Re: What Are You Watching?
Posted: 28 Nov 2020 22:52
Sal's Five Fave "Foreign" Movies:
As an inhabitant of a small country with a weird language, I'm quite used to watching what y'all in America would call "foreign films". There are some fantastic ones out there, and here are five I'd highly recommend. So get your subtitle -reading game on, and enjoy!
1) Unknown Soldier (2017, Finland)
Let's get my country outta the way first. Unknown Soldier is a top-notch, visually stunning war film set in Finland's Continuation War vs the USSR 1941-1944. The film follows a ragtag unit of conscripted men through the victories and defeats of that war. As a war film, it's pretty damn honest to life. You'll find no superhuman heroes here. Just ordinary folks forced to the realities, fears, joys and camaraderie of war. Cinematography and effects are fantastic, and the battle scenes are some of the best and most realistic ever, as is the depth of characters - you can tell the actors served in the military and know that life, they are fine with some dirt under their fingernails and in their souls...
2) Oldboy (2003, South Korea)
If you get kidnapped and locked into one room for 15 years for seemingly no reason (not recommended), and then are suddenly released... Well, I mean, what the $%@#! There would be some built-up determination, anger and madness to unleash. Oldboy is a super powerful thriller of a film, and will squeeze your primal emotions and curiosity to the max. What did this guy do to deserve all this!? The film is a masterpiece of style, and includes maybe the best one-shot fight sequence ever put to film. Tarantino loves it, you will too.
3) My Neighbor Totoro (1988, Japan)
This is maybe my favorite movie of all time. And such a seemingly simple one. An anime that has a two kids and their dad move to a rickety old house in the country while their mom is hospitalized for unknown reasons. The kids' imagination runs wild in the new setting. The house may be haunted, and they find a forest spirit called Totoro, who is the cuddliest thing ever. But is mom gonna be OK? This film is about kids being kids. They are no "small adults", instead they really act, think and imagine like kids, and it's depicted honestly and beautifully. The animation and direction by the master Hayao Miyazaki is flawless, and the music is so good I've had the cat bus song (yes, there's a cat bus) as my ringtone for more than a decade. Totoro can melt even the most cynical of hearts.
4) Downfall (2004, Germany)
Adolf Hitler's final days. And the end of WW2 and, for many, life. The film is both a riveting character study, and also makes one think about ideologies and beliefs. What do you do when all you've believed in is defeated, everything is crumbling around you. Is there an escape? Shot, acted and delivered as if you were there with them in that gloomy bunker of little hope. Downfall manages to make humans out of the villains, yet doesn't excuse them of the horrors they caused.
5) Three Colours: Blue (1993, France/Poland)
A movie so great, I haven't found the right setting to watch it again, so my memory is hazy. The theme is "liberty", and Juliette Binoche's character is finding that after losing her family in a car crash. She tries to distance herself from everything and just be on her own, but gets tangled up with the lives and tragedies of others, learns to live with her past, and finds a way to live and feel again through them. The music. Oh gods, the music. Best score ever, and it ties into the plot and feelings of the characters integrally. Binoche is SO great in the role. If there ever was a movie to watch with your loved one, this is it. I couldn't find a proper trailer for it, so this will have to do:
BONUS 6) Pan's Labyrinth (2006, Spain)
Dark fantasy done to perfection, this is a movie about a girl whose imagination lets her escape from reality when the world of 1944 fascist Spain is crumbling and too brutal to understand. How does a child handle horrific things happening around her? Is the fantasy the real reality? What an epic film with some of the greatest visuals put to film ever. This is no fantasy for kids. It's an enthralling, thinking man's movie that will blow you away.
BONUS BONUS 7) Dead Snow (2009, Norway)
What's worse than zombies? Nazi zombies! The Norwegian film is both a classic horror film, and a parody of the tropes of the genre. It's silly to the max, and just so much fun. It's not on the masterpiece -level of the films above, but is certainly a whole lotta entertainment.
As an inhabitant of a small country with a weird language, I'm quite used to watching what y'all in America would call "foreign films". There are some fantastic ones out there, and here are five I'd highly recommend. So get your subtitle -reading game on, and enjoy!
1) Unknown Soldier (2017, Finland)
Let's get my country outta the way first. Unknown Soldier is a top-notch, visually stunning war film set in Finland's Continuation War vs the USSR 1941-1944. The film follows a ragtag unit of conscripted men through the victories and defeats of that war. As a war film, it's pretty damn honest to life. You'll find no superhuman heroes here. Just ordinary folks forced to the realities, fears, joys and camaraderie of war. Cinematography and effects are fantastic, and the battle scenes are some of the best and most realistic ever, as is the depth of characters - you can tell the actors served in the military and know that life, they are fine with some dirt under their fingernails and in their souls...
2) Oldboy (2003, South Korea)
If you get kidnapped and locked into one room for 15 years for seemingly no reason (not recommended), and then are suddenly released... Well, I mean, what the $%@#! There would be some built-up determination, anger and madness to unleash. Oldboy is a super powerful thriller of a film, and will squeeze your primal emotions and curiosity to the max. What did this guy do to deserve all this!? The film is a masterpiece of style, and includes maybe the best one-shot fight sequence ever put to film. Tarantino loves it, you will too.
3) My Neighbor Totoro (1988, Japan)
This is maybe my favorite movie of all time. And such a seemingly simple one. An anime that has a two kids and their dad move to a rickety old house in the country while their mom is hospitalized for unknown reasons. The kids' imagination runs wild in the new setting. The house may be haunted, and they find a forest spirit called Totoro, who is the cuddliest thing ever. But is mom gonna be OK? This film is about kids being kids. They are no "small adults", instead they really act, think and imagine like kids, and it's depicted honestly and beautifully. The animation and direction by the master Hayao Miyazaki is flawless, and the music is so good I've had the cat bus song (yes, there's a cat bus) as my ringtone for more than a decade. Totoro can melt even the most cynical of hearts.
4) Downfall (2004, Germany)
Adolf Hitler's final days. And the end of WW2 and, for many, life. The film is both a riveting character study, and also makes one think about ideologies and beliefs. What do you do when all you've believed in is defeated, everything is crumbling around you. Is there an escape? Shot, acted and delivered as if you were there with them in that gloomy bunker of little hope. Downfall manages to make humans out of the villains, yet doesn't excuse them of the horrors they caused.
5) Three Colours: Blue (1993, France/Poland)
A movie so great, I haven't found the right setting to watch it again, so my memory is hazy. The theme is "liberty", and Juliette Binoche's character is finding that after losing her family in a car crash. She tries to distance herself from everything and just be on her own, but gets tangled up with the lives and tragedies of others, learns to live with her past, and finds a way to live and feel again through them. The music. Oh gods, the music. Best score ever, and it ties into the plot and feelings of the characters integrally. Binoche is SO great in the role. If there ever was a movie to watch with your loved one, this is it. I couldn't find a proper trailer for it, so this will have to do:
BONUS 6) Pan's Labyrinth (2006, Spain)
Dark fantasy done to perfection, this is a movie about a girl whose imagination lets her escape from reality when the world of 1944 fascist Spain is crumbling and too brutal to understand. How does a child handle horrific things happening around her? Is the fantasy the real reality? What an epic film with some of the greatest visuals put to film ever. This is no fantasy for kids. It's an enthralling, thinking man's movie that will blow you away.
BONUS BONUS 7) Dead Snow (2009, Norway)
What's worse than zombies? Nazi zombies! The Norwegian film is both a classic horror film, and a parody of the tropes of the genre. It's silly to the max, and just so much fun. It's not on the masterpiece -level of the films above, but is certainly a whole lotta entertainment.
