2009 Foreign Language Contenders

The deadline for foreign language submissions is today, so the list is starting to firm up. We'll have a shortlist later this year before nomination time in January. Here are the 59 entrants thus far:

ALBANIA - Alive
ARGENTINA - The Secret in Their Eyes
ARMENIA - Autumn of the Magician
AUSTRALIA - Samson & Delilah
AUSTRIA - For a Moment, Freedom
BANGLADESH - Beyond the Circle
BELGIUM - The Misfortunates
BOLIVIA - Southern Zone
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - Guardians of the Night
BRAZIL - Salve Geral
BULGARIA - The World is Big and Salvation Lurks Around the Corner
CANADA - I Killed My Mother
CHILE - Dawson, Island 10
CHINA - Forever Enthralled
CROATIA - Donkey
CZECH REPUBLIC - Protector
DENMARK - Terribly Happy
ESTONIA - December Heat
FINLAND - Letters to Father Jacob
FRANCE - A Prophet
GERMANY - The White Ribbon
HONG KONG - Prince of Tears
HUNGARY - Chameleon
ICELAND - Reykjavik-Rotterdam
INDIA - Harishchandrachi Factory
INDONESIA - Jamila and the President
IRAN - About Elly
ISRAEL - Ajami
ITALY - Baaria
JAPAN - Nobody to Watch Over Me
KAZAKHSTAN - Kelin
KOREA - Mother
LITHUANIA - Waterhole
LUXEMBOURG - Refractaire
MACEDONIA - Wingless
MEXICO - Backyard
MONGOLIA - By the Will of Genghis Khan
MOROCCO - Casanegra
NETHERLANDS - The Silent Army
NORWAY - Max Manus
PHILIPPENES - Ded na Si Lolo
POLAND - Reverse
PORTUGAL - Doomed Love
ROMANIA - Police, Adjective
RUSSIA - Ward No. 6
SERBIA - St. George Shoots the Dragon
SLOVAKIA - Broken Promise
SLOVENIA - Landscape No. 2
SOUTH AFRICA - White Wedding
SPAIN - The Dancer and the Thief
SRI LANKA - Flowers in the Sky
SWEDEN - Involuntary
SWITZERLAND - Home
TAIWAN - No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti
THAILAND - Best in Time
TURKEY - I Saw the Sun
URUGUAY - Bad Day to Go Fishing
VENEZUELA - Libertador Morales, El Justiciero
VIETNAM - Don't Burn

There were a couple of surprises with the selections. Israel was widely expected to submit Venice winner Lebanon, and Spain passed over Almodovar's Broken Embraces. I think the major players will be Germany's The White Ribbon, which won Michael Haneke the Palme d'Or back in May, France's A Prophet, which also did well at Cannes, and Korea's Mother.

I'm dying to see The White Ribbon and Australia's Samson & Deliliah. Which foreign titles are you most looking forward to?

Trailer for The White Ribbon

Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke won the Palme d'Or at Cannes earlier this year for The White Ribbon, which focuses on a children's choir in northern Germany just before World War I. The film is also playing at Telluride and Toronto this month.

The international trailer just recently made its way online, and it looks great. I'm of the opinion that black and white is criminally under-used today. I think it makes for some beautiful imagery when used correctly (the red coat in Schindler's List comes to mind), and I love to see modern filmmakers put it to good use.

Germany selected the film as its official entry to the Academy Awards' Best Foreign Language Film race, and it also picked up the FIPRESCI Best Picture prize last month. It may be the most decorated film of the year so far.

The White Ribbon will hit US theaters December 30th.