Oscar Predictions: Best Foreign Film

The nine finalists:
Austria, THE COUNTERFEITERS
Brazil, THE YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION
Canada, DAYS OF DARKNESS
Israel, BEAUFORT
Italy, THE UNKNOWN
Kazakhstan, MONGOL
Poland, KATYN
Russia, 12
Serbia, THE TRAP

Things in this category have now been vastly shaken up. The three presumed frontrunners, “Persepolis” from France, “4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days” from Romania, and “The Orphanage” from Spain, were not included in the nine finalists announced Tuesday, trimmed down from 63 originally submitted films. This is only the second year that Kazakhstan has submitted an entry, after last year’s poor Nomad. The only two films I have really heard anything about are “The Counterfeiters” and “The Year My Parents Went on Vacation” so those are my top two but otherwise it is just guesswork.

BEAUFORT
THE COUNTERFEITERS
DAYS OF DARKNESS
THE TRAP
THE YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION