5 Foreign Films That Should Have Been Nominated for an Academy Award (Part II)
This is the second part of my list of foreign films that should have been nominated for an Academy Awards. As my previous list – 5 Foreign Films that Should Have Been Nominated for an Academy Award (Part I) – I am listing only those films that were officially submitted by their respective countries for consideration.
I. In the Mood for Love [2000]
Directed by Wong Kar-wai (Chungking Express [1994]), this film follows a man and a woman living in Hong Kong who find out that their spouses are having an affair. Confronted with this bizarre state of affairs, the pair also grows closer. Subtle, moving and profound, In The Mood for Love is a modern classic of a film whose score Yumeji’s Theme by Shigeru Umebayashi (first featuring in Seijun Suzuki’s film Yumeji) brings out all the nuances of Su and Chow’s unusual situation and contributes to the film’s unforgettable atmosphere.
II. The Seventh Seal [1957]
Probably Ingmar Bergman’s greatest films, The Seventh Seal is set in the Middle Ages and follows a group of people who try to escape the plight of the majority – becoming victims of a plague sweeping the Earth. Steeped in religious nuances and symbolism, The Seventh Seal is an entrancing cinematic experience and few know that it is actually based on a play (Wood Painting) by Bergman himself who first devised this story for his acting students.
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