01/03/2004 - In an evening dominated by Lord of the Rings (11 Oscars out of 11 nominations), Europe had to content itself with the prize for Best Foreign Film, awarded to the French-Canadian Barbarian Invasions

The remarkable achievements of the film Barbarian Invasions [+see also:
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film profile] have come to a head, with the award of the most prestigious cinema prize of them all. The French-Canadian co-production directed by Denys Arcand has won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film. The film’s latest triumph is a great source of satisfaction for its Canadian author, who has always used his powerful neighbours as a target, the very Americans who have awarded him with his Oscar.

The 76th edition of the Oscar night ceremony was held at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles and the statue for Arcand was virtually the only recognition paid to European cinema. The evening was dominated by Lord of the Rings– The Return of the King, which truly hit the jackpot, winning 11 Oscars out of 11 nominations. This clean sweep is an unrivalled achievement in the history of the Academy Awards. Only The Last Emperor by the Italian, Bernardo Bertolucci, managed to turn all its nominations into Oscars, but it came away with 8 awards out of 8 nominations.

Other major Oscars went to Sean Penn, awarded as Best Actor for his role in Mystic River directed by Clint Eastwood, and Charlize Theron won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Monster. Oscars for the Best Supporting roles were won by Renee Zellweger and Tim Robbins, respectively for Cold Mountain [+see also:
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However there was disappointment for Belleville Rendez-Vous, the French-Belgium animated cartoon, which was beaten in both the categories in which it was competing: Finding Nemo won the Oscar for Best Animation, while Lord of the Rings – The Return of the King, also collected the Oscar for Best Song amongst its many awards.

Apart from the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, things weren’t much better the British production, Cold Mountain, and the other UK film, The Girl with the Pearl Earring [+see also:
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film profile] was also no match for the magic power of the ring.

(Translated from Italian)