for some reason this weekend i wandered into the foreign film section of video culture and randomly selected leolo, which turned out to be a great movie (with tom waits and the rolling stones on the soundtrack, as i would later find). this stroke of luck has led me to wonder what other foreign flicks i may have been missing out on. any suggestions? anything but amelie - i think this movie took the proverbial piss on amelie. anyways, talk amongst yourselves.

Rest assured, Roadie will have at least 6 suggestions for you.

I've seen a lot of foriegn films just from hanging out at the Idaho Palace over the years, but I can never remember the titles of them - they're all in other languages!

the nerve! i'd definitely recomment leolo if your into dark comedies about boys with genetic predispositions towards insanity. there's a lot more to it, and it's very lovely, but that crazy part was what came to mind first.

(Edited by damon at 11:11 pm on Aug. 10, 2003)

city of gods became one of my favorite movies when i saw it at the belcourt not long ago. i dont know if the director was even foriegn, but it was in portuguese... foriegn enough for even this cultured girl.

With a Friend Like Harry is excellent. And the original Insomnia.

yeah, i enjoyed that one quite a bit.

french movie called 'ponette'--about a 4-yr-old girl dealing with the death of her mother. incredible acting, bittersweet story. make sure you have lots of tissues on hand.

I would tell you about the foreign films I enjoy, but this is a family forum.

oh yeah, and the obvious one, au revoir les enfants.

Man Without a Past, which is playing at Belcourt right now, is very good.

My perception is that the Idaho Palace limits itself too much to French films.
What about the Russian films?? Burnt by the Sun, about Stalin's purges, is good.

And it's not foreign, but since we're talking about film, I highly recommend "Capturing the Friedman's" which is playing at Green Hills right now. Quite the downer, but it's one of the most interesting and powerful documentaries I've seen in a long time.

what about that colours trilogy? my friend used to talk about it all the time, but i never had sat down and watched it... does anyone know if it's any good?

Ok, so, I like wrote out a whole big response to this but it got erased before i could post it so i'm going to try to duplicate it from memory the best i can.

First, i'm surprised wiyum hasn't chimed in on this, i think he can probably give better advice than myself. Plus neuboy will undoubtedly disagree with everything i say and call me a poseur and all that so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Unfortunately most Americans think "foreign" film is a genre in itself when actually any country is capable of producing crappy films of all types. Just because a movie is "foreign" doesn't mean its automatically good or bad. Big budget Bruckheimer type films can come out of other countries....just, er, not as often. So, to the topic at hand, as far as french film goes i don't know much post 1980. Oviously Godard is the place to start, the ones that i've seen that i like are "Band of Outsiders", "Contempt", "Masculin/Feminin", and "Breathless", though i don't think the latter is as good as everyone says it is. I have'nt seen "Weekend" yet, and i'm not overly familiar with his latter day stuff, i hear its hit and miss so its not at the top of my list to explore. Within France i would also check out Jean-Pierre Melville's caper films: "Bob Le Flambeur" is probably my favorite new wave film, and "Le Doulos" is perhaps an even better film but for some reason i like "Bob" more. It was recently remade, almost word for word, into "The Good Thief" with Nick Nolte. It was surprisingly good.

Gosh i'm forgetting lots of stuff here. "Un Homme et un Femme" by Claude Lelouch is one of my absolute favorites. Its sentimental but georgeous, and it has Anouk Aimee who is without a doubt the most beautiful woman ever to live next to Marilyn Monroe. You also have Chabrol though i haven't really been able to get into his stuff, but i have seen most of it. My favorite is probably "Les Bonnes Femmes". Truffaut: unfortunately i 've only seen "the 400 Blows" and "Jules and Jim" and i think a few others but i plan on exploring his catalog.

You also have to see Luis Bunuel's "Discreet Charm of the Bourgeouisie" and "Belle du Jour". He had another one with two different women playing the same character...i can't remember the name right now...someone help me out here. Anyway that one was good. I think he also made a comedy set in mexico about two guys who rob a street car that was great. At least i think that was Bunuel.

Then you got the Italians, of course Fellini with "La Dulce Vida" and "8 1/2" I haven't seen his earlier stuff though its on the top of my list. His later stuff gets really out there and is pretty pretentious. Antonioni with "Blow Up" and "L'aventurra" and "La Notte".

Then you got all kinds of japanese cinema. Kurosawa, some say the greatest director of all time. Seven Samurai one of the best films of all time. But he's just one of many.

God, Bergman, Herzog, Fritz Lang, I've seen a few by each of these but i'm no expert.

Russian? hey all i know is "Battleship Potemkin" damn i'm forgetting lots of stuff, i gotta go. Obviously i'm no expert on this, so i'm inviting wiyum to jump in here and put me to shame.

Firstly, everything roadie said is to be trusted... I can definitely recommend most of what he mentioned, and am actually looking at the cases for a number of them right now. That said, here's a breakdown of some stuff you can find relatively easily (and never take video culture for granted, that place is probably the best video store in the 7 states visible from Rock City).

For French cinema, Godard's Breathless is my favorite and a great place to start for "New Wave" stuff. If liked, Truffaut's 400 Blows and Godard's Band of Outsiders are excellent as well. If you want to get really out there, Godard's Weekend and Masculin/Feminin are fantastic, if not highly alienating to most people.

Also French, but very different, is Renoir's Rules of the Game. Hard to find, this social satire is brilliantly funny yet touching and poignant. You'll laugh til you cry, then cry because you shouldn't have laughed. Well, it isn't really that serious, but this is one that plays all strings.

For Italy, Fellini is indispensible. I make no bones about 8 1/2 being my favorite film of all time, and there's alot to be said for the rest of his early work, La Strada, La Dolce Vita, and Nights of Cabiria in particular. His later work is rather hit or miss, but Amarcord is an example of a hit. Alos from Italy are the neorealist directors, and Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thieves is probably the best place to go for that.

The recent "new" Latin American cinema is extremely rich, and exciting, and highly accessable to modern american audiences. Already on DVD are Amorres Perros and Y Tu Mama Tambien, and City of God (which stopforme mentioned) should be coming to video this year. All are fantastic.

My favorite foreign director is probably Akira Kurosawa, and really all of the Criterion collection Kurosawa films are great. See Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, and Ran first, though really nearly anything of his is a safe bet. He's of interest because the Eastwood Westerns and Star Wars films are direct rips of his work. All around solid stuff.

The recent release of Kieslowski's Three Colors Trilogy has been the most exciting thing to come out this year, as far as I'm concerned, and Kieslowski's Decalogue is coming to dvd this month (after having been out of print for about a year). The three colors trilogy is about as good as cinema gets, in my opinion.

Wong Kar-Wai's hong kong cinema is very different from John Woo's (which is worth exploring, but I won't go in to), and in my opinion, better. Chungking Express is great for those who liked Amelie, I've got a friend convinced that Amelie is nothing more than a rip of Chungking's second half. I Won't go that far, but Chungking is the kind of film that just excites me watching it. One of my favorites. Also from Kar-Wai is In the Mood for Love, a slow but rich look at relationships.

Luis Bunel's films are always a ton of fun, if not hard to find. Criterion's got a good disc for Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie though, and it is a favorite of mine. He worked, early on, with Salvador Dali, and so that gives you an idea of his sensibilities. Discreet Charm is filled with a multitude of random, fun episodes, loosely linked by the thread of wealthy people wasting time and money. A ton of fun.

Almondovar's Spanish films are the only Spanish film that I'm very familiar with, but Talk to Her and All About my Mother are both fantastic.

Ingmar Bergman is an amazing director who often accomplishes the feat of having films that are slow and feel like they are taking 4 hours, yet after 90 minutes are done, yet feel like they had 8 hours of content. And odd description, perhaps, but that's how I feel. They are very weighty films, though, and only appropriate if you want to put some thought into it afterwards.

German film is not to be ignored. You have probably seen Tom Tykwer's Run Lola Run. If not, do. Its is a great, exciting film that used the aesthetic of music video and video games to tell its story. Good stuff.

As for the rest of German film, the three big German new wave directors are Herzog, Fassbinder, and Wenders. For Wenders, Paris, Texas or Wings of Desire would be most recommended, especially the new dvd of Wings of Desire, which my friend contends is the most beautiful film ever. Herzog is good if you like insanity, in which case, Even Dwarves Started Small is the most insane. Aguirre, the Wraith of God and Fitzcarroldo are also about insanity in some way and are great movies, and both easier to watch perhaps than Dwarves, which is pure chaos (and in my opinion more fun for it). Fassbinder is my favorite of the three, and of his work, I most recommend Fox and His Friends, The Marriage of Maria Braun, Merchant of the Four Seasons, Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, and Why Does Herr R. Run Amok? All of these are more serious than the Herzog, but all excellent films.

Wrapping up, looking at my shelf I see a few films that aren't foreign-language but which probably wouldn't be seen otherwise and really ought to be. Of those Brief Encounter (directed by David Lean before he went on to Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia) and George Washington are the best. Brief Encounter is a small, 90 minute film about an affair that is overly melodramatic, but always strikes a chord with me despite this fact. Just solid filmmaking all around. George Washington is rather new, and one of the few films I know of that depicts the South acurately without being overly kind or overly cruel.

To round this out, the list of my most recommended films would be:

1. 8 1/2 (Fellini, Italy, 1963)
2. Rashomon (Kurosawa, Japan, 1950)
3. Rules of the Game (Renoir, France, 1939)
4. Breathless (Godard, France, 1960)
5. Three Colors Trilogy (Kieslowski, Poland, 1993)
6. The Seven Samurai (Kurosawa, Japan, 1954)
7. Chungking Express (Wong, Hong Kong, 1994)
8. Brief Encounter (Lean, Britain, 1946)
9. Amores Perros (Innaritu, Mexico, 2001)
10. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Bunuel, France/Spain, 1972)

Hope you see some of these, they are great.

Will

"That Obscure Object of Desire" is Bunuel's last film, and features two actresses playing the same role (for no reason, really, but that is the fun of it). The streetcar film I'm not familiar with, but I've only seen a few Bunuel films.

Will

Will, if you ever decide that you don't want to make films, you have a definite career as a film critic. Bravo!

I'd like to throw La Femme Nikita in there as well. I am not an action film guy in any sense of the word, but that film mesmerized me in school. Beautifully shot, engaging story, dropped dead sexy star (Anne Parillaud) and it is fun to watch (think Amelie with guns; lotsa guns).

Let's be honest... some of these films on the list, while masterpieces in every sense of the word, can be a bit tough to get through. Especially if you are not a film student and looking for the nuances in the craft that the film is regarded for.

An obvious statement will follow, but must be said for the uninitiated.

Be sure with all foreign films to get the sub-titled version and not the dubbed.

Dear God yes.

some of my friends don't understand why i adhere so strongly to this policy.

Unless it's anime.

hmm... i don't know. i rather enjoy watching Cowboy Bebop, Akira, and Grand Teacher Onizuka with sub-titles.

I always feel bad about it, but I agree with the "dub is okay for anime" mindset, I suppose because I enjoy watching the animation and focusing on that. Which makes no sense, because the american dub talent is usually just as bad, or worse, than they are for live action films, and with live action films you'd assume I'd make the same argument for wanting to focus on the cinematography, since I do mostly cinematography. Nonetheless, I still enjoy watching anime dubbed when I watch anime, which is rarely.

Will

I'll grant that 8 1/2 can be very alienating, as well as perhaps Breathless. But I think everything else on the list is easily accessable to any American audience member that has aknowledged that subtitles are okay. The Kurosawa films are definitely accessable. Rules of the Game is laugh-out-loud hilarious through much of it. Chungking is different, but touchingly so, and everyone that I've shown it to has loved it. Three Colors might not be for everyone, but not because of any inaccessability. Amores Perros could have easily been made in the US as far as its sensibilities go. And Discreet Charm is just too much fun to irritate as it alienates (which it may well do).

By and large I think these are good choices. Certainly more accessable than Masculin/Feminin, Weekend, L'Aventura, or Cries and Whispers, which I adore but didn't think to recommend so highly.

Will

only a film critic...

sorry, this was sexy sadie...

(Edited by DigsySlattery at 11:20 pm on Aug. 12, 2003)

Well, now...

I was too lazy to read through everybody else's responses...and by everybody else I mean Roadie and Wiyum.... Hoping that I'm not repeating people...Off the top of my head, I recommend The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Belle de Jour. They are both beautiful films.

Seriously, the last half of the film, when all hell breaks loose at the party and the gameskeeper is chasing the poacher around and all of that... it's just damned funny.

Will

Just rent Blow Up and Belle De Jour

sucked.

I thought Discreet Charm was overrated too- I enjoyed it, but it wasn't spectacular or anything.

I'm not nearly as well-versed in films as these boys, but some I've enjoyed recently & over the years are:

Wild Strawberries- Bergman- mostly the part where they chant "Hooorah!" in their cute Swedish accents

City of Lost Children & Delicatessen- earlier films by Jean-Pierre Jeunet- excellent, fantastical, sweet, bizarre

Metropolis- Fritz Lang- just recently saw this for the first time & it was so, so good. Silently expresses much more depth of emotion and interesting political commentary than most talkies

Thesis- Alejandro Amenábar- creepy!!

Princess Mononoke- Hayao Miyazaki- great movie about humanity's struggle to control nature. Also lots of cute woodland creatures and forest spirits. The more recent Spirited Away was also good.

(Edited by Lauren at 10:32 am on Aug. 13, 2003)

ah, a very good film......

true, but it brought back so many poolside memories...

since there are so many film fans here, who's a fan of the shorts on atomfilms.com? I find many of them to be great... Especially "Every Man Is A Potential Stalker Guilt Syndrome" and a few of the psycho-horror shorts... they have a lot of films from film students posted there...

That's because they are the only ones with the time to make 'em... right BrianW?

"Illusion Travels By Streetcar" - this is great, though I think of everything of his I've seen, "Discreet Charm" is the most, er charming. And certainly not overrated as Lauren said. "Un Chien Andalou", the film Wiyum referenced that was a collaboration with Salvador Dali is definitely worth checking out. It's the inspiration for the Pixies song Debaser "I am Un Chien Andalusia!" It's usually paired with "Land Without Bread" which is a great documentary about insular communities in the mountains of Spain. Very strange, lots of inbreeding, etc.

I'll agree with Wiyum and Roadie's assessments. Kurosawa is great, Herzog, all the French guys - Godard and Truffaut are certainly my favorites. "Weekend" is alienating but incredible. "La Jette" is a cool still frame film and was the inspiration for "12 Monkeys." Can't think of anything else right now.

Forgot. I make no bones about liking Fellini. 8 1/2, La Dolce Vita, Clowns, La Strada, Nights of Cabiria, etc. He's done some amazing stuff. I wouldn't advise seeing Satyricon however. I have a high threshhold for arty, pretentious bullshit and even I couldn't stomach it.

Also, Jean Cocteau's stuff, what I've seen anyway, is very interesting.

There's a great copy of Fritz Lang's Metropolis at the public library downtown that has a cool, sinister spy jazz soundtrack. I have no clue who did it, but it's certainly the best accompaniment for the film I've heard.

It should be noted that Metropolis is available on several dvd editions and many of them are to be avoided like the plague.

The film was shot at a certain speed and was meant to be played back at that speed. Without going into the technical details, which I can't recall the specifics of, there are dvd versions that play the film back at the wrong speed, resulting in what I've been told are major pacing issues. I saw the film first downtown at the Siskel film center and loved it; friends that saw bad dvds hated the film until they saw a properly-transferred edition. That said, I don't rightly know which one is to be avoided, but it is a great film if shown probperly.

Other suggestions that have yet to be mentioned:

Fritz Lang's first sound film, M, is amazing. Invented the serial killer genre.

Other early sound films are great too. My favorite filmmaker from that period is Rene Clair, and while I adore A Nous Le Liberte and Under the Roofs of Paris, my favorite is Le Million. It is a musical in French, but even though I have to read subtitles, I can't help but adore this film. Highly recommended for anyone with an appreciation of cute romance.

Will

If I remember right, most of those films in the 20's were shot at 18fps. That's why they all look slightly sped up. Plus they were all hand cranked, giving them that loopy, jerky look.

Funny- that's the one I saw. I know there are tons of versions out there. WHat is the accompaniment when they play it at the Belcourt/ in movie theaters?

I liked "Land Without Bread" but it was the first Bunuel film I saw & so I was a little confused about what he was about.

Lauren, "Land Without Bread", though interesting in its own right, is nothing like Bunuel's later works. "Discreet Charm" and "Belle du Jour" (and the others mentioned) are really fantastic films that you'll probably like.

Most were shot at 18, but I feel like that can't be right in this case, because I remember the mis-transfer resulting in a considerably longer metropolis, which (if it were shot at 18) would only happen if it were transferred at 12 or something ridiculous like that. But maybe the pacing issues were actiually the result of a shorter metropolis.

Will

MAybe it was shot at 24fps and transferred incorrectly at 18fps? I'll have to dust off some textbooks and check that out. That would definitely slow down the pacing. That's a 75% overcrank....

That was my thought, yeah. It seems the only explanation that would result in a longer film.

Will