OUTSTANDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

Burning (Directed by Lee Chang-dong)

Cold War (Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski)

Roma (Directed by Alfonso Cuaron)

Shoplifters (Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda)

Zama (Directed by Lucrecia Martel)

AND THE WINNER IS:

BURNING (DIRECTED BY LEE CHANG-DONG)

This is the first and third nomination for a film directed by Lee Chang-dong. He was previously nominated for directing Oasis (2004) & Poetry (2011).

I was lucky enough to attend the Cannes Film Festival back in May of 2018. This attendance allowed me to see some of the best films of the year much earlier than even US citizens (a rarity for me). I remember at the festival Burning was the talk of the town and after trying so hard and waiting hours in a line it became the final film that I saw at the festival. It’s a stunning film achievement and even at a nearly three hour run time it passes by so perfectly. The film is beautiful with memorable moments including the dance of Hae-mi and the horrifying ending scene where Jong-su the main character finally loses it. I’ll surely try to see to this again because a film this good need's to be seen more than once.