Foreign language films

[Shaun]

I find it pretty easy to get bored with your typical Hollywood films because they tend to follow the same generic ideas and themes, while always using similar techniques and in reality it gets rather tiresome. and find that many of my favourite movies nowadays are from a plethora of different countries and in all sorts of languages. I thought I'd make this thread seeing as FIF is a pretty diverse place where I'm sure people have a knowledge about a huge range of movies i've never heard about

Anyways, if anyone is interested here is some of my favourites when it comes to world cinema:

A Bothersome Man:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808185/ - Awesome, surreal, dark comedy from Norway. Fans of Wristcutters will especially enjoy this.

The City of Lost Children:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112682/ - French surrealist masterpiece from Jean-Pierre Jeunet. A director better known for his widely popular Amelie which is also extremely worthwhile. This is my favourite film by him though.

The Diving bell and the Butterfly
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0401383/ - One of the most touching movies I've ever seen. Based on a true story about a man with shut-in disorder. A truly unique film which in my opinion is the best french cinema has to offer.

Dogtooth:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1379182/ - The only Greek film i've ever seen and I found it to be one of most bizarre and twisted yet compelling movies I've ever seen. This really isn't for everyone, but if you're ever in the mood for something which is strange and disturbing then this should be near the top of your list.

Let the Right One In:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/ - Swedish film based on a novel which then had a Hollywood remake, but this is the one which is really worth watching. Has two of the best performances I've ever seen by child actors bar none.

Pan's Labyrinth:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457430/: A Spanish language film from mainstream director Guillermo del Toro. Awesome fantasy based film which also mixes some very realistic elements. This has some amazing cinematography.

Oldboy:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/ - Korean film which a lot of people find rather disturbing, I don't, but that could just be because I've become quite desensitized to things. Probably my favourite film from Asian Cinema. Definitively worth a watch

The Wave:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1063669/ - A German film which has a cool indie feel to it. About a social experiment at a German school which touches on some rather sensitive elements.

I could probably list 50 more, but i'll see what you guys have to say first.

 

[AxigZag.ESIOLAG.]

Pls list as many as possible. I love foreign movies (especially independents!)

 

[Broseph Stalin]

The Brazilian movie City of God is just mind blowing. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317248/

 

[Marduk]

Pan's Labyrinth is awesome! Also Oldboy. Here's some of my favourites:

Das Leben der Anderen [2006] - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/
El secreto de sus ojos [2009] - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1305806/
Malena [2000] - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213847/
La haine [1995] - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113247/
Un prophète [2009] - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235166/
Cidade de Deus [2002] - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317248/
Hable con ella [2002] - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0287467/

 

[AxigZag.ESIOLAG.]

The Brazilian movie City of God is just mind blowing. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317248/

Loved it so much I bought 2 copies lool ... and then also bought a mini-series (City of Men) with some of the actors from City of God. More of a light "hearted" drama series... but amazing stuff too! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0870090/

---------- Post added 14 Aug 12 at 00:02 ---------- Previous post was 13 Aug 12 at 23:53 ----------

I'd also recommend French film series:
Asterix & Obelix (i think to date there are 4 of them) Not the cartoon. The actual movies. Awesome comedy.
French comedy series: Taxi (4 to date) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0152930/ (1st one) Awesome shots of Marseilles!
Moroccan: Satin Rouge http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0300453/

 

[Shaun]

Pan's Labyrinth is awesome! Also Oldboy. Here's some of my favourites:

Das Leben der Anderen [2006] - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/
El secreto de sus ojos [2009] - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1305806/
Malena [2000] - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213847/
La haine [1995] - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113247/
Un prophète [2009] - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235166/
Cidade de Deus [2002] - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317248/
Hable con ella [2002] - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0287467/

City of god is great. I decided to not list it at first because I assumed a lot of people had probably seen it given it's position on imdb's top 250 etc. The Lives of Others is among my favourites, while the Prophet is probably one of the best prison movies i've seen since Shawshank Redemption.

I personally think giving the english title is sometime a little wiser since it's probably easier for people to remember.

---------- Post added at 11:00 ---------- Previous post was at 10:44 ----------

A couple of older foreign films which I think are mind blowing, but not for everyone.
Wings of Desire:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093191/

The Seventh Seal:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050976/ - This can be painstakingly slow, but if you're in the mood for it then it is quite amazing and thought provoking

8 1/2:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056801/ - From the famed Italian director Fellini. Hard to digest, but amazing nonetheless. Certainly not for anyone

The Bicycle thieves:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040522/

 

[Marduk]

Except from the 1st i know them, great movies. I have to rewatch Otto e Mezzo, difficult one indeed, don't think i got the whole picture a few years back. I remembered 3 more :

Paris, Texas (1984) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087884/
Stalker (1979) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079944/
Cinema Paradiso (1988) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095765/

 

[Mino]

The battle of algiers
anyone ?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058946/
8,2

 

[Jacquez]

Time to represent!

Right now, Denmark is without a doubt the country with the biggest amount of great directors per capita. Bier, Scherfig, Refn, Trier, Vinterberg and the list continues to grow. But Denmark has been an important influence to the way cinema has developed historically as well, but that's something I won't be elaborating right now...

While most of you may know Lars von Trier from his controversial comments regarding Hitler, he is one of the most talented directors of his generation (as well as one of the most obnoxious). I really recommend his film 'The Idiots', which I believe is his strongest film to date, and without a doubt his best Danish-language film ever. The Kingdom part I & II are also recommended, albeit they're miniseries rather than actual movies.

I suspect most of you have seen Drive, directed by Refn.. his other movies, the Pusher trilogy particularly, are worth watching.

Of the older generation we also have many greats. The most obvious is Carl Th. Dreyer, who most notably made 'Vredens dag' in 1943 and 'Ordet' in 1955. Both are quite mesmerizing, and although quite slow, they move you in a way like no other. His 1928 movie 'Jeanne D'Arcs lidelse og død' is fantastic as well, especially with the Voices of Light soundtrack.

Another recommendable Danish director is Henning Carlsen and his 1966 film 'Sult'. It's about a poor writer with no money to spend on food, who wanders the streets of Christiania.


Foreign movies is such a vague term when you're a foreign to English-speaking countries.. so it's difficult for me to make a list. If you like so-called indies you'd might want to check out the whole nouvelle-vague movement in France, with Godard, Truffaut, Chabrol and the likes. Godard's most recommendable (in my opinion, I don't really like him or his movies - no disrespect to his historical influence) film is 'Vivre sa Vie' from '62. It's an experiment divided into 12 chapters where each chapter shows a way to film a conversation. It sounds boring, but it's very entertaining (much more so than his highly overrated 'A Bout de Souffle' from '60)..


If you want to have a good all-round knowledge of the foreign 'greats', this is a good list to start off with:

Italy:
Vittorio de Sica: Ladri di Biciclette (1946), Umberto D (1952)
Antonioni: L'Avventura (1960), Blow-up (1966), Il Deserto Rosso (1964)
Fellini: La Strada (1954), La Dolce Vita (1960), 8½ (1963)

France:
Jean Renoir: La Grande Illusion (1937), La Bête Humaine (1938), La Regle du Jeu (1939)
H.G. Clouzot: Le Corbeau (1943), La Salaire de la Peur (1953), Les Diaboliques (1955)
Truffaut: Quatre cents Coups (1959), Jules et Jim (1962)

Germany:
Fritz Lang: Metropolis (1927), M (1931), Fury (1936)
F.W. Murnau: Nosferatu (1922) Der Lezte Mann (1924) Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) (not really foreign movies, but a foreign director never the less)
R.W. Fassbinder: Angst Essen Seulen Auf (1974) Angst vor der Angst (1975)
Wim Wenders: Wings of Desire (1987), Paris, Texas (1984) (not really a foreign movie, but a foreign director never the less)

Sweden:
Ingmar Bergman: Persona (1962), Höstsonaten (1978), Fanny och Alexander (1982)

I've put their most entertaining works in bold.

You could also mention the Soviet, with Eisenstein and Pudovkin to Tarkovski and ...Bekmambetov.., but these are probably the true European cinema inheritance.. and I'm sure most will disagree. The list may sound boring and "old", but the films I've mentioned are entertaining as well as thought provoking, and I recommend them all.

 

[Scottish_one]

a few that i've seen

Katyn
about the polish officers and civilians who where executed by the Soviets in WW2

Sophie Scholl (Die letzten Tage)
about some students that protested against the Nazi in Germany in 1943

Downfall (Der Untergang)
about the last days of the Nazi regime leading up to the fall of Berlin

on a lighter note the french films by the polish Director Kieslowski are brilliant. Rouge was especially good IMO

Trois couleurs: Rouge, Bleu and Blanc

he also directed La double vie de Véronique which is quite good too

Clint Eastwood made 2 films about Iwo Jima with was the first place on actual Japanese soil that the Americans attacked during WW2. while the one based on the US point (Flags of our Fathers) of view is good the other form the Japanese (Letters from Iwo Jima) is brilliant

 

[Minardista]

Eh...Taxi is a foreign language film?

 

[ADRossi]

The Counterfeiters

The Counterfeiters is the true story of the largest counterfeiting operation in history, set up by the Nazis in 1936. Salomon "Sally" Sorowitsch is the king of counterfeiters. He lives a mischievous life of cards, booze, and women in Berlin during the Nazi-era. Suddenly his luck runs dry when arrested by Superintendent Friedrich Herzog. Immediately thrown into the Mauthausen concentration camp, Salomon exhibits exceptional skills there and is soon transferred to the upgraded camp of Sachsenhausen. Upon his arrival, he once again comes face to face with Herzog, who is there on a secret mission. Hand-picked for his unique skill, Salomon and a group of professionals are forced to produce fake foreign currency under the program Operation Bernhard. The team, which also includes detainee Adolf Burger, is given luxury barracks for their assistance. But while Salomon attempts to weaken the economy of Germany's allied opponents...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0813547/

 

[Pajo]

The Swedish "The girl with the dragon tattoo" and its sequels.

The Canadian (french) "the exchange", great movie too.

I also love Balkan comidies, too bad you guys wont understand them

 

[Pimpin]

I also love Balkan comidies, too bad you guys wont understand them

have you seen "PARADA"?

fucking legends, cant hate on em

 

[Pajo]

Yeah, i have. LOL-ed so hart when Toni Mihalovski showed up.. "Oooo ljimun"

edit: seen that clip and remembered, "Koljku je dobar, jebes mi mater"

 

[Howl]

Oldboy and City of God are awesome!!..

OldBoy is the definition of Mindfuck!

Also Hero is a very good film, the Jet Li One from 2002
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0299977/

Oh & the Drunken Master

 

[Pimpin]

I m not really into foreign lang films, but I watched Un Prophete and the intouchables (one of the best movies I saw this year) both were awesome

 

[Ed.]

If you want foreign language films.. just watch any Jackie Chan's old movies.. such as Police Story 1,2,3,4,5. or Drunken Master 1 and 2. Also, Jet Li's Kungfu Master 1,2,3,4 and Fearless (this probably the best Jet Li's movie I watched).

one of my fave is Shaolin that starred Jackie Chan, Nicholas Tse, Andy Lau. That movie has so much meaning about life.

Others I like:
Ip Man 1 and 2 are really really good.
Red Cliffs.
Indonesian movie which just made it to international screen: The Raid.
Japanese Death Note.

 

[Coasterfreek]

Amores Perros. One of the most awkward movies ever.... but well directed.

 

[Native]

English is a foreign language to me...

But on a serious note, I know some from here that are worth watching if you can find subs for them.

Soldaat van Oranje (most epic WWII movie)
Zwartboek (second-most epic WWII movie)
Loft (this one has a Belgian and Dutch version, the Dutch version is a remake that has been improved and goes way deeper into the story so I would go with that one)
Turks Fruit
Amsterdamned

First two are obviously in the occupied Netherlands setting, the third one is hard to explain, it's a very deep story and completely surprised me because I had no expectations (this one might be the most interesting to watch), last two are quite old ones, Turks Fruit has a lot of pr0n in it so Lionheart might want to give it a go, Amsterdamned is horror.