“Nothing New in the West” is one of the Oscar favorites: the anti-war drama by German director Edward Berger has nine chances – even in the top category “Best Picture”. But one contribution was nominated more often.
The German contribution “Nothing New in the West” by director Edward Berger is one of the big Oscar favorites this year. The film is nominated for nine of the coveted Academy Awards, including Best Picture and International Feature Film. This was announced by the Los Angeles Film Academy on Tuesday. Only the science fiction film “Everything Everywhere All at Once” received more nominations with eleven entries.
Together with “Nothing New in the West” four other films are also in the running for the so-called foreign Oscar, including “Argentina, 1985” (Argentina), “Close” (Belgium) and “EO” (Poland). The German anti-war drama received further nominations in the categories of camera, make-up & hairstyling, production design, sound, visual effects and adapted screenplay. In addition, the German composer Volker Bertelmann was nominated for his film music.
The horror of war
Bertelmann, also known by the stage name Hauschka, vividly underscored the horror of war in “Nothing New in the West”. In 2017 he was nominated for an Oscar together with his US colleague Dustin O’Halloran for the soundtrack to the film “Lion”. At the award ceremony, however, they went away empty-handed.
“Nothing New in the West” based on the book by Erich Maria Remarque from 1929 shows the horror of the First World War from the perspective of a young soldier. Austrian Felix Kammerer plays the leading role.
A year ago, Germany sent the tragic comedy “I am your human” in the race for the so-called foreign Ocar, but the film by director Maria Schrader did not make it into the final round. Germany’s last success in this Oscar category was more than 15 years ago: in 2007 Florian Henckel won the trophy from Donnersmarck’s Stasi drama “The Lives of Others”.
Flashy comedy starring Michelle Yeoh
Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s “Everything Everywhere All at Once” is about a laundromat owner (Michelle Yeoh) with a chaotic everyday life who takes on the tax inspector (Jamie Lee Curtis) at the IRS because of her tax return. She also has problems with her daughter and her husband (Ke Huy Quan) wants a divorce. Her universe is turned upside down, she whirls through parallel worlds in which action and kung fu elements are also used. The film has been nominated in the categories of best film, best director and best actress, among others.
In addition to “Nothing New in the West” the tragic comedy “The Banshees of Inisherin” also received nine nominations. Steven Spielberg’s most recent work “The Fabelmans”, which has autobiographical traits, made it onto the list seven times. “Top Gun: Maverick” got six nominations, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” got five. James Cameron’s “Avatar” is on the list four times.
The satire “Triangle of Sadness” about a luxury cruise, which was awarded the best European film of the year, competes in three categories – including best director and best film. The story, told by Swede Ruben Östlund, takes a critical but also comical look at capitalism and modern society.
The 95th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood is scheduled for March 12th. (dpa)