Foreign Movie Recommendations

[evisu donna]

One of my two favourites:

La double vie de Véronique (1991, France)
Los amantes del círculo polar (1998, Spain)

They're both really beautiful, I would recommend them to anyone...

 

[style_expert]

Frozen Land (2005, Finland, dir: Aku Louhimies)

kind of depressing but in a touching way

 

[MyNameIs]

Some of my favorite non-english language films. In no specific order.

The Return (Russia - 2004)

yahoo
One of the absolute best modern day world cinema. I couldn't tell you enough how much I love this movie. It's like a little poem. I think Russian (actually most Eastern European unfortunatelly) cinema is in terrible shape, what's with all those mafia movies and all, but this one is quite a gem.

Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico - 2006)

yahoo
This is not my 'type' of movie at all, if you want to talk genre, but it's so spellbounding. I know it sounds cliche, but it's beautiful and really just magical. It creates a whole different word and really takes you on a ride.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Taiwan - 2000)

yahoo
I used to be so ********, I refused to watch this movie because I couldn't imagine how could a movie about people flying be any good. Well, technically the movie is not "good", it's so much more. I'm not usually crazy about so-called "love stories", but this one is an exception.

Fanny and Alexander/Wild Strawberries (Sweden - 1983/1957)

sweden.se/sfinternational.se
I have not seen nearly enough of Ingmar Bergman, but these two are my top favorites from him. They both are really sublime. But despite looking nothing alike, I thought they were both about loneliness and reminissing about the past.

Seven Samurai/Ran (Japan - 1954/1985)

filmsquish.com/yahoo
One word - EPIC. Just glorious experience. Each is quite an achievement and even if SS doesn't seem like that much anymore (in terms of production values), remember it was filmed over half a decade ago. I'm a sucker for a good epic film, especially ones that don't forget about the emotional punch in the process of creating a pretty picture.

Andrey Rublev (Russia - 1969)

estudiopopular.cl
Quite a bizarre experience at first glance, but it really speak to the hear of losing one's faith. My favorite Russian (USSR at the time) movie of all time no doubt. I've been meaning to see more of his movies, but this is the only one I've gotten to so far.

In The Mood for Love (Hong Kong - 2001)

yahoo
I'm disappointed to hear that Kar Wai Wong's current/upcoming feature is somewhat of a let down because after seeing this film I thought he couldn't possibly do any wrong. This is a modern day masterpiece no question about it.

Some other good ones that are worth checking out, especially since there won't be anything remotely good in the theaters for another few months.

Downfall (Germany)
Prisoner of the Mountains (Russia)
Das Boot/The Boat (Germany)
Life is Beautiful (Italy)
Lagaan (India)
The Passion of the Christ (USA) - I know it's not really 'foreign', but it's non-english language, so I think it counts.

 

[modillustr]

"Diva" by Jean-Jacques Beineix

filmforum.org

Summary:
Jules, a young Parisian postman, secretly records a concert performance given by the opera singer Cynthia Hawkins, whom he idolises. The following day, Jules runs into a woman who is being pursued by armed thugs. Before she is killed, the woman slips an audio cassette into his mail bag. Unwittingly, the young postman becomes the target of some sinister Orientals who saw him record the concert and the sadistic armed killers, who have been instructed to recover the audio cassette at any cost...

Review:
Visually, this is a stunning piece of cinema - and a great debut for film director Jean-Jacques Beineix. The photography is so fast, energetic and just plain classy that it leaps off the screen and grabs you by the throat.
There is an amazing and truly breathtaking chase sequence, which takes in the Paris metro, with some very unusual - and often disorientating camera movements. And the ending - although in essence just a bog-standard shoot out between the good and the bad guys - is shot so well that it should quicken the pulse of even the most phlegmatic of cinema-goers.
The originality and pace of the visuals is matched equally by the excellent musical score. This includes extracts from Catalani’s opera La Wally, sung quite beautifully by the soprano Wilhelmenia Fernández. The contrast between the grace and beauty of the opera music and Cosma’s disturbing modern accompaniment brilliantly underscores the contrast of the two worlds between which the postboy Jules is caught - that of a beautiful opera singer and the murderous thugs.
Whilst Diva is undoubtedly a great film, it is marred slightly by its convulted plot, which involves more story strands than the film is capable of sustaining. The film works because, despite this, it is so brilliantly assembled.
© James Travers 2000

25 years after its initial release, DIVA returns to the spotlight and renews with success in the land that launched its international career.America crowned this film with glory by offering it the recognition that France was slow to give.
The film has been touring American movie theaters since November 2nd 2007. Orchestrated by RialtoPictures with a combination of 6 new prints, this re-release is a real treat for those wowed by the film when it hit the screens in 1982, as well as for younger audiences who have not had a chance to see it in a theater.
New cities are programmed every day. Lion’s Gate, who is taking over from Rialto for the video release, is planning a DVD release in summer 2008.
The pages on this site will let you keep track of tour dates, read press cuttings and listen to Jean-Jacques Beineix in a recent interview about the DIVA phenomenon.
(diva-themovie.com)

The trailer:
The trailer

 

[bosworth]

Une Femme Est Une Femme. My favorite film.

 

[adorefaith]

the diving bell and the butterfly..[Le scaphandre et le papillon]

wikimedia

 

[adorefaith]

the sea inside...[mar adentro]..

yahoo!movies

 

[adorefaith]

sex + lucia...[lucia y el sexo]..

soundtrackcollector

 

[adorefaith]

the lives of others...[Das Leben der Anderen]..

beingmama

 

[adorefaith]

talk to her...[hable con ella]...

impawards

 

[adorefaith]

volver..

lamarsmoviepalace

 

[carioca]

the lives of others...[Das Leben der Anderen]..


beingmama

that movie is one of my all time favourites.
but there was too much closure at the ending if you know what i mean, there's that one part where i felt like the movie could have ended perfectly, but nonetheless totally superb film

 

[indian_rose]

Jodhaa-Akbar

sify.com



From wiki:

Jodhaa Akbar is a sixteenth century love story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between a great Mughal emperor, Akbar, and a Rajput princess, Jodhaa.
Political success knew no bounds for Emperor Akbar (Hrithik Roshan). After having secured the Hindu Kush, he furthered his realm by conquest until his empire extended from Afghanistan to the Bay of Bengal, and from the Himalayas to the Godavari River. Through a shrewd blend of diplomacy, intimidation and brute force , Akbar won the allegiance of the Rajputs. But little did Akbar know that when he married Jodhaa (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), a fiery Rajput princess, in order to further strengthen his relations with the Rajputs, he would in turn be embarking upon a new journey – the journey of true love.
The daughter of King Bharmal of Amer, Jodhaa resented being reduced to a mere political pawn in this marriage of alliance, and Akbar’s biggest challenge now did not merely lie in winning battles, but in winning the love of Jodhaa – a love hidden deep below resentment and extreme prejudice. Jodhaa-Akbar is their untold love story.[4]

 

[ChrissyM]

great recommendations adorefaith

i actually watched the lives of others last night..
it's such a compelling film despite how little action seems to happen throughout most of it..
it's very quiet and sort of slow for the most part but it didn't feel as long as it was...
especially the last hour.. sort of flew by because i was so drawn in...

 

[Teratel]

The last Foreign Movie that I saw and that I can recommend is a German movie called, "Das Leben der Anderen" (The Lives of Others). It's about the DDR in the 80's before they broke the Berlin-Wall down. People didn't had the right and freedom to speak without getting in trouble or arrested by the Stasi.

 

[Teratel]

great recommendations adorefaith

i actually watched the lives of others last night..
it's such a compelling film despite how little action seems to happen throughout most of it..
it's very quiet and sort of slow for the most part but it didn't feel as long as it was...
especially the last hour.. sort of flew by because i was so drawn in...

exactly!

 

[adorefaith]

compelling is exactly the right word chrissy....i thought it was magnificent...

 

[rubyfixed]

I really enjoyed Amélie

 

[ChrissyM]

compelling is exactly the right word chrissy....i thought it was magnificent...

little details just keep sticking with me..

for example, how quickly the stasi were able to wire the playwright's home...
and how thoroughly....
and that all those years later the wiring remained and he was able to see just how much his privacy had been invaded..

what a desperate and dangerous time to live in germany..

 

[Diamond Star]

In The Mood for Love (Hong Kong - 2001)
I'm disappointed to hear that Kar Wai Wong's current/upcoming feature is somewhat of a let down because after seeing this film I thought he couldn't possibly do any wrong. This is a modern day masterpiece no question about it.

Beautiful film

Agree with Volver as well Adore.
La Dolce Vita is a must see, in my opinion.