was a hit at Cannes with critics, but that doesn’t always translate to Oscar glory—especially for foreign-language films. The film wasn’t completely off the radar however, but with nominations for Best Picture, Best Director for Hamaguchi, Best International Feature Film, and Best Adapted Screenplay it certainly outperformed expectations. It also cements a recent trend of Oscar voters looking further into world cinema.
But director Denis Villeneuve was widely expected to pick up a Best Director nod as well, but voters threw that to the sand worms instead.It feels wild to say that international treasure Judi Dench being nominated for an Oscar is a “surprise,” but while her performance in Belfast this year had been lauded , she hadn’t figured majorly into the Oscar predictions game. Yet, here she is with her eighth nomination.