‘Son of Saul’ and ‘A War’ in foreign-language Oscar race

Laszlo Nemes poses with his award for best motion picture – foreign language for ““Son of Saul”” at the FOX Golden Globes afterparty on Sunday, Jan. 10, 2016, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Omar Vega/Invision/AP)

LONDON — Danish Afghan-conflict drama “A War” and searing Hungarian Holocaust story “Son of Saul” are among the contenders for the foreign-language Academy Award.

“Son of Saul,” which won a Golden Globe Sunday, is a first feature from director Laszlo Nemes. Set in Auschwitz, it follows a “sonderkommando”, a concentration camp inmate forced to clean out the gas chambers and dispose of the bodies of murdered prisoners.

Tobias Lindholm’s “A War” stars “Borgen’s” Pilou Asbaek as an army officer whose battlefield decision has far-reaching repercussions back home. It’s the fourth Danish Oscar finalist in a decade.

Also nominated Thursday were Amazonian drama “Embrace of the Serpent” from Colombia; Jordanian coming-of-age story “Theeb” (“Wolf”); and Turkey-set French entry “Mustang.”

The winner will be announced Feb 28 at the 88th Oscars ceremony in Hollywood. TVJ