Source: Hitfix

Rightly or wrongly, the term ‘Holocaust film’ is often greeted with cynicism in Oscar-watching circles, where the Academy’s perennial recognition of cinema centered on that period of history as something of a running joke.

It’s not entirely a fair one, of course. 70-odd years on, the atrocities of Nazi Germany remain so vast, so politically and socially pervasive, that one can hardly blame filmmakers for continually seeking new angles within it – it’s a story that will never be completely told.

The Academy’s appreciation of the subject’s enduring artistic relevance covers such films as “Schindler’s List,” “The Pianist” and “The Reader,” but it’s in the Best Foreign Language Film category where it reveals itself most consistently. The number of Holocaust-themed films nominated in the category over the years, up to and including last year’s “In Darkness,” has led some more jaded pundits to dismiss any such submission as awards bait of sorts. However, if Cate Shortland’s superb new film “Lore” – Australia’s Oscar submission, though wholly German-set and spoken – follows in their footsteps, it won’t be because it comfily ticks any boxes…