Oscars 2023: International, Documentary, and Animated Feature
Two Oscar nerds debate who will win and who should win.
The Oscars are this Sunday! To prepare for the big night, my longtime friend, former grad school officemate, and fellow Oscar nerd Greg Cass and I share our predictions for the three feature categories.
Best International Feature Film
Greg’s Short Take:
Will Win: All Quiet on the Western Front
Should Win: All Quiet on the Western Front
There’s a lot of good filmmaking on display here, and as Director Bong taught us, Americans need to get used to reading subtitles and experience it all. But, a sweeping historical war epic is the right kind of Academy catnip, and All Quiet delivers on this genre across every metric.
Jen’s Short Take:
Will Win: All Quiet on the Western Front
Should Win: I’m writing in RRR and you can’t stop me.
Okay, so out of all the nominees here, I’ve only seen All Quiet on the Western Front. But it’s the only one nominated for Best Picture, which means it will almost certainly win. I really wish India had submitted RRR because that was one of my favorite films this year.
Image Credit: Slate
The Long Take:
Winning this category will be where All Quiet on the Western Front’s haul will start. At the bare minimum it will get this, as other international films nominated in both international feature and best picture have before. Roma did it. Parasite did it. Legal thriller Argentina, 1985 baffled many with a win at the Golden Globes, but there’s really not much to debate here.
All Quiet on the Western front is technically impressive, and does an excellent job of showing the horrors of war without glorifying war itself. Edward Berger has said that he wanted to adapt the classic novel in 2023 as a cautionary tale about the rise of fascism and the dangers of another world war. The film certainly has a clear anti-war message, but doesn’t do much beyond that.
Greg and I both have a lot of love for a film that should be on this list but never had a chance. India decided not to submit S. S. Rajamouli’s RRR to the Oscars, thus making it not eligible for nomination. Over the top in the best way, this action epic with a powerful brotherhood story at its center could have easily been a contender. (If you like insane action sequences, this is a must see.)
Here’s where you can watch all the nominees:
All Quiet on the Western Front — Netflix
Argentina, 1985 — Amazon Prime Video
EO — The Criterion Channel
Close — Available to rent or buy at home.
The Quiet Girl — Only in theaters.
Best Documentary Feature Film
Greg’s Short Take:
Will Win: Navalny
Should Win: A House Made of Splinters
A great year for documentary and a set of nominees that show the breadth of what film can show us. Navalny gives us a gripping story with real “I can’t believe I’m seeing this” energy that also lets Hollywood stick its thumb in Putin’s eye. It’s politics more than art, but I’m certain it will win out.
Jen’s Short Take:
Will Win: Navalny
Should Win: Navalny
Once again, I’ve only seen the frontrunner in this category, Navalny. But it’s so well-edited as a real life political thriller and a timely indictment of the Russian government; it could really resonate with voters. I’ve been saying this could win since I saw it at Sundance last year.
Image Credit: Vanity Fair
The Long Take:
This has been a weird year for predictions in this category, and we *could* have more of a race on our hands than our Short Takes might indicate. In anticipation of the nominations, Navalny and Fire of Love were simultaneously frontrunners and underdogs. Navalny could have been too populist and Fire of Love relied mostly on archival/found footage, which the documentary branch of the Academy has largely ignored. I’ve heard lots of Oscar pundits say that getting the nomination was the big hurdle, and became top contenders once they made it in. Navalny, however, has won the most precursor awards, including big ones like PGA and BAFTA.
Even if you don’t consider yourself a documentary person, Navalny is a great watch because Alexei Navalny, the real-life political figure currently in prison for opposing Putin is actually very charismatic, which makes his interviews very entertaining despite the serious subject matter. And watching him investigate an attempted assassination of his own life is wild.
Here’s where you can watch all the nominees:
All That Breathes — HBOMax
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed — HBOMax (starting March 19)
Fire of Love — Hulu and Disney+
A House Made of Splinters — Available to rent or buy on AppleTV+ or Amazon.
Navalny — HBOMax
Best Animated Feature Film
Greg’s Short Take:
Will Win: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Should Win: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Look, there’s no one more charismatic and beloved than Guillermo del Toro and his Pinocchio is a masterpiece worthy of the award. His ability to meld new mythology and politics into a well-worn story is masterful, and the stop motion is beautiful. I look forward to him holding the little wooden boy on stage for his speech.
Jen’s Short Take:
Will Win: Pinocchio
Should Win: Pinocchio
I have seen all of these nominees! While they are all strong films that deserve to be here, Pinnocchio is running away with it because it’s won every precursor it could. And shouldn’t everyone want to see the endearing Guillermo del Toro accept an Oscar for this?
Image Credit: The Boston Globe
The Long Take:
Guillermo del Toro has said that “Animation is cinema. It is not a genre for kids. It is a medium.” Our two favorites, del Toro’s own Pinocchio and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, are both superb illustrations of this statement. Pinocchio is a mournful, existential take on a story we only think we know, darkly and bitingly set in Mussolini’s fascist Italy. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, meanwhile, is an adorably twee mockumentary that satirizes social media while also telling a heartfelt story.
To be honest, though, we love all the films in this category, and have, in some cases, watched them with our kids several times.
Here’s where you can watch all the nominees:
Pinocchio — Netflix
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On — Paramount Plus
Sea Beast — Netflix
Puss and Boots: The Last Wish — Peacock (starting tomorrow)
Turning Red — Disney+