Golden Globe Winner Predictions: Best Foreign Language Film

The competition: The Flowers of War (China), In the Land of Blood and Honey (USA), The Kid with a Bike (Belgium), A Separation (Iran), The Skin I Live In (Spain)

For your information: When “In a Better World” won last year, it broke the trend that had been set since 2003 of the winning film being released in the U.S. during the calendar year in which it was nominated. Only “The Kid with a Bike” has yet to play in U.S. theatres this year. Only one film officially submitted from the United States has ever won, and that was “Letters from Iwo Jima” in 2006. Iran has never before been nominated in this category. This is Pedro Almodovar’s seventh nomination in this category, and he won in 1999 and 2002.

Who should win: I’ve seen only “In the Land of Bloody and Honey” and “The Skin I Live In.” Both were strong films, and I’d give the edge to the latter.

Who will win: Before last year, I would have said “The Skin I Live In,” but now I’ll bet on A Separation, which arrived in theatres last week.