# Non English Language Movies



## Shaver

I consider that some of the most vivid and sublime movies ever released are to be found amongst those which have originated from non English speaking countries.

Here, randomly selected, are a tiny fraction of those I might recommend;

Stalker - Andrei Tarkovsky

The Seventh Seal - Ingmar Bergman

Beauty and the Beast - Jean Cocteau

Orpheus - Jean Cocteau

8 1/2 - Federico Fellini

Viridiana - Luis Bunuel

The Externinating Angel - Luis Bunuel

Salo - Pier Paolo Passolini 

Pan's Labyrinth - Guillermo del Toro 

Are any other members similarly inclined? If so might I encourage you to share a few of your favourites?


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## Mox

Just about anything by Kurosawa.


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## Youthful Repp-robate

_Chungking Express_, by Wong Kar-Wai.

Any of the few of Francois Truffaut's films that I've seen. I guess I can extend that to cover the rest of them.

Shaver, though it's shameful for me to admit this as a film student, I've never seen anything by Tarkovsky. I've read his book "Sculpting in Time," though, and thought it was brilliant. Should I start with "Stalker," or is there a better gateway drug?


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## Shaver

Youthful Repp-robate said:


> _Chungking Express_, by Wong Kar-Wai.
> 
> Any of the few of Francois Truffaut's films that I've seen. I guess I can extend that to cover the rest of them.
> 
> Shaver, though it's shameful for me to admit this as a film student, I've never seen anything by Tarkovsky. I've read his book "Sculpting in Time," though, and thought it was brilliant. Should I start with "Stalker," or is there a better gateway drug?


Stalker is my favourite movie of all time. Tarkovsky's name, to my chagrin, becomes increasingly a 'buzz word' in Hollywood but do not let that dissuade you from the vitality of his corpus. Every single frame of Stalker's 163 minute duration is imbued with a lavish yet vacant beauty, an understated celebration of placid disintegration. I own a preference for movies which unravel at a glacial pace, and Stalker does precisely this. It is a movie in which so much activity is promised but so little action subsequently occurs. The dream sequence must surely contend as one of the most magnificent set pieces in all cinema history - the lingering prurient tracking shot, revealing diversified sunken decayed artifacts and gently bobbing detritus, contrives to still the breath in my chest. I cannot recommend this work highly enough.


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## Anthony Charton

Shaver said:


> The Seventh Seal - Ingmar Bergman
> 
> Beauty and the Beast - Jean Cocteau
> 
> Orpheus - Jean Cocteau


I'm so glad Cocteau has devotees in the UK. He certainly is one of my favourite French playwrights and poets. I also do really like Bergman.

Off the top of my head:

Visconti- _Ludwig_ (Italian)

François Truffaut- _Le dernier métro_ (a truly great film)

Fritz Lang- _Metropolis _(Although a silent film, of course).

Alain Corneau, _Tous les matins du monde_, to a glorious soundtrack at the viola da gamba.


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## Shaver

Anthony Charton said:


> I'm so glad Cocteau has devotees in the UK. He certainly is one of my favourite French playwrights and poets. I also do really like Bergman.
> 
> Off the top of my head:
> 
> Visconti- _Ludwig_ (Italian)
> 
> François Truffaut- _Le dernier métro_ (a truly great film)
> 
> Fritz Lang- _Metropolis _(Although a silent film, of course).
> 
> Alain Corneau, _Tous les matins du monde_, to a glorious soundtrack at the viola da gamba.


Hello Anthony. Interestingly re Cocteau's Orphée, all of the many unusual stylistic elements contained within have been purloined by David Lynch, admittedly with great aplomb. If you are not already aware the Notre Dame de France church, Soho London, has a lovely Cocteau mural within and displayed to marvellous effect in this idiosyncratic little building

Metropolis was almost included in my original list but I did not wish it to be too lengthy. A genuine masterpiece upon which no amount of praise expended could ever be considered hyperbole.

I have experienced the luxury of viewing both of the movies described above on the big screen.

Thank you also to Mox and Youthful Repp-robate, as with Anthony's recommendations, these will all be added to my rental list.


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## VictorRomeo

I am a massive fan of Studio Ghibli and specifically the work of Hayao Miyazaki. I appreicate that these are animated works, but they are true masterpieces in my opinion. He out does himself time after time. It's almost impossible to isolate a favourite, but perhaps my softest spot is for Porco Rosso.


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## Shaver

VictorRomeo said:


> I am a massive fan of Studio Ghibli and specifically the work of Hayao Miyazaki. I appreicate that these are animated works, but they are true masterpieces in my opinion. He out does himself time after time. It's almost impossible to isolate a favourite, but perhaps my softest spot is for Porco Rosso.


Spirited Away (by Miyazaki) is an amazing movie. I concede that for much of the Anime I have viewed the directors names passed me by but I especially recall this one. The 'no face' character really imprinted itself on my memory as did the incredibly luscious animation.

I am moved now to mention the following which contain a slightly different method of animation - stop motion.

Little Otik - Jan Švankmajer

Alice - Jan Švankmajer

Gruesome takes on fairytales and unsettling viewing.


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## Youthful Repp-robate

VictorRomeo said:


> I am a massive fan of Studio Ghibli and specifically the work of Hayao Miyazaki. I appreicate that these are animated works, but they are true masterpieces in my opinion. He out does himself time after time. It's almost impossible to isolate a favourite, but perhaps my softest spot is for Porco Rosso.


I too like the Miyazaki I've seen. _Nausicaa of The Valley Wind_ (I think that's the exact title) is one of my favorite animated movies, up there with _Akira_ and _Fantastic Mr. Fox._

Shaver, I'll have to take out _Stalker_. Unfortunately, I'll have to watch it alone, since I don't want to inflict it on my partner, and since my closest friends among the other film students don't share my love for melancholy films (they spent _Jules & Jim_ yelling at the characters for being wimps).


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## VictorRomeo

Shaver said:


> Spirited Away (by Miyazaki) is an amazing movie. I concede that for much of the Anime I have viewed the directors names passed me by but I especially recall this one. The 'no face' character really imprinted itself on my memory as did the incredibly luscious animation.


A beautiful movie.

Regarding No Face - or Kaonashi - enjoy this short clip which offers some deeper context in both Japanese mythology and pop culture.


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## MikeDT

Belle de Jour, 1967, French, always liked that one ever since I first watched it in the early 70s.

Das Boot, German, favourite war movie.

Mongol, 2007, Mongolian or Mandarin. I can watch this again and again. 









American movies dubbed into Mandarin, usually shown on CCTV6.



Youthful Repp-robate said:


> _Chungking Express_, by Wong Kar-Wai.


Yup. Great movie.


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## Shaver

MikeDT said:


> Belle de Jour, 1967, French, always liked that one ever since I first watched it in the early 70s.
> 
> Das Boot, German, favourite war movie.
> 
> Mongol, 2007, Mongolian or Mandarin. I can watch this again and again.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> American movies dubbed into Mandarin, usually shown on CCTV6.
> 
> Yup. Great movie.


ahhh the magnificent Das Boot (especially the super extended cut made available). My personal memorable moment being the U-boat crew singing along with 'It's a long way to Tipperary', so charmingly humanistic. The original score is used to exemplary effect with the motif melody building tension and excitement.

As all other suggestions made, of films I have not previously seen, Mongol is now on my rental list.


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## MikeDT

Shaver I note that you like some Luis Bunuel movies as well. There's just something about them, a certain beauty.



Shaver said:


> ahhh the magnificent Das Boot (especially the super extended cut made available). My personal memorable moment being the U-boat crew singing along with 'It's a long way to Tipperary', so charmingly humanistic. The original score is used to exemplary effect with the motif melody building tension and excitement.


With Das Boot, especially the extended 3 hour version, is the amount of detail Wolfgang Petersen put into it and the strong characterisations, that's what I liked about it. At the end, they get back to port all celebrating, then the air-raid happens, that's what sticks in my mind.



Shaver said:


> As all other suggestions made, of films I have not previously seen, Mongol is now on my rental list.


Mongol has to be viewed in Mongolian rather than Mandarin, well for me it is. Probably because I'm so used to the sound of Mongolians speaking Mongolian rather than Mandarin.


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## MikeDT

Godzilla movies and 1970s Kung Fu movies from Hong Kong


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## catside

+1 for Miyazaki and Bunuel. Also almost anything by Fellini. I have a soft spot for Leone.


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## blairrob

'Pelle the Conqueror' by Bille August still wakes something disturbingly visceral in me 25 years after I saw it.


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## dks202

Das boot director's cut. I also kinda liked Lola Rennt (Run, Lola Run). Just when you think it's over.....


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## ajo

All time favourites 

À bout de souffle

La Dolce vita 

The Seven Samurai 

Wings of Desire

And while not a movie have been watching The Bridge a Sweedish/Danish crime drama coproduction and it helps having World Movies as an option on cable.


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## Shaver

blairrob said:


> 'Pelle the Conqueror' by Bille August still wakes something disturbingly visceral in me 25 years after I saw it.


Just had a quick google and this movie is now added to my list, thanks!



ajo said:


> All time favourites
> 
> À bout de souffle
> 
> La Dolce vita
> 
> The Seven Samurai
> 
> Wings of Desire
> 
> And while not a movie have been watching The Bridge a Sweedish/Danish crime drama coproduction and it helps having World Movies as an option on cable.


I have just concluded viewing of 'The Killing' (_Forbrydelsen)_ another Nordic Noir. It reminded me of Twin Peaks minus the insanity. The Bridge may be next......


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## Shaver

MikeDT said:


> Mongol, 2007, Mongolian or Mandarin. I can watch this again and again.


I had the distinct pleasure of viewing this movie yesterday. It contains much about a film that will appeal to me: slow ponderous scenes, building of the drama, bursts of extreme action, believable costumes/sets plus breathtaking cinematography. If this were an English language film it may well have been a block-buster. Thanks MikeDT.


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## Bjorn

Shaver said:


> Just had a quick google and this movie is now added to my list, thanks!
> 
> I have just concluded viewing of 'The Killing' (_Forbrydelsen)_ another Nordic Noir. It reminded me of Twin Peaks minus the insanity. The Bridge may be next......


The American remake is quite good as well...


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## welldressedfellow

_Tae Guk Gi

_A fantastic Korean War film that has a fairly heart-rending end.


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## Shaver

welldressedfellow said:


> _Tae Guk Gi
> 
> _A fantastic Korean War film that has a fairly heart-rending end.


Thanks. Just ordered a copy off Amazon for £2 delivered. :smile:


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## welldressedfellow

You will not be disappointed.



Shaver said:


> Thanks. Just ordered a copy off Amazon for £2 delivered. :smile:


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## The FourHorseMen

Der Untergang (downfall) a German movie about the ten last days of Adolf Hitler.


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## stephenkarl

For the Christmas Season, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (Finnish).


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## Shaver

stephenkarl said:


> For the Christmas Season, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (Finnish).


Thank you, it's on my wish-list.

For festive spirit it's the South Korean 2007 Horror version of Hansel & Gretel I'll be watching at the weekend. :icon_smile:


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## mdinz

I was on a Scandinavian kick myself this Christmas and saw Rare Exports, Troll Hunter, and Dead Snow... Troll Hunter was very well done, Dead Snow was charming but a B-movie at best.

I'm still making my way through the Lone Wolf and Cub movies...


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## DJH_of_Doom

The FourHorseMen said:


> Der Untergang (downfall) a German movie about the ten last days of Adolf Hitler.


It's my favourite. Another outstanding German film is Das Experiment.

I highly rate Hidden (French), Angel-A (French), Pele Akher (Iranian), A Seperation (Iranian), The Hunt (Danish), Persepolis (Iranian/French) and the Devil's Backbone (Spanish).


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## LordSmoke

Mox said:


> Just about anything by Kurosawa.


E.g., Dreams

And while we're in the region: Kung Fu Hustle is a real surprise.


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## toddorbertBU

+1 on Trollhunter. I thought it was way better than it had any right to be. 

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Cidade de Deus (City of God). That is one of three best movies I have ever seen, and I think the best film of the 2000's.


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## tocqueville

toddorbertBU said:


> +1 on Trollhunter. I thought it was way better than it had any right to be.
> 
> I'm surprised no one has mentioned Cidade de Deus (City of God). That is one of three best movies I have ever seen, and I think the best film of the 2000's.


I've never noticed this thread before.

So let's revive it. My favorite of the non-English films I've seen recently is the Israeli film, "Footnote."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footnote_(film)


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## Shaver

toddorbertBU said:


> +1 on Trollhunter. I thought it was way better than it had any right to be.
> 
> I'm surprised no one has mentioned *Cidade de Deus (City of God). *That is one of three best movies I have ever seen, and I think the best film of the 2000's.


A brilliant rewarding journey of a film and I would suggest heavily (and positively) influenced by the directiorial style of Danny Boyle.

Worth watching the extras on the dvd too with diocumentary footage of the actual barrios on which the tale is based.


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## Snow Hill Pond

I'm a little surprised that no one has mentioned "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

And few/no mentions of Ingmar Bergman?

Finally, Clint Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima" was an interesting experiment as a companion piece to "Flags of our Fathers".


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## VictorRomeo

Shaver said:


> For festive spirit it's the South Korean 2007 Horror version of Hansel & Gretel I'll be watching at the weekend. :icon_smile:


Oldboy - predictably - was my introduction to Korean cinema about 8 years ago and I remain hooked....

I'm a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki and it's a throw up between the beautiful Spirited Away or Porco Rosso as to my favourite. While all now re-voiced into English, the original subtitled is very enjoyable too.

It's not particular deep or provocative but I do have a very soft spot for Amilie and the gorgeous soundtrack by Yann Tiersen. A wonderful pick-me-up movie.

Headhunters is a Norwegian action thriller that give Hollywood's best a good run in that genre - edge of seat stuff....

Pedro Almodovar is my wife's favourite director and I must say I've always enjoyed his work. Volver is particularly strong. Penelope Cruz really is also a different actress in his movies - probably because she's more comfortable in her native tongue.

Downfall, I found compelling, if only for Bruno Ganz's performance.

But to conclude, I would have to say that my favourite foreign language film is Pan's Labyrinth. Once of my favourite movies of all time too.


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## Shaver

VictorRomeo said:


> Oldboy - predictably - was my introduction to Korean cinema about 8 years ago and I remain hooked....
> 
> I'm a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki and it's a throw up between the beautiful Spirited Away or Porco Rosso as to my favourite. While all now re-voiced into English, the original subtitled is very enjoyable too.
> 
> It's not particular deep or provocative but I do have a very soft spot for Amilie and the gorgeous soundtrack by Yann Tiersen. A wonderful pick-me-up movie.
> 
> Headhunters is a Norwegian action thriller that give Hollywood's best a good run in that genre - edge of seat stuff....
> 
> Pedro Almodovar is my wife's favourite director and I must say I've always enjoyed his work. Volver is particularly strong. Penelope Cruz really is also a different actress in his movies - probably because she's more comfortable in her native tongue.
> 
> Downfall, I found compelling, if only for Bruno Ganz's performance.
> 
> But to conclude, I would have to say that my favourite foreign language film is Pan's Labyrinth. Once of my favourite movies of all time too.


I have never seen Amelie but have gotten drunk in the montmartre bar where a segment of it was filmed.....

Pan's Labryinth *is* del Toro's finest moment.

SHP - Seventh Seal by Bergman is an outstanding movie - the sequence with the horses in silhouette on the beach is one of my favourite clips of film ever.


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## VictorRomeo

I have The Seventh Seal on bluray. I've never watched it but will do tomorrow night!


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## Shaver

VictorRomeo said:


> I have The Seventh Seal on bluray. I've never watched it but will do tomorrow night!


I find it's a 'watch on your own' movie - most of the really good movies are.


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## Bjorn

Shaver said:


> I find it's a 'watch on your own' movie - most of the really good movies are.


Agreed


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## Klay

I know this thread is a bit dead, but to keep it going...

Most things by Pedro Almodovar, Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo de Toro (one of my fave movies ever), Angel-A (French), Untouchable (French), Lower City (Brazilian).


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## eagle2250

Not sure it would be considered a non English language movie, but Inglorious Bastards includes some fairly extended footage with the actors speaking German, with English subtexts at the bottom of the screen. In any event, it's a fairly interesting yarn depicting special operations activities during WWII.....subject areas always good for pulling in respectable numbers of $$ at the box office, with DVD sales just icing on the cake!


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## Andy

La Dolce Vita - Federico Fellini


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## Shaver

Andy said:


> La Dolce Vita - Federico Fellini


Do you know, despite having purchased a copy about 6 years ago I have not gotten around to watching it yet.

I really must bump it up my pile of priorities. In fact - done. It's now on my hard copy 'to-do' list - I shall view it one evening this week. :icon_smile:


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## efdll

_The Conformist_. The best Bertolucci, perhaps his only masterpiece. And the Sanda/Sandrelli girl-on-girl pas de deux at the Parisian dancehall is too delectable for words.
Bunuel. As time passes, he becomes more and more important. His cocktails were great too.
Bergman. Anathema to serious (too serious, mea culpa) film students, who after a few drinks would confess to one another that they once loved him. In retrospect, the first impression was right. He was great, even if he indulged in that great sin for postmodernists: symbolism.
Ozu. And all the other Japanese auteurs who were once eclipsed (no longer) by Kurosawa, the least Japanese of his country's masters.
Almodovar. I liked him better when he was a nobody in the U.S. His films are slick now but they lack the madcap spontaneity and amorality of _What Have I Done to Deserve This?_ 
Rohmer. If you find the French obnoxious for their Frenchness, don't even bother. But he was never pretentious, only his clueless overeducated characters were. And Nestor Almendros' cinematography is luminous.
Chabrol. Hitchcock's greatest disciple.
And here we come full circle, for what the _nouvelle vague_ cineastes, in my mind the best, loved was Hollywood movies. So do I.


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## Chouan

"Intouchables", "The Leopard", "Amelie", "Colonel Chabert", "Danton" and "La Reine Margot". More unusual films include the Finnish film "Winter War", the Russian, "Admiral" and "1612", and the Polish, "Battle of Warsaw, 1920".


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## Jae iLL

The Korean director Kim Ki Duk makes great films. I'd recommend _Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring_ about a Buddhist monk passing through the seasons. _The Isle_ is about a woman managing floating shacks on a lake for recreational fishing, and a man wanted for murder taking refuge there. These films would probably give a good impression of his style, which isn't for everybody.


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## Shaver

Andy said:


> La Dolce Vita - Federico Fellini





Shaver said:


> Do you know, despite having purchased a copy about 6 years ago I have not gotten around to watching it yet.
> 
> I really must bump it up my pile of priorities. In fact - done. It's now on my hard copy 'to-do' list - I shall view it one evening this week. :icon_smile:


Well I finally carved out a chunk of time to view this movie (all three hours of it!)

It is beautifully shot, as one might expect from Fellini and Martelli, yet incredibly cryptic. Does the film demand another viewing? Yes, perhaps&#8230; On the surface Marcello Rubini is merely a jaded thirty something passively accepting, simultaneously celebrating, the tedious existence of Rome's bright young things and glitterati. Is this simply a vacant morality play inexplicably absent of a moral code? I shall indulge in another viewing, as and when, to get to the bottom of it all. 

All of this reminds me, however, that it is high time that I watched 8 ½ and Satyricon again. 

Possibly even view a few Passolini's whilst I'm about it - Salo, in particular, is one heck of a visceral cinematic experience.

.
.
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## Shaver

*Man Bites Dog -Belvaux, Bonzel and Poelvoorde

*A genuinely disturbing black comedy, a pseudo-documentary, the pretext of which is that a film crew are following the life and times of a witty, charismatic and affable psychotic. However this low budget flick really has something to say about our role as the viewer. In a wonderfully paced sequence of events we are drawn in step by step toward a gruesome crescendo where we are forced to examine our own morality in gaining enjoyment from this picture, to face our own complicity and ponder the role of violence in entertainment. This film made it under the radar of the British censors at time of release (1992) simply because it was foreign language and shot in black and white - however it contains some nauseatingly extreme material, much less than latter day gorenography cf Hostel et al but with an infinitely more convincing, hence shocking, presentation. A masterpiece - thought provoking and affecting as all great cinema should aspire to be. This movie will insinuate itself into your thoughts long after the credits have finished rolling.


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## Anthony Charton

Shaver, have you seen_ La Grande Bellezza _? I feel it may be just up your street.


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## Shaver

Anthony Charton said:


> Shaver, have you seen_ La Grande Bellezza _? I feel it may be just up your street.


I have not viewed it as yet but it is on my rental list waiting patiently for whatever method it is that LoveFilm employ to select it as the next despatch.


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## Shaver

Poor old Alain Resnais (RIP). I really must shunt _L'Année dernière à Marienbad_ a little higher up my 'watch list' in his memory.


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## Tempest

I was most distraught to find that _La Jetée_ is not on YouTube in its entirety with English Subtitles. No Godard yet?


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## Shaver

^ I am not over-keen on Godard. A touch of the Emperor's New Clothes about that fellow, if you ask me. Sorry.

Here is an English subby version of _La Jetée_


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## Langham

Shaver said:


> Poor old Alain Resnais (RIP). I really must shunt _L'Année dernière à Marienbad_ a little higher up my 'watch list' in his memory.


I last saw this as a student at the film society in 1978. According to Wikipedia, 'some hail it as a masterpiece, others find it incomprehensible'; my recollection is that I found it quite tedious and highly pretentious, but I wouldn't by any means assert that my enjoyment of a film as a 19-year-old is any sort of gold standard of film appreciation. It is one of a number of films in which uncertainty regarding what the film is actually about seems to be the key theme.


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## Dave Scoven

Mox said:


> Just about anything by Kurosawa.


Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" consistantly shows up in Top 10 Best Movies Ever Made lists. It's infinitely better than its Western remake "Magnificent Seven," which is an embarrassment by comparison. Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" was remade as well - "A Fistfull of Dollars."


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## Shaver

Langham said:


> I last saw this as a student at the film society in 1978. According to Wikipedia, 'some hail it as a masterpiece, others find it incomprehensible'; my recollection is that I found it quite tedious and highly pretentious, but I wouldn't by any means assert that my enjoyment of a film as a 19-year-old is any sort of gold standard of film appreciation. *It is one of a number of films in which uncertainty regarding what the film is actually about seems to be the key theme*.


A theme that has ever been close to my heart.

'Certainty' in cinema is the motif of dubious action films, rom-coms and other such mindless gibberish.


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## Langham

Shaver said:


> A theme that has ever been close to my heart.
> 
> 'Certainty' in cinema is the motif of dubious action films, rom-coms and other such mindless gibberish.


Shaver, that's a bit of a put-down but you slightly misinterpret what I meant. Sifting meaning from ambiguity is an ever-present aspect of day-to-day life, but in films, what I was trying to describe - not mere uncertainty regarding the narrative, but acute uncertainty regarding the director's thinking, and the real purpose of the film, and frequently accompanied by an unacceptably implausible story, are all tokens of directorial self-indulgence, all at the expense of the viewer.


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## Shaver

Langham said:


> Shaver, that's a bit of a put-down but you slightly misinterpret what I meant. Sifting meaning from ambiguity is an ever-present aspect of day-to-day life, but in films, what I was trying to describe - not mere uncertainty regarding the narrative, but acute uncertainty regarding the director's thinking, and the real purpose of the film, and frequently accompanied by an unacceptably implausible story, are all tokens of directorial self-indulgence, all at the expense of the viewer.


Ah, I see now.

In which case - questionable direction, purposelessness, and implausible story-lines are also the motifs of dubious action films, rom-coms and other such mindless gibberish.

Might I recommend to you David Lynch's Inland Empire? A sumptuous 3 hours worth of disjointed, introspective, meanderingly plotless cinema concerning... errm, well....a disjointed, introspective, meanderingly plotless movie, which is a remake of an unfinished, meanderingly plotless, introspective disjointed movie. It sounds just like your cup of tea. :thumbs-up:


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## Langham

err ... no thanks Shaver.


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## Shaver

Langham said:


> err ... no thanks Shaver.


Perhaps we can establish some common ground here - might I encourage you to name a few of your own favourite movies?


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## Langham

That would be swerving off-piste as in general I prefer British films of a certain vintage. Foreign films don't interest me in the same way, although there have been quite a few Italian and some French films that I have enjoyed, mainly because they have reinforced certain preconceptions about those countries. Let's see - Bicycle Thieves, Cinema Paradiso, Il Postino, Rome Open City, The Battle of Algiers, various spaghetti westerns, films by Jacques Tati (Mon Oncle, M. Hulot etc), Jean de Florette, The Wages of Fear, A bout de souffle. Various others whose names now escape me.



Shaver said:


> Perhaps we can establish some common ground here - might I encourage you to name a few of your own favourite movies?


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## Shaver

Langham said:


> That would be swerving off-piste as in general I prefer British films of a certain vintage. Foreign films don't interest me in the same way, although there have been quite a few Italian and some French films that I have enjoyed, mainly because they have reinforced certain preconceptions about those countries. Let's see - Bicycle Thieves, Cinema Paradiso, Il Postino, Rome Open City, The Battle of Algiers, various spaghetti westerns, films by Jacques Tati (Mon Oncle, M. Hulot etc), Jean de Florette, The Wages of Fear, A bout de souffle. Various others whose names now escape me.


I shall look into your recommendations. Battle of Algiers, however, I am very familiar with - a masterpiece.


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## Anthony Charton

Hah ! Lynch. I watched _Inland Empire_ a few years ago- much of it was lost on me; this is a film which undoubtedly benefits from a good knowledge on cinematic language and techniques. Now that I am a little more versed in the latter I really must watch that again.

I'd recommend _Michaal Kolhaas _by Arnaud des Pallières (which came out just last Summer). Mads Mikkelsen, one of my favourite contemporary actors, gives a performance analogous to his *stunning* One-Eye in _Valhalla Rising._


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## Shaver

Anthony Charton said:


> Hah ! Lynch. I watched _Inland Empire_ a few years ago- much of it was lost on me; this is a film which undoubtedly benefits from a good knowledge on cinematic language and techniques. Now that I am a little more versed in the latter I really must watch that again.
> 
> I'd recommend _Michaal Kolhaas _by Arnaud des Pallières (which came out just last Summer). Mads Mikkelsen, one of my favourite contemporary actors, gives a performance analogous to his *stunning* One-Eye in _Valhalla Rising._


'Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas' is now added to my rental list, thank you Anthony. You are one of the very few chaps I know who rated Valhalla Rising as highly as I, thus your recommendation is heartily accepted.


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## Shaver

I'm tempted to review 'Srđan Spasojević'. However I doubt that I could begin to describe the incredible depravity of this movie. I was fortunate (?) enough to obtain a reviewer's copy containing all of the material which was excised for screening (in the few countries that even allowed it to be screened). As I was watching it I kept looking over my shoulder expecting the police to break down the door and arrest me. This movie is an experience like no other I have ever had before. One reviewer wrote "I think the film is tragic, sickening, disturbing, twisted, absurd, infuriated, and actually quite intelligent. There are those who will be unable (or unwilling) to decipher even the most basic of 'messages' buried within _A Serbian Film_, but I believe it's one of the most legitimately fascinating films I've ever seen. I admire and detest it at the same time. And I will never watch it again. Ever".


----------



## Anthony Charton

^^ In reference to my post above- apologies for the double typo; it's been a long day already. Do let me know what you think after your screening. Also, I really, really must watch, finally, _L'année dernière à Marienbad_- thanks for mentioning it.


----------



## racebannon

Confessions (kokuhaku). Japanese film.


----------



## Anthony Charton

I recently re-watched _The Great Beauty_. Most certainly my favourite film made in the past, say, 15 years. It's _phenomenal._


----------



## style417

I'll pick a couple of movies that I believe no one else has mentioned: the French film "Le Samurai" from 1967 (dir. J-P Melville) and the Kurosawa film "Ikiru" from 1956.


----------



## Shaver

Anthony Charton said:


> I recently re-watched _The Great Beauty_. Most certainly my favourite film made in the past, say, 15 years. It's _phenomenal._


Dammit! It's still sitting on my rental list. I have just re-classified it as a high priority.


----------



## Anthony Charton

Do- and let me know what you think !


----------



## Shaver

Anthony Charton said:


> Do- and *let me know what you think *!


You can rely on that. :thumbs-up:


----------



## Flairball

Train Spotting??


----------



## Shaver

Flairball said:


> Train Spotting??


Why ya cheeky wee scunner, I dinnae ken whit yur spraffing aboot.


----------



## Shaver

Anthony Charton said:


> Do- and let me know what you think !


Oh.

My.

Goodness.










Heavily influenced by Fellini, Pasolini and (dare I say It?) perhaps even a dash of De Palma (cf selected exterior shots in Scarface).

A lavish portmanteau of amoral ennui and vertiginous abstruse thrills, a reflection on the artless and the squandered, the occasional triumph of decrepitude and venality, the satiation of the emotionally absent voyeur, slyly explicit artifice and much, much, more profound than it pretends to be.

Top notch.


----------



## Chouan

Dave Scoven said:


> Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" consistantly shows up in Top 10 Best Movies Ever Made lists. It's infinitely better than its Western remake "Magnificent Seven," which is an embarrassment by comparison. Kurosawa's "Yojimbo" was remade as well - "A Fistfull of Dollars."


Curiously, "Yojimbo" was based on a Dashiell Hammett novel from the 1920's; multiple cultural crossovers there!


----------



## Anthony Charton

Shaver said:


> Oh.
> 
> My.
> 
> Goodness.
> 
> Heavily influenced by Fellini, Pasolini and (dare I say It?) perhaps even a dash of De Palma (cf selected exterior shots in Scarface).
> 
> A lavish portmanteau of amoral ennui and vertiginous abstruse thrills, a reflection on the artless and the squandered, the occasional triumph of decrepitude and venality, the satiation of the emotionally absent voyeur, slyly explicit artifice and much, much, more profound than it pretends to be.
> 
> Top notch.


I'm glad we picked out on the same cinematographic influences, although my friend and I, coming from more of a literary background, mainly picked up of the essentially 20-th century Continental vibe to it (Céline, Beckett, and, of course, Proust).

I also recommend to you _Le Conseguenze dell'amore_, by the same filmmaker starring the same Toni Servillo. It isn't the sprawling masterpiece _La Granda Bellezza _is, but remains a stupendous film in its own right. Much of his cinematographic language is already there, as are his considerations 'su di niente' (over nothing). Knowing your tastes a little, I think you would probably enjoy it a good deal.


----------



## Shaver

Anthony Charton said:


> I'm glad we picked out on the same cinematographic influences, although my friend and I, coming from more of a literary background, mainly picked up of the essentially 20-th century Continental vibe to it (Céline, Beckett, and, of course, Proust).
> 
> I also recommend to you _Le Conseguenze dell'amore_, by the same filmmaker starring the same Toni Servillo. It isn't the sprawling masterpiece _La Granda Bellezza _is, but remains a stupendous film in its own right. Much of his cinematographic language is already there, as are his considerations 'su di niente' (over nothing). Knowing your tastes a little, I think you would probably enjoy it a good deal.


My friend, immediately after viewing LGB I added The Consequences of Love as a high priority to my rental list. I thank you once again for bringing this director to my attention.

I so rarely purchase a dvd outright (preferring rental) unless it is absolutely essential (which is not to say that I do not own a few hundred 'essential' dvd's :redface and LGB will most certainly be acquired to add to my library.


----------



## Shaver

Uncle Shaver is currently in a state of trembling excitement. 

My local conservatoire, the world renowned RNCM, is screening the Jean Epstein (and not neglecting Luis Buñuel as assistant director) 1928 silent cinema classic 'Fall of the House of Usher' (based upon an amalgamation of several Poe stories) and accompanied by live music (adapted from Debussy's uncompleted opera _La Chute de la Maison Usher_) to be performed by chamber orchestra.

You couldn't really ask for much more. :thumbs-up:


----------



## dr.butcher

Shaver said:


> Uncle Shaver is currently in a state of trembling excitement.
> 
> My local conservatoire, the world renowned RNCM, is screening the Jean Epstein (and not neglecting Luis Buñuel as assistant director) 1928 silent cinema classic 'Fall of the House of Usher' (based upon an amalgamation of several Poe stories) and accompanied by live music (adapted from Debussy's uncompleted opera _La Chute de la Maison Usher_) to be performed by chamber orchestra.
> 
> You couldn't really ask for much more. :thumbs-up:


The few times I've seen a silent film with a live score it was quite something. I'd love to see some old Mack Sennett with live ragtime piano


----------



## SartoriaFiladelfia

8 1/2
Breathless
Seven Samurai
Two Women
It's a good life
Der Untergang


----------



## Chouan

I loved this "La Grande Bellezza" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2358891/ and not only for the clothes!


----------



## Shaver

Chouan said:


> I loved this "La Grande Bellezza" https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2358891/ and not only for the clothes!


A lavish portmanteau of amoral ennui and vertiginous abstruse thrills, a reflection on the artless and the squandered, the occasional triumph of decrepitude and venality, the satiation of the emotionally absent voyeur, slyly explicit artifice and much, much, more profound than it pretends to be.

see pg 3 of this very thread 

It *is* a belter and if you liked it (my thanks to Anthony Charton who drew my attention to these movies) you may also wish to view 'The Consequences of Love'.


----------



## Chouan

Shaver said:


> A lavish portmanteau of amoral ennui and vertiginous abstruse thrills, a reflection on the artless and the squandered, the occasional triumph of decrepitude and venality, the satiation of the emotionally absent voyeur, slyly explicit artifice and much, much, more profound than it pretends to be.
> 
> see pg 3 of this very thread
> 
> It *is* a belter and if you liked it (my thanks to Anthony Charton who drew my attention to these movies) you may also wish to view 'The Consequences of Love'.


I watched it on my elder son's recommendation and thought it wonderful; I was spellbound. My wife, however, hated it, and told Henry later that I only enjoyed because there were tits!


----------



## WouldaShoulda

Subtitles??

Non.


----------



## SlideGuitarist

Anthony Charton said:


> ...I'd recommend _Michaal Kolhaas _by Arnaud des Pallières (which came out just last Summer). Mads Mikkelsen, one of my favourite contemporary actors, gives a performance analogous to his *stunning* One-Eye in _Valhalla Rising._


I did not even know that a film of Kohlhaas exists: one of the greatest novellas ever (that's not really a controversial thing to say in Germany).

Everyone loves _Seven Samurai_; I always name it as my favorite film.

I'm not enough of a cinephile to even try to name "best" films ever, and I rarely get to indulge my tastes nowadays (kids, that sort of thing), but let me recommend out of left field:

* _Samurai Rebellion_ with Mifune (not at all an action movie);
*_ Ugetsu Monogatari_
* _Sansho the Bailiff_ (so heart-rending as to be nearly unwatchable)

Shaver, I'm sure I don't need to recommend _Andrey Rublev_ to you. Glacially slow, but I find it riveting.

No love for _The Leopard_?

Best anti-Mafia film ever: _Gomorrah_.

P.S. Fail! Gomorrah is about the Camorra, but at least none of the criminals is made interesting, let alone glamorous, something that no American treatment of the Mafia has managed to avoid.


----------



## Shaver

Actually SG I have not had opportunity to view Andrei Rublev, it is a dvd which has remained prohibitively expensive but will be purchased when a more reasonably priced copy is available. Tarkovsky's masterpiece Stalker is probably my all time favourite cinema experience, I adore glacially slow.

+1 re your comments on Gomorrah and the following movies are now added to my rental list: _Ugetsu Monogatari, __The Leopard__. _:thumbs-up:


----------



## SlideGuitarist

Shaver said:


> Actually SG I have not had opportunity to view Andrei Rublev, it is a dvd which has remained prohibitively expensive but will be purchased when a more reasonably priced copy is available. Tarkovsky's masterpiece Stalker is probably my all time favourite cinema experience, I adore glacially slow.
> 
> +1 re your comments on Gomorrah and the following movies are now added to my rental list: _Ugetsu Monogatari, __The Leopard__. _:thumbs-up:


I acquired a copy of the DVD for $8 when a local Blockbuster video store was closing its doors. Who knows why they'd had such a thing in stock? I have to say that part of the film's appeal to me, the first time I saw it, was that I had no idea what was going on, historically, so the visual beauty of the film, to say nothing of the beauty of the icons, bypassed my censor. I see that this film is available to rent from Facets (https://www.facetsmovies.com/user/movieDisplay.php?movie_id=859451; see also https://www.facets.org/, a cinephile's dream and a great source for children's films as well).

I like samurai films as such, including Toshiro Mifune's turn as Musashi, but those aren't great films. _Samurai Rebellion _is sort of a genre film, with the the difference that Toshiro Mifune plays a samurai who rebels against his lord out of affection for his son and daughter-in-law. His fatherly tenderness plays against his usual gruffness (and hamminess) very movingly. It doesn't turn out well.

Kurosawa's films, esp. _Ran_, often have beautiful clothing, though it tends to underline the pointless destructiveness of the ensuing action.

I would actually make myself watch glacially slow masterpieces, so my must-watch list is probably similar to yours. I'd have to take a long vacation from my family to be able to watch _Sátántangó_.


----------



## Shaver

^7 hours of Hungarian emptiness now added to my rental list. Thanks for the recommendation Slide


----------



## SlideGuitarist

Thanks for the recommendation of _Mongol _(two years ago, but I just noticed this thread). I think I could get my wife to watch it: I'll tell her it's just like _Crouching Tiger _(a movie I love: the scene in which Michelle Yeoh and Chow Yun Fat hold hands for the first time moves me to tears every time). Probably too much real fighting for the kids, though.


----------



## SlideGuitarist

Shaver said:


> ^7 hours of Hungarian emptiness now added to my rental list. Thanks for the recommendation Slide


It rains all the time, too. You'll _love_ it.


----------



## Chouan

SlideGuitarist said:


> I did not even know that a film of Kohlhaas exists: one of the greatest novellas ever (that's not really a controversial thing to say in Germany).
> 
> Everyone loves _Seven Samurai_; I always name it as my favorite film.
> 
> I'm not enough of a cinephile to even try to name "best" films ever, and I rarely get to indulge my tastes nowadays (kids, that sort of thing), but let me recommend out of left field:
> 
> * _Samurai Rebellion_ with Mifune (not at all an action movie);
> *_ Ugetsu Monogatari_
> * _Sansho the Bailiff_ (so heart-rending as to be nearly unwatchable)
> 
> Shaver, I'm sure I don't need to recommend _Andrey Rublev_ to you. Glacially slow, but I find it riveting.
> 
> No love for _The Leopard_?
> 
> Best anti-Mafia film ever: _Gomorrah_.
> 
> P.S. Fail! Gomorrah is about the Camorra, but at least none of the criminals is made interesting, let alone glamorous, something that no American treatment of the Mafia has managed to avoid.


I show The Leopard to my 6th formers who study Nineteenth Century Italy. I've certainly not tired of it yet!


----------



## Shaver

It occurs to me that I have neglected to expound the virtues of the remarkable 1920 release ''Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari' - not just non-English but (as a silent movie) no language at all.

This masterful early cinematic production is a tribute to the creative team involved, their glittering imaginations ensured that this movie remains an enthralling spectacle almost 100 years since its first showing, and will likely be lauded for as long as cinephiles exist. The script, the players, the sets, the cohesive whole - an hysterical, crepuscular vision of dementia. Highly recommended.


----------



## MaxBuck

My wife has been watching Deutschland 83 on the Sundance Channel. Has great things to say about the series, but so far it's failed to pique my interest. Sonja Gerhardt, though, is a visual confection.


----------



## Shaver

I am bending the theme here somewhat as this movie is without dialogue rather than strictly non English language. However 'Begotten' is a piece of such unprecedented originality that I am compelled to allow it an honourable mention. The theme of this grueling work is determinedly obscure with the various interpretations offered by critics merely diminishing the vast panoply of stimulation to, and provocation of, the imagination presented in the 72 minutes of startling footage to be viewed here. The content is graphic (sex, torture and violence), disturbing, with the half-glimpsed and dreamlike quality of the cinematography teasing the viewer in its allusion to the grainy badly exposed footage of WWII atrocities, 1920's stag reels, homemade snuff and super 8 amateurs capturing assassinations. Even the sound design is captivating, looped birdsong and glooping drips of water, pulsing thuds and dull rumbles, heightening the ethereal otherworldliness of the imagery. For those with even a passing acquaintance of the language of cinema then Begotten is simply unmissable and will remain forever unforgettable - a testament to that which is achievable with a meagre budget but a rich creativity.


----------



## Odradek

How have I missed this thread until now?

Someone has already mentioned _The Conformist_, which is superb, but nobody has listed *The Sprit Of The Beehive*, which is one of my top three films ever, and must certainly rank as one of the best films ever made about children.
Also, it's Monte Hellman's favourite film.

It's a slow film. The first time I went to see it I wondered what all the fuss was about, but it grows on you.
Monte Hellman uses this quote from Jean Cocteau in his essay about the film.



> _A work of art should also be "an object difficult to pick up." It must protect itself from vulgar pawing, which tarnishes and disfigures it. It should be made of such a shape that people don't know which way to hold it, which embarrasses and irritates critics, incites them to be rude, but keeps it fresh. The less it's understood, the slower it opens its petals, the later it will fade._
> Jean Cocteau


https://serenevelocity.com/2008/10/...pirit-of-the-beehive-victor-erice-1973-spain/


----------



## Shaver

^ Thank you Odders, a seemingly interesting movie, of which I was not previously aware, and now added to my rental list.

I have never encountered the quote you provide, and I thank you for it, and endorse it thoroughly:

 _*A work of art should also be "an object difficult to pick up." It must protect itself from vulgar pawing, which tarnishes and disfigures it.*

__.
.
.
.
.

.
.
_


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## Odradek

I haven't seen it in several years, but must pull out the DVD and watch it again soon.
My own daughters are now very similar in age to the two little girls in the film.


----------



## Shaver

Solaris - Andrei Tarkovsky (1972, Russian language)

A movie to provoke uncomfortable thought. The pace is stately and understated, leisurely gripping, the themes are fantastically ordinary, meta- philosophical and offhandedly profound. Tarkovsky's singular genius makes mundane of the alien and alien of the mundane. Here we explore the beauty of the natural, the artificial and the unknowable. Eduard Artemyev's electronic score burbles, a dense soundscape which washes one's mind, psychotropic and ethereal. This work is desolate, forlorn and yet endlessly captivating, speaking,as it does, of loss and yearning and those things which are much worse than being afraid.


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## tda003

One of my favorite foreign films is the Danish "Babette's Feast", 1987 (in danish "Babette's Gaestebud") from the story by Isak Dineson (Karen Blixen of "Out of Africa" fame). It was directed by Gabriel Axel.


----------



## paxonus

tda003 said:


> One of my favorite foreign films is the Danish "Babette's Feast", 1987 (in danish "Babette's Gaestebud") from the story by Isak Dineson (Karen Blixen of "Out of Africa" fame). It was directed by Gabriel Axel.


Another vote for Babette's Feast. Some of my favorite foreign films are food-related: Eat, Drink, Man Woman; Tampopo; Jiro Dreams of Sushi; The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover; The Hundred Foot Journey.


----------



## Shaver

Baskin: a cracking Turkish release - reminiscent of classic 80's Italian Horror but with a dash of Lynchian surrealism. Tantalisingly barely glimpsed grotesque writhing and an assortment of disturbing fever dream images. Well worth a viewing.


----------



## Shaver

Train to Busan is a South Korean zombie apocalypse romp which elevates itself above the standard fare. Nimble zombies, decent effects, a plausible plot, and sufficient characterisation, allow for a tension so often lacking in the zombie genre. This is my favourite zombie flick of the last few years.


----------



## Cassadine

Pan's Labyrinth defies an English adjective and Sergi Lopez deserved an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Captain Vidal--a complex, tormented man.


----------



## Cassadine

Ingmar Bergman's "Wild Strawberries" is fantastic.
"Indochine" starring Ms. Catherine Deneuve is also fantastic. And, yes, I could, with scant regret, look at her all day long. I think she's gotten more beatific as she's grown older.


----------



## Cassadine

Technically these are small screen, but "Spiral" and "Witnesses" and "La Mante", are staggering examples of French television.


----------



## Troones

In my opinion, the biggest tearjerker of all time and one of the best non-English language films of all time is The Color of Paradise. An Iranian movie released in 1999. I don't often cry at movies but I'm not ashamed to say this one really got to me.

Its about a young blind Iranian boy, who's father is looking to remarry. Because of her higher social status, the father is worried that the object of his affection may look down upon him for having a blind (and thus in his mind, defective) child. So he takes him out of school and sends him to board with a blacksmith who takes him on as an apprentice.

Seeing the young boy talk of how he feels like a failure because his father is ashamed of him. I have tears welling up just thinking of it now. And I haven't seen it in over over a decade.


----------



## derum

Dogman.
An Italian tale of a dog groomer who is also a small time coke dealer.


----------



## Shaver

_Der blaue Engel _

An utterly sublime German movie, directed by von Sternberg and originally released in 1930, predicated upon a plot of simplest theme enacted by characters provided with the richest complexity by a spectacularly talented cast.

Among the myriad highlights, those scenes in which Professor Rath journeys to and from the Blue Angel club, weaving through the distorted angles of the sharply twisted and confining expressionist urban landscape are captivatingly luscious. The sets, lighting and cinematography, combine in magnificent accord - and are astonishingly well rendered by the 2013 bluray restoration.

This movie provides an extraordinarily bleak conclusion (one which would likely not be permitted in this age of 'test screenings' and lowest common denominator audience approval) following an icy, all-too-knowing, rendition of Dietrich's musical motif (Falling in Love Again) and one which stands in marked contrast to the sensual enticements of the earlier version which precipitated the Professors fall.

A masterpiece to be savoured by anyone with even the faintest interest in the aspirations of the creative arts and/or the mysteries of the human condition.

"Love's always been my game
Play it how I may
I was made that way......
Can't help it"

_







_


----------



## Shaver




----------



## Shaver




----------



## Mr. B. Scott Robinson

Shaver said:


>


So, so glad you are back my friend!

Cheers,

BSR


----------



## take_five

Shaver said:


> Are any other members similarly inclined? If so might I encourage you to share a few of your favourites?


It depends on what you put into the words 'vivid' and 'sublime'. I'd say these are rather vague designations. Most of my favorite movies are from English speaking countries yet I must admit I watch some of these movies on purpose just because I'm interested in English language. I'm not interested in watching films, say, in Norwegian or German yet I admit these countries have their own gems, examples of which I'll mention later. Even if all these movies from non English speaking countries had an English dubbing (which is hard to find in my neck of the woods) I would still mostly tend to watch American and, to a lesser extent, European movies or series.

How did you manage to find Stalker in English? I'm surprised. Anyway, I tried to watch it about ten or even more years ago (ten years! it seems like it was yesterday, life is going so fast). It was such a boring, gloomy, grey and depressing picture I could not bear it. Maybe the director had some great ideas in it, some intricate meaning I'd appreciate, I don't know, but the form he prefers, the depicting of total despair and ruins makes me utterly reluctant to even watch it through. Let alone adore it.

Recently I watched the film called 'Kon-Tiki' (2012) by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg. Even though several countries were involved in making it I could consider it a Norwegian movie. Indeed, it is a very exciting movie based on real adventures of a famous explorer Thor Heyerdahl. I guess you would like it if you are one of those who adore travelling and got bored of your office routine.

Back in the day, maybe about 15 years ago (I can't believe it was that long ago!), I watched a based on the epic poem film called 'Die Nibelungen: Siegfried' and 'Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge' (1924) by Fritz Lang. Do you know Fritz Lang? He directed the 'Metropolis', to which I'm indifferent to, for what it is worth. 'Die Nibelungen: Siegfried' and 'Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge' are refined germs and masterpieces from Germany/Austria. The soundtrack is astounding.

Your thread has made me think of heritage of my favorite directors. My favorite film directors in no particular order are probably Woody Allen, Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski. Woody Allen is definitely an American director who definitely likes many of the European film directors and inspired by them (e.g., Ingmar Bergman). Stanley Kubrick is half American, half English. Roman Polanski is half French, half Polish and a bit of American. Well, it seems European blood is not that rare among my favorite directors.

As for Russian movies I'd say one of my favorite ones is 'The Golden Calf' (1968) by Mikhail Shveytser. The worst part of it is you won't get the half of it if you do not know Russian language well enough. The dialogues are superb. The amount of catchphrases is the highest. The film is based on the eponymous Russian book.


----------



## derum

To a lot of Americans, this was a foreign language movie.....


----------



## Shaver

@take_five, thank you.

Kon-Tiki added to my rental list. Golden Calf seems more difficult to source, I will persevere.

As to Lang and Metropolis (there are no coincidences, only the illusion of coincidence) I am currently preparing a brief review for submission here anon.


----------



## Shaver

"Der Tod ist über der Stadt!"

The enduring reach of Metropolis (directed by Fritz Lang, released 1927) cannot be over emphasised - even in the truncated and bowdlerised format which was the only version available until the 2008 rediscovery of the unedited reels.

Whale, Kubrik, Lucas, Scott, Gilliam, Besson, and the Wachowskis, among the more prominent directors who knowingly referenced this gargantuan work, embedded stylistic homages to Metropolis within their own movies perhaps signposting their aspirations towards a similar grandeur.










"Und diese frau an deren Fuße sich alle Sünden heften &#8230;."

Tremble and spasm in thrall to the orgiastic conclusion to the Intermezzo - one of cinema's most iconic and evocative set pieces - the 7 Deadly Sins hold aloft the plinth upon which the False Maria, the Mensch Machine transformed into Mystery Whore, sprawls languorously ascendant upon the scarlet beast whilst a medieval Death swings his scythe, metronome to Armageddon, demarcation of the boundary beyond which natural science transubstantiates into black magic.










This celluloid behemoth is ablaze with novelty and spectacle, consumed with the tongues of creative flame, the projector becomes a lantern of flickering modernity - both figuratively and literally - powered by the unquenchable firestorm of the luminous Brigitte Helm.

Helm provides the spectacularly convincing Prostitute/Madonna duality. A nuanced and credible portrayal which is ultimately crucial to the narrative for Metropolis is a movie reliant upon subtext to carry the clumsy homily which ostensibly drives the primary plot. Given her performance here, it is little wonder that Helm was first choice for Lola Loa (Der blaue Engel) and an early contender for the eponymous Bride (Bride of Frankenstein).

The 150 min 2010 restoration is almost certainly as close as we will ever get to Lang's hubristic masterpiece. This version contains additional plot arcs and character development which clarify previously obscure motives and responses. This expanded form may allow even those critics of Metropolis to reappraise the work and return as converts but more importantly it provides aficionados with the ecstasy of incorruptible resurrection.

Freude, schöner Götterfunken&#8230;..


----------



## take_five

Shaver said:


> @take_five, thank you.
> 
> Kon-Tiki added to my rental list. Golden Calf seems more difficult to source, I will persevere.
> 
> As to Lang and Metropolis (there are no coincidences, only the illusion of coincidence) I am currently preparing a brief review for submission here anon.


Will be glad to hear back from you on Kon-Tiki once you watch it.

As to the Golden Calf. Unfortunately, it seems to be close to impossible to find this film in English yet I post here the link to the original version in Russian hoping that Youtube/Google or some other web service is clever enough either to translate it to English or to add English subtitles at least.

Part 1




Part 2





As to your review of Metropolis. I don't have time right now as I'm going to the church this morning so I have to get up early yet I'll try to read it later and get back to you.


----------



## SG_67

I've always been fascinated by the coincidences between Rashomon and the 4 Gospels. The same story told through 4 different eyes. Sometimes contradictory yet it is left up to the reader to extract the facts and the truth.


----------



## Shaver

SG_67 said:


> I've always been fascinated by the coincidences between Rashomon and the 4 Gospels. The same story told through 4 different eyes. Sometimes contradictory yet it is left up to the reader to extract the facts and the truth.


Rashomon joins Kon-tiki atop my rental list - thank you, SG, for the recommendation.


----------



## Shaver

Thank you @ SG_67. Rashomon was sublime, from the opening shot of water cascading over the roof of the gate to the concluding scene of exit with swaddling babe, utterly sublime. 

This movie exactly represents why I am so enthralled by non-English language productions. 

I am still processing this remarkable cinematic feat and so a fuller review would currently be improper. However, for the nonce, a fleeting quirk which charmed me enormously was a magnificent example of an unspoken line of dialogue. To wit: the missing phrase which ought to follow on from "It was quiet. Then I heard someone crying..." but instead Kurosawa chooses to emphasise the drama by employing the tension of the unresolved, the absence. Quite marvellous.


----------



## SG_67

You’re welcome. You’ve actually inspired me to get reacquainted with the film. It’s been at least 20 years since I last saw it.


----------



## eagle2250

While I do not claim to be a fan of non English language movies we did recently watch a French language work with English subtitles, The Intouchables. It is based on a true story of an athletic, wealthy, privileged individual whose life was tragically changed when he becomes a quadriplegic as the result of a paragliding accident. The movie showcases the gentleman's well and fully lived life with the help of his home health aide. Viewing the movie proviided sufficient motivation for reading the two books, upon which the movie was based, (A Second Wind, by Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and You Changed My Life by Abdel Sellou) written by the principles featured in the movie.


----------



## Shaver

eagle2250 said:


> While I do not claim to be a fan of non English language movies we did recently watch a French language work with English subtitles, The Intouchables. It is based on a true story of an athletic, wealthy, privileged individual whose life was tragically changed when he becomes a quadriplegic as the result of a paragliding accident. The movie showcases the gentleman's well and fully lived life with the help of his home health aide. Viewing the movie proviided sufficient motivation for reading the two books, upon which the movie was based, (A Second Wind, by Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and You Changed My Life by Abdel Sellou) written by the principles featured in the movie.


Added to my rental list - thank you Eagle.


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## Andy

eagle2250 said:


> While I do not claim to be a fan of non English language movies ...


eagle2250:
As my hearing declines, I've become a big fan of anything with subtitles!


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## eagle2250

You are quite welcome, my friend!


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## eagle2250

Andy said:


> eagle2250:
> As my hearing declines, I've become a big fan of anything with subtitles!


LOL. I've found that the effect of aging on my auditory acuity has focused mainly on conversations with my wife, in which she shares with me how I might best spend my day! LOL, I seem to miss a lot of the details of those instructions.


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