IN THE DESERT: The debut feature The Warrior was deemed to be insufficiently British to nominate
From Oscar's point of view, 2002 was a banner year for international cinema. When the five Best Foreign Language Film nominees are announced this week, they'll be chosen from a record 54 movies from as many countries. The list includes strong entries from such cinematic hotbeds as France and Iran, as well as first-time entries from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Chad. But some of the world's best films aren't even in the running. A thicket of obscure, often contradictory Academy rules have kept critical and box office favorites from being considered. The strict and sometimes nonsensical criteria raise doubts about the Academy's...
