Spain’s ‘Society of the Snow,’ Bhutan’s ‘The Monk and the Gun,’ and Iceland’s ‘Godland’ all make their case for the Academy Awards shortlist. The 2023 contenders for the international film Oscar are filled with tales of real-life struggles from the Ukraine war (Ukraine’s “20 Days in Mariupol”), the Holocaust (United Kingdom’s “The Zone of Interest”) and the European migrant crisis (Italy’s “Io Capitano”). The following three contenders — from Spain, Bhutan and Iceland — fall into that category in many respects, as their stories unfold along distinct and stunning landscapes.
Godland was beautiful but bleak - both visually and thematically, really. I will certainly look out for the others mentioned here.
Thanks, good to know. I haven’t seen any of these yet but would like to.
I especially like seeing Bhutan is still making films. The other Bhutanese films I’ve seen were really special.