The 2019 Oscar race is entering its final stretch, with prognosticators already unveiling their lists of winners. This year two Japanese films are up for Academy Awards ¡ª Hirokazu Kore-eda¡¯s ¡°Shoplifters¡± (best foreign language film) and Mamoru Hosoda¡¯s ¡°Mirai¡± (best animated feature film).
An executive at the Japan office of a U.S. streaming service confidently tells me both films are top Oscar contenders. ¡°¡¯Mirai¡¯ is the only film for kids in its category. The other four nominees will split the ¡®adult animation¡¯ vote, and that will make ¡®Mirai¡¯ the winner,¡± he explains.
Meanwhile, ¡°Shoplifters,¡± a drama about a makeshift family that won the Cannes Palme d¡¯Or, faces stiff competition from ¡°Roma,¡± the autobiographical family drama by Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron. The latter film has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards including best picture and best director. ¡°Picking ¡®Roma¡¯ for best foreign language film when it is already a favorite for the main awards will strike Academy voters as overkill,¡± the executive says. He predicts they will instead check the box for ¡°Shoplifters.¡±
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