Maybe the Japanese movie just deserved it. I don't know. But I know that though I did not see Waltz with Bashir I wanted to and still intend to if I can. I heard a good deal about it including interviews with the man who wrote/lived the story. No doubt you are correct that we do not acknowledge nor do we appreciate the profound emotional violence of war and it's lifelong effects on all those unfortunate to be involved in it. But think of it, if our media and society generally speaking was knowledgeable about these hidden costs of war, there's a very good chance many, many more people would oppose all war for any reason. Imagine how the muntions and weapons industries would react to that or how the Pentagon's vast machinery for the creation of new war machines would react? Understanding that war is nothing but a grotesque, violent waste of humanity and of property is and always has been a very subversive idea.

... I simply can't understand why it lost out for Best Foreign Film to a Japanese film that I suspect few filmgoers have seen and will not see.

My, what an unfair and peevish comment. Ms. Mort admits she has not seen the Japanese film, but seems convinced that Waltz with Bashir must be better, and sees nasty politics in its failure to win.

Couldn't it be that the Academy voters who actually did see both films submitted their best judgment and actually liked Departures better? I hope to see them both.

The Holocaust gave Kate Winslet the oscar as she predicted it would.

I'd humbly suggest that maybe all-things-Israeli aren't quite as central to the universe as some people assume that all-things-Isreali are.

I thought "Waltz with Bashir" was an anti-war movie more than a movie about Israeli/Palestinian conflicts...

But I guess advocating for Peace in the World; not just in the middle east, would put one on a hate list here and elsewhere, I guess...

Gideon Levy in Haaretz
'Antiwar' film Waltz with Bashir is nothing but charade

"Everyone now has his fingers crossed for Ari Folman and all the creative artists behind "Waltz with Bashir" to win the Oscar on Sunday. A first Israeli Oscar? Why not?

However, it must also be noted that the film is infuriating, disturbing, outrageous and deceptive. It deserves an Oscar for the illustrations and animation - but a badge of shame for its message. It was not by accident that when he won the Golden Globe, Folman didn't even mention the war in Gaza, which was raging as he accepted the prestigious award. The images coming out of Gaza that day looked remarkably like those in Folman's film. But he was silent. So before we sing Folman's praises, which will of course be praise for us all, we would do well to remember that this is not an antiwar film, nor even a critical work about Israel as militarist and occupier. It is an act of fraud and deceit, intended to allow us to pat ourselves on the back, to tell us and the world how lovely we are. "

Jo-Ann, it is indeed silly of you to say you "can't understand" why movie X beat movie Y, when you haven't even see movie X. That's just common sense. These contests are "supposed" to be judged on merit, not on potential box office receipts.

(In fact, if more people are likely to see Bashir anyway, it only makes sense to give a little extra push to a film that might otherwise be ignored--at least according to your theory.)

That said, Japanese film is not an obscure backwater of the industry. How many Israeli directors stand up to Kurosawa, for example. Or Ozu. How many Israeli film actors stand up to Mifume? Japanese film has a long, illustrious--great-- tradition. So there's nothing "obscure" about a film coming from Japan at all--even if "obscurity" were a valid judging criteria.

All that said, I'm GLAD Bashir lost. If it had won, we'd all be hearing about how Jews control Hollywood. How Jews decide what we see and what gets publicity. And, of course, what makes money.

Some might protest that this film paints Jews in a bad light, but we'd always have Seth to tell us how fraudulent and deceitful the director is, so REALLY the film isn't critical of Jews at all. And some others would pick up on this and say, "See how clever the Jews/Zionists are? Even when they are being 'critical' of other Jews, they aren't being critical at all, and still they are picking up all the awards, and this latest entry is no different, really, than all the Holocaust movies they foist on us. And look at how much money they are making on all of this, while the clueless gentiles are too busy munching on popcorn and Jewish propaganda to notice."

So, I guess we can say that, even if this Jewish director is filled with deceit, at least the Jews of Hollywood recognize quality when they see it and are willing to stand up for it.