After the Golden Globes I was about to launch into a post ranting about how foreign language films never seem to get the recognition they deserve. After the Oscar nominations were announced, I’m glad I held my tongue.
Babel is competing in seven categories, which is a good number for them since they use an impressive seven languages during the film. British movies are there, a Mexican movie is there. Letters from Iwo Jimo, which tells the story of Japanese soldiers fighting against the US, is there.
Best of all, four of the five nominees for best actress are not from the US. Penelope Cruz’s nomination for Volver is the first best actress nomination for a Spanish-speaking part, which of course I’m delighted about.
Britain’s Paul Greengrass (United 93) summed it up well, “The world is changing, and I think that the film community is now a global film community. It’s not any more about cultural barriers or language barriers. It’s emotion and humanity. We are using the power of cinema to cross borders. We are understanding that now there’s a cultural connection that needs to happen. Most films can reveal the nature of other countries and other people around the world.” Source – m&c