Golden Globe Musings: Best Foreign Language Film

Golden Globe nominations for this year will be announced in just a few weeks, so here’s a survey of the contenders and the most likely predictions at this time. Weigh in with your thoughts, and let me know if I’ve left off anything important. A reminder that the Globes are wildly unpredictable and that it is still a bit early to gauge the reception or awards potential of a number of the so-called “contenders” at this point.

Last year’s nominees:
Amour (Austria)
The Intouchables (France)
Kon-Tiki (Norway)
A Royal Affair (Denmark)
Rust and Bone (France)

This category also bears some noticeable differences from the corresponding Oscar race, in that countries don’t have to pick just one movie to submit, and foreign-language films produced in the United States are eligible too. I haven’t had the chance to see any of these yet, but I’m sure I will in the coming months. The frontrunner not eligible for the Oscar is Blue is the Warmest Color (France), and it will likely be joined by The Past (Iran), The Hunt (Denmark), and The Lunchbox (India). Also in the running are The Rocket (Australia), The Grandmaster (Hong Kong), and Wadjda (Saudi Arabia), as well as forty-one other eligible contenders.

Current predictions:
Blue is the Warmest Color (France)
The Grandmaster (Hong Kong)
The Hunt (Denmark)
The Lunchbox (India)
The Past (Iran)