Edward Berger is “a bit overwhelmed” – and with good reason: his anti-war drama “Nothing New in the West” received a sensational nine Oscar nominations on Tuesday. When the candidates for the 95th Oscar Gala were announced in Hollywood at dawn, the German director from Italy listened. Berger, who was shooting in Rome, was able to celebrate a rare double nomination in the top category “Best Film” and as Best International Film.
According to the Oscar Academy, “Nothing New on the West” is only the eighth non-English language film to win both categories at the same time. The South Korean satire “Parasite” made Oscar history in 2020 when it also won these two trophies. Berger told the German Press Agency on Tuesday afternoon on the phone that he was “incredibly happy and proud” to have broken this small sound barrier.
Eleven nominations for “Everything Everywhere All at Once”
Only the offbeat science fiction comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once” received more nominations than “Nothing New in the West” with eleven nominations. The tragic comedy “The Banshees of Inisherin” is neck and neck with nine Oscar chances. The biopic “Elvis” is represented eight times, Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical work “The Fabelmans” seven times. “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Tár” have six mentions, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” has five. James Cameron’s “Avatar” is on the list four times. The satire “Triangle of Sadness” by Swede Ruben Östlund, which was voted the best European film of the year, competes in three categories – including best director and best film.
Before the nomination triumph of “Nothing New in the West” “Das Boot” was celebrated in 1983 as the German film with the most Oscar candidatures. The war drama by Wolfgang Petersen (1941 – 2022) was nominated six times for direction, adapted screenplay, camera, editing, sound and sound editing. At the trophy ceremony, however, “Das Boot” went completely empty-handed. “Gandhi” was the clear winner of the evening with eight Oscars.
The film team of “Nothing New in the West” can now also hope for Oscar gold in these categories: camera, make-up
The horror of war
“Nothing New in the West” based on the book by Erich Maria Remarque from 1929 shows the horror of the First World War from the perspective of a young soldier. Austrian Felix Kammerer plays the leading role.
“I found the book so laconic that it was told with such a certain distance and still put us in the shoes of the main character,” said Berger. They would have tried to capture this tone. They would have tried to practically grab the viewer by the lapel, drag him or her through the mud and give him or her the feeling of experiencing subjectively with Paul Bäumer, the main character.
Germany’s last success in the race for the so-called foreign Oscar was more than 15 years ago: in 2007 Florian Henckel won the coveted trophy from Donnersmarck’s Stasi drama “The Lives of Others”.
Another German filmmaker can hope for an Oscar this year – Florian Hoffmeister has been nominated for his camera work on the drama “Tár”. Cate Blanchett, who plays a fictional chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic named Lydia Tár, is in the running for best actress.
Other actors with Oscar chances include Michelle Yeoh (“Everything Everywhere All at Once”), Ana de Armas (“Blonde”), Colin Farrell (“The Banshees of Inisherin”), Austin Butler (“Elvis”) and Brendan Fraser (“The Whale”).
The 95th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood is scheduled for March 12th. US presenter Jimmy Kimmel is set to host the Oscars for the third time.
