The Final Stretch In the Oscar Race

Bienvenido! Willkommen! Irashaimase!

No, that’s not some lame kabuki version of “Cabaret,” and it’s not the opening lines to “Babel 2,” either. It’s a trio of exclamations from the languages of some of the best movies at the 79th annual Academy Awards, a motley group of international films that have largely blown the English-language competition out of the water.

Why the Spanish? “Pan’s Labyrinth,” Guillermo del Toro’s Best Foreign Film shoo-in recently eclipsed Alfonso Cuarón’s “Y Tu Mamá También” as the highest-grossing Mexican film in the U.S. For all those hoping to pass as film buffs during the award season, it’s a must-see.

Why the German? “The Lives of Others,” a gripping drama about the Stasi and the East German citizens they spied on during the Cold War, recently opened to overwhelmingly positive reviews, and received a Best Foreign Film nod.

Why the Japanese? Clint Eastwood’s “Letters from Iwo Jima” just might take Oscar’s Best Picture category. It’s an unconventional war film, one subtitled but not quite foreign—Eastwood is just about as American as you can get,

Yet “Letters” has found success outside America’s borders. Its foreign box office gross is four times higher than its domestic totals. My personal favorite for Best Picture, the film has a shot at winning, despite its unflattering portrayal of American soldiers.

More commercially successful films like “The Departed,” “Little Miss Sunshine,” and “Babel” however, might attract more Academy voters.

It was an ambitious year for British films, too, many of which were honored with some kind of nomination. “The Queen” grabbed the fifth Best Picture nomination and a Best Actreess bid for Helen Mirren. The U.K.’s Paul Greengrass wrote and directed the acclaimed Sept. 11 film “United 93,” garnering him a Best Director nod. Other Brits picked up nominations in the screenplay categories, as well.

Mirren is favored to take home the Best Actress statuette, assuming Academy voters ignore her earlier on-the-record remark calling the Oscars “the crème-de-la-crème of bullshit.”

Her Majesty is quite right, in my opinion, as this year’s Oscars are rife with the usual mistakes and oversights. “Little Children” should have been nominated for Best Picture over the overwrought “Babel,” and “Letters” star Ken Watanabe’s Best Actor snub is a terrible omission, especially in a year when Hollywood is pretending to care about international films.

The Academy ignored many critics’ international favorites as well. Where is French writer-directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne’s Palm d’Or winner “L’Enfant” nomination? Where is Romanian director Cristi Puiu’s “The Death of Mr. Lazarescu” honor? Where is the recognition for Korean director Hou Hsiao-hsien’s “Three Times”? You can’t complain that the films are too hard to find in the U.S.—all three are already available on Netflix.

Look out, Academy members—I might have to sic my international gang connections on you.

—Staff writer Kyle L. K. McAuley can be reached at kmcauley@fas.harvard.edu.