We’ve created a guide to the 2019 Academy Award nominees for Best Foreign Language Film. Check out the details of the nominated films now!

With Oscar nominations hot on everyone’s lips and the ceremony less than a month away, you may be wondering if it’s possible to watch all the nominees before the statues are handed out. The answer is usually yes, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy. Plenty of nominees, even some nominated for Best Picture, may leave you wondering how they got nominated in the first place.

It can be especially difficult to see some of the less popular movies that receive only one or two nominations. Moreover, if you don’t have any real motivation to watch them, whether out of lack of interest or accessibility, you may give up before even trying. The Best Foreign Language Film category may seem daunting at first, but this year’s crop of nominees is worth checking out.

To help pique your interest in the Best Foreign Language Film nominees and decide where and when to watch these nominees, we’ve put together an easy guide for you. Use this as your guide to the 2019 nominees for Best Foreign Language Film and impress your Oscar party guests with your knowledge.

‘Capernaum’

Country: Lebanon
Director: Nadine Labaki
Where to watch: In theaters now. Expanding theatrically in February.

About the film: Nadine Labaki’s Capernaum premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2018 and went on to win the festival’s prestigious second place Jury Prize. The film was selected by Lebanon as its official Oscar submission, a choice no doubt influenced by the film’s positive reception at the festival. Labaki’s Capernaum is the second film ever from Lebanon to be nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. This makes back-to-back nominations for the country after The Insult was nominated last year. The movie is shaped around the life of 12-year-old Zain, who – after being sentenced to jail for a violent crime – sues his own parents for neglect.

The movie has been praised for its bleak and honest portrayal of poverty, the institutional failures that perpetuate such inequality, and the cultural norms that prevent people from getting the help they need. The idea of a child suing his own parents for neglect makes for a very intriguing premise, but the movie doesn’t quite deliver the version of the story you may be expecting; the actual trial is only a framing device to explore the backstory of how 12-year-old Zain ended up in prison. The backstory here is important, but can be a bit tough to get through. Labaki’s direction gives the story the brutal realism it deserves, but the film lapses into repetition and tedium in the second hour which can make it a hard sell for less familiar audiences. However, as the only nominated Best Foreign Language Film nominee directed by a woman, it’s worth checking out Capernaum if you can.

‘Cold War’

Country: Poland
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski
Where to watch: In theaters now. Available on Amazon Prime beginning March 22, 2019.

About the film: This year’s Oscar nominations cemented Polish director Pawel Pawlikowski as one of the Academy’s favorite foreign directors. In 2013, Pawlikowski’s movie Ida won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film and now his latest movie Cold War might just do the same. The film also earned Pawlikowski a nomination for Best Director, a surprise that many people didn’t see coming. With both Pawlikowski and Alfonso Cuarón nominated for Best Director, this is the first time in 42 years since two foreign language film directors were nominated for Best Director. This achievement signals a clear adoration for both films and also the relative weakness of American films this year by comparison.

Cold War itself is a stunning and effective piece of filmmaking. Shot in rich black and white and in 4:3 aspect ratio, Cold War feels like something out of an entirely different decade, not just from a different country. The story follows the love affair between two artists whose relationship is complicated by the political upheaval in their country and the personal turmoil between them. With stellar performances from Joanna Kulig and Tomasz Kot, some incredible musical choices, and a tight 88-minute run time, Cold War typifies the richness and skill of Pawlikowski’s directorial vision. If any movie has a chance of snagging the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film from Roma, it’s definitely Cold War.

‘Never Look Away’

Country: Germany
Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Where to watch: In theaters now.

About the film: In 2006, Guillermo del Toro’s hit movie Pan’s Labyrinth was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. The magical fairy tale full of magic and horror. You might think that del Toro’s movie would’ve been a shoe-in for the Oscar, but that year, the award went to Germany for Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s film The Lives of Others. Set in East Berlin in 1984, the film follows a Stasi officer who begins spying on a famous playwright and his lover. In the time that he spies on them, he feels his sympathies change, calling into question his own loyalty. The Lives of Others was director von Donnersmarck first film and it was a massive success.

Over ten years later, Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck is back with his third feature film Never Look Away. The film sees von Donnersmark returning to familiar territory, setting the story of two lovers in post-war East Berlin. The film follows two German art students who fall in love despite the fact that the girl’s father seeks to break them apart. Clocking in at 3 hours and 9 minutes, Never Look Away is a huge undertaking that may scare away more casual viewers. It’s not likely to win the Oscar away from Roma or Cold War, but the film’s nomination in the Best Foreign Language Film category will help it to earn a bit more attention than it might have otherwise!

‘Roma’

Country: Mexico
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Where to watch: In theaters now. Available to stream on Netflix.

About the film: If you haven’t heard about Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma by now, you might mean you’re living with your head in the sand. The film, purchased and distributed by Netflix, stands to earn the streaming giant several Oscars thanks to its whopping ten nominations. Cuarón’s film was selected by Mexico as its official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film category and is now nominated for Best Picture and Best Foreign Language Film. While it seems unlikely that Oscar voters would award Roma in both categories, it’s certainly not an impossibility. It’s not every day that a foreign language film can snag the attention of American audiences like this. Whether it’s the subtitles or general lack of interest, foreign language films typically fly under the radar in the states. However, with a unique distribution deal (Netflix screened Roma across the country at specialty event screenings while also releasing it online), Roma has managed to keep up the momentum throughout the entire awards season.

The movie itself is meant to be a semi-autobiographical look into the past at Cuarón’s own childhood as a boy growing up in Mexico City in 1970. The film focuses on two important women in his life – his mother and his family’s housekeeper. Some audiences have taken issue with the film’s portrayal of the family’s housekeeper Cleo, whose characterization feels limited at times the film’s concentration on delivering unrelenting visual splendor. Like Cold War, Roma is shot in black and white, but the two films look dramatically different – demonstrating how versatile the medium can be. Intricately timed and choreographed long takes, beautiful backdrops, and impressive production design make Roma a feast for the eyes. While viewers will undoubtedly miss out on some of what this Best Foreign Language Film nominee has to offer by watching on a small screen, don’t let that stop you from checking out one of 2018’s must see movies.

‘Shoplifters’

Country: Japan
Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Where to watch: In theaters now. Available to buy or rent on most major platforms on February 12, 2019.

About the film: Hirokazu Koreeda has been making brilliant and affecting family dramas for over a decade now. Movies like Nobody Knows, Still Walking, Like Father, Like Son, After the Storm, and Our Little Sister make up an incredibly powerful filmography full of stories that wrestle with what it means to be a family. Unfortunately, American audiences may not be familiar with these movies as they were all made in Japan. However, Koreeda’s newest film Shoplifters – which one the first place prize at the Cannes Film Festival last year – is the perfect introductory point for newcomers.

What sets Shoplifters apart from other nominees in this year’s Best Foreign Language Film Oscar race is its relative accessibility. Shoplifters is a story of family, the kind anyone can understand regardless of their background. Koreeda introduces us to this particular family, their unique characteristics, their home, and their love for one another in a very patient way that succeeds in enveloping the audience into their world. So much so that by the time the film comes around to its final act, you may find yourself crying as though this family were your own. Shoplifters is a powerful testament to the Koreeda’s skill as a filmmaker. Here’s to hoping he makes a dozen more movies just like this one.