Canada, Sweden, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Japan fought a pitched battle in 2004, but no one was hurt. That's because those were the five nations competing for the foreign language film award (which since 2020 has been called the international feature film award), and genteel Canada came in first place.
The fact that “The Barbarian Invasions,” a French-language film presented by our friends up north, was directed and written by Denys Arcand probably didn't hurt either. Arcand's films had been nominated twice before in the category, for 1986's “The Decline of the American Empire” and 1989's “Jesus of Montreal.” He had also been nominated for his original screenplay for “Barbarian,” the story of a dying person connecting for the last time with their loved ones (and their former loved ones).
But once Arcand took the stage accepting the award on behalf of Canada (category rules mean the Oscar goes to the country, not the director) with his wife (and “Barbarians” producer) Denise Robert, he also from fellow producer Daniel Louis, words failed. him. Robert took over the commentary, joking about a film that was already sweeping the night's awards.
“We are very grateful that 'The Lord of the Rings' did not qualify in this category,” he said, and then thanked its producers, the academy and “the governments of Canada, France and Quebec for their support of the industry.” cinematic”. .” He also thanked Harvey Weinstein, as the film was distributed by Miramax in the United States, and thanked him “for putting his heart behind this film and shedding light on this.”
After that, Arcand simply said, “I ran out of time, as always.”
Later that year, Robert told the Toronto Globe and Mail that it was a very stressful time: “We were kind of very afraid of letting the whole country down. When you are in the best foreign country, you not only disappoint your mother, but your entire country. It is an award that we want to win with everyone because this film is part of all of us.”
“Barbarians” remains the only Canadian film to win in the category, which can have some wacky rules that keep many films out. Originally created in 1956 as a foreign language film award, the category requires films to be submitted by their country; which cannot be predominantly in English (even if English is the official language of the country); but does not require a US release (although they must be shown for seven consecutive days in their home country) to be considered. Italy has won the award the most times with 14, followed closely by France with 12, then comes Japan with five.
The other nominees told stories that took place during World War II, in feudal Japan, and at a boarding school. The Swedish film “Evil” was directed by Mikael Håfström, and although Sweden would be nominated again the following year in the category, there have been no wins for the country since 1984, when “Fanny and Alexander” won.
The Japanese entry, “The Twilight Samurai,” was directed by Yoji Yamada. It may not have gone all the way, but just a few years later in 2009, “Departures” won the category, as did “Drive My Car” in 2022. Ben Sombogaart’s “Twin Sisters” was also nominated and became the last time. To date one Dutch film has been nominated for an Oscar. The last time the country won was in 1998, with “Character.” And the Czech Republic presented “Želary”, the last nomination the country has had, although it won in 1997 with “Kolya”.
