Dear reader,

You probably aren’t quite sure who will win this overlooked Oscar category. And you probably haven’t seen many (or any) of the nominees. Fortunately, Pop Omnivore can fill in your cultural gap, thanks to the All Roads Film Project, which has presented the films at National Geographic headquarters for the past three years in partnership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

What it’s about: Bizarre events in a pre-WWI farming village expose the cruel hypocrisy that simmers just below the town's idyllic facade—and hint at how puritanical repression might have set the stage for Nazi Germany.

What the title means: When his children commit a minor offense, the town pastor ties white ribbons in their hair or around their arms as a scarlet letter-like reminder of the spiritual purity they've so far failed to obtain.

German flavor: Villagers celebrating the harvest festival with heavy mugs of brew make the audience dream of enjoying a cold lager in a German beer garden.

Oscar-worthy moment: We know the pastor is no saint. But it's hard to hold back tears when his pet parakeet is murdered and—spoiler alert—his youngest son presents his own pet bird, a wild creature he’d nursed back to health from an injury.

Who'd star in the Hollywood remake: Sam Neill as the righteous pastor, Dakota Fanning as his creepy teenage daughter, and Topher Grace as the mild-mannered schoolteacher who narrates the film.

—Victoria Jaggard

UN PROPHETE (France)

What it's about: A young French-Arab prisoner, Malik el Djebena, does whatever he must to survive a six-year sentence in a prison dominated by a brutal Corsican gang whose power is threatened by growing numbers of Muslim convicts.

What the title means: A prophet. The reference is secular, not religious.

French flavor:

a) Which other country would produce a film about Corsican mobsters?

b) A prisoner wears a Lacoste shirt.

c) There is a grammar lesson on the subjunctive.

d) Prisoners are served baguettes.

Oscar-worthy moment: Any scene with the leonine Niels Arestrup as Corsican crime boss Cesar Luciani, a convict who rules prison life. He delivers the best portrayal of a godfather since Marlon Brando.

Who'd star in the Hollywood remake: Sean Penn, if he were 20 years younger, as Malik; Ben Kingsley as Luciani.

—Hannah Bloch

AJAMI (Israel)

What it's about: Arab vs. Arab, Muslim vs. Christian, Jew vs. Arab—this movie is fueled by feuds of tribal intensity that could ruin lives. The parties involved cope with humor, love, and acts of desperation.

What the title means: Ajami is an ethnically mixed, slightly seedy section of Jaffa, an Israeli seaside district.

Middle Eastern flavor:

a) Guys hug a lot, with genuine affection—father and son, brother and brother, male buddies.

b) Neighbors quarrel over noisy backyard chickens and sheep.

c) Lots of tense checkpoints between Israel and the territories.

d) One way an Israeli soldier might disappear—disguise himself as a member of the ultra-Orthodox community.

Oscar-worthy moment: A tense powwow between two Arab factions takes a delightfully absurdist turn with a discussion over how much of a proposed cash settlement represents a proper tribute to Allah.

Who'd star in the Hollywood remake: Ben Affleck as Omar—sweet and strong-willed and lantern-jawed—who decides to sell drugs to raise the cash that will buy peace for his family. Fred “Wonder Years” Savage as Malek, an earnest teen from the Palestinian territories who’s part of the scheme. He hopes to earn the money his mom needs for surgery.

—Marc Silver

THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES (Argentina)

What it’s about: A retired detective tries to tame the ghosts from a rape-and-murder case that's been haunting him for 25 years by writing a novel about the crime—and its even more shocking aftermath.

What the title means: Psychotic lust, forbidden love, and quiet revenge are all revealed by a pair of peepers. "The eyes talk," the detective notes, even when people do everything they can to hide their secrets.

Argentine flavor:

a) A most disturbing plot twist hinges on the corruption and violence rampant during Argentina's "Dirty War," from 1976 to 1983.

b) The right-wing Peronists play a role in another plot twist.

c) The killer is obsessed with futbol.

Oscar-worthy moment: Taking police drama to high art, the film's climactic chase scene is a fluid, almost psychedelic adrenaline rush, shot in a single take, that weaves through a crowded soccer stadium.

Who'd star in the Hollywood remake: Benicio del Toro would bring the right mix of jaded and lovelorn to the aging detective, while Rachel Weiss would shine as his Ivy League boss and object of unspoken affection. Normally adorable Michael Cera might have some fun going against type as the film's young, ruthless killer.

—Victoria Jaggard

MILK OF SORROW (Peru)

What it’s about: Fausta, a young Quechua woman, is a psychological wreck. She works as a maid to earn money to bury her late mother in her native highland village—the body is at home in bed. And she tries to cope with her fear of rape, inherited from her mother, who was brutalized during the Shining Path communist insurgency of the 1980s.

What the title means: La Teta Asustada, literally "the frightened tit," is a folk belief that a mother’s breast milk can transmit the mother’s fears to the child.

Peruvian flavor:

a) Much of the movie is set in the brightly painted mud-brick slums that dot the lunar landscape of Lima’s hills.

b) Though the movie is in Spanish, Fausta and her mother sing the mother’s story in Quechua, the native language of Peru.

c) Violence is not shown but implied, underscoring Peruvians' reluctance to talk about the atrocities of the Shining Path.

d) The wedding of Fausta’s cousin, where guests dance the aisles with their gifts, captures the flamboyance of Peruvian traditions—and adds a light moment to the movie.

Oscar-worthy moment: Moments is more like it. Magaly Solier’s nearly silent portrayal of Fausta provides a palpable feeling of distress.

Who’d star in the Hollywood remake: Natalie Portman as Fausta.

—William Shubert

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