The German anti-war film “Nothing New in the West” by director Edward Berger (53) has been nominated nine times at this year’s Oscars – including in the most prestigious category “Best Film”. No German film has received more nominations in the long history of the Academy Awards, which have been presented since 1929, and no German film has ever been nominated for “Best Film”. So what are the chances of the Netflix production at the Oscars taking place on the night of March 12-13?
Even with nine nominations, it is possible, albeit unlikely, that “Nothing New in the West” will go completely empty-handed at the 95th Academy Awards. The captivating, highly immersive war film is of course the absolute favorite in the category “Best International Film”. The other four nominated works “Argentina, 1985”, “Close”, “EO” and “The Quiet Girl” each have no further Oscar nominations, which – at least in the eyes of the members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – then but marked a clear difference in quality.
In addition, Berger’s work, budgeted at 20 million US dollars, creates an overwhelming panorama of battles that should put the aforementioned competitors in the shade. Only “Argentina, 1985” could pose a threat in this category, because director Santiago Miter’s (42) work has already been awarded a Golden Globe for “Best Foreign Language Film” this year.
In the top category “Best Film”, however, “Nothing New in the West” will probably not be enough to triumph. The competition seems too overwhelming here, consisting of the critics’ favorites “Everything Everywhere All at Once” (eleven nominations) and “The Banshees of Inisherin” (like “Nothing New in the West” nine nominations) as well as the mega-blockbusters “Top Gun: Maverick ” and “Avatar: The Way of Water”.
And yet it doesn’t seem completely impossible that “Nothing New in the West” could take home the golden boy in this category. Because the Ukraine war gives the anti-war film a frightening topicality. In addition, Bong Joon-ho’s (53) “Parasite” was the first non-English language film to win the “Best Film” category in 2020 – after the work critical of capitalism had previously been awarded “Best International Film” at the 92nd Academy Awards had been.
For the Netflix streaming service, it would be the first win in this important Oscar category.
In view of the sheer number of nominations, it seems relatively certain that “Nothing New in the West” will not go completely empty-handed in the so-called technical categories of the Oscars. James Friend probably has the best chances in the “Best Camera” category. Because the British cameraman captures both the desolation of the trenches and the horror of the battles in wonderfully desaturated, coarse-grained images. Friend – and thus “Nothing new in the west” – should also help that the competition in this category is not too strong.
The same applies to the Oscar categories “Best Sound” and “Best Production Design”, in which the technically excellent and produced with great effort “Nothing New in the West” also has good chances of winning. A win in the “Best Visual Effects” category is likely to be much more difficult here, where “Avatar: The Way of Water” by director legend and effects genius James Cameron (68) is the clear favorite.
In the category “Best Make-Up and Best Hairstyles” it should also be difficult for “Nothing New in the West”. The competition from “The Whale” and “Elvis” seems to be too strong here. Because for “The Whale” the main actor Brendan Fraser (54) put on 136 kilograms of heavy make-up prostheses every day, while Austin Butler (31) for “Elvis” fascinatingly transformed himself into the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” Elvis Presley (1935-1977) transformed.
The Academy voters could be more enthusiastic about the haunting film music by Volker Bertelmann (57), as the German composer relies on a harmonious mixture of traditional and modern sounds in his score.
Last but not least is the category “Best Adapted Screenplay”, in which director Berger shares the nomination with Lesley Paterson (42) and Ian Stokell (63). The adaptation of the world-famous novel by Erich Maria Remarque (1898-1970) was not particularly well received by German film critics. New inventions by the author trio, such as the insertion of the historical figure Matthias Erzberger (1875-1921), played by Daniel Brühl (44), tended to be praised by US critics. Here, too, a win does not seem impossible – not least, as in the “Best Camera” category, favored by the not overpowering competition.
It is therefore to be hoped that “Nothing New in the West” will not follow the path of “The Color Purple” (1985) or “Am Wendepunkt” (1977), neither of which could take a single gold boy home with them in eleven nominations . At least one Oscar win should be in there for the Netflix production – and in the best case there will be a few more golden boys.
