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Oscars go global: Most international best picture lineup in history

In 2019, the director of the Korean movie 鈥淧arasite鈥� jokingly called the Oscars a 鈥渧ery local鈥� competition.听

The Academy Awards, which had their inaugural ceremony in 1929, were originally intended as a vehicle to promote American studio pictures. There wasn鈥檛 even a category for international movies until 1957. The Oscars were to movies what the World Series is to baseball. Movies from overseas were mainly segregated in the best foreign language category. Only a handful were nominated for the grand prize: best picture. In recent years, there鈥檚 been a shift.听

Ever since Bong Joon-ho鈥檚 鈥淧arasite鈥� won best picture in 2020, non-American movies have become competitive across major categories at the Oscars. This year鈥檚 nominees, announced this morning, include France鈥檚 鈥淎natomy of a Fall鈥�听补苍诲 鈥淭he Zone of Interest,鈥�听which is in German, each with five nominations. Both are finalists in the best picture category. It was the first time two international films have been nominated for best picture, according to the academy. Celine Song鈥檚 鈥淧ast Lives,鈥� which is in Korean and English, also scored a nomination, making it the most international lineup in Oscar history.

鈥淭here are more people in the academy who don鈥檛 define 鈥榤ovie鈥� as a Hollywood product,鈥� says Michael Schulman, author of 鈥淥scar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears.鈥� 鈥淭hey have no investment in Hollywood as the center of the film industry.鈥�

Janet Yang, the first Asian American president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, kicked off the televised announcements by describing the organization as 鈥渢he home of global cinema.鈥� She boasted that, this year, ballots were cast from 93 countries.

This year, every nominee for best documentary feature was international, which was another first.

鈥淎fter the #OscarsSoWhite scandal, the academy made this big push to expand its membership and diversify who was voting for the Oscars,鈥� says Mr. Schulman, a at The New Yorker. 鈥淎nd most of the attention went to the fact that they were bringing in younger people, more people of color, and more women. But one of the underappreciated effects was that the academy voting body got a lot more international. And I think you see the effect of that in a win like 鈥楶arasite,鈥� which was the first foreign language film to win best picture. I don鈥檛 think that would have happened in the old academy.鈥�

That鈥檚 a big contrast with Hollywood鈥檚 golden age, which was tarnished by xenophobia.听In the earliest years of motion pictures, foreign films dominated two-thirds of American screens. In 1922, U.S. studios formed a cartel in the form of the Motion Pictures Producers and Distributors of America. They waged war on so-called immoral fare. 鈥淪uch claims fell disproportionately on foreign films,鈥� historian Kerry Segrave wrote in his 2004 book 鈥淔oreign Films in America.鈥�

In 1949, there was a furor when Laurence Olivier鈥檚 鈥淗amlet鈥� 鈥� a British movie 鈥� won best picture. Widely admired films by Federico Fellini and Fran莽ois听Truffaut sometimes garnered nominations in categories such as best screenplay and best director. In 1973, Ingmar Bergman finally landed a best picture nomination for his Swedish drama 鈥淐ries and Whispers.鈥�

Starting in the mid-1990s, a handful of international films vied for the best picture statuette. Credit the marketing acumen of now-disgraced Miramax heads Harvey and Bob Weinstein. They garnered nominations for 鈥淭he Postman鈥� (鈥淚l Postino鈥�) and 鈥淟ife Is Beautiful.鈥� In 2011, their French hit 鈥淭he Artist鈥� won best picture. (It wasn鈥檛 eligible for nomination for best foreign language film because, well, it鈥檚 a silent movie.)听

Harvey Weinstein was, of course, convicted of rape and sexual assault, and his film company went out of business. Meanwhile, superhero offerings from Marvel and DC took over multiplexes, crowding out middlebrow fare once seen as irresistible to the academy. That鈥檚 opened the door for more non-English-language nominees. Often, it鈥檚 streaming services that have led the way. Netflix scored multiple nods for Alfonso Cuar贸n鈥檚 2018 鈥淩oma,鈥� a best picture nominee. Last year, a new German adaptation of 鈥淎ll Quiet on the Western Front鈥� was nominated for both best picture and best international film.听

鈥淭he membership of the academy who are [in] Hollywood, who are in the industry, ... the movies that they generally are making are not the ones that they鈥檙e necessarily voting for,鈥� says听Pete Hammond, for Deadline Hollywood. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e voting for these things that come out from around the world, from these great filmmakers, and they鈥檙e finding these films that really, comparatively, don鈥檛 make much at the box office.鈥�

Mainstream cinema chains are increasingly hosting non-English films. In part, it鈥檚 because Hollywood is producing fewer big screen movies, and so chains are looking for fare to fill multiplexes. But it also reflects audience demand. Moviegoers have been able to find the likes of 鈥淎natomy of a Fall,鈥� a marriage drama wrapped inside a murder mystery, at some Showcase Cinemas and AMCs. The Japanese release 鈥淕odzilla: Year One鈥� 鈥� which garnered a nod for best visual effects 鈥� rampaged through multiplexes to rake in over $50 million in the United States.

And legendary Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki鈥檚 鈥淭he Boy and the Heron,鈥� nominated for best animated feature, has netted $23 million in the U.S. That鈥檚 a record for an original anime feature. And subtitles no longer are considered a deterrent at the multiplex.

鈥淢ore people want to go to the original foreign language version rather than the English dubbed version,鈥� says Mr. Hammond. 鈥淎 lot of the box office for that came from the subtitled version.鈥�

As a result of the increased acclaim for international films, the acting categories also feature more non-English-language performances. Sandra H眉ller, who stars in both 鈥淭he Zone of Interest鈥� and 鈥淎natomy of a Fall,鈥� was nominated for best actress for the latter. Lily Gladstone is considered a favorite in that category to become the first Native American to win an Oscar for acting. She is one of several characters speaking Osage in 鈥淜illers of the Flower Moon,鈥� about the murderous exploitation of that tribe in Oklahoma.

The academy鈥檚 increasingly global outlook prompted it to rename the foreign language film category 鈥渋nternational feature film.鈥� Its diverse membership will continue to broaden the horizons of the big screen.

As Mr. Schulman puts it, 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to continue to expand our perception of what a best picture is, what it looks like, what language it鈥檚 spoken in.鈥�

Editor鈥檚 note: This story has been updated to correct the number of Oscar nominations for 鈥淭he Zone of Interest.鈥澨�