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Oscars: Why ‘Amour’ is a lock for Best Foreign Language Film

Once again, the Best Foreign Language Film category at the Oscars is full of wonderful nominees from around the world.

Canada’s “War Witch” (“Rebelle”), Norway’s “Kon-Tiki,” Denmark’s “A Royal Affair,” and Chile’s “No” are up for the prestigious Academy Award this year, but despite all being worthy of consideration, not a single one of those films has a chance of winning on Sunday night. Why not? It's simple: The fifth nominated film, France’s “Amour,” is also up for the Best Picture trophy.

See also: Canada's 'War Witch' lands an Oscar nomination

Michael Haneke’s tragic drama about the struggles of an elderly couple living alone was definitely one of 2012’s best movies, and absolutely merits both Oscar noms (“Amour” should also win an award for being far and away the year’s most soul-crushing movie). However, the very fact that “Amour” straddles the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Picture categories almost guarantees a win for the film in the former category. The rest of the nominees might as well not show up this weekend. In the minds of Academy voters, how could the only international film up for that coveted Best Picture prize not also be the Best Foreign Language Film of the year?

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Beyond the obvious implications of being nominated in both categories, there’s also a historical precedent in place that makes “Amour” a shoe-in for Best Foreign Language Film. Three other movies have previously been up for both Oscars: Costa Gravas’ “Z,” Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” and Roberto Benigni’s “Life is Beautiful.” Unsurprisingly, all of those films ended up winning the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award.

Further helping "Amour's" chances on Oscar night are the other categories the film is nominated in, including Best Actress (for Emmanuelle Riva), Best Original Screenplay, and Best Director. While a filmmaking award is unlikely for Haneke, his film's inclusion in a Sunday would be a major upset.

The 2013 Oscars air Feb. 24 at 8:30 p.m. ET on CTV.