Foreign Films

[LizzieMaine]

More than half the films we show where I work are foreign -- and the sense I get is that foreign filmmakers tend to be far less bound by commercial considerations than the Hollywood sort. There seems to be much more emphasis on original, meaningful story over trite formula, and they seem to be much more story-driven than star driven, even when big-name stars are featured.

They don't have to be grand spectacles or deep dramas to be successful, either. Two of my favorites are extremely *small* films: Yimou Zhang's "The Road Home" (China, 1999) and Andrei Kravchuk's "The Italian" (Russia, 2005). Both these pictures tell very simple, gentle stories about sympathetic protagonists, without feeling the need to delve into dark and depressing truths about the human condition, political allegory, or vast spectacle. They both have an honest, emotional intimacy that is all too hard to find on the screen these days.

 

[Warden]

If a Welsh film can be included in this, I liked the film Hedd Wyn (1992 and Oscar-nominated).

The film of based on Hedd Wyn life.

Hedd Wyn was the bardic name of Ellis Humphrey Evans, a Trawsfynydd shepherd and gifted poet. Following success in local competitions and a second place for the chair in the National Eisteddfod at Aberystwyth, Ellis set his sights on the chair at the Birkenhead Eisteddfod of 1917.

Such compositions take great flair and precision, as the poem must be written within the strict rules of the cynghanedd.

Meanwhile, as World War I continued, pressure was brought to bear on local farmers to send their sons to the battlefront, as only two were deemed necessary to help farm the land. As the oldest of the sons still at home, Ellis joined up, despite his misgivings about war and killing. He joined the 15th battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and was sent to serve on the Western Front.

Yet, despite the terrible conditions of the trenches and the scepticism of the English officers, he continued with his composition, this time submitting it under the bardic name Fleur-de-Lis. He drew upon his experiences of war to compose Yr Arwr (The Hero), which describes the realities of war for both the soldiers and their families back home.

Back in Birkenhead, as the judges called out the name of the victorious bard, there was silence in the auditorium. Hedd Wyn had been killed six weeks earlier on July 31, 1917, during the battle for Pilckem Ridge, Ypres. As the Western Mail reported: "Instead of the usual chairing ceremony the chair was draped in a black pall amidst death-like silence, and the bards came forward in long procession to place their muse-tribute of englyn or couplet on the draped chair in memory of the dead bard hero."

IMDb entry

Warden

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Un homme et une femme (A Man and a Woman) yet.

It stars Anouk Aim?©e and Jean-Louis Trintignant, and I'll bet you recognize the theme music when you hear it.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I loved a Chilean comedy film called El Chacotero Sentimental (1999).

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[Trampilot]

Apologies for being pedantic....

I own most of the films created by French director Jean-Pierre Jeunet (City of Lost Children)...except Alien 3....

Alien 3 was David Fincher's discarded masterpiece. Alien (4) Ressurection is Jeunet's.

The last foreign language film I saw was Lemming. Enthrallingly odd piece of cinema. Very good.

 

[Jack Scorpion]

To Live, China, 1994, Zhang Yimou, Starring Gong Li, was one we saw just this last week, and I was glued all the way through. It begins in 1940's China, and carries on through the life of a family during Mao's "Cultural Revolution". 5 stars for me, and deserving of a place among my foreign favorites.

Kukushka (The Cuckoo), Estonia,2002, was great. The DVD back cover description doesn't give the actual movie justice. It makes i sound like some seedy love triangle, which it is not. It is set in WWII, and has a Finn, a Lapp, and a Russian all stuck on the same farm, and so one speaks the language of the others, so this leads to some really hilarious misunderstandings. This isn't a comedy, though, and has a serious story line.

To Live is a fantastic film. Probably the best Chinese flick I've ever seen. Tear jerker epic extraordinaire. Japanese -- Seven Samurai is unspeakably amazing. Kurosawa flicks scare me off usually, but I enjoy one or two every year. The best Japanese film in the last few decades, in my opinion, is Fireworks by actor/director Beat Takeshi. A lot of his other work is decent, too. (Brother, Zatoichi)

Kukushka is also good. A sign of the Eastern European film rebirth. (The Return is also a good movie.) I'm a sucker for Russian films. White Sun of the Desert remains one of my all time favorite flicks and The Diamond Arm is too classic to ignore. Stalker is also one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made.

French -- Shoot the Piano Player, Le Samourai, Le Circle Rouge.

Pan's Labrynth was great. And I heard that German film that won the Oscar was fantastic. Haven't seen that, though.

 

[Doh!]

From Germany: Das Boot

Japan: Kurosawa's Ran

France: the bookends of Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring

I prefer subtitles over dubbing, although it can be frustrating watching these in a theater because you can't rewind if you miss something!

 

[Hondo]

I could easily spend all day answering this, but I'll confine myself to personal favorites and older (mostly pre-80s) films. If you truly love film, I'd say all of these are must-sees:

Cocteau: Beauty and the Beast, Orphee (Orpheus)

Fellini: La Strada, I Vitelloni, La Dolce Vita, 8-1/2, Satyricon, Amacord

Kurosawa: Rashoman, The Seven Samurai, Yojimbo, Dreams (plus Throne of Blood and Ran if you dig Shakespeare!)

Bergman: (When I was a young film buff in the late 60s, Ingmar Bergman was considered THE important foreign filmaker. His reputation seems to have fallen dramatically since then, but I still think his films are BRILLIANT, especially his amazing run from the late 50s.) Smiles of a Summer Night, The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, The Virgin Spring, Cries and Whispers, The Magic Flute (even if you're not usually a fan of opera: it's gorgeous, magical, charming, and moving!), Fanny and Alexander

There are hundreds more, and great new films are being made around the world all the time - more than in Hollywood! Given a choice, ALWAYS go with subtitles - dubbing CAN be very well done, but often isn't!

Doc you simply amaze me (Kurosawa, Bergman) enjoy your reviews, while I haven't seen all I go for subtitles as well, a great list of films from all of you here, Kurosawa is one of my favorites when in my younger days in S.F. I used to visit old Chinatown, see those Chinese kung fu movie, as well as the masters in International film fests, my hearing isn't what it used to be so its great to be able to read on screen, thanks!

 

[Doctor Strange]

My pleasure, Hondo!

Frankly, I'm surprised to see that so few other folks have mentioned older foreign films. I have nothing against more recent flicks (I see new foreign-language films all the time - e.g., last weekend I saw the French film "The Valet", reviewed in today's New York Times), but I hold the films I listed here as equivalent to the acknowledged Hollywood and British classics of the same period. In any case, they're still hugely influential: you can't call yourself really well-versed about movies if you haven't seen at least *some* of them!

Speaking of something a little more recent, can it be that nobody has yet mentioned "Cinema Paradiso"?!? Talk about a *great* movie for film lovers!

 

[Senator Jack]

Frankly, I'm surprised to see that so few other folks have mentioned older foreign films.

Perhaps we covered all the basics. Then again, echoing sentiment isn't exactly uncommon around here. Don't know.

Have to say that in the past a big problem with a distributor like Janus is that on black and white film you couldn't read half the subtitles. Watching many of them again on DVD, after twenty years, is so much morea pleasurable since the subtitles are in the black frame and not on the film. (Most of the time)

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Doctor Strange]

See, I feel exactly the opposite - I want the titles PRINTED on the film, just as audiences originally saw them in theaters. I grew up on those Janus Films prints! And most of the older films I've mentioned aren't widescreen, so the titles would appear over the image either way.

Plus, my DVD player seems to have a problem processing subtitles: on some films, it seems to only display about half of them. I had to stop watching Almodovar's "Bad Education" recently because I felt like I wasn't getting enough of the dialog. Of course, this will rectify itself soon enough, since no DVD player will last that long - not like my circa-1965 Bell & Howell 16mm projector, which I'll have forever!

 

[Hondo]

Speaking of something a little more recent, can it be that nobody has yet mentioned "Cinema Paradiso"?!? Talk about a *great* movie for film lovers!

Something I'll have to look into, sounds like a great films from the IMDb, Thanks!

Senator Jack: I some what agree, [huh] some older films do use "yellow subtitles" which show up better in B/W, I try to follow along as much as possible

 

[dhermann1]

A lot of my favorites have been mentioned here. ANYTHING by Kurosawa is great. Likewise Bergman, Jean Renoir, Fellini. I saw "Last Year at Marienbad" and "Juliet of the Spirits" in the same summer when I was 15, around 1962, and I've never been the same since. Another wonderful Tati film is "Jour de Fete".
Check out "The Tree of Wooden Clogs" (Italian 1978), "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors" (Russian 1964), "Waiting for Gavrilov" (also Russian 1981). Gosh, so many others.
One thing I like about foreign films that are created for their own domestic markets is that you get a glimpse into the every day reality of that country. For example, "Waiting for Gavrilov" is a Russian romantic comedy, filmed in Odessa, Ukraine. Who'da thunk they could do romantic comedy!
Another Russian film: "Come and See". The absolutely most horrific war movie ever made.
Hey! "Ecstasy" with Hedy Lamarr!
I must admit, I also enjoy watching hokey old Spanish language B movies from Latin America, even if I don't know what they're saying. Talk about vintage style!
Oh, yes! "Bye Bye Brazil"! "Black Orpheus". Etc., etc., etc.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

A masterpiece: Alejandro Jodorowsky's El Topo (1970):


"See the naked young Franciscans whipped with cactus. See the bandit leader disemboweled. See the priest ride into the sunset with a midget and her newborn baby. What it all means isn't exactly clear, but you won't forget it."


Jodorowsky is a Chilean who went to Mexico in the '60s and made several films there. In addition to El Topo, he directed the marvelous and brutal Santa Sangre (1984, I think).


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067866/


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[dhermann1]

El Topo

A masterpiece: Alejandro Jod0rowsky's El Topo (1970):


"See the naked young Franciscans whipped with cactus. See the bandit leader disemboweled. See the priest ride into the sunset with a midget and her newborn baby. What it all means isn't exactly clear, but you won't forget it."


Jodorowsky is a Chilean who went to Mexico in the '60s and made several films there. In addition to El Topo, he directed the marvelous and brutal Santa Sangre (1984, I think).


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067866/


.

Back in 1971 El Topo was playing at midnight at a theater in the village (oh, gee, what was its name??) Anyway, it was a real cult thing, comparable to Rocky Horror. VERY bizarre film! Sort of a spaghetti western on LSD.

 

[Adelaidey]

Para los hispanohablantes-- <<La Nina de tus Ojos>>... la prefiero en su propia lengua, pero si no entiende el accento castellano...

...there are subtitles. I like it, and its got some great vintage throughout the film-- its set in the late 30's. (aka "The Girl of Your Dreams" in English)


Aaaand, I might as well admit it-- *stands*...
"Hello, my name is Adelaide, and I'm a Bollywood addict." lol lol

 

[Rafter]

I remember one of the first foreign films I ever saw was "Borsalino".

Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon gave competent but stereotypical performances as small-time hoodlums working their way up in the Marseilles underworld of the '30s.

Fairly basic as a gangster pastiche, despite its nods to Hawks, Melville, et al; but not unenjoyable thanks to its loudly stressed period detail and Claude Bolling's music.

 

[Jack Scorpion]

Tampopo. Japanese FOOD spaghetti western. I can watch that over and over.

 

[happyfilmluvguy]

There's a film I watched a while back called "The Cantor's Son". It's a Jewish film in Yiddish that was made in the 1930's. Simple yet complex story. I didn't see the entire film, but what I did see was good.

The Cantor's Son IMDB

 

[dhermann1]

Tampopo! Yes! Great film! Another hilarious Japanese film: "The Family Game".
Great Yugoslavian film: "While Father Was Away on Business".