Welcome back to The Pop Break’s third annual Oscar predictions series. This installment of our breakdown is written by Associate Television editor Matt Taylor, who is our resident indie film critic.

Every time Oscar season comes around, the conversation is (perhaps rightfully) centered on what wins Best Picture. This is the film that will become a part of pop culture for at least a year – one that the curious viewers from all over the country will seek out, no matter what their interest in film is, or what genre they usually devote their time to.

Films like The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and Titanic have had their status as cinematic classics cemented by their Best Picture win. Meanwhile, films like Moonlight and Birdman found audiences outside the film-nerd community by winning the top honor. Best Picture may not always reward the best film of the year, but it certainly deems what film is most important to t.

But: what about the other “best” films of the night? The layman Oscar viewer typically ignores the Best Documentary Feature and Best Foreign Language Film Oscars, but these wins are fairly significant and deem two films as the “best” of their respective categories. Yet – they will get maybe an eighth of the attention the Best Picture winner gets, and the films nominated won’t become household names like their English-language, narrative peers. So – let’s give these nominees a moment to shine, and break down what deserves to take the award home.

Best Documentary:

Critiquing documentaries is always a bit of an awkward task for me, especially when those films focus on major social problems. Deeming one film better than the other feels almost like deciding which social issue is the most important or timely. I feel no where near versed enough in documentary film to be a true authority on which film deserves to win, so take this breakdown with a grain of salt.

The only documentary to not explicitly be about a social issue is Faces Places, which is also the favorite to win. This film, from legendary filmmaker Agnès Varda and photographer J.R., follows the unlikely pair of friends as they tour thru rural France, creating murals to commemorate the strangers they come across. The film is, for lack of a better word, adorable, with some incredibly sweet moments and a whole lot of charm. It’s no surprise the film became the de facto frontrunner; it’s a lot of fun to watch, and easily the most entertaining of the five. The film delves into some interesting topics, namely the way that art influences our lives, and how seeing ourselves in art can radically alter how we view ourselves, while still feeling light and charming. It’s not my favorite of the bunch, but I don’t fault anyone for loving it.

The other four nominees all explore complex, often depressing, social issues that have been put under the microscope in 2017. Abacus: Small Enough to Jail is possibly the least remarkable of the five nominees, but it still manages to be a thorough investigation of the 2008 financial crisis, and the family that ran the titular bank, which remains the only company criminally indicted in the collapse.

From Steven James, whose Hoop Dreams remains the benchmark in documentary film for most critics, this film does, at times, feel like a tentative approach, with a distinct lack of emotion to be found onscreen. But, with a runtime of under 90 minutes, James packs the film with information, and it is expertly paced to remain gripping and easy to follow throughout.

Icarus, meanwhile, focuses on the timely subject of Russia doping their Olympic athletes, and frames it through a lens that almost feels like a spy movie. While your interest in the film will likely be based on whether or not you’re curious about the subject at hand, this is a fun film, as well as one that feels genuinely unsettling at times.

The two films that really stuck with me are Strong Island and Last Men in Aleppo, both of which are streaming on Netflix and absolutely deserve an audience. The former is a raw, deeply felt exploration of the murder of a black man, as told by his brother, director Yance Ford (the first openly transgender nominee in the Best Documentary category, and only the third overall).

This film details not only the death of Ford’s brother, but how the justice system made it impossible for the Fords to find justice, as her brother’s murderer walked free. It also examines the way that racism and segregation has bled into all aspects of life for African Americans, trickling down through the decades. Yet, while the film takes a journalistic approach to those aspects of its story, it still feels deeply personal and angry, with multiple heartbreaking sequences that stick with you long after the story closes.

Last Men in Aleppo – my favorite of the bunch – takes a similarly personal approach to its story, as it documents the lives of the “white helmets” that volunteer to rescue the victims of the Syrian war left behind in the crumbling titular city. This film – compromised almost entirely of what can best be described as home video footage – is almost sickeningly intense and gripping in its execution. The rescue scenes are suspenseful and, of course, totally authentic, stripped of any sort of filter and captured in all their brutality. But the film also explores the domestic lives of these men and their children, with moments that are warm and filled with life, preventing this film from being a wholly depressing experience, even as its ending packs an unexpectedly brutal punch. This is the film that had the most impact on me after watching, and I’d love to see it be honored at the Oscars.

Best Foreign Language Film:

First, let’s get this out of the way: BPM (Beats Per Minute), the French film about the brave activists who brought the AIDS epidemic into the nation’s spotlight, deserves to win this Oscar. It wasn’t even nominated. Similarly, the brilliant In the Fade was snubbed, despite winning the same award at the Golden Globes. The Academy Awards desperately need to rethink their archaic nomination process – detailed in this Variety article – if we want to honor the films that truly deserve this award.

But let’s talk about the films that are nominated. For the most part: they’re good! Of the five, Hungary’s On Body and Soul is the only film to fall flat for me. The romantic comedy, which tells a Kaufman-esque story in the most tepid way possible, follows two slaughterhouse workers who find they are sharing the same dreams. The film is a total bore, with jokes that don’t land and a romance that lacks any chemistry. The film is streaming on Netflix, and is worth checking out if you’re interested in seeing all the nominated films, but the fact that it earned a slot is somewhat baffling.

While not quite as baffling as the On Body and Soul nomination, is Lebanon’s The Insult, an entertaining courtroom drama that flies so off the rails by its third act it almost feels like parody. Initially, this drama follows a conflict between a Christian and a Palestinian refugee that spirals into a major court case that enraptures the nation. These scenes feel almost like an Arthur Miller play, with two well-written characters at the center. But, with each new twist, the film becomes less realistic, with various “shocking” reveals that are wholly unbelievable and silly. The film’s ending, while sweet, is also a rather elementary way to solve the movie’s main conflict. It almost feels like an Upworthy article: well meaning, but nauseatingly feel-good. This is a popcorn movies, nothing more, nothing less. Taking a nomination slot just feels strange.

Moving down the list: Russia’s Loveless is a very well made drama that has some questionable gender politics. It definitely borders on “sadness porn” at times, but there is some brilliant filmmaking on display in this tragic story of a boy who goes missing as his parents begin their bitter divorce proceedings.

Elsewhere, Sweden’s The Square is an undeniably self-indulgent film, with a nearly three-hour run time and a pompous tone that feels like it’s celebrating an Oscar win already. But this insane journey through the art community, and a particularly controversial museum exhibit, is unbelievably entertaining throughout, with some scenes tailor made to shock and thrill the audience. This movie is savagely funny, incredibly weird, deeply uncomfortable, and a lot of fun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKDPrpJEGBY

The best of the five, however, is Chile’s A Fantastic Woman. The category’s frontrunner, and a true landmark in LGBTQ+ cinema, this drama follows a trans woman named Marina (played by trans actress Daniela Vega) in the days that follow the death of her older lover, Orlando. Marina spends the film processing the death of her beloved, while also fighting with Orlando’s family, who do not want her to attend the funeral. This movie is a testament to Daniela Vega’s remarkable skills as a performer, as she appears in virtually every scene of the film. But the way this movie explores so many complex themes about identity, acceptance, and power dynamics in relationships – without ever explicitly discussing them – is an astounding feat. If A Fantastic Woman takes home the Oscar, it will be well deserved.

So in conclusion… cynical takes be damned, the Oscars are an important moment in pop culture. But the conversation should expand beyond Best Picture. Take the time to watch the Foreign Language Film and Documentary nominees – they worked hard for their nomination, too.