Young film auteur Xavier Dolan‘s It’s Only the End of the World has been chosen to represent Canada in 2016’s Oscar race, Canada’s national Oscar selection committee has announced. This will be the second film of Dolan’s to be submitted to the Foreign Language category in recent years after 2014’s Mommy, which did not end up snagging a final nomination.
It’s Only the End of the World took home the Cannes Grand Jury Prize this year (Mommy came away with the Jury Prize in 2014). The french-language film stars Gaspard Ulliel (Saint Laurent) as a man returning to his hometown for the first time in over a decade to inform them of his impending death. Various members of his family are portrayed by Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone), Vincent Cassel (Black Swan), Lea Seydoux (Blue is the Warmest Color), and Nathalie Baye (Catch Me if You Can) as the mother.
Although the film took home the Cannes Grand Prix, It’s Only the End of the World hasn’t been a huge hit for all critics (it has a 42% metacritic score on Rotten Tomatoes) and could be a risk for Canada’s submission. The film has also yet to obtain a U.S. distributor. Regardless, Canada has decided to stand behind Dolan and his dramatically charged film about weakened family ties.
The last time Canada won the Foreign Language Oscar was in 2003 with The Barbarians Invasions. Since then, the country has landed four entries into the final nominations including Dennis Villenueve‘s Incendies, Philippe Falardeau’s Monsieur Lazhar, Kim Nguyen’s Rebelle, and Agnieszka Holland’s In Darkness.
See the trailer for It’s Only the End of the World below.
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