I watched some good foreign films this last week, and since I wanted to discuss them, I thought that I'd start a thread where you can post what you've seen and what you thought of it. Then others can do the same or make comments about your films so we can get some discussion going on.

I saw The Man Without a Past(2002) from Finland's Aki Kaurismaki which, although low-key and deadpan, was a funny and moving celebration of life with some really-affecting rock and folk music. I need to watch some more of the director's films because the only other one I saw was Leningrad Cowboys Go America, which I didn't enjoy as much.

Luis Bunuel's Belle de Jour(1967) remains an eye-opening mixture of surrealism, satire, fetishism, and bravura technique which will undoubtedly befuddle you but keep you transfixed just the same. Catherine Deneuve plays the enigmatic beauty who can't sleep with her husband but CAN work afternoons at a local whorehouse. I still haven't been able to figure out all the symbolism, and near the end, I'm still not sure which scenes are dreams and which scenes are "real", but it's something I enjoy trying to figure out every so often. My fave Bunuel remains The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie which this film foreshadows in many ways.

My favorite of the past week, surprisingly, is Patrice Leconte's 1999 The Girl on the Bridge, filmed in luscious black-and-white and starring Daniel Autieul as a knife thrower and Vanessa Paredes as his suicidal new assistant. I must have lived a sheltered life because I never realized how sexy knife throwing was before. This film is also very funny, with numerous twists and turns in its story of two losers at love who meet up and have a chance to do it right (if they only can accept that idea.) Leconte has entertained me in the past, but this is the first time I ever considered him a Gallic Woody Allen.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark f,

The last non-English movie must have been one of Ozon's. I still have the tape in my VCR. To tell you the truth, I still haven't got to the end of it.

From what you say, I recommend Kaurismaki's PASSING CLOUDS, a tale (?) on how to endure life's difficulties, acted in that proverbially cold Nordic manner to convey the "cold" human landscape of Finland.

As for the Buñuel, if you liked BELLE DE JOUR then watch Aleksei Balabanov's OF FREAKS AND MONSTERS, on which a woman who won't have sex with her husband ends up used and abused by early XX century Russian pornographers.

"Sex & Lucia" was awesome. It's starring Paz Vega, the housekeeper role from "Spanglish." She's amazing.

Hi,

My name is Seema and I am absolutely new to this forum. I;ve been lurking around for a while without registering just reading the movie section of the forum from time to time and am very impressed by the broad exposure to so many different genres and filmmakers that the people on this forum seem to have.

Over the past week, I watched two movies by Satyajit Ray, my favorite indian filmmaker. I would describe him as an Indian neo-realist. I watched 'Mahanagar' which deals with the changing role of a young woman who has to take up employment to supplement her husbands income and how this act exposes her to sides of her personality that even she did not know she possessed. IT also deals with several other issues like the conflict faced by the man who is at one level, proud of his wifes ability to do well professionally after being a housewife all her life while also being somewhat uncomfortable with the idea of her new found sense of freedom and independence combined with his own insecurity following the loss of his job. The cast members all do a wonderful job and Ray does a superb job of a young coupld eking out an existence in a big city.
The other film I watched was CHungking Express. Many of you might hate me for this but I've never been able to make up my mind regarding wong kar wai. I loved Happy together and Days of being wild as also Fallen Angels. However much as I love the lush images that Doyle manages to shoot and the choice of background score by WKW, I found 'In the mood for love' somewhat self-indulgent and even slightly disappointing considering the number of people I know who listed that movie as their favorite film ever. That being said, CHungking express was wonderful. In fact, its put me in a spot since now I ony want to watch a film that will keep me in the same mood CHungking put me in!
Am about to watch Polanski's 'The Tenant' which I'm sure is not at all Chungking Express *grin* and then am probably going to watch 'Before Sunset'.

Welcome worm. Yes, at least you are watching The Tenant and Before Sunset in the right order! Enjoy and I'll check back here when I have more time to discuss.

I just saw the Chinese film "Millenium Mambo," and it has absolutely haunted me. One of the saddest, most depressing pictures I've seen in a few years (which is why I'll be posting on the "Saddest Movie" thread on the General Discussion boards later!).

I heard it was a very good movie (even won an award at Cannes), and since the gorgeous Shu Qi was in it, I thought I'd give it a try. Not much of a plot, and I normally hate those kinds of films. But I found it strangely compelling, with a phenomenal soundtrack.

Worth seeing, but make sure you're NOT suicidal when seeing it.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: asc85,

Oh yeah...I had seen "Girl on a Bridge" a few years ago when it came out in the theater. I don't think I liked it as much as you, mark f. I'm sure you realized that the female lead is Johnny Depp's girlfriend? I don't think they're married?

yesterday i watched the german movie "sophiiie" and i really liked it. the actress just seems so symphatic and it seems true. but i doubt it that any of you will know it...

I watched Tae Guk Gi(Brotherhood of War) this week, a South Korean made film about the Korean war. I thought it was excellent, and most comparable in style and look to Saving Private Ryan, but evoked a far greater emotional response from me than SPR did. The acting was terrific, especially from the actor in the lead role. The violence of war was caught very dramatically, and there was much gore throughout. The score was a little derivative, but that's just nit-picking. The whole concept of brother vs brother in wartime is a pretty convential and easy one, but nowhere is it as fitting as in the Korean war, and I came away from this film feeling exactly how I'm sure the filmmakers wanted me to feel. Highly recommended!

The Sea Inside (Alejandro Amenabar, 2004, Grade: B)

This is a beautifully-photographed film, based on the true story of Ramon Sampedro, who became paralyzed in a diving accident and tried for 28 years to get the Spanish court system to legalize euthanasia. Javier Bardem is magnetic in his portrayal of Sampedro. Most of the film follows the women in his life (lawyer, caregiver, admirer, etc.) as he attempts to claim his "right to die with dignity." It was moving, but the poetic visuals produced this effect just as much as the acting and subject matter.

House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004, Grade: B-)

World-class director Yimou follows up his similarly-themed Hero with this tale, set in 859 A.D., which follows two Chinese government agents who attempt to infiltrate and quash a rebel group called the House of Flying Daggers. They try to use a beautiful blind woman (Zhang Ziyi) in their efforts, but in between numerous martial arts/action scenes, she and one of the men fall in love. As mentioned elsewhere at the site, this film is stunningly photographed. The colors are often so vibrant that it seems impossible for them to exist on any part of this world I know. The dramatics of the film are weaker than the action and cinematography, but it's still worth watching for connoisseurs of world cinema.

Hellavator:Bottled Fools
This was a very cool Japanese film with Art Direction highly reminiscent of the work of Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Terry Gilliam. Told in retrospect, it's the story of a futuristic underground Oriental city society with over 100 levels connected by an elevator system that looks like the outside of the cube in the movie Cube. One elevator ride turns into hell for the occupants and that is the focus of the film. Interesting characters abound, and the Tokyo Shock gore and violence is there to an extent, but this is more of a sci-fi flick with European stylistic sensibilities. Definately worth checking out!

I really haven't watched as many as I used to, but a few I have watched lately are:
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Sex and Lucia
The Fast Runner

I know there has been a lot written about The Fast Runner, but I enjoyed it. One of the things that really struck me about it was the sense of timelessness. You don't know if it takes place 1000 years ago or last week.

As I'm in France right now, I figured it would be a good opportunity to watch a few French flicks. Here are those I've seen:

-Les Comperes. With Gerard Depardieu and Pierre Richard. (It was remade as Father's Day with Robin Williams and Billy Crystal. The original is better and funnier)

-Andre Le Magnifique. A brilliant little film based on a play. It's just plain hilarious, highly recommended.

-Je Suis Timide Mais J'me Soigne. A Lonely Guy-style film directed and starring Pierre Richard. Clever and good fun.

-La Folie des Grandeurs. With Louis de Funes and Yves Montand. A classic comedy.

-Ma Femme S'appelle Reviens. With Michel Blanc and Anemone. Enjoyable romantic comedy.

I saw Yasujiro Ozu's "Tokyo Story" last week and I absolutely loved it!! Ofcourse its slow and nothing really "happens" in the movie, but the movie kinda just grows on u...I loved "floating weeds" too which I saw over a year ago!
I also saw Kieslowski's Decalogue (I-III)I thought it was awesome!!! I cant wait to watch the rest.

Memories Of Murder, by Joon-Ho Bong.
This South Korean film is set in 1986 during military dictatorship, and is based on the still unsolved, true story of Korea's most notorious serial killer. Set in a small town, a detective from Seoul comes to aid the local police. There is much humour in the relationship between the detective and the two local cops assigned to the case. Oddly, in a film about such serious subject matter, this dynamic works incredibly well! The acting is rock solid, and in retrospect I wished I had watched the film in English, as opposed to reading the subtitles, because I felt that I was missing some of the physicality and other subtler nuances of the performances. I'm almost always in favour of subtitles, as I like to hear the actors normal vocal emoting in their native language, but I'd like to go back and re-watch this one dubbed. The cinematography is great, the pacing is excellent, and the director should be very proud of his film! Far and away the best film I have seen this year(other than Batman Begins)!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Immortel-(ad vitam)
French movie, based on French comic books apparantly, this movie released in 2004 was totally greenscreened, and highly ambitious! There is a pretty decent plot summary on imdb.com, so I won't get into to it too much. The film placed artistic visuals above the plot anyway! The lead characters were compelling enough, personally I would've liked a little more background information on all of them to clarify a few things that didn't seem logical, but compared to say Final Fantasy, I was mesmerized! In the special features there is a making of that unfortunately is only in French, but make sure to fast forward through it to the end where there is a music video to a compilation of the best visuals in the film. In that forum it seems incredible, and some of the flaws that plague it as a feature film can be ignored. I found the movie to be very ballsy, thoroughly commited, and an impressive spectacle, despite being occasionally frustrating and pretentious. A worthwhile watch.

Curious that I just found this thread, as I just re-watched Y Tu Mamá También. It's good to know that the movie remains as good as I remembered it to be.

I also watched Aguirre, the Wrath of God ealier this week. I've seen it a few times now and I honestly don't think I like that movie. Could it be that every time I've watched it has been for a class? I don't think so, but there's a chance...

And that's been it for me lately in terms of foreign films.

My brother and I moved in together, and he has netflix, so I've seen a lot of foreign films lately.

La Dolce Vita - This movie owned so hard. The plot is almost nonexistent, but I loved watching it. Rome looked great, and Marcello was really cool. If I still had a vagina, it would have gotten really wet.

Kontroll - Trainspotting meets Clerks, but in Hungarian, and with a really pretty girl that wears a bear costume. The main characters are ticket checkers for the subway. There's a killer that lurks in the system pushing people in front of the trains, but the movie is mostly lighthearted.

Ichi the Killer - Bowl-haired Japanese guy who wears a black armor costume and slices people into hamburger while sobbing. The movie is more about the yakuza members that Ichi is being used to exterminate. Tarantino loved this movie, and used some of the actors for the Oren Ishii portion of Kill Bill.

Ran - King Lear, but done in a Japanese style by Akira Kurosawa. Shakespeare must have hated women. A woman causes all the nasty shit to happen in this movie, just like how Lady Macbeth told Macbeth to kill Duncan. He was one of those 'theatre' guys, so I'm not surprised that he wasn't fond of girls.

Just watched 2046. And watching Dekalogue in a long and painful drawn out way. 2046 is beautifully filmed.

City of God was great, Maria Full of Grace, i have a penchant for S.A. film