Anatomy of a Fall is the best courtroom drama that we’ve seen in a long while, and it was recently nominated for Best Picture at the 2024 Academy Awards. Some viewers may be surprised to find how much of it is in French, however.
Anatomy of a Fall is a French-produced film directed by Justine Triet, who is also a French director, making it an undoubtedly French movie. However, there’s been noteworthy discussion about whether the movie counts as French enough, as France’s Oscars committee submitted the film The Taste of Things over Anatomy of a Fall for Best International Feature.
As explained by Vanity Fair, the French committee is in charge of choosing movies to submit to the Oscars for consideration. The organization is made up of various members associated with the film industry, like composer Alexandre Desplat, Producer Patrick Wachsberger, director Olivier Assayas, and more.
But why is this pick contentious? According to Variety, this might have something to do with how much French is spoken in both movies. Anatomy of a Fall’s dialogue is 59% French, while The Taste of Things’s dialogue is 100% French. However, a film’s dialogue only needs to be at least 50% non-English to be eligible for the Best International Film category.
Perhaps the French Oscars committee simply felt that The Taste of Things was more French than Anatomy of a Fall. Another possibility is that Anatomy of a Fall was already in the running for several major awards, so maybe they wanted to avoid redundancy and give another French film a fair shot.
There were a total of five nominees for the international feature category: Io Capitano (Italy), Society of the Snow (Spain), Perfect Days (Japan), The Teachers’ Lounge (Germany), and The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom/Poland). Ultimately, the Taste of Things did not receive a single nomination at the Oscars, while The Zone of Interest won Best International Feature at this year’s Academy Awards.
In terms of plot, both The Taste of Things and Anatomy of a Fall differ quite a bit. The latter is a legal drama centered around a German woman named Sandra Voyter, whose husband is mysteriously killed very early on in the film. She is put on trial and must prove that she was not involved with his death.
The Taste of Things is a historical romantic drama directed by Vietnamese director Trần Anh Hùng. The story revolves around a budding romance between a gourmand and her personal hired chef. Hùng went on to win the Best Director award at the 76th Cannes Film Festival.
It’s interesting to note that The Taste of Things experienced considerable backlash earlier in the year. As reported by Indiewire, a few critics and moviegoers criticized the supposedly conventional, hackneyed writing and structure of the movie, arguing that it did not deserve to be picked by the French committee for Oscars consideration.
Regardless of where you stand on this topic, Anatomy of a Fall was eligible for International Feature consideration and is thoroughly French. Now, go watch it right now and join the Messi appreciation club.
(featured image: Neon)
