Foreign Cinema

[inter]

Could anyone suggest some good foreign films or somewhere I could find some good recommendations? I like Wong Kar Wai, Kurosawa, and Chan Wook Park films especially but looking to expand my horizons, especially in terms of European and South American directors.

[nimo112]

i'm sure everyone knows these:

city of god

oldboy

infernal affairs trilogy

friend

fulltime killer

tae guk gi

[machineo]

truffaut's good: if youre a fan of wes anderson, thats where he picked up lots of techniques.

400 blows

day for night

[samsikle]

i like a lot of cheesy korean movies. like My Sassy Girl and Windstruck (the prequel to my sassy girl, but came after) i don't remember a lot of them i guess i should get back into it.. oh, and the original version of "The Lakehouse" is korean too called Il Mare.

are you into dramas too? as for japanese the last i've seen was Densha Otoko about the guy who defended some girl on a train and they fell in love. it also has a movie. and for korean dramas, Sangdoo, Hakgyo Kaja (sangdoo let's go to school) is a good one. cry cry every episode. it has the kpop singer Bi in it. and that girl that's in every korean movie and drama Kong HyoJin

oh yeah like nimo112 said, definitely check out City of God and Old Boy.

movies with Gael Garcia Bernal are super good, he's a good actor. and good looking. <33

Motorcycle Diaries

El Crimen del Padre Amaro (i think)

Amores Perros (directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu directed 21 grams & Babel also)

[dizzhizz]

Cheesy Korean movies and dramas are unbearable. I do not understand how samsikle can bear watching that shit but more power to him.

As for some decent Korean movies, try:

J.S.A.

King and the Clown

You are my sunshine

The War of Flower

[englandmj7]

There are alot of non-foreign films in this post, but generally, it reaped some great recommendations:

http://www.superfuture.com/supertalk/showthread.php?t=12381

A couple of excellent foreign films which are amongst my favorites as well as being highly acclaimed are:

- Malena (Italian)

- Der Untergang (German)**

- Amelie (French)**

- Battle Royale (Japanese)**

- Tsotsi (South African)**

- In The Name Of The Father (Irish)**

- The Wind That Shakes The Barley (Irish)

- Y Tu Mama Tambien (Mexican)

- Brotherhood Of The Wolf (French)

- Run Lola Run (German)......although a little overrated imo

- Sex And Lucia (Spanish)

** I put stars by those you HAVE to watch

Also, be sure to browse the "By Country" DVD option available through Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Country-Art-House-International-DVD/b/ref=dp_brlad_entry/104-0271226-8170323?ie=UTF8&node=284926

[Guest jmatsu]

off the top of my head.

pusher series (denmark)

the films of jean-pierre melville (france)

clean (france)

stratosphere girl (belgium/japan)

arsene lupin with roman durkis (france)

scorpion films with kaji meiko (japan)

monster animated series (japan)

very old but le doberman (france)

for pretty good japanese films see

midnighteye.com

[docnbhd]

Isn't Battle Royale movie banned in the states? The book is AMAZING... I've been wanting to see the movie for years.

[inter]

Wow, thanks for the responses everyone. Keep 'em coming!

docnbhd - To answer you question, no, I did a quick google and found the following link http://www.battleroyalefilm.net/movie/

nimo - I've seen all of them and I'm especially fond of the first 3 in the list

machineo - THANKS for the suggestion, I'm a huge Wes Anderson film and will definitely check those out

samsikle - I don't watch any K Dramas but definitely am a sucker for those Korean romcom's. I really like MSG and thought Windstruck was ok. I also enjoyed Il Mare a lot as well. Amores Perros is one of my fave movies though!

dizzhizz - JSA is another great CWP film, I'll definitely try to check out The War of Flower. The other 2 in your list are currently in my library, just haven't had a chance to watch them yet.

englandm7 - thanks for the links. I thought The Downfall was a great movie and became utterly infatuated with Alexandra Maria Lara after watching it. Thanks for the Irish Film recommendations, can't say I have seen many Irish films, but I definitely would like to see some.

jmatsu - i don't recognize a single film/director on your list which is great! I know have some stuff to look into.

[samsikle]

Cheesy Korean movies and dramas are unbearable. I do not understand how samsikle can bear watching that shit but more power to him.

to HER. kthx.

[jonglover]

Well, even though you're looking for European and South American directors, you definitely need to delve a little deeper into Asian film (seeing as how you enjoy it it shouldn't require too much effort).

For new films check out Edward Yang's Yi Yi, which is far and away the greatest film of the twenty-first century thus far. Beautiful and heartbreaking.

As for old film, check out Naruse and Mizoguchi. Naruse is incredibly understated and underrated in the West, as his films are not heavily ethnic (pretty much the opposite of Kurosawa, who is my personal favorite). Mizoguchi is widely considered the greatest director of all-time and rightfully so. I recommend Sansho the Bailiff if you can find a decent transfer. Also, Criterion released an amazing version of Ugetsu. Not as accessible as Sansho, but it's my personal favorite Mizo and a great film.

Any Ozu is fantastic, particularly his early silents. The A Story/Floating Weeds combo DVD from Criterion is a perfect primer.

Probably the most influential Japanese film ever is Yamanaka's Humanity and Paper Balloons. A great film in its own right, made into legend by Yamanaka's incredibly tragic story (he was drafted into the war when this was released; he directed almost 40 films in his short life-time and this in only one of three that wasn't destroyed after WWII). Masters of Cinema have a great release if you're regionless. If not just wait for the Criterion which Janus is currently working on a transfer for.

Asian cinema is arguably the best library of any region, so I could go on all day. Also check out works from these directors: Shindo, Ichikawa, Kobayashi...um...I could just rant on.

Also, if you like Kurosawa's epics, check out Inagaki's Samurai Trilogy. It's not nearly as good an overall film as Kurosawa's samurais (Seven Samurai, Yojimbo/Sanjuro, etc.), but it's still well-rounded and one of my most-watched films ever. Really amazing cinematography, great acting by Mifune, really elegant sword fighting scenes, gorgeous female leads and a satisfying, epic tale. Really, really fun and engrossing.

That's all for now. If you have any questions PM me. I was going to post a list of South American and European recommendations, but I'll wait a while and see what you get thrown at you.

[toufu]

i'm sure everyone knows these:

city of god

oldboy

infernal affairs trilogy

friend

fulltime killer

tae guk gi

seen all of those except city of god....never even heard of that title XP

i get all my asian movie news from here

http://www.kfccinema.com/

bunch of reviews and news

http://www.monkeypeaches.com/

another good site to see whats up and coming

o yeah and i recommend "Sex is Zero" - (korean adult comedy)

most hilarious korean movie i've ever seen XD

just get a bunch of ur buddies together and watch that flick lol

[dmaz]

Also, if it hasn't been mentioned in another thread...many films directed by Pedro Almodovar (Spain) are a bit strange at times, but also very good.

england - Sex and Lucia was crazy...I'm in love with Paz Vega.

[oegaoega]

all kim di duk, belle martha , boring french movies... just browse through imdb.. take your time theres alot of splendid hours ahead of you..

i watch alot of movies but i skip most of the hollywood stuff.. i also like the korean dramas for the girls in it but if u tell your friends to watch it you are a bit embarrased so i wouldnt recommend it.

friend of mine whos into hollywood finds it hard to understand asian cinema.. so u might take your time. interesting is also old stuff from wong kar wai.. oh yea also watch this korean movie called april story... or all about lil chou chou... it might be hard to watch at first but its all worth it

but the best thing to do is just browse through imdb and make a selection u cant watch it all... theres alot of trying to hard though in arthouse movies so beware of that it might be great but it might also be crap

[oegaoega]

ah how i could i forget... cidade de deus!

stuff from brazil is nice (maybe because portugese sounds good:)

[notesee]

La Haine (French) is a great movie. Check it out if you can find it.

[abstraktgeformt]

i like a lot of cheesy korean movies. like My Sassy Girl and Windstruck (the prequel to my sassy girl, but came after) i don't remember a lot of them i guess i should get back into it.. oh, and the original version of "The Lakehouse" is korean too called Il Mare.

are you into dramas too? as for japanese the last i've seen was Densha Otoko about the guy who defended some girl on a train and they fell in love. it also has a movie. and for korean dramas, Sangdoo, Hakgyo Kaja (sangdoo let's go to school) is a good one. cry cry every episode. it has the kpop singer Bi in it. and that girl that's in every korean movie and drama Kong HyoJin

oh yeah like nimo112 said, definitely check out City of God and Old Boy.

movies with Gael Garcia Bernal are super good, he's a good actor. and good looking. <33

Motorcycle Diaries

El Crimen del Padre Amaro (i think)

Amores Perros (directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu directed 21 grams & Babel also)

I think there are too many shitty dramas around but recently I fell in love with Korean drama "The Snow Queen"... I ADORE this drama. I like the melancholy, I like the characters, I like the depth of the characters (as far as you can really speak of 'depth' in a drama ).... wtf happened to me?! xD Worth checkin' out!

I agree on "La Haine"! Very nice.

The last good movie I watched was "Brotherhood", pretty intense. Some Korean war flick. Liked it a lot.

"Irreversible" is an European production you might find interesting, very realistic, I for one couldn't bear the infamous rape scene. But artistically this one is sure great!

[junglejane]

amores perros is amazing....... and on a lighter note there are lots of funny, lighthearted films out there too...

christmas in love (italian) is funny... another good one is The Spanish Apartment, which is more enjoyable if you're familiar with the Erasmus student exchanges around europe.

and, how could I forget Amelie!!

[RAISED BY WOLVES]

3rd on "Hate"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113247/

Amazing movie...I thought about it alot last year when the suburbs of Paris were burning. Provocative, interesting, and to the point with heart and sincerity. Ultimately, this movie is about the powerful bonds between friends under pressure, and it illustrates well what happens when a so called "progressive" society alienates and marginalizes a large portion of its constituents.

Witnesses

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0347720/

An amazingly well shot croatian film from multiple perspectives about life in a small town during the war there. The Balkan region has always been really interesting to me, and the various wars there are often overlooked by American people as "low level conflicts", or "regional squabbles" unworthy of their attention. Definately one to check for. The blue/green hue of the movie is pretty chilling.

Werckmiester Harmonies

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249241/

I don't say this lightly: This is one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life. It is not for those with short attention spans, but it is by no means a pretentious piece of crap that requires a working knowledge of "avante-garde" cinema and art house drivel. It takes place in a small town on the Hungarian Plain where the weather has plunged well below zero. Amidst all this, a strange circus comes to town and begins to cause distress and madness in the populace for no apparent reason. Check the link for more on that. The whole movie is a mere 37 shots, the longest of which is like 7 or 8 minutes. It's a really beautiful movie to "look at" as well as an emotional piece to take in. Its a shame movies like this aren't up for awards.

There are many more, but I thought it might be more helpful to make a strong case for three than just list a gang of names.

[todesengel]

Oldboy has been mentioned, but you really should see the whole trilogy (Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Lady Vengeance) to get the full experience. I liked Mr. Vengeance the most of the 3.

[PAND]

The Korean film Memories of Murder is great, easily as good as Oldboy.

If you like slow broody films, check the thai film "Last Life In The Universe" Christopher Doyle did the cinematography and it shows.

Kitano's Zatoichi remake.

Korean flick "A Bittersweet Life"

There's also a new HK flick with Tony Leung that looks promising.

As for S.American... gotta be Apocalypto and Spanish... Pan's Labyrinth

[airfrogusmc]

truffaut's good: if youre a fan of wes anderson, thats where he picked up lots of techniques.

400 blows

day for night

Truffaut, Godard; any of the French New Wave directors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_New_Wave

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Stephen_Nottingham/cintxt2.htm

[fmark]

The Korean film Memories of Murder is great, easily as good as Oldboy.

If you like slow broody films, check the thai film "Last Life In The Universe" Christopher Doyle did the cinematography and it shows.

Kitano's Zatoichi remake.

Korean flick "A Bittersweet Life"

There's also a new HK flick with Tony Leung that looks promising.

i thought "a bitter sweet life" was excellent as well as "last life in the universe".

WKW's "days of being wild", "chungking express" and "fallen angels"

im a big fan of takeshi kitano's films. "sonatine", "fireworks" and "kikujiro" come to mind.

shunji iwai's "all about lily chou chou" and "hana and alice" are good with great soundtracks.

"sex and lucia" was good. paz vega and elena anaya are pretty damn good looking.

[inter]

damn! thanks everyone, I'm going to check out La Haine this weeked!

[xcoldricex]

Werckmiester Harmonies

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0249241/

I don't say this lightly: This is one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life. It is not for those with short attention spans, but it is by no means a pretentious piece of crap that requires a working knowledge of "avante-garde" cinema and art house drivel. It takes place in a small town on the Hungarian Plain where the weather has plunged well below zero. Amidst all this, a strange circus comes to town and begins to cause distress and madness in the populace for no apparent reason. Check the link for more on that. The whole movie is a mere 37 shots, the longest of which is like 7 or 8 minutes. It's a really beautiful movie to "look at" as well as an emotional piece to take in. Its a shame movies like this aren't up for awards.

wasn't there a 2 hour movie taken in one shot? i forget the name, it's in my dvd library somewhere and i haven't watched it yet.

[Begåvningsreserven]

wasn't there a 2 hour movie taken in one shot? i forget the name, it's in my dvd library somewhere and i haven't watched it yet.

russian ark

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318034/

[digital_denim]

http://www.greencine.com/main

Greencine is by far the best rental service. Tons of primers and reviews and unbelievable amount of foreign films......and porn too!

[Liberation1945]

Truffaut, Godard; any of the French New Wave directors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_New_Wave

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Stephen_Nottingham/cintxt2.htm

yes!

i especially recommend Jules et Jim

"Lila Says" is a fairly recent french movie that i recommend...Vahina Giacante is a brilliant actress IMO.

my mom used to own a korean video store so i used to watch dramas and movies 24/7 but it got pretty old...aside from your oldboy and art house movies, the korean movie scene is pretty stale IMO.

[stillthehorror]

go iranian. start with kiarostami and then merge outward.

tarkovsky is always good if you've got patience.

same with bela tarr. i think someone mentioned "werckmeister harmonies" already.

godard through "weekend" is essential.

while you're at it, give antonioni a try.

oh, and bertolucci's "the conformist".

and yeah. i'll stop there.

[MilSpex]

I saw this movie once called Winners and Sinners, shit was out of control and everyone was talking all oriental -crazy shit..