Where to Watch All the 2022 Best International Feature Nominees
Films across the globe from countries like Italy, Norway, and Japan got the coveted nominations for Best International Feature.
South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho couldn't have been more right at the 2020 Oscars when, during the acceptance speech for Parasite's Best International Feature win, he said, "Once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films." The movies hailing across the globe that are nominated at the 2022 Academy Awards for Best International Feature, for example, are all certainly worth a watch. This year, titles in the category (which was previously called Best Foreign Film) come from previous Oscar winners and emerging filmmakers alike, and even earned more nominations in a handful of other categories. Below, find a rundown of everything nominated for Best International Feature and how to watch them right now.
Read our predictions for the Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress races, as well as where you can watch all of the Best Documentary nominees.
Drive My Car, Japan
Ryūsuke Hamaguchi's Drive My Car is a 3-hour-long epic tale of loss and love based on a Haruki Murakami short story. The film chronicles a theater director's grief as he processes the loss of his wife while adapting a multilingual production of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya during a residency in Hiroshima. Few movies this year have generated as much buzz this awards circuit as the Japanese drama—winning top prizes from the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and the National Society of Film Critics—and it managed to take that hype all the way to the Oscars, scoring nominations for International Feature, Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It might just be the frontrunner in this category, and we'll have to see if it'll pull a Parasite and bring home multiple prizes.
Where to watch it: In theaters
(Watch the trailer)
Flee, Denmark
Denmark's entry Flee is a truly unique film. It's so unique that, in addition to securing a Best International Feature nomination, it also became the first-ever animated film with three total nominations—getting nominated in the Best Documentary and Best Animated Feature categories, as well. Pieced together from animation and archival footage, director Jonas Poher Rasmussen allows a man named Amin Nawabi to tell his life story for the first time by creating a memoir in the form of a film that tells his story of how he left Afghanistan to take refuge in Copenhagen.
Where to watch it: In theaters or rent it via Amazon Prime and Apple TV+
(Watch the trailer)
The Hand of God, Italy
Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino is no stranger to the Oscars race, as his drama The Great Beauty won in the International category in 2014. This year his film The Hand of God is another top contender in the race. Said to be his most personal film to date, the coming-of-age film follows a teenage boy (Filippo Scotti) growing up in '80s Naples, whose outlook on life abruptly changes when tragedy strikes his family.
Where to watch it: Stream it on Netflix
(Watch the trailer)
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, Bhutan
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom was actually submitted as the Bhutanese entry for Best International Feature at last year's Oscars, but was disqualified by the Academy because the nation hadn't submitted a film since 1999. Despite the odds against it and initially being released in 2019, the film was resubmitted this year and ended up garnering a nomination—making it the first-ever film from Bhutan to do so. Pawo Choyning Dorji's drama is a slice-of-life look at Ugyen (Sherab Dorji ), a man who dreams of moving to Australia to become a singer, but must take a job teaching in a remote town called Lunana in Northern Bhutan.
Where to watch it: Available for pre-order on Apple TV+
(Watch the trailer)
The Worst Person in the World, Norway
Joachim Trier's The Worst Person in the World was hailed as one of the best movies of 2021 by dozens of critics. Set in Oslo, it follows the quarter-life crisis of a young woman named Julie (played by the incredible Renate Reinsve in a breakout role), who is simply trying to figure her shit out in her career and love. The film also received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and as many have called it a thrilling, revitalization of the romantic comedy, it's certainly the fan favorite in the International category.
Where to watch it: In theaters
(Watch the trailer)