A simple cattle herder in the sand dunes of Mali finds his fate in the hands of edgy, insolent Islamic extremists. An Estonian tangerine farmer is caught in the crossfire between Georgian and Chechen ground forces in the disputed region of Abkhazia. An orphaned Polish Jewish Catholic novice has a crisis of conscience at a religious crossroads.
A lowly Russian mechanic tries to hold on to his home against the great and powerful he sees, who bow to the great and powerful he does not. And a series of ordinary Argentines take revenge against life's various inequities in a world where offending comes all too easily.
These are the stories shared in the foreign-language films vying for the Oscar this year, an unusually strong field. Stories that in many cases have been unheard, unheeded or submerged.
It is far from the first trip to the Oscars for Poland with "Ida" this year, Argentina with "Wild Tales" and Russia with "Leviathan." Though it is worth noting that "Leviathan, " which targets corrupt institutions from church to state, is so polarizing at home, many in official Russia are refusing to claim it. For others — Mauritania, where "Timbuktu" was filmed, Estonia with "Tangerines" — it is their first time at the party.
The topics are provocative as a start. At a time when Hollywood is constantly criticized for avoiding big issues, let alone real life, watching these movies is like truly traveling to a distant land.
The way in which the filmmakers are approaching them is designed to incite with insight. From the raw to the refined, each is significant in adding to the cultural discourse — and not in predictable ways. Themes of religion, ethnicity, war, peace, forgiveness, revenge and respect flow through them. The central characters are mostly culled from the disenfranchised, the action driven by how those without power fare against those who do. With issues not restricted to any one country, not confined by any single border, it makes for a deeply engaging slate.
"Wild Tales" from Argentina is by far the lightest of the group. Writer-director Damian Szifron has created an anthology of revenge, essentially a walk of shame for anyone who's ever done someone wrong — scary mob types, angry aggressive drivers, cheating grooms among them. The cleverness is in exposing revenge itself as one of the crimes. The offended may get even in Szifron's film, but they also get hurt. It's the dark horse, but the raucous riot of "Wild Tales" could win if academy voters were more in the mood for laughter than tears.
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