Foreign Films

[Rafter]

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.

Sounds like a rip-off of the Warner Bros. Classic 1927 film,"The Jazz Singer"!

 

[Sweet Polly Purebred]

happyfilmguy, if you liked "City Of Lost Children", you'll love "Delicatessen" .. The bed spring/cello/painting by suspenders sequence is wonderful!

A few of my favorites:

"Babette's Feast" - For the 'foodies' out there .. Really lovely film.

"The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover" - Amazing filmography and set design, dark humour, very French.

"Camille Claudel" - Rodin's Mistress ...

"Henry and June" - Anais Nin and Henry Miller (Young Uma Thurman). Partly Foreign.

Akira Kurosawa's "Dreams" a.k.a "Yume" One of the most visually beautiful films I've ever seen.

 

[pigeon toe]

I'm in a European film history class right now, so I get to watch foreign films twice a week. Some of the standouts so far have been All About My Mother (Todo Sobre Mi Madre) by Almodovar, Breathless by Jean Luc Godard, La Femme Nikita by Luc Besson and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie by Luis Bunuel.

Today I have to catch up and watch Satyricon since I missed class that day. I've heard mixed reviews from the people in my class on that one, so I hope I like it!

 

[Senator Jack]

Yes, The Discreet Charm - idea 'borrowed' by Richard Linklater to shoot the 'original' Slacker.

 

[Quigley Brown]

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

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I've been reading that Chilean films are really getting world-wide notice . I recently viewed 'B-Happy' (2003) about a teenage girl and her broken family...incredible acting and cinematography.

 

[Sweet Polly Purebred]

Today I have to catch up and watch Satyricon since I missed class that day. I've heard mixed reviews from the people in my class on that one, so I hope I like it!

How did you like it? I've still not seen it but it's on that mental list of films to see before I die ..

I watched "L'Homme du Train" again today and I can't say a bad thing about it .. I just adore Jean Rochefort. So disappointed that Gilliam's Don Quixote was never finished, he was prefect in that role.

 

[MrPumpernickel]

I'm a huge Korean movie buff so I have a few recommendations for y'all:

Oldboy (2003)

This is probably the most known Korean movie in the western world at the moment. It's about Dae-su Oh who one day is kidnapped, locked into a small room for a number of years, drugged repeatedly and then released without a single explanation to why. The movie follows his attempts to find out what really happened, who did this to him and why. It's riveting, it's exciting, it's funny and it's sweet.

Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004)

A movie set largely during the Korean War and follows two brothers making their way through the fighting by looking after each other and finally looking for each other. It's quite a brutal movie in the way that it doesn't hide the realities of war (in the way many war movies do), but really what drives this movie is not the war but rather the connection between the brothers. The battles carry only a supporting role to the actors, who do a wonderful job. Thoroughly recommended movie!

Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005)

Speaking of movies about the Korean War, here's another, though this one is a bit more light hearted. The movie is about a small mountain village named Dongmakgol where two patrols of soldiers, one from the north and one from the south find themselves stranded in the middle of fighting. Albeit tense moments they have to learn to live with each other even though there are uncertain times ahead. Dongmakgol is quite the idyllic village, kind of like a rural Korean Pleasantville. Though, don't be fooled by the light hearted gloss of its surface there are some really deep and emotional moments, as well as real suspenseful action scenes, in this movie too.

Save the Green Planet! (2003)

Another really great thing about Korean cinema is the variety of movies they're making. Sure, the Korean War is a popular, and controversial, topic among Korean writers and directors, but then there are other topics which are just as awesome as they are surreal. Save the Green Planet! is one of those. It's about a man, Lee Byeong-gu, who's absolutely certain that there is an alien invasion about to happen and he does whatever is required of him to save the world despite no one believing him or his theories. Even you as a viewer are held in suspense whether Byeong-gu is actually sane or completely and utterly bonkers beyond all belief.

A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)

It has to be said that probably my favourite genre of Korean cinema is the psychological thriller genre (what many wrongfully would call horror movies) and A Tale of Two Sisters is a great example of just that. It's about two sisters who return home after spending some time at a mental hospital. I really would like to tell more but I fear I would ruin the movie if I did. Though it is a movie where every little detail matters and it really engages you as a viewer. It's not the kind of movie you'd choose if you want to turn off your brain while watching. There

Bungee Jumping of Their Own (2001)

I end this list with what is probably my favourite Korean movie (although it's a tight race between this and Welcome to Dongmakgol), and it is as controversial as it is good. This is though another one of those movies where I don't want to give much away since it's best to figure it out yourself. Though I will say that it's a movie about soulmates, both finding and losing your soulmate and finding yourself attracted to other things when time has passed. In this case this "other" thing is a school boy and the person who lost a soulmate is his teacher. As you may guess that's where the controversy comes from, but I assure you that there's no pedophilia or anything like that going on. If anything I'd say it's a movie about soulsearching. This is the perfect movie to watch if you're feeling emotional in any way, shape or form.

Unfortunately many Korean movies (some of which I've listed here) are rather hard to get hold of, but if you can get your hands on one do watch it. The Korean movie industry has grown leaps and bounds in the last ten years or so and there are so much worthwhile stuff being produced there.

 

[Sweet Polly Purebred]

Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005)

Speaking of movies about the Korean War, here's another, though this one is a bit more light hearted. The movie is about a small mountain village named Dongmakgol where two patrols of soldiers, one from the north and one from the south find themselves stranded in the middle of fighting. Albeit tense moments they have to learn to live with each other even though there are uncertain times ahead. Dongmakgol is quite the idyllic village, kind of like a rural Korean Pleasantville. Though, don't be fooled by the light hearted gloss of its surface there are some really deep and emotional moments, as well as real suspenseful action scenes, in this movie too.

One of the best movies I've seen in years, poignant and sincere.

 

[Naphtali]

Three excellent but completely different subtitled films are:

"The Seven Samurai" (1954) -- the action adventure from which "The Magnificent Seven" was derived.

"Black Orpheus" (1959) -- an eerie retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice. Superb music.

"That Man from Rio" (1964) -- a wild ride spoof of James Bond that is far superior to any.

 

[rogaleo]

I'd suggest "The Saragossa Manuscript" (1965)

http://www.amazon.com/Saragossa-Manuscript-Zbigniew-Cybulski/dp/B00005Y6YR

 

[olive bleu]

It's too early in the morning for me to be albe to come up with any other than my very favourite, which was my first foreign film and still one i will watch again and again,"cinema Paradiso"I love it more than i can possibly say.

 

[PADDY]

Chinese.

I very much enjoyed 'Lust Caution' which I saw a number of months back regarding the Japanese occupation of parts of China and the resistance/collaboration that went on. Well recommended and some super clothing too.