World Cinema: Oscar glory?

Before taking a look at a few winners, heres a brief bit of context to the prize.

Such winners includedThe Bicycle ThievesandRashomon.

The first film to be officially awarded the Oscar for the Best Foreign Language film was Federico FellinisLa Strada.

Since then, the rules have remained pretty consistent.

However, it does not need to be in the language of the representing country.

But is Oscar glory worth it?

For many, the instant answer would be yes.

However, it was definitely the best result.

What could have been another overlooked South American film was suddenly thrust into the wider movie viewing publics conscience.

Truly a case of from zero to hero and all thanks to a shock win.

However, its not all accolades and back-patting for this category.

As always with the Oscars, it acts as a double-edged sword.

And on occasion it is ambiguous as to what film is selected by each country and why.