Foreign Film Oscar Submissions Rolling In ... *** UPDATE ***

It seems strangely early to be talking about this but the first batch of submissions have been made for the coming Academy Awards ... a good number of the big boys have yet to weigh in, but there are a good number represented already ...

Welcome To Dongmakgol will be representing Korea, which seems a much better choice than last year's selection of Tae Guk Gi ahead of a handful of arguably superior films. Chan Wook Park fans will, no doubt, argue that Sympathy For Lady Vengeance should have gotten the nod but Dongmakgol has been such an overwhelming success both critically and financially that it's really hard to argue with.

Though they won't settle the matter until Friday word is that Hong Kong's choice will come down to either Perhaps Love, The Myth or Everlasting Regret. And if they don't opt for Perhaps Love out of those three then something is just horribly wrong ... a Christopher Doyle shot musical versus middling Jackie Chan and a widely panned historical drama? Seems like a no-brainer to me ...

The other big boys in Asia have yet to weigh in and, while I have no idea what direction Japan will go in (The Hidden Blade, maybe?), I'll be dead surprised if mainland China doesn't go with The Promise - Kekexili being the only real competition - particularly considering the film's pedigree, the stunning still images hitting the web, and the Weinstein's involvement.
And though I have no basis for this I really wouldn't be surprised to see Thailand go with Midnight My Love ...

But enough speculation ... here's what solid in Europe:

Finland – Äideistä parhain (Mother of mine) - Klaus Härö
Germany – Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage (Sophie Scholl - the final days) - Marc Rothemund
Netherlands – Bluebird - Mijke de Jong
Belgium – L'enfant (The child) - Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardenne
France – 'Joyeux Noël' (Merry Christmas) - Christian Carion
Hungary – Sorstalanság (Fateless) - Lajos Koltai

Strangely enough the Dutch entry is actually a made for TV movie. Fateless is one we've talked about in the past and, in my view, is pretty much a lock to get one of the actual Oscar nominations. And though I can't find the story again I'm pretty much certain I saw yesterday that Argentina was submitting El Aura.

Some elements via the KFC Forums and Europeanfilms.net.

*** UPDATE ***

Doh. Thailand has submitted The Tin Mine, which I really should have known before writing this. And word is (Thanks Nicolas) that Canada has submitted C.R.A.Z.Y. which is one very well deserved submission.