We had two films release this past weekend with the potential for Oscar nominations.

The Two Popes

Fernando Meirelles has made nine films with two of them being Oscar nominees. The Two Popes is his third attempt at scoring Oscar nominations, his first attempt since 2008’s Blindness, which failed to move the Oscar needle

The film follows the unusual friendship between Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins) and Pope Francis (Jonathan Pryce) while the latter was a mere Cardinal and as the two wrestle over Francis taking over for Benedict when the former resigns. The film seems to be a film that explores faith in a modern setting, an idea that might have some appeal to older members.

City of God and The Constant Gardener put Meirelles on the map, but his films haven’t been lighting up the year-end critics lists since those two came out, which means that a lot is riding on this outing. The Two Popes has earned solid reviews, especially with praise for its stars. Pryce, who has never been nominated for an Oscar, probably has the best chances of being nominated, after all when Francis rose to Pope, many of us remarked just how much Francis and Pryce looked alike. That fact aside, the film hasn’t earned quite the attention so far that it needs to remain in the Oscar race, but a strong showing from the AARP Movies for Grownups awards could bolster the film’s stature among older voters while younger ones aren’t as likely to be interested in the film. This might be a test case for the rise of the new members.

Les Misérables

France’s submission for the 92nd Academy Awards appeared initially to be an unusual choice, but has ultimately seemed like a wise decision.

The film follows three members of an anti-crime group who are overrun while trying to make an arrest. Inspired by the Parisian riots of 2018, Ladj Ly’s debut film earned strong reviews upon release and has earned recognition at the the Cannes Film Frestival and the European Film Awards.

Les Misérables is a different kind of film for France’s recent submissions, which could help it break the curse the country seems to be facing. Still the most nominated country ever at the Academy Awards, in the last two decades, they have pulled out a total of two nominations (A Prophet in 2009 and Mustang in 2015). It’s been even longer since the nation won, which was in 1992 for Indochine. While it’s the most nominated nation, it trails Italy in terms of the number of Oscars it has taken home. This year won’t help them much, but since both countries, once dominant players in the foreign film arena have faded in favor of more obscure and broad-ranging countries, which is a good thing. The film isn’t guaranteed a nomination. It must first make the shortlist, which it could certainly do. At this point, it has just as good a chance as any.