more so than DIVING BELL and LA VIE EN ROSE which many were complaining should have been submitted by France instead). And THE ORPHANAGE was a genuinely creepy thriller (although not as good as like-minded films such as THE OTHERS and THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE). However, 4 MONTHS is in a class by itself. It deserves to win hands down.

comment #3

JD says ...

Not to be all informed and whatnot, but Silent Light (the Mexican selection) is a mastrerpiece, an instant classic that will be remembered alongside films like Diary of a Country Priest, Stroszek, and Ordet. It dwarfs films like No Country For Old Men and Zodiac (though TWBB is definitely in the same league) and, while it will probably be ignored by the Academy, it's the only foriegn film entry with any real credibility as a groundbreaking work of art.

comment #4

Armin Tamzarian says ...

SILENT LIGHT blew my mind.

comment #5

Kim Voynar says ...

Well, I loved THE ORPHANAGE, and I am not a horror buff. I don't know in what way you thought it didn't make sense, MiraJeff, but there was some good literary structure and use of irony woven throughout the storyline, and I liked it every bit as much as THE OTHERS.

As for 4 MONTHS, I'll be quite surprised if this film makes the nominee cut, much less wins BEST FOREIGN. I just don't see this film appealing much to the blue-hair crowd. It certainly didn't play well in Telluride, where much of the audience at the packed screening -- particularly those in the blue-hair demographic -- I saw it with were grumbling in disbelief that it won at Cannes.

Personally, I found it to be rather over-rated. I get what Mungiu is going for, and perhaps I'll warm up to it when and if he makes the other two films he wants to follow it up with about life in Romania during that era, and I take a fresh look at 4 MONTHS as part of a trilogy.

But Jesus -- 4 MONTHS was bleaker than NO COUNTRY; at least with the latter I came out of it blown away by the filmmaking, in spite of the relentlessly depressing story. The main character in 4 MONTHS was utterly annoying -- weak, whiny, and completely incapable, apparently, of making a single mature decision, and I found it completely unbelievable that anyone would go to the lengths her roommate went to, just to help her procure an abortion.

comment #6

truefaith says ...

I agree with Kim. I found 4 MONTHS to be overrated. It seemed to be a film about the politics in Romania than a story about characters in Romania. If I wanted to see a political film about Romania then I'll go see a documentary. I see a feature film for a story, which 4 MONTHS was severely lacking. Part of the problem was that the characters were not very well developed. I didn't feel anything towards them because I didn't know anything about them. And I found the ending to be way too abrupt. I always see something like that being a cop-out.