Movies from 49 countries or regions are in competition for the foreign-language prize
at February’s Academy Awards, among them the film festival hits "House of Flying Daggers," "Nobody Knows" and "Kontroll."
The number of entries was down from last year, when a record 56 countries or regions submitted films for Oscar consideration. Each country or region is allowed to submit one film.
China’s entry, "House of Flying Daggers," is a martial-arts historical epic from director Zhang Yimou, whose previous martial-arts tale "Hero" was nominated for the foreign-language award for 2002 and became a hit in U.S. theaters when it was released last August.
"House of Flying Daggers," which
debuted to a warm reception at May’s Cannes Film Festival, features "Hero" co-star Zhang Ziyi as a ninth-century rebel in a romantic triangle with two men whose love for her leads to tragedy.
Japan’s offering, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s "Nobody Knows," earned the best actor honor at Cannes for child star Yagira Yuuya, playing a boy who must take charge of his three younger
siblings after their mother leaves.
Nimrod Antal’s "Kontroll," Hungary’s entry, was well-received at Cannes and September’s Toronto International Film Festival and won top honors at this month’s Chicago Film Festival. The comic thriller follows a motley group of Budapest subway ticket takers on the job as a killer stalks the tunnels, shoving passengers in front of speeding trains.
Oscar nominations will be announced Jan. 25 and awards will be presented Feb. 27.
北京资料：
据美国电影艺术和科学学院21日宣布，总共有49部影片将参加明年第77届奥斯卡奖最佳外语片的提名角逐，其中中国影片有两部，分别是大陆导演张艺谋执导的《十面埋伏》和台湾导演张艾嘉执导的《20：30：40》。
Vocabulary:
debut: present for the first time to the public（初次登台，开张）
sibling : a person’s brother or sister（兄弟，姐妹）
