Oscars International Race Has an Empress, a Soldier and a Donkey – But No Front Runner
period drama “Corsage,” starring Vicky Krieps as 19th-century Austrian Empress Elisabeth; Lukas Dhont’s tender coming-of-age film “Close,” the Belgian selection; Jerzy Skolimowski’s nearly wordless “EO,” a road movie from the point of view of a donkey that was submitted by Poland; and South Korean director Park Chan-wook’s stylish crime story/love story hybrid, “Decision to Leave.”Other films that could be positioned to do well include the German selection, Edward Berger’s harrowing new version of the classic antiwar novel “All Quiet on the Western Front,” a Netflix release; Spain’s “Alcarras,” a drama by Carla Simon that won the Golden Bear at this year’s Berlin Film Festival; and “Our Brothers” from director Rachid Boucharev, who has represented Algeria seven previous times in the Oscar race, landing three of the country’s five nominations.As usual, the rule that allows an Academy-approved body from each country to choose that country’s Oscar submission has led to some surprises.