The Academy members have shortlisted two films from Denmark and Sweden for this year’s Foreign Language Award. This comes with no surprise as Scandinavian films have often made it to the Oscars shortlist. Before second guessing which film will be the winner, let us take a ‘somewhat’ closer look at both Scandinavian films.
Denmark – Land of Mine (Under sandet)
Directed by Martin Zandvliet, Land of Mine is a war drama in a classical sense based on a true and rather unknown story, being Denmark’s twelfth Academy Award nomination. The film is set after World War II in Denmark where German prisoners of war are forced to remove nearly 2 million land mines with their bare hands and no protection whatsoever. The audience who has seen the film so far is said to be moved extremely and torn apart by the plot. It is not surprising to see that our modern-day viewer can still relate to tragedies of wartime.
Here is the official trailer for a quick look.
Sweden — A Man called Ove (En man som heter Ove)
Already the winner of European Film Award for Best Comedy, A Man Called Ove is a crowd pleasing box office hit from Sweden and the country’s fifteenth Academy Award nomination. Director Hans Holm is inspired by life itself and presents us a mix of various emotions and situations from our lives – comedy, tragedy, loneliness and happiness. The film is based on a 2012 novel by Fredrick Backman, a Swedish writer. The story focuses on a rather morose man named Ove, who leads a solitary life but everything changes with a noisy family moving in next door.
Here is the trailer of the film for you to enjoy.
While countdown to the 89th Academy Award Ceremony is coming to a close, we are excited whether one of the two Nordic films will be the winner or not. We’ll see, until then we wish them luck!
(Photo Credit: www.kino.dk)
