Here are my thoughts on the films submitted to the 2025 Oscars in the International Feature race
I have currently seen 50 of the 85 Official Submissions
Nominees
| Country | Title | Yay, Nay or Meh | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | I’m Still Here | YAY | A film of quiet dignity and power |
| Denmark | The Girl With the Needle | YAY | Beautiful, experimental cinematography and visuals, harsh real-life story |
| France | Emilia Pérez | NAY | A terrible musical, bad trans representation, bad Mexican representation |
| Germany | The Seed of the Sacred Fig | YAY | The consequences of dedicating your life to an authoritarian regime, use of real protest footage adds enormous power |
| Latvia | Flow | MEH | Cute animal hijinks with a muddy allegory |
Shortlisted
| Country | Title | Yay, Nay or Meh | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | Universal Language | MEH | Absurdist director says the world is interconnected… and then what? |
| Czechia | Waves | YAY | Bravery of a free press in authoritarian times |
| Iceland | Touch | MEH | The regrets of lost love, COVID and the legacy of Hiroshima (for some reason) |
| Ireland | Kneecap | YAY | Exuberant anarchy and entertainment, strong message about the loss of native languages |
| Italy | Vermiglio | MEH | Family melodrama in the stunning Italian Alps |
| Norway | Armand | YAY | Social norms gradually being peeled back and hidden agendas coming to the fore |
| Palestine | From Ground Zero | YAY | 22 Short films that are stronger collectively than individually |
| Senegal | Dahomey | MEH | Dramatic conceit unecessary in a doumentary, spends WAY too much time listening to a bunch of students complain |
| Thailand | How To Make Millions Before Grandma Dies | MEH | Unchallenging sentimentality aimed at the grey-pound market |
| United Kingdom | Santosh | YAY | Showing the Indian police service to be corrupt, misogynist and classist, but do we go along anyway? |
Submitted
| Country | Title | Yay, Nay or Meh | Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albania | Waterdrop | ||
| Algeria | Algiers | ||
| Argentina | Kill The Jockey | MEH | Weird trans (maybe?) narrative put together by a wannabe Kaurismäki |
| Armenia | Yasha and Leonid Brezhnev | YAY | The power of nostalgia and the lack of comfort in a Post-Soviet Armenia |
| Austria | The Devil’s Bath | MEH | The utter, tragic desparation of 18th Century women |
| Bangladesh | The Wrestler | ||
| Belgium | Julie Keeps Quiet | YAY | A reverse Whiplash, where NOT being abused is the key to greatness |
| Bolivia | Own Hand | ||
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | My Late Summer | YAY | Cute Free-Spirit-Visits-Oddball-Island energy with a dose of family melodrama |
| Bulgaria | Triumph | ||
| Cambodia | Meeting With Pol Pot | ||
| Cameroon | Kismet | ||
| Chile | In Her Place | YAY | A weird method of feminist escapism, just how creepy is it? |
| Colombia | La Suprema | MEH | ‘Let’s Put On A Show!’ enthusiasm manages to highlight deep racism |
| Costa Rica | Memories of a Burning Body | YAY | Fascinating testimonies on important subjects, but sometimes feels like a visualised podcast |
| Croatia | Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day | ||
| Dominican Republic | Aire: Just Breathe | ||
| Ecuador | Behind the Mist | NAY | Chaotic documentarian, self-important subject sharing their cod philosophy |
| Egypt | Flight 404 | ||
| Estonia | 8 Views of Lake Biwa | NAY | Every pretentious arthouse cliché you’ve ever seen |
| Finland | Family Time | ||
| Georgia | The Antique | MEH | Classic Grumpy-old-man/younger-friend dynamic and a dash of refugee crisis |
| Greece | Murderess | MEH | Being haunted in a patriarchy where killing female babies is the norm |
| Guatemala | Rita | YAY | Heartbreaking based-on-true-story narrative, very inspired by Pan’s Labyrinth |
| Hong Kong | Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In | MEH | Dystopian martial arts |
| Hungary | Semmelweis | MEH | Hagiographic biopic of medical pioneer who should be much better known |
| India | Lost Ladies | MEH | Mild farce that has very basic messages about feminism |
| Indonesia | Women From Rote Island | MEH | Very Slow-Burn tale of female trauma in a patriarchy |
| Iran | In The Arms of the Tree | ||
| Iraq | Baghdad Messi | ||
| Israel | Come Closer | MEH | Narcissistic young woman bonds with her dead brothers naive, secret girlfriend. Queer, Toxic or Both? |
| Japan | Cloud | MEH | Extreme revenge fantasy against the modern, sefish, capitalist world |
| Kazakhstan | Bauryna Salu | MEH | Very naturalistic observation of bizarre custom that promotes isolation and identity crisis |
| Kenya | Nawi | MEH | Message movie let down by mediocre acting, too much English to be eligible? |
| Kyrgysztan | Paradise at Mother’s Feet | ||
| Lebanon | Arzé | ||
| Lituania | Drowning Dry | ||
| Malaysia | Abang Adik | ||
| Malta | Castillo | MEH | Strange mix of interacting with a fictional character and dealing with generational trauma and mystery, reminiscent of Harlan Coben |
| Mexico | Sujo | MEH | Dream like coming-of-age in a cartel region |
| Mongolia | If Only I Could Hibernate | MEH | Mild poverty-porn of trying to escape nomadic heritage and escape Mongolia |
| Montenegro | Supermarket | NAY | Deliberately obtuse film that tries to be absurdist, ends up disturbing |
| Morocco | Everybody Loves Touda | ||
| Nepal | Shambhala | ||
| Netherlands | Memory Lane | ||
| Nigeria | Mai Martaba | NAY | Poorly written mess with the production values of a TV Movie |
| Pakistan | The Glassworker | YAY | Trying really hard to emulate Studio Ghibli and comes remarkably close to succeeding |
| Panama | Wake Up Mom | ||
| Paraguay | The Last Ones | MEH | Environmental documentary with arthouse pretensions |
| Peru | Yana-Wara | NAY | Important message, stunningly photograped, let down by terrible acting |
| Philippines | And So It Begins | ||
| Poland | Under The Volcano | MEH | Being stuck in limbo is enough to crack any family |
| Portugal | Grand Tour | NAY | Mixture of 1918 colonialism and modern-day travelogue, doesn’t blend at all |
| Romania | Three Kilometres to the End of the World | YAY | Being outed via gaybashing is not the way to survive small town society or your family |
| Serbia | Russian Consul | ||
| Singapore | La Luna | MEH | Message about religious repression in a light Rom-Com |
| Slovakia | The Hungarian Dressmaker | ||
| Slovenia | Family Therapy | ||
| South Africa | Old Righteous Blues | ||
| South Korea | 12.12: The Day | ||
| Spain | Saturn Return | ||
| Sweden | The Last Journey | MEH | Two comedians and one of their fathers in a ‘documentary’ that’s unhealthily forced |
| Switzerland | Queens | ||
| Taiwan | Old Fox | ||
| Tajikistan | Melody | ||
| Tunisia | Take My Breath | ||
| Turkey | Life | ||
| Ukraine | La Palisiada | NAY | Disjointed scenes that are very hard (Too Hard?) to understand |
| Venezuela | Back To Life | ||
| Vietnam | Peach Blossom, Pho and Piano |
With each country only able to submit one film, sometimes countries get it “Wrong”. In my opinion these are the better options for some of the countries:
- CHINA should have submitted Black Dog over The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru (which ended up being disqualified for too much English)
- ESTONIA should have submitted The Invisible Fight over 8 Views of Lake Biwa
- FRANCE should have submitted The Count of Monte-Cristo over Emilia Pérez
- HUNGARY should have submitted Without Air over Semmelweis
- INDIA should have submitted All We Imagine As Light over Lost Ladies
- IRAN should have submitted The Seed of the Sacred Fig only they’re an authoritarian regime
- PALESTINE should have submitted No Other Land over From Ground Zero
- SWEDEN should have submitted Crossing over The Last Journey
Equally, in my opinion, there were “Surprise” entries that were better choices than more high profile rivals:
- GEORGIA made a better choice submitting The Antique over April
- ITALY made a better choice submitting Vermiglio over Parthenope
- JAPAN made a better choice submitting Cloud over Evil Does Not Exist
- UNITED KINGDOM made a better choice submitting Santosh over On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
And to conclude this list, here are my personal choices for what should have got nominated:
- BELGIUM: Julie Keeps Quiet
- GERMANY: The Seed of the Sacred Fig
- IRELAND: Kneecap
- ROMANIA: Three Kilometres to the End of the World
- UNITED KINGDOM: Santosh
The Yay Nay Or Meh Podcast 
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