The Academy has published the list of 67 films submitted by their respective countries to try and compete for the 2008 Foreign Language Oscar. Below is the complete list, with added commentary on those I’ve seen:

Afghanistan, “Opium War,” Siddiq Barmak, director;

Albania, “The Sorrow of Mrs. Schneider,” Piro Milkani and Eno Milkani, directors;

Algeria, “Masquerades,” Lyes Salem, director;

Argentina, “Lion’s Den,” Pablo Trapero, director;
An impressive film visually, although the story line and high-volume acting reminded me of 70’s daytime drama “Cell Block H”. Nevertheless, this one could stand out and find a way into the shortlist of 9 films.

Austria, “Revanche,” Gotz Spielmann, director;

Azerbaijan, “Fortress,” Shamil Nacafzada, director;

Bangladesh, “Aha!,” Enamul Karim Nirjhar, director;

Belgium, “Eldorado,” Bouli Lanners, director;
Nope.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, “Snow,” Aida Begic, director;

Brazil, “Last Stop 174,” Bruno Barreto, director;

Bulgaria, “Zift,” Javor Gardev, director;

Canada, “The Necessities of Life,” Benoit Pilon, director;

Chile, “Tony Manero,” Pablo Larrain, director;
The ugliest movie I’ve seen this year, and although the name and plot suggest some-sort of riff on the John Travolta character from “Saturday Night Live” this film will surely put-off academy members.

China, “Dream Weavers,” Jun Gu, director;

Colombia, “Dog Eat Dog,” Carlos Moreno, director;

Croatia, “No One’s Son,” Arsen Anton Ostojic, director;

Czech Republic, “The Karamazovs,” Petr Zelenka, director;

Denmark, “Worlds Apart,” Niels Arden Oplev, director;

Egypt, “The Island,” Sherif Arafa, director;

Estonia, “I Was Here,” Rene Vilbre, director;

Finland, “The Home of Dark Butterflies,” Dome Karukoski, director;

France, “The Class,” Laurent Cantet, director;
Palm D’or winner and a shoo-in for the short-listed 9, but although some are predicting this one to win, I can’t see it happening. It’s to pedestrian to win.

Georgia, “Mediator,” Dito Tsintsadze, director;

Germany, “The Baader Meinhof Complex,” Uli Edel, director;

Greece, “Correction,” Thanos Anastopoulos, director;

Hong Kong, “Painted Skin,” Gordon Chan, director;

Hungary, “Iska’s Journey,” Csaba Bollok, director;

Iceland, “White Night Wedding,” Baltasar Kormakur, director;

India, “Taare Zameen Par,” Aamir Khan, director;

Iran, “The Song of Sparrows,” Majid Majidi, director;

Israel, “Waltz with Bashir,” Ari Folman, director;
My home-team favorite. Definitely one for the top 9, but getting a nomination will be tough for this animated documentary. Animated films have never been nominated for a Foreign Language Oscar. I’m betting this one will still be nominated, but in the Best Animated Feature category.

Italy, “Gomorra,” Matteo Garrone, director;
Clearly a nominee, a could walk away with the Oscar, although this wild and violent ride may be to bleak, and ultimately not emotional enough, for the Oscar. But a true tour-de-force.

Japan, “Departures,” Yojiro Takita, director;

Jordan, “Captain Abu Raed,” Amin Matalqa, director;
First time at the Oscars for Jordan, and this could be this year’s black horse. This well-made drama of an elderly janitor mistaken in his community for an airline pilot will move older Academy members. A nomination is a very good possibility.

Kazakhstan, “Tulpan,” Sergey Dvortsevoy, director;

Korea, “Crossing,” Tae-kyun Kim, director;

Kyrgyzstan, “Heavens Blue,” Marie Jaoul de Poncheville, director;

Latvia, “Defenders of Riga,” Aigars Grauba, director;

Lebanon, “Under the Bombs,” Philippe Aractingi, director;

Lithuania, “Loss,” Maris Martinsons, director;

Luxembourg, “Nuits d’Arabie,” Paul Kieffer, director;

Macedonia, “I’m from Titov Veles,” Teona Strugar Mitevska, director;

Mexico, “Tear This Heart Out,” Roberto Sneider, director;

Morocco, “Goodbye Mothers,” Mohamed Ismail, director;

The Netherlands, “Dunya & Desie,” Dana Nechushtan, director;
A teen-flick by an Israeli born director. I’d love her to be nominated, but this looks like a long shot.

Norway, “O’Horten,” Bent Hamer, director;
Tough one to call. I think it’s too quirky for academy members, but could sneak in and surprise.

Palestine, “Salt of This Sea” Annemarie Jacir, director;

Philippines, “Ploning,” Dante Nico Garcia, director;

Poland, “Tricks,” Andrzej Jakimowski, director;

Portugal, “Our Beloved Month of August,” Miguel Gomes, director;

Romania, “The Rest Is Silence,” Nae Caranfil, director;

Russia, “Mermaid,” Anna Melikyan, director;
It starts out really sweet, but then becomes pretentiously repetetive. It’s communicative enough to have a shot at the Oscars, but I hope academy members see this one for what it is and not to fall for its juvenile antics.

Serbia, “The Tour,” Goran Markovic, director;

Singapore, “My Magic,” Eric Khoo, director;

Slovakia, “Blind Loves,” Juraj Lehotsky, director;

Slovenia, “Rooster’s Breakfast,” Marko Nabersnik, director;

South Africa, “Jerusalema,” Ralph Ziman, director;

Spain, “The Blind Sunflowers,” Jose Luis Cuerda, director;

Sweden, “Everlasting Moments,” Jan Troell, director;

Switzerland, “The Friend,” Micha Lewinsky, director;

Taiwan, “Cape No. 7,” Te-Sheng Wei, director;

Thailand, “Love of Siam,” Chookiat Sakveerakul, director;

Turkey, “3 Monkeys,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan, director;
Among the film’s I’ve seen so far, this one’s the winner in my book. A true cinematic piece of art where intense drama is balanced out with pristine camera and sound work. I hope Academy Members appreciate it.

Ukraine, “Illusion of Fear,” Aleksandr Kiriyenko, director;

United Kingdom, “Hope Eternal,” Karl Francis, director;

Uruguay, “Kill Them All,” Esteban Schroeder, director;

Venezuela, “The Color of Fame,” Alejandro Bellame Palacios, director.