Oscar Foreign Film Shortlist Includes ‘Son Of Saul,’ ‘A War,’ And ‘Mustang,’ But ‘The Assassin’ Misses Out

It’s now down to nine. We’re weeks away from the Oscar nominations being announced, which means the hard decisions are being made in various branches of the Academy, about which contenders have made the grade, and the others that will be left behind. In the Foreign Film category some big films have moved ahead, while others didn’t make the grade.

Among the critically acclaimed films named in the nine strong shortlist are Cannes breakout “Son Of Saul,” French arthouse fave “Mustang,” and Tobias Lindholm‘s “A War.” But perhaps the biggest omission is Hou Hsiao-Hsien‘s celebrated “The Assassin.” That’s the way the cookie crumbles, and I’d presume the director’s methodically paced picture didn’t catch on with the majority of voters. Check out the shortlist below. [EW]

• Belgium, The Brand New Testament, Jaco Van Dormael, director
• Colombia, Embrace of the Serpent, Ciro Guerra, director
• Denmark, A War, Tobias Lindholm, director
• Finland, The Fencer, Klaus Härö, director
• France, Mustang, Deniz Gamze Ergüven, director
• Germany, Labyrinth of Lies, Giulio Ricciarelli, director
• Hungary, Son of Saul, László Nemes, director
• Ireland, Viva, Paddy Breathnach, director
• Jordan, Theeb, Naji Abu Nowar, director