98th Academy Awards Nominations: International Films

The 2026 Sundance Festival prepares to open tonight for its last edition in Park City, Utah, but before we look ahead to the year in film -- and we'll have much more on the festival in the next few days -- the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced their nominations for the past year in film.

If you pay attention to such things, nearly all the nominations were expected by prognosticators. Still I wanted to highlight here the five nominees for Best International Film, since we have reviewed four of them.

Brazil, The Secret Agent

Official synopsis: "Amid the raucous revelry of Carnival week, a widower named Marcelo (Wagner Moura) arrives in 1977 in Recife, Brazil, a city as vibrant as it is violent.

"A technology researcher who suddenly finds himself an unwitting target in the heart of the dictatorship's political maelstrom, Marcelo is a man on the run from mercenary killers, from ghosts of the past and from the ruthless, mischievously militant spirit of Brazil in 1977.

"In the midst of these mounting threats, Marcelo, with the help of a mysterious woman named Elza and her compatriots in the country's growing underground resistance, remains primarily focused on escaping Brazil with his young son.

"Master filmmaker Kleber Mendonca Filho teams up with renowned actor Wagner Moura - giving an extraordinary, career-defining performance - to craft a thrillingly unpredictable, playfully shape-shifting epic steeped in history even as it feels remarkably contemporary, paying affectionate tribute to the movies of Filho's youth while unfolding against the backdrop of political turmoil and palpable danger."

Our review by Olga Artemyeva: "Much smarter than it might pretend to be at certain moments. What's even more captivating: It never shies from taking risks, throwing crucial characters into the mix mere minutes before the film's end, or presenting one memorable scene from the perspective of a zombified leg.

"It is also a film that, after basically proclaiming 'Let's get this party started!', immediately gives up its actual, physical resolution for the sake of an emotional one, which is played out in a way that sticks with you long after the allocated 158 minutes are over."

France, It Was Just an Accident

Official synopsis: "Vahid, an unassuming mechanic, has a chance encounter with Eghbal, a man he strongly suspects to be his former sadistic jailhouse captor. Panicked, Vahid gathers several former prisoners, all abused by that same captor, to try and confirm Eghbal's identity.

"As the bickering group drives around Tehran with the captive, they must confront how far to take matters into their own hands with their presumed tormentor. From master filmmaker Jafar Panahi comes a searing moral thriller that engages with complex ideas about the uncertainty of the truth and the choice between revenge and mercy, as Panahi turns his personal dissonance into a profound and galvanizing work of art."

Our review by Martin Kudlac: "Panahi demonstrates that even weighty socio-political topics can be approached in a form accessible to broader audiences. By merging a revenge thriller with the sensibility of absurdist comedy, It Was Just an Accident creates space for reflection on the limits of justice and the moral ambiguities that emerge when confronting historical violence. In doing so, the film becomes a meditation on how societies process trauma inflicted by state repression and how can they move on."

Norway, Sentimental Value

Official synopsis: "Sisters Nora and Agnes reunite with their estranged father, the charismatic Gustav, a once-renowned director who offers stage actress Nora a role in what he hopes will be his comeback film. When Nora turns it down, she soon discovers he has given her part to an eager young Hollywood star. Suddenly, the two sisters must navigate their complicated relationship with their father -- and deal with an American star dropped right into the middle of their complex family dynamics."

Our review by Martin Kudlac: "The film opens at the intersection of mourning and self-mythology, establishing a tone that sustains its exploration of familial fracture, artistic projection, and the sediment of memory."

Spain, Sirât

Official synopsis: "A father (Sergi López) and his son arrive at a rave deep in the mountains of southern Morocco. They are searching for Mar -- daughter and sister -- who vanished months ago at one of these endless, sleepless parties. Surrounded by electronic music and a raw, unfamiliar sense of freedom, they hand out her photo again and again. Hope is fading, but they push through and follow a group of ravers heading to one last party in the desert. As they venture deeper into the burning wilderness, the journey forces them to confront their own limits."

Our review by Martin Kudlac: "Sirât offers a possible answer to what might emerge from crossing Mad Max with Andrei Tarkovsky. Yet Laxe's latest work extends well beyond such an aesthetic exercise. It is an apocalyptic and dystopian film rendered in an implicitly lyrical register, at times verging on the trance-like.

"What begins as a family drama gradually transforms into a survival expedition that transcends physical terrain. While geopolitical tensions remain embedded in the backdrop, Laxe guides the viewer across a narrow psychological and metaphysical threshold."

Somehow, we missed reviewing the final nominee on these pages, though I know some of our writers have seen it, including myself, so I've included my own thoughts below.

Tunisia, The Voice of Hind Rajab

Official synopsis: "January 29, 2024. Red Crescent volunteers receive an emergency call. A 5-year old girl is trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, pleading for rescue. While trying to keep her on the line, they do everything they can to get an ambulance to her. Her name was Hind Rajab."

My review: "Instantly gripping, intensely chaotic, and deeply touching. ... Very quickly, the reality of war comes home. This is not about who is right and who is wrong, who is justified in their actions and who is not. This is about a little girl who wants to go home, and maybe play by the sea some day. "