The Golden Globes’ category for Best Foreign Language Film could sport an eye-catching slate of nominees this year, according to the list of eligible entries obtained by TheWrap: the Cannes Palme d’Or winner “Blue Is the Warmest Color” and Jury Prize winner “Like Father, Like Son”; India’s beloved “The Lunchbox”; master animator Hayao Miyazaki’s swan song “The Wind Rises”; Pedro Almodovar’s “I’m So Excited”; the top-grossing Mexican film “Instructions Are Not Included”; and even the martial arts epic directed by Keanu Reeves, “Man of Tai Chi.”
Those films have one thing in common: They’re not eligible for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
While the Oscars hold fast to a one-country, one-film rule for now, credentialing a submitting body in each country to make the decision, the Globes’ rules allow for multiple submissions from individual countries. The Hollywood Foreign Press Association accepts any predominantly non-English film released in its country of origin between November 2012 and December 2013, provided it officially screens for the HFPA membership.
A record 76 films qualified for the Oscars, while 58 are in the running for the Globes.
Also read: Oscar’s 2013 Foreign-Language Entries: The Complete List
TheWrap has obtained the Globes list (below), which has gone out to members and includes the films at the heart of the three biggest controversies among Oscar submissions.
Ritesh Batra’s charming “The Lunchbox” is being released in the U.S. by Sony Pictures Classics and seemed all-but-certain to appeal to Oscar voters. Japan’s “Like Father, Like Son” caught Steven Spielberg’s eye when he led the Cannes jury, and his DreamWorks bought English-language remake rights in September. And France’s sexually explicit “Blue is the Warmest Color,” which was released in its home country one week too late to qualify for the Oscars, has become the most talked-about foreign film of the year.
It wouldn’t be at all surprising to see Globes voters opt for that trio of films, which could send the message that their selection is more representative of the best in international cinema than the Oscars.
Also read: Sex, Lies and Invective: Inside the Whole ‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ Mess
Of course, it also wouldn’t be out of character for HFPA members to go for Keanu Reeves‘ “Man of Tai Chi”; these are, after all, the voters who nominated Angelina Jolie in this category for “In the Land of Blood and Honey” two years ago.
The Globes list also includes a Czech entry, Agnieszka Holland’s “Burning Bush,” that was disqualified by the Oscars for debuting on HBO in Europe. It features five films from France (plus one French/Senegalese co-production), four from China, three from Finland and Mexico and two from Canada, Chile, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Philippines and Spain.
Except for Japan and Mexico, every country with more than one submission is represented by the country’s official Oscar submission among its entries; Japan’s submissions are Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Like Father, Like Son” and Hayao Miyazak’s animated “The Wind Rises,” which is competing in the Oscar animation race but not the foreign-language one.
Also read: Toronto: Keanu Reeves Kicks Butt, and Hayao Miyazaki Soars One Last Time
“The Broken Circle Breakdown,” which led all films with five European Film Awards nominations on Saturday, is Belgium’s Oscar submission but missed the qualifying release date in that country by a couple of days. It qualified it for the Globes as an entry from the Netherlands, its co-production company.
The list includes two animated films, “The Wind Rises” and “Ernest and Celestine,” and one documentary, Markus Imhoof’s “More Than Honey.” According to a source close to that latter film, the Globes initially tried to disqualify it for being a doc, until it was pointed out that nothing in the rules said docs were ineligible in the category.
The HFPA’s Serge Rakhlin, chairman of the Foreign Language Film Committee, confirmed to theWrap that a change has subsequently been made to Globes rules to make documentaries ineligible in future years, meaning that “More Than Honey” will be the last doc to be nominated in the category.
Of the 58 eligible Globes films, 33 were entered in the Oscar race and 25 were not.
The best-known films competing for Oscars but ineligible for Globes are Mexico’s “Heli,” Brazil’s “Neighboring Sounds,” Cambodia’s “The Missing Picture” and the Netherlands’ “Borgman.”
Here’s the list of Globe contenders, with films that are also in the Oscar foreign-language race indicated by asterisks:
[CORRECTION: The original list obtained by theWrap was missing 10 films. This list, and this story, have been updated to include the full and correct list.]
Argentina: “The German Doctor” *
Australia: “The Rocket” *
Canada: “Another House”
Canada: “Gabrielle” *
Chile: “Gloria” *
Chile: “The Vineyard”
China: “Back to 1942” *
China/USA: “Man of Tai Chi”
China: “Fall of Ming”
China: “A Touch of Sin”
Czech Republic: “Burning Bush”
Denmark: “The Hunt” *
Finland: “Above Dark Waters”
Finland: “The Disciple” *
Finland: “”8-ball”
France: “Augustine”
France: “Blue is the Warmest Color”
France: “Ernest and Celestine”
France: “Populaire”
France: “Renoir” *
Germany: “Two Lives” *
Greece: “Boy Eating the Bird’s Food” *
Greece: “What If”
Hong Kong: “The Grandmaster” *
Hungary: “Aglaya”
Hungary: “The Notebook” *
India: “The Lunchbox”
Iran: “The Past” *
Israel: “Bethlehem” *
Italy: “The Great Beauty” *
Italy: “The Mother”
Japan: “Like Father, Like Son”
Japan: “The Wind Rises”
Latvia: “Mother, I Love You” *
Lebanon: “The Attack”
Mexico: “Instructions Are Not Included”
Mexico: “The Last Call”
Mexico: “We Are Nobles”
Moldova: “All God’s Children” *
Morocco: “Horses of God” *
The Netherlands: “The Broken Circle Breakdown” *
Norway: “I Am Yours” *
Palestine: “Omar” *
Peru: “The Cleaner” *
The Philippines: “Thy Womb”
The Philippines: “Transit” *
Poland: “Walesa. Man of Hope” *
Romania: “Child’s Pose” *
Russia: “Stalingrad” *
Saudi Arabia: “Wadjda” *
Senegal/France: “Tey” (“Today”)
Serbia: “Circles” *
Singapore: “Ilo Ilo” *
South Korea: “Juvenile Offender” *
Spain: “I’m So Excited!”
Spain: “15 Years + a Day” *
Switzerland: “More Than Honey” *
Turkey: “The Butterfly’s Dream” *