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Top Foreign Academy Award Winners of the 1990sOct 20 '01 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line All of these movies were presented with an Oscar by the Academy. Each one is very different, but has its own rewarding features that make it a great movie. Picking the top ten foreign movies is a difficult task. All movies are divided for analysis by time periods, subject matter, and genre. Foreign films are also separated by language and culture. Since the start of the studio system, Hollywood movies have been overseen by moguls who worship the almighty dollar. Mass market appeal and potential return on investment have always been the major consideration in movie releases. Major directors with legendary artistic talent have fought with studios and producers since the medium found a paying public. Foreign films, like independent films, have been able to provide directors more license, and the public has been able to view movies closer to a director's dream. Governments come in to play and not all movies have the freedom to deliver a complete view, but for the most part foreign films provide an honest glimpse of a country, its unique language, and its culture. I decided to view the ten academy award winners for best foreign film in each year of the 1990s. I picked the years that these movies won, and not the years that they were originally released since there could be a two year difference between the time that it was released and when it won the Academy Award. The movies come from seven different countries and I wouldn't say that they are the best foreign films of the 1990s ( I liked some better) but they are the award winners, acknowledged by the academy. I think that they are all very good and I enjoyed watching each of them. I have ranked them in order of my preference and I hope that you can gain something by watching each of these films. 10. Kolya 1997 Czech Republic "Kolya" is a fun story about a Czech cellist, set in his ways, that ends up as a care taker to a small Russian boy. It follows the same old story of a codger that doesn't want the responsibility but the boy soon warms his heart. The difference in this movie is that the cellist has to face the discrimination for Russians from both the authorities and his own family. This is an interesting film that provides insight as to other countries during the time around the fall of the iron curtain. 9. Indochine 1993 France Any movie with Catherine Deneuve has to be a beautiful movie, and this movie fills the screen with beautiful images, scenery and of course, Miss Deneuve. This is the story of a rich plantation owner, slowly losing control of her child, her land and her country to the communist movement in Vietnam during the 1950s. Only a French film maker could provide this view of the declining French colonization during that turbulent time. 8. Journey of Hope 1991 Switzerland This is a tragic story of an Algerian family that left their desolate country for hope in Switzerland. The plight of the refugee is shown in stark frankness and there are scenes that will always stay with me. It is hard to get a taste of the real world and this movie is true to its commitment to provide empathy for all those that are suffering. 7. Belle Epoch 1994 Spain This movie, set during the Spanish Civil War, provides the tale of a deserter that finds protection and comfort in the house of a farmer and the arms of his four daughters. There is no great meaning in this film, but it is a fun ride watching a loser living every man's dream. It is also an early film of Penelope Cruz. 6. Character 1998 Netherlands In contrast to the previous movie, this film is deep and brooding. The movie is about the temptations to, and the virtues of one young man's character. The film centers around the relationship between the man and his controlling father. The first five minutes of the movie provide the question that the rest of the movie answers. 5. Life is Beautiful 1999 Italy One of the few movies to be meet critical and financial success in the United States, "Life is Beautiful" was the recipient of several awards. Some have called it a comedy centered around the holocaust. I personally see it as more of a tragic story enriched with comic moments. A tribute to life as shown through the eyes of Roberto Begnini, this was also one of the greatest movies of the 1990s. 4. Burnt By the Sun 1995 Russia I always knew that Stalin had eliminated all of his competition from his ranks of former friends and supporters. I always thought they deserved what they got as communist revolutionaries. "Burnt by the Sun" gives us the tender story of a family of one of the heroes of the revolution, and the repercussions of being loyal to the wrong ideal. 3. Mediterraneo 1992 Italy This is the most humorous of all of the foreign movies that won the academy award in the 1990s. An Italian unit during WWII is ordered to a guard and hold a small Mediterranean island. Unfortunately, the Italian Army as well as the rest of the world forgets about them and they take advantage of the fact that the island's men have left for war. Love is found in more ways than one, and the story is a delight. 2. Cinema Paradiso 1990 Italy Movies about the film industry are usually very good or so self righteous that they are hard to watch. This movie is an absolute joy. It describes the story of an old projectionist and his prodigy. Movie magic comes alive as do all of the characters in the small town where the theater is located. Like most great foreign films, this movie is completely different from other movies and cannot be duplicated without losing the essence of the Italian experience. 1. Antonia's Line 1996 Netherlands I picked this movie over the other ten as my favorite because it moved me the most. It has a great story about a widow, her daughter, grand daughter and ultimately great-grand daughter in post war Holland. The family only becomes more enriched as the decades slowly fade away. The movie is very poetic and the scenery is like a post card. All of the characters have fallacies but love conquers all, or almost all. It was interesting that I found that the two movies from the Netherlands had the deepest meaning to me.  |
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