The film 'Decision to Break Up', which won the Best Director award to Park Chan-wook at the 75th Cannes International Film Festival last year, was not included in the final nominations for the American Academy Awards.
The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) revealed the final candidates for the 95th Academy Awards on the 24th (local time). According to the released candidates, director Park Chan-wook's 'decision to break up' was nowhere to be found. It was selected as a preliminary candidate for the International Feature Film Award, but was ultimately excluded from the final nominations.
The finalists for the International Film Award include 'Argentina, 1985' (Argentina), 'Clos' (Belgium, France, Netherlands), 'All Is All Happening on the Western Front' (Germany), 'The Silent Girl' (Ireland), and 'EO' (Poland). This name was posted.
'Decision to Break Up' selected as the best movie of 2022 by the New York Times, BBC, Forbes, Hollywood Reporter, etc. In particular, in Korea, it sparked a craze for Nth viewing through belated word of mouth, creating the so-called 'Hechinja' (a person who is crazy about deciding to break up). Accordingly, it was expected that its name would be included in the final nominations for the American Academy Awards.
Previously, 'Decision to Break Up' was selected as the best movie of 2022 by foreign media outlets such as the New York Times, BBC, Forbes, and The Hollywood Reporter. It was then nominated in two categories at the British Academy Awards (BAFTA), including Best Director and Best Foreign Language Film. It was also nominated for the U.S. Golden Globes and Critics' Choice Awards. However, it failed to follow 'Parasite', which became the first Korean film to win four awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best International Film at the 92nd Academy Awards. It was ignored by members of the American Academy.
Originally, 'Decision to Break Up' was predicted to be a finalist for the American Academy Awards even though it would be difficult to win an award. Accordingly, foreign media outlets rushed to report on the surprising results. The Associated Press called it “one of the most surprising things this year,” and Variety called it “a result that will make you wake up in the morning.” Some say that, unlike 'Parasite', less effort was put into the Oscar campaign. This is because director Park Chan-wook is currently filming his next HBO Max series ‘The Sympathizer’.
Mashable said, "The Academy's decision to ignore 'Resolution to Break Up', which was the frontrunner at the Cannes Film Festival, is an absolute crime." Insider also described it as “one of the biggest rejections of the year.” It also rose to the 3rd place in real-time trends on Twitter in the US. Movie fans from around the world also expressed their disappointment.
As 'Decision to Break Up' was not selected as a final candidate, director Bong Joon-ho's past remarks are being reexamined. Director Bong Joon-ho said about the American Academy Awards, "The Academy Awards are not an international film festival, but a local awards ceremony."
Although 'Decision to Break Up' was not nominated as a finalist for the American Academy Awards, it showed the power of Korean films by winning the Best Director Award at the Cannes International Film Festival. Instead, since it was nominated for the British Academy Awards, it seems like we should expect to win at the British Academy Awards rather than the American Academy Awards.
Kang Min-kyung, Ten Asia reporter kkk39@tenasia.co.kr