4. Best Foreign Language Film - Amour
I'm aware that this award really should've only been met with "well duh." The film by Austrian director Michael Haneke was the only foreign language film nominee which had a shot at winning the Best Picture award this year, so the fact that it would win in the Foreign Language category should've been a shoo-in. But since this is the Academy we're talking about, it still needs to be pointed out that they managed to not mess this one up. In the year's most devastating and personal film, Haneke's Amour tackles the subject of aging with crippling starkness. While nearly every other director would sugar coat the film with moments of sweetness, every touching moment that does happen in Amour-- of which there actually are many-- is truly bittersweet, as we watch the final chapter of a long and fruitful marriage. The true shock of this film is the realness of it. The comedian Louis CK has a joke in which he claims that marriages end in one of two ways; divorce or death. This is a visceral and vivid picture of the latter scenario. When I saw the film in theaters and the movie ended, it was over a minute into the hushed end-credits before anyone could even stand to get up from their chairs. It's a truly deserving award from a brutal but necessary film.