Recommend This: FOREIGN films

[fullbleed]

Right, recommendations!

[HEADING=2]Stalker[/HEADING]

A Soviet film directed by the legendary Andrei Tarkovsky, it's based upon the book Roadside Picnic, by the Strugatsky brothers, which later (along with this film) became the inspiration for the FPS game STALKER.

Stalker however, is a very calm, surreal film. It follows the journey of the Stalker, as he guides two others, a writer and a scientist, through the Zone to get to the wish-granter. It's more based around atmosphere than events, so don't expect summer blockbuster material here. It's deeply unsettling in places, and is one of those rare films that changes every time you watch it. I'd feel safe in calling it one of the best films of all time, and the best film to come out of the Soviet Union.

Very well said, remains one of my all time favourite films.

However my actual all time favourite film goes to Waltz With Bashir. An Israeli animated bio pic following the films maker's journey to recover his memories of the 1982 Lebanon war, secifically the events of the Sabra and Shatila refugee massacre.

It is just haunting! So many emotional scenes and then the end which tops them all as the film switches from hand drawn animation to actual new footage. The effect is amazing as it suddenly grounds everything in reality in what was previously a surreal a dream like experience. The director said that he had to do this to stop people from walking out and thinking it was at all a work of fiction.

And it has one of the greatest orginal scores I've ever heard.


I can't believe it didn't win best foreign film Oscar!

On another note, what are people's opinion's towards British cinema? If you're say American do you consider british cinema to be foreign in the same vein as french or spanish cinema? I say this because a while back I was bemused by the Spirit independent film awards giving best foreign film to An Education which is a british film.
I thought this was completely stupid as it's still in the english language and was nominated for best film and leading actress in numerous other award ceremonies, and best foreign film catagory is one of the few chances that foriegn films get to be recognised within western media.

But maybe people feel different. I wonder how many americans have seen or would even understand a film like This Is England?

 

[maturin]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0yJEGe_KSo

I really shouldn't, (you have to know a little, or preferably a lot of, Yugoslav history to understand it) but I can't resist linking this one. It's a two and a half hour ordeal, a hilarious, tragic, devastating, slapstick romantic comedy, political allegory, historical epic, character drama, music video for the best music east of Trieste, winner of the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival by genius director Emir Kusturica. This film has no genre.


Basically it satirically critiques the history of Yugoslavia from World War II to its breakup by following two utter rakes and their faithless love interest. It's a sort of loving parody of the Balkan spirit, with all the hijinks, great music, and terrible fratricidal violence that ensues.

Perhaps everything is best explained by this song by Goran Bregovic, which you will be humming frantically for days if you do indeed see this movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYryevHIZGw

 

[Wadders]

Also, Assembly

It's a Chinese film based in the Chinese civil war. It's brutal and pretty damn moving and it seems to be on DVD for like £4 in every Morrisons and Tesco, so you have no excuse not to see it

Seems interesting, but mainly because i want to see how the film portrays the Chinese nationalists. Funnily enough, i watched another Chinese foregin film recently, Mulan. It was an alright film...it had all the standard "war" stuff in it, but failed to stand out in an kind of way. Also, i should say that Der Untergang was a brilliant film, very well done. Das Boot was also epic.

I've heard quite a bit about Nightwatch and Daywatch...they are mostly mixed opinions...so i don't know if i should watch these films or not.

As far as I remember it doesnt really portray the nationalists as anything other than soldiers, because thats all you see of them. It's more of a war film/ personal quest sort of film, rather than one that tries to put across a political message.

It's still well worth a watch though imo, it made me cry.

 

[Chogg Van Helsing]

Brotherhood of the Wolf. Its a french film, and its fucking brilliant!

 

[Phoenixlight]

So it's not the only one you can think of but the only one you can say anything about, big difference.

Well it just depends on what you classify as a proper foreign film.

 

[careful]

tanpopo http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092048/
1985 japanese comedy about how food and eating is inseparable from all parts of life
this is the only movie that will make you both cry and laugh all in the same sitting
if you like japanese culture or just food then you will like this film

here is a preview of its genius http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XyoAZFREnY

 

[J9387]

The Valet. A french comedy.

 

[A random person]

He Loves Me...Loves Me Not, a French film that appears to be a romantic thing, but is really a psychological drama. Quite good.

Also, Life Is Beautiful, an Italian film about the Holocaust. It's a pretty competent comedy (trust me, it works better than you think), but the parts in the camp are simply brilliant (trust me, you'll see). Also has the one recorded instance of not-terrible live-action dubbing (and even then you'll notice oddities in the lip-syncing).

Oh, and Dead Snow if you're into zombie movies.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Baxter - a french film about a sociopathic bullterrier

 

[SkullCap]

Seven Samurai hasn't been mentioned, except in passing by the OP, which is shameful. Not only is it one of the best foreign films out there, it is one of, if not the best film of all time. In my opinion, at least. Other than that, some good wuxia is never a bad thing. Hero and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon are particularly recommended.

The Vengeance Trilogy by Park Chan Wook.

I got Oldboy on DVD recently; I need to get round to watching it soon.

Speaking as the OP, I should mention that the Seven Samurai 1954 is one of my favorite films of all-time. Akira Kurosawa is a genius. The reason I did not choose the Seven Samurai because I thought it would be too obvious of a choice and a lot of people have heard about it already. I chose YOJIMBO because not many people know about this underrated badass film.

 

[TheIr0nMike]

Le Samouraï: Great French crime movie. Great motivated shots.

Let the Right One In: Beautiful movie about a deep connection between a troubled outcasted boy and an adrogynous vampire.

Y Tu Mama Tambien: An amazing "road trip" movie that was almost necessary (though I see why after watching it) to watch in order to be at the film school I'm in.

Band of Outsiders: Easily one of Goddard's best films.

Ben X: A movie about an slightly autistic kid who meets a girl in an online game who, with her help, decides to take revenge against the people who make fun of him. I thought people here would like this.

8 1/2: If you're at all interested in film and don't know this, cut of the top portion of your pinky on your non-dominant hand and look it up.

Pierrot Le Fou: Another classic Goddard film. If you are at all interested in French New Wave, watch this.

The Baader Meinhof Complex: An amazing film about the early years of the Red Army Faction.

Man Bites Dog: A darkly comedic mockumentary about a film crew that documents the life and murders of a french serial killer.

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo: The first part of a trilogy about a hacker who helps out a journalist with his current assignment.

 

[Vicarious Vangaurd]

Kontroll is an amazing movie from Hungary. In subtitles but definitely worth it.

No spoilers, just hiding somewhat lengthy synopsis.

Spoiler

The massive labyrinthine netherworld that is the Budapest subway system provides the stunning setting for 'Kontroll,' a high-style, high-speed romantic thriller in which the lives of assorted outcasts, lovers, and dreamers intersect and collide. One handsome young hero, one mysterious maiden, and one particularly nasty killer must conduct a race against time, trains, and destiny itself in their frantic pursuit of one another.

 

[juli888]

I recommend to watch all a film the Beginning. Very interesting plot, history. Logic inventions and reasonings, will force you to get confused. The end of a film and remained a riddle.
________________
stream movies [http://www.watch-movies-tv.info]

 

[SomeLameStuff]

I recommend "I Not Stupid 2". You can find it on youtube with subtitles I think, though you'll have to decipher the Singlish by yourself. The movie isn't a direct sequal, so theres no need to watch the first one.

Note that I'm talking about the movies, not the TV series based off the first movie.

EDIT:

Found the first part of the second movie. And its subtitles decipher the Singlish as well!


I really recommend watching it, very touching and it can have its funny moments as well.

 

[Frybird]

I haven't read every post, but i guess most stuff i recommend has already been mentioned, so i bring the sort-of-obscure stuff.

So yeah, i very much hate german movies. There are exceptions, of course, but most of the time we just cannot make a proper movie without it being overly pretentious, "artsy" or plain boring.

But there is one movie i always like to watch:

Knockin' on Heavens Door

Two guys (one of them played by Til Schweiger from Inglorious Basterds and...erm...Driven) diagnosed with terminal cancer and maybe weeks to live, end up in the same hospital room.
After getting drunk, and after realising that one of them never seen an ocean in his life, they break out of the hospital and steal the first car they find for a last road trip.
That car happens to belong to dimwitted gangster mooks (one of them played by Moritz Bleibtreu from Run Lola Run, Baader Meinhof Complex and....Speed Racer) and was used to transport one million bucks.
So after some twists and turns, the two guys end up living life to it's fullest with the money
while still racing towards the ocean, hunted by gangsters and the police (since they only discover the money around a third into the movie and have already commited a robbery by then).

It's essentially a road trip movie with shades of Snatch-like Gangster Comedy and a bit of tragedy thrown into the mix. It's funny, has some genuine exciting scenes, a good chemestry between all the actors and a satisfying ending.

And now since you might be interested in the movie, i can tell you that i have no idea where to get it outside of germany. The first DVD hadn't even English Dubs OR Subs, but as far as i see it there exists a special edition with optional English Dubbing.

Here is a trailer (a bit spoilery): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSTFdUJY6-s

 

[Anachronism]

Speaking as the OP, I should mention that the Seven Samurai 1954 is one of my favorite films of all-time. Akira Kurosawa is a genius. The reason I did not choose the Seven Samurai because I thought it would be too obvious of a choice and a lot of people have heard about it already. I chose YOJIMBO because not many people know about this underrated badass film.

Fair enough. Likewise, it's one of my favourite films; in my opinion it deserves to be up there with the likes of The Godfather on the list of best films ever made. I can see why it would seem like an obvious choice, but I have actually been surprised by how few people know about it. Maybe it's just the people I've talked to about it, but it wasn't as well-known as I expected it to be, so I thought I should give it a mention.

Back on topic, having now watched Oldboy, I can say that it is definitely worth a look. There are very few films like it, and it would probably be very difficult to make a film like it in Hollywood. It's depressing and bloody, and there are a couple of scenes that are incredibly hard to watch, but it's a powerful, terrific film all the same. The one-take corridor fight scene has to be seen to be believed.

 

[Wayneguard]

Zombi 2.