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Every Country in a Best Picture Movie

Name every modern day country with a location depicted in a movie which won an Oscar for Best Picture.
# = Number of movies the country appears in
Narrative locations not shooting locations
Quiz by overtired
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Last updated: March 31, 2024
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First submittedJune 8, 2022
Times taken23,713
Average score75.0%
Rating4.88
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#
Movies
Country
62
Rocky, Dances with Wolves
United States
22
The King’s Speech, Braveheart
United Kingdom
10
Gigi, The Life of Emile Zola
France
7
Gladiator, The Godfather
Italy
4
The Last Emperor, Forrest Gump
China
4
All Quiet on the Western Front
Germany
3
Amadeus, The Sound of Music
Austria
3
The English Patient, Lawrence of Arabia
Egypt
3
Slumdog Millionaire, Gandhi
India
3
Ben-Hur, Lawrence of Arabia
Israel
3
Cavalcade, Oppenheimer
Switzerland
3
Platoon, The Deer Hunter
Vietnam
2
Gladiator, Patton
Algeria
2
Hamlet, Out of Africa
Denmark
2
The Hurt Locker, Argo
Iraq
2
Around the World in 80 Days
Japan
2
Casablanca, Patton
Morocco
2
Gladiator, Around the World in 80 Days
Spain
2
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Thailand
1
The Silence of the Lambs
Bahamas
#
Movies
Country
1
Patton
Belgium
1
Oppenheimer
Canada
1
The Godfather Part II
Cuba
1
Schindler’s List
Czech Republic
1
Argo
Iran
1
Lawrence of Arabia
Jordan
1
Out of Africa
Kenya
1
The English Patient
Libya
1
No Country for Old Men
Mexico
1
Rebecca
Monaco
1
Oppenheimer
Netherlands
1
Gandhi
Pakistan
1
Schindler’s List
Poland
1
Lawrence of Arabia
Saudi Arabia
1
Gandhi
South Africa
1
Parasite
South Korea
1
The Bridge on the River Kwai
Sri Lanka
1
Lawrence of Arabia
Syria
1
Patton
Tunisia
1
Argo
Turkey
 
 
                          
87 Comments
+3
Level 85
Mar 31, 2024
Thanks for your comments. I've rechecked and updated the quiz from the ground up so hopefully it's as accurate as possible. Any comments with valid corrections concerning missing countries will be implemented when the quiz is next updated, which won't be for a while!
+6
Level 79
Jun 8, 2022
great idea for a quiz!
+2
Level 85
Jun 8, 2022
Thanks :)
+1
Level 59
Jun 8, 2022
Some of the movies are on there twice! Otherwise this is a great quiz!
+41
Level 85
Jun 8, 2022
Sure, because those movies take place in more than one country. It’s not an error!
+1
Level 40
Jun 9, 2022
Nice quiz! One for Ireland, maybe?
+11
Level 85
Jun 9, 2022
If you can name a film set in Ireland that won the Oscar for Best Picture, I’ll add it! I didn’t find one.
+3
Level 83
Dec 19, 2023
I'm kinda floored that Ireland has never featured in any part of a best picture movie. But sure!!

(To clarify: I'm not disputing it at all. Just registering my surprise.)

+4
Level 67
Mar 31, 2024
Banshees of Inisherin :(
+1
Level 71
Apr 1, 2024
That wasn't a best picture...
+7
Level 78
May 2, 2024
That's why they're sad.
+6
Level 85
Jun 9, 2022
Great quiz idea and execution!
+2
Level 85
Jun 9, 2022
Thanks!
+1
Level 77
Jun 21, 2022
Nice! Should move Iran before Iraq
+1
Level 85
Jun 21, 2022
Whoops, thanks.
+1
Level 85
Apr 1, 2024
Oh I see! They are in alphabetical order within number. I wish I had noticed that when I was doing it: I might have guessed a few more.
+1
Level 79
Jun 21, 2022
What movies do you have listed as having scenes in Germany? There must be more than three... All Quiet... Patton... Grand Hotel... Schindler's List?
+7
Level 85
Jun 22, 2022
Yep, All Quiet, Patton and Grand Hotel.

Schindler’s List is set in Poland, and ends in the Czech Republic and Israel. I haven’t seen it for a while so I may be forgetting scenes in Germany. I checked wiki summaries for all the Best Picture films and didn’t see any German scenes mentioned for Schindler’s List. Can you point to any? If so will include it :)

+2
Level 85
Mar 15, 2024
I've added a point for Oppenheimer now too.
+1
Level 79
May 3, 2024
Hmm. Without watching the movie again, I can't know for sure, but I think you're right that there are no scenes in Germany in Schindler's List. Roth was arrested in Germany, but I think the movie only tells the audience with text that he was arrested.
+1
Level 85
May 3, 2024
I watched it since that comment actually. I don't remember any scenes in Germany, though I wasn't taking notes.
+1
Level 76
Dec 19, 2023
The Bridge on the River Kwai was only filmed in Sri Lanka but happened in Thailand.
+8
Level 85
Dec 19, 2023
Incorrect, there are scenes in Ceylon.
+1
Level 66
May 2, 2024
There are also scenes from Thailand though, so shouldn't Thailand be included?
+5
Level 85
May 2, 2024
Thailand is included. The answers are split by country, not film. There are two entries for River Kwai. One is Thailand, one is Sri Lanka. Look at the quiz.
+2
Level 76
Dec 19, 2023
Great quiz!! No Country for Old Men has scenes in Mexico
+3
Level 85
Dec 19, 2023
Good one, thanks! Have added it.
+1
Level 65
Dec 19, 2023
31/33 not too bad
+3
Level 66
Dec 21, 2023
There is a brief scene in Gandhi that takes place in Pakistan.
+3
Level 85
Dec 21, 2023
Thanks, added.
+6
Level 78
Mar 15, 2024
Time to add Netherlands from Oppenheimer!
+6
Level 85
Mar 15, 2024
Good one, thanks!

Someone on an Oppenheimer forum also pointed out that it has a cutaway depicting the Halifax harbor explosion of 1917 so Canada finally makes the list too! It's brief, but the dialog confirms it so it counts.

Also added a point to the tallies for USA, Germany and Switzerland.

+1
Level 66
May 9, 2024
Does that count though? They show a photo of the Halifax explosion, but they're in New Mexico when it happens. I don't know that I'd personally count that, unless there's a scene actually set there I can't remember.
+1
Level 85
May 9, 2024
It's not a photo. As I say there's a cutaway to footage of an explosion.
+2
Level 83
Mar 30, 2024
Besides Russia and Ireland, Australia and Turkey surprised me as well.
+1
Level 85
Mar 31, 2024
Turkey has now been added!
+1
Level 71
Apr 1, 2024
There were scenes in Argo that took place in Turkey.
+1
Level 70
Mar 30, 2024
I was so sure the Oppenheimer one I didn’t have was some Oceanian country! Great quiz!
+1
Level 85
Mar 30, 2024
Why, are there scenes I'm forgetting in Oceania? Glad you liked it :)
+1
Level 78
Sep 12, 2024
I didn't see the movie, but the bomb was tested in the Bikini Atoll which is in the Marshall Islands...but i don't know if there was any scenes in the movie showing that.
+1
Level 85
Sep 12, 2024
Bikini Atoll wasn’t used as a test site until after WW2.
+1
Level 76
Mar 30, 2024
A really interesting idea for a quiz, and it's also surprising how few appearances some countries have.
+2
Level 96
Mar 30, 2024
Very interesting quiz. I wonder how comprehensive a list like this could possibly be, though, as there might be scenes that take place somewhere unspecified outside the main country, or scenes that take place in a different country without the viewer even being made aware.

Anyway, I noticed that The Bahamas is missing (final scene of The Silence of the Lambs). Also, perhaps you could somehow share your full list so that takers could help find the exact numbers?

+3
Level 85
Mar 31, 2024
In the process of updating and double checking. A lot to go through, but yes will share the list when I'm done. Thanks for the correction on Lambs!

Yes, there are some films that are hard to tell exactly. I've used wiki summaries, scripts, transcripts, the films themselves and other articles to try to clarify some moments.

But, for instance, Mrs Miniver has a montage of people dying in WW1 from 1914 to 1918. All quick medium shots dissolving together that don't show a specific location. It's more impressionistic than specific. Presumably representing at least France, but probably Belgium and elsewhere too. It's unspecified. With moments like that I haven't added to the tallies.

+2
Level 96
Mar 31, 2024
A WWI montage in Mrs. Miniver? Are you sure you don't mean Cavalcade? Because funnily enough that's exactly the scene I was thinking of when I wrote the comment. And while it's specified Robert and Joe are off to France, I imagine the montage is broader and in a way is actually set in all war zones and none of them at the same time. I agree that excluding impressionistic (well-chosen word) moments like those makes sense because at that point there are really no "narrative locations" involved.
+2
Level 85
Mar 31, 2024
Ugh, yes I meant Cavalcade! Well spotted. Too many movies on my mind. France is specifically depicted elsewhere, as is Switzerland, so I'm including those, but not Belgium.

Though I've discovered that Belgium does feature in Patton in newsreel footage. I'm just deciding whether to include that. I'm leaning towards yes as the film uses the newsreel, full screen, to depict the story i.e. it's not just a TV on in a background somewhere showing some other country, which I wouldn't count.

+1
Level 78
Mar 30, 2024
Out of Africa begins in Denmark.
+1
Level 85
Mar 31, 2024
Thanks, will add.
+1
Level 68
Mar 31, 2024
Gladiator had scenes filmed in Malta
+7
Level 85
Mar 31, 2024
These are narrative locations, not filming locations. Are you saying there were scenes set in Malta?
+2
Level 65
Mar 31, 2024
I've never actually seen the film, but I'm pretty certain that no, Malta is not in the Gladiator movie. Obviously it was used as a filming location, that's one of the reasons people even know about the country.

Lovely Quiz :)

+2
Level 79
Mar 31, 2024
Great Quiz. If you make a sequel, (see what I did there!) you could use the BAFTAs, sometimes they mirror the Oscars, but not always.

You have also now given me an idea, that instead of spending almost as long as the film searching Netflix for something to watch, I can now just work my way through Award winners and nominated movies.

+2
Level 76
Mar 31, 2024
Cool quiz, but hard to believe that Russia, Greece, Brazil, Australia, etc. have never appeared in a Best Picture.

Also, I could've sworn The Bridge on the River Kwai took place in Myanmar. Guess I was wrong.

+1
Level 83
Apr 1, 2024
> I could've sworn The Bridge on the River Kwai took place in Myanmar

It's a common (and easy) misconception. The railway going over the eponymous bridge is the Burma Railway, and was being built by the Japanese to supply resources for their attempt to capture Rangoon.

However the bridge itself (as depicted in the book and movie) is in Thailand.

+1
Level 85
Apr 1, 2024
I thought the same but it seems there is a scene in Burmese village that a character escapes to. Will try to confirm the location and will add it an update at some point.
+1
Level 83
Mar 31, 2024
When does Switzerland appear in the Sound of Music? The film ends with the family walking over the mountains but I don’t remember any scene that definitely takes place in Switzerland?
+2
Level 85
Mar 31, 2024
I've always read that scene as them going over the peak on the mountain, crossing the border and descending into Switzerland with the camera pointing at the country.

Wikipedia has is that "The next morning, after driving to the Swiss border, the von Trapp family make their way on foot across the frontier into Switzerland to safety and freedom."

I've updated the clue anyway to focus on other films.

+1
Level 71
Apr 1, 2024
Argo takes place in Iran, not Iraq.
+3
Level 85
Apr 1, 2024
The quiz says it takes place in Iran. There's a scene of the housekeeper entering Iraq at the end.
+1
Level 71
Apr 1, 2024
You're right, I forgot about that.
+1
Level 91
Apr 1, 2024
Before you resubmitted the quiz I was on 33,169 points. After successfully completing the quiz again this morning I was on 33,167 points. Nothing else has changed. Why have I been clipped 2 points for re-taking it?
+1
Level 85
Apr 1, 2024
Maybe you lost the 2 points from another quiz or two where the point boundaries changed? It will tell you at the top of this quiz how many points you were awarded and should say 5. If not it's probably just taking some time to update.
+1
Level 82
Apr 1, 2024
Great quiz, must have been an absolute pain to make though!

I know you won't update that quiz again for a while, but doesn't The Bridge on the River Kwaï have scenes in Myanmar?

+1
Level 85
Apr 1, 2024
Ha, yeah it was a task! Looks like you're right. There's a character that escapes and probably goes through Burma. Will try to confirm and add in the next update.
+1
Level 80
Apr 1, 2024
I think I remember seeing Bermuda in the Silence of the Lambs credits, and assuming that's where the final scene took place. Perhaps it did in actuality, but according to the script, it must have been Bahamas.
+1
Level 67
May 2, 2024
Bermuda is part of the UK.
+1
Level 54
Apr 1, 2024
Malta:

Patton was dispatched there as a diversionary tactic, which confuses Nazi Germany. In the film, Patton gives a tour of an ancient battlefield (around 1:46 into the movie).

+1
Level 85
Apr 2, 2024
Thanks, will check it and add at the next update.
+2
Level 75
Apr 2, 2024
Only missed the Bahamas. I've never actually seen that film, but from what I know about it I suspect that's a bit of an ending spoiler lol

Awesome quiz by the way, great work!

+1
Level 21
May 2, 2024
I tried Irak instead of Iraq 😭😭
+1
Level 43
May 2, 2024
New Oscars meta - apparently, if there's any scenes set in Russia, it won't win Best Picture. :)
+1
Level 61
May 2, 2024
Shouldn't the war-time country names be used? The Czech Republic did not exist in WW2.
+3
Level 61
May 2, 2024
"Name every MODERN DAY COUNTRY with a location depicted in a movie which won an Oscar for Best Picture."
+1
Level 67
May 2, 2024
The Godfather Part II's filming location for Cuba is not Cuba but actually the Dominican Republic. Filming could not be done in Cuba because of Fidel. (My speculation)
+1
Level 85
May 2, 2024
I'm assuming this is just an interesting fact, as the quiz is about narrative locations not shooting locations as per the caveat.
+1
Level 72
May 2, 2024
Indonesia, Mutiny on the Bounty.

In Mutiny on the Bounty, at the end of Bligh's voyage in the ship's launch, he and the rest of the launch crew (put into the launch by Christian and his men) arrive at land--they are shown just offshore.

I think this is Kupang in Indonesia, where Bligh ultimately finished the launch journey. There's dialog in the movie that says that's what he's making for (Timor, in the Dutch East Indies) and his line when in sight of land is "We've beaten the sea itself." Which I read as the journey being over at that point.

Historically, Bligh ended up at Kupang, which is on the Indonesia side of Timor; not in East Timor. In the historical journey, they also stopped at Australian islands, enabling them to finish the journey, but this isn't shown in the movie.

I re-watched the relevant scenes of the movie about the journey in the launch, but not every minute. I think the other locations (Tahiti, Pitcairn) are covered by France and the UK.

+1
Level 85
Jun 8, 2024
Thanks for the comment. Have checked the film and will add Indonesia when I update at some point. Apparently they stopped at Tonga's Tofua island too on the way. That would have been a tricky answer if they depicted it in the film!
+1
Level 61
May 3, 2024
What part of 'Lawrence of Arabia' is set in Israel?! And part of 'Ben-Hur' is set in Italy.
+1
Level 85
May 3, 2024
From the wiki plot summary:

In Jerusalem, General Allenby urges Lawrence to support the "big push" on Damascus.

Ben-Hur has already been counted in the tally of 7 films for Italy.

+1
Level 43
May 3, 2024
Cambodia surely, for Killing Fields ?
+1
Level 85
May 3, 2024
It didn't win Best Picture. Amadeus beat it.
+2
Level 22
May 5, 2024
This is a great, well-researched quiz. I enjoyed it.

I'm at a loss as to the third movie set in India after Slumdog and Gandhi. Could you help me out, please?

+1
Level 85
May 5, 2024
Around the World in 80 Days :)

Which is tied with Patton for the most countries in one film. The ones I counted for it were UK, France, Spain, Italy, Egypt, India, Thailand, China, Japan, and the USA.

+1
Level 50
Jun 8, 2024
If I remember correctly, the last scenes in a beautiful mind takes place in Stockholm Sweden
+1
Level 85
Jun 8, 2024
Good call, thanks. Will add it when I update at some point.
+1
Level 78
Sep 12, 2024
If only "Hotel Rwanda" won best picture. Would have been an easy one haha
+1
Level 52
Sep 16, 2024
The Silence of the Lambs finally rewarded me for spamming every island country I could think of.