Each year it’s the best of world cinema, delivered to your doorstep. The competition for Best International Feature Film is my personal favorite part of awards season, and the crop of films released in 2024 did not disappoint. Depending on your tastes and preferences, any of the five movies up for Oscar gold in this category could easily top your movie experience of the year.
This year’s selections, a cream-of-crop distillation, notably feature stories with women at their center. That certainly applies to Oscar front runner Emilia Perez, with 13 nominations, distributed in the US by Netflix, and entered by France. Helped in no small part by the streamer’s marketing muscle, it’s no less deserving of the glowing reviews and awards it has garnered along the way.
It has also garnered gobs of publicity, if not hype. But it’s worth stressing what an audacious movie Emelia Perez truly is. A Spanish-language musical about a Mexican cartel leader who wants to transition to become a woman and start life anew? Now that’s pushing the envelope. Star Karla Sofía Gascón’s trail of offensive Tweets notwithstanding, it’s her undeniably brilliant performance as Emilia that has pulled this deserving film into the spotlight. But I still maintain that it’s Zoe Zaldana, playing Emilia’s conflicted confidant, who steals the show and elevates director Jacques Audiard’s movie to a must see. It’s still in cinemas (where it really should be viewed). It’s also streaming on Netflix.
As much as I enjoyed Emilia Perez, my personal favorite is Brazilian director Walter Salles’ I’m Still Here, a movie that, per its spot-on title, is a tribute to human resilience. Based on a true story, it stars Fernanda Torres as Eunice Paiva, a wife and mother whose idyllic life in Rio de Janeiro is shattered by the arrest and ‘disappearance’ of her husband Rubens Paiva (Selton Mello) in 1971, during the period of military rule in Brazil. Far from a history lesson, what emerges instead is a lesson from history – as one woman’s determination to protect her family deepens to depict her steadfast, determined, and lifelong struggle for justice. I’m Still Here is a powerfully emotional film, and Torres’ subtle, understated performance is arguably the best on any screen this year. A contender for three Oscars (Best Picture, Best International Feature and Best Actress) I’m Still Here is playing exclusively in cinemas.
Winner of the Special Jury prize at Cannes, the German candidate, The Seed of the Sacred Fig, another must-see, is a psychological drama charting the implosion of a Tehranian family that is triggered by the Iranian state’s brutal political crackdown happening beyond the walls of their modest apartment.
The plot centers on Iman (Missagh Zareh), a dignified, well-meaning man who at the film’s outset is promoted to the position of a judge in the Tehranian legal system. He soon understands, however, that his true job is summarily approving death sentences. A gun given to him for personal protection one day goes missing. This simple plot point galvanizes a rift in Iman’s once-close family – wife, Najmeh (Soheila Golestani) and two liberal if sheltered daughters, twenty-something Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and younger sister, Sana (Setareh Maleki). These three women, the film’s true protagonists, ultimately pay the price as Iman’s paranoia spirals out of control.
Shot in secret in early 2024, director Mohammad Rasoulof was forced into exile before the film’s Cannes premiere. Completed in Germany (Seed is Germany’s official Oscar entry), the film liberally incorporates Iranian political protest footage captured on iPhones, underscoring the reality behind an unnerving domestic drama. Seed of the Sacred Fig is currently screening in Los Angeles at the Lumiere Musical Hall and on-demand.
For those who like their psychological horror, twisted, bleak, and downright creepy, director Magnus von Horn has a lovely treat in store for you. Denmark’s official Oscar entry, The Girl With The Needle, set in the wake of WWI, is loosely based on the true story of that country’s most notorious serial killer, Dagmar Overbye (Trine Dyrholm), whose shady adoption service for the newborn children of destitute women, shall we say, left much to be desired. The story is told through the eyes of the desperate if naïve Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne), who, with nowhere else to go, arrives one day at Dagmar’s door with babe in arms. Filmed in glorious, high-contrast black and white, the scenario is deeply disturbing (and mercifully non-sensationalist), but the film’s mesmerizing power owes its thanks largely to Carmen Sonne’s performance, reminiscent of a latter-day silent film star.
Finally, hats off to Latvia’s Flow! The star of this animated movie, a nameless black cat, landed on his feet with Oscar nominations in both the Animation and International Film categories. A favorite in European and US animation circles (and a critical darling to boot), Flow is lovingly directed by Latvian animator Gints Zilbalodis. It follows the cat’s attempt to survive a flood of epic proportion in a world where humans no longer exist. To that end, our heroic loner eventually joins a posse of fellow displaced animals, a ragtag crew that manages to overcome differences as they collaborate to survive. Notably, the animals in Zilbalodis’ world are not anthropomorphized, thus do not ‘speak’ (as in zero dialogue). And yet, they communicate profoundly with each other, and with audiences along for their magical journey. The film’s digital animation has a hand-drawn aesthetic, and is suitable for kids and adults alike. Flow is currently playing in select theaters and available on-demand. A special 4K edition of the film will be released by The Criterion Collection later this year.
Steven Goldman is a member of the Critics Choice Association.