Beyond the Multiplex

"Joyeux Noël" A vastly superior film, but another illustration of why the rules in this category are idiotic. If this were a horse race and I were playing long-shot hunches, this supernally lovely and supremely old-fashioned World War I picture might be my pick. What's profoundly unfortunate is that in the year when, for instance, "The Beat That My Heart Skipped" and "Caché" were released, "Joyeux Noël" was the sole official French candidate. (In case you're wondering, "Kings and Queen" and "À Tout de Suite" were released in France in 2004, and so were not eligible this year.)

"Joyeux Noël" deserves a more thorough review than I can give it here (it opens Friday, March 3, in major cities). It's fairly closely based on historical events, namely the widespread unofficial truce that broke out along the Western front of World War I during the Christmas season of 1914. Trapped in the gruesome trenches of what would soon be recognized as the worst (and perhaps most pointless) slaughter the world had yet seen, ordinary German, French and British soldiers crossed the lines at Christmas to drink, hold musical recitals, swap stories and photos, play soccer and generally ignore the orders of the despots and generals at the rear.

It's a profoundly moving story of -- yes! -- the human spirit rising above horrible circumstances, and simultaneously a work of nostalgia for the gentlemen's war that marked the end, or the beginning of the end, of Christian Europe's world domination. It's got gorgeous music (from classical arias to Scottish bagpipers), lovely photography, just enough killing to make it feel morally serious, and nice performances from Guillaume Canet, Daniel Brühl and Alex Ferns as the French, German and Scottish officers, respectively, who enjoy some civilized bonhomie amid the carnage. Odds on this one: Still not the favorite, but it fulfills all the requirements and comes with no controversy. Coming up fast on the outside.

"Paradise Now" Topic of the hour: Is Hollywood providing aid and comfort to terrorists by even nominating Hany Abu-Assad's film about two would-be suicide bombers from the West Bank, which was nominated by a nation ("Palestine") that doesn't officially exist? The word "irony" gets misused a lot, but I suppose it was invented to describe situations like this one: "Paradise Now" was produced with money from various European countries, but it could most accurately be described as an Israeli film.

I've reviewed "Paradise Now" already, and I think it's a terrific film of unquestioned artistic integrity. It tells the story of two men who turn to violence with unclear motivations, and it neither judges them nor endorses their actions. That said, let's be honest: If my wife or children had been killed by a suicide bomber, I wouldn't like it too much either. And in fairness, the Israeli petition asking the Academy to un-nominate "Paradise Now" isn't suggesting that the film should be banned or suppressed, just that it shouldn't be considered for the industry's most prestigious award. I don't share that view, but it's not a ludicrous or loathsome position.

I don't blame outraged Israelis and American Jews, or offended anybodies, for this controversy. To coin a phrase, I blame the media. Some of the coverage has been beyond moronic. From Britain's Observer, we learn that the bomb attack that is about to happen in the film's last moments "is unarguably portrayed as heroic," since the perpetrator, Saïd (Kasi Nashef), is the film's protagonist. Hello? I guess that means Fritz Lang's "M" is telling us that murdering small children is heroic, or that, I don't know, "Lolita" and "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" and "Taxi Driver" are all ... you get the point.

The Observer article, which helpfully never asks Abu-Assad or anyone else involved with "Paradise Now" about their intentions, goes on to say that the real problem with Saïd's character is Nashef's "Hollywood looks," which create an atmosphere of "sexy jihad" around his attack. His friend Khaled (Ali Suliman) evidently refuses to commit mass murder because he's insufficiently hot. "Paradise Now" has less chance than it ever did of winning an Oscar (and it never had much). But that article deserves an award for cultural journalism at its most distinctively odious, combining slipshod reporting with half-baked postmodern theorizing. Congratulations! Odds on this one: You have got to be kidding.

"Sophie Scholl: The Final Days" A fascinating, serious and memorable film about Germany's most famous anti-Nazi resistance leader, with a great performance by Julia Jentsch in the title role. (Read more comments, and my interview with director Marc Rothemund, here.) Not quite great cinema, but already an award-winner in Germany and at festivals around the world, and pretty much tailor-made for Oscar. It's always possible the Academy voters have burned out on Holocaust-related topics, but "Sophie Scholl" carries with it a cleverly packaged contemporary message about the need to speak out against repressive governments that violate their citizens' trust. As Rothemund assured me, he would never dare to compare George W. Bush to Hitler. Such suggestions are of course outrageous. Odds on this one: Still the strong favorite, but fading slightly in the stretch.

"Tsotsi" Here's the likeliest breakout hit in this category, both for its vibrant portrayal of the music, violent street life and distinctive dialect of Soweto, Johannesburg's legendary ghetto, and for its passionate, melodramatic story about a gang leader transformed by his accidental abduction of a baby. (Read more about the film, and my interview with director Gavin Hood, here.) I found "Tsotsi" prodigiously moving and entertaining, and its elements are those of classical fable: crime and redemption, an endangered infant, a disabled man dispensing wisdom, a stunning Earth-mama type. But while it's a gorgeous movie (and nothing truly awful happens to the baby), I suspect its violence is a little too raw, and its journey too jagged, for Oscar voters to embrace it unreservedly. There's also the question of which weighs more heavily in the voting: Hollywood's semi-conscious racism, or its desire to correct for it by voting for a film with a virtually all-black cast. I suspect they cancel each other out. Odds on this one: Viewed at first as the No. 2 contender, but has faded. Can't be ruled out, but would be a major surprise.

Next page: And the documentaries ...