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Brucey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 09:55 AM
Original message
What is your favorite foreign film and why?
Bergman, Kieslowski, Godard, Wenders... which foreign film touched you the most?
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BigMcLargehuge Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:01 AM
Response to Original message
1. Yojimbo
Kurosawa

The whole Japanese take on traditional "horseshit and gunpowder" westerns is just too engrossing. Mifune's "Sanjuro" character is the perfect hero, one who acts in the best interests of the town without anyone really aware of his benevolence.

The scene where he rescues the gambler's wife (and boy's mom) from the fortified shack at the edge of town stick out in my mind. There was no reason for his character to even bother with this little adventure, and he certainly knew that it would complicate his dealings with the two gangs in town, but he did it anyway because he had pity for the gambler and his son.

Great, great, film.
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rucky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 06:23 PM
Response to Reply #1
66. or any Kurowsawa for that matter (n/t)
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GOPisEvil Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-10-03 10:03 AM
Response to Reply #1
88. A great film!
I think it's even better than Seven Samurai.
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BigMcLargehuge Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-11-03 07:12 AM
Response to Reply #88
93. I agree
it's structured more like a matinee western than a John Ford western, which Seven Samural was meants to emulate. I think that scaled down feel, instantly identifyable character, and simple premise make Yojimbo more accessible and more fun than Seven Samurai or The Hidden Fortress.

That goes for the sequel too, Sanjuro was also great but only a little less great than Yojimbo. Sanjuro makes me want to plant Camellia trees all over my yard when I watch it.
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GumboYaYa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:02 AM
Response to Original message
2. For me it is "The Bicycle Thief."
Besides the awesome photography that paints a vivid picture of post war Italy, I have always loved the way the simple plot illuminates the internal struggle that humans experience. Right and wrong are always dependent on context. By the end of the movie you are almost cheering Ricci to steal another bicycle. The scene where he has to make that choice is the most compelling scene in all of cinema IMO.
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monkeyboy Donating Member (965 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 11:20 AM
Response to Reply #2
25. Have you seen Children of Heaven?
The writer/directors were obviously big fans of The Bicycle Thief.
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GumboYaYa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 01:26 PM
Response to Reply #25
39. No I have not.
I have been tempted by it several times at the rental store. I read a review after seeing your post and it definitely bears resemblance to "The Bicycle Thief." I will check it out soon.
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NightTrain Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 06:56 PM
Response to Reply #2
69. Are you familiar with Maurizio Nicetti's "The Icicle Thief?"

It starts off as a send-up of "The Bicycle Thief," but goes off in a very bizarre, and thoroughly hilarious, direction. I was lucky enough to have seen both films as a double feature at Cinestudio, the movie house at Hartford, Connecticut's Trinity College, some years back.
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kskiska Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-12-03 11:33 PM
Response to Reply #2
101. Umberto D is another good Italian film from that era
about a pensioner and his dog, thrown out of their apartment in post-war Rome and too proud to beg. The realism is painful.
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ET Awful Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:03 AM
Response to Original message
3. There's quite a few.
I haven't really seen any foreign films in quite a while though.

Life is Beautiful was very good (in my opinion anyway).

Why am I drawing a blank on others right now? . . . I'm must be really tired.
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LearnedHand Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:03 AM
Response to Original message
4. Several, actually
"Farewell, My Concubine," because it's so beautiful
"The Wedding Banquet," because the story is so funny and wonderful
"The White Balloon," because the story is so wonderful
"Shall We Dance?" ditto
"Strictly Ballroom," because it's a good story and the music is GREAT
etc., etc.
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TSElliott Donating Member (513 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 01:11 PM
Response to Reply #4
34. deleted message
Edited on Tue Sep-09-03 01:12 PM by TSElliott
wrong post
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Aristus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:04 AM
Response to Original message
5. "Das Boot" the director's cut. Incredible war film.
You find yourself rooting for the guys who were the 'enemy'. They weren't really. The U-boaters in the film despised the Nazis and just wanted the war to be over.

Watching it in the original German is an eye-opener. Especially when they break into English to sing "A Long Way To Tipperary." The English dubbed version is the best dubbing I have ever seen.
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BigMcLargehuge Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:07 AM
Response to Reply #5
7. ever see Man Behind the Sun?
Another powerful war film, this one from China, and focuses on the Imperial Japanese Medical Corps and their development of boilogical and chemical weapons.

Scary stuff, hard to watch, impossible not to watch.
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Aristus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:11 AM
Response to Reply #7
8. Nope, never have.
Sounds good. I'll have to check it out sometime.
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BigMcLargehuge Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:15 AM
Response to Reply #8
10. review of the film and interview with the director at...
www.horrorview.com

Yeah, it's a plug. I interviewed the director...

It doesn't diminish the power of the film though.
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Forkboy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:14 AM
Response to Reply #5
9. Also check out Stalingrad
which is from the same producers as Das Boot,and if possible an even more powerful film.In fact it's my pick.It left me stunned,depressed and sad,but I've never seen a film that packs a punch like this one.

Das Boot DC would be my second pick.The book is outstanding as well,if a little difficult to track down.

Check out Stalingrad,you wont be sorry.
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Aristus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 11:10 AM
Response to Reply #9
21. Yeah, I saw Stalingrad. Amazing film. Awfully sad, too.
The ending is what I should have expected, but didn't. It tore my heart out.
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NightTrain Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 02:41 PM
Response to Reply #5
54. I think you mean...

..."incredible ANTI-war film."

But you're right; the director's cut was breathtaking!
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Kamika Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:07 AM
Response to Original message
6. life of brian
Edited on Tue Sep-09-03 10:08 AM by Kamika
Does that count though?

othervise i dunno.

Edit: Oh i just remembered a movie i saw in hong kong it starred ( i think) Ronan Kietling!!

Named "the pillow book"
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arwalden Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 01:12 PM
Response to Reply #6
35. Life Of Brian ... and ... Gallipoli
they are technically "foreign" even though they are in English.

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Brucey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 02:18 PM
Response to Reply #6
48. Right,
The Pillowbook was made by Peter Greenaway and has an incredible contemporary look, but must be seen on the big screen (because of the pictures in picture) and might not be for everyone because it is a little crass.
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MissMillie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:19 AM
Response to Original message
11. My fav...
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zekeson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:25 AM
Response to Original message
12. Fitzcarraldo with Klaus Kinski
Kinski plays the title role of an obsessed opera lover who wants to build an opera in the jungle. To accomplish this he first has to make a fortune in the rubber business, and his cunning plan involves hauling an enormous river boat across a small mountain with aid from the local indians. (imdb)
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bleedingheart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:58 AM
Response to Reply #12
18. Oh my god...I haven't seen that in years!!! it was a cool film
I saw in as part of german class... we even went to the movie theatre to see it!

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4_Legs_Good Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 12:46 PM
Response to Reply #12
31. I think I prefer Aguirre, the Wrath of God
I don't think I've ever seen a film that felt more authentic that Aguirre. Also, of course, by Herzog staring Kinski.

Fitzcarraldo, though, follows close behind. It's an utterly glorious film. I hope you've also seen "Burden of Dreams" which is the "Hearts of Darkness" for Fitzcaraldo.

I still haven't made it through The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (or "Every Man for Himself and God Against All"), which I understand is one of Herzog's best.

The man is a freaking genius in all respects, and certainly one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Kinski is also one of the all time great actors.

In "My Best Fiend" Herzog shows clips of Kinski doing "Jesus rallies" or something like that where he's just raving in front of an audience. I'd love to see a full film of these. The man had such an incredible energy and presence.

david

Kucinich 2004

Arianna YES
Recall No
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zekeson Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 01:46 PM
Response to Reply #31
41. Maybe its a matter of first seen
I agree that Aguirre is a tremendous film. I saw Fitzcaraldo first and was so blown away that it colored my perspective for film after. I have been trying to get a copy of Burden of Dreams for some time. Thanks for the endorsement. I can watch Kinski in anything, evidence me actually owning the cut and uncut version of Death Smiles on a Murderer - he did play a great monster, psychically and physically.
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Brucey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 02:16 PM
Response to Reply #31
47. Yes,
I agree about Herzog being a great filmmaker. Three of his best: Lessons of Darkness, Little Dieter Needs to Fly, and Even Dwarfs Started Small.
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Aristus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-11-03 10:57 AM
Response to Reply #47
95. "Aguirre" had some really creepy scenes.
Like the decapitation scene: "sieben, acht, neun......(head gets chopped off)...........zehn." Ooooooooo! Creepy!
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mitchum Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 11:50 PM
Response to Reply #31
81. Yes! I really have nothing to add....
you have already said it all (about the genius of "Aguirre", Herzog, and Kinski) And yes, I also would like to see more of the type of footage at the beginning of "My Best Fiend"
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soleft Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:26 AM
Response to Original message
13. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
I sobbed at the end of that movie because Michelle Yeoh moved me so greatly. With the exception of Alien's Ripley, in the West we just don't get to see female heroes in cinema.
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otohara Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:37 AM
Response to Original message
14. Raise The Red Lantern
I love the fact that this film is shot in one location, the angles of filming this one location are really cool. The women fighting over who gets laid by "the master" complete with foot massage , the power plays is quite interesting. Chinese flicks are my favorite foreign language films.
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bleedingheart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 11:05 AM
Response to Reply #14
19. Good movie!
sad how the girl goes insane in the end...
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Az Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:40 AM
Response to Original message
15. Rân
Akira Kurasawa's masterpeice. It is painting on the silver screen the likes of which will never be seen again. An explosion of colors striking at each other.
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midnight armadillo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 09:11 PM
Response to Reply #15
78. You beat me to it
What an amazing experience, watching that movie. The final scene of the blind man waiting in the ruins is heartbreaking...
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kathee Donating Member (321 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:42 AM
Response to Original message
16. Bombay
I just loved it.
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alfredo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 10:56 AM
Response to Original message
17. I have a small list
Edited on Tue Sep-09-03 11:10 AM by alfredo
The Scent Of Green Papaya - A feast for the eyes

Babbette's Feast - good story telling

The Fireman's Ball - very funny

Dreams - some images will stay with you forever

The Blue Max - so sad - a real classic

Eat Drink Man Woman - good story telling, very likeable character

Diva Just a good movie. - One of the best chase scenes

The virgin Spring - Best revenge movie

Cries and whispers - 4 hankies

Salaam Bombay - very good story, very sad

Life is Beautiful - it sure is

El Postino - passion

Montenegro - great story


Leni Riefenstahl has died. A great talent who made a VERY bad choice that ended her career.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/Movies/09/09/germany.riefenstahl/index.html
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noiretextatique Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 11:17 AM
Response to Reply #17
24. DIVA!
Edited on Tue Sep-09-03 11:18 AM by noiretblu
a great movie...beautifully shot. and the music is fabulous. FIRE is another good one...an indian film about a women who falls in love with her daughter-in-law. and i'm partial to the films of lina wertmueller...SEVEN BEAUTIES AND SOTTO SOTTO are my favs.
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Brucey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 02:30 PM
Response to Reply #17
51. Thanks for the info, and
she was a great talent, and a fascinating story. Check out the documentary film: The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl.
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catpower2000 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 11:08 AM
Response to Original message
20. Cinema Paradiso...
I hate to be so predictable, but I just adore that film. It makes me cry every single time I watch the end. It's beautifully shot and beautifully acted.

Cat
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alfredo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 11:21 AM
Response to Reply #20
26. Thanks for reminding me
I love that movie.
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monkeyboy Donating Member (965 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 11:11 AM
Response to Original message
22. Queen Margot
Erotic, violent, historical, French. What more could you want from a movie?
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Kathy in Cambridge Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 06:48 PM
Response to Reply #22
68. Great Movie! Vincent Perez-Ooh la la!
:-)
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bif Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 11:14 AM
Response to Original message
23. Felini's Amaracord
I just love that movie. It's very unlike his other film (Chich I also like). A charming film about coming of age in a medium size town in Italy during WWII. If you rent it, be sure to get the subtitled version. The voices and all the yelling really make the film. If you've seen it, you know what I mean.

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FloridaJudy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-12-03 11:21 PM
Response to Reply #23
98. Oh yes!
I loved Amarcord! By the end of the movie I felt like I'd personally known everyone in that small town. It's been years since I saw it, but the images still linger: the peacock in the snow, the boys dancing on the deserted patio, the crazy uncle in the tree and the dwarf nun.

Dang. I'm going to have to break down and buy the fool thing from Amazon.
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TacticalPeek Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 12:39 PM
Response to Original message
27. Great! Not mentioned above, so I get to be eclectic:
Ikiru - Kurosawa; the best movie ever made, but having not the language, I must watch in subtitles.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0044741/

Contempt - Godard; the best movie ever made; but never watch the dubbed version since it is an abominable sacrilege. Subtitles required for the non-multilingual. (French title - Le Mepris)

http://imdb.com/title/tt0057345/
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nothingshocksmeanymore Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 12:40 PM
Response to Original message
28. My Life As a Dog
Just the manner in which it tapped into the loneliness and desperation we all feel at times.
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short bus president Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 12:43 PM
Response to Original message
29. Kurosawa's "Dreams"
Most amazing visual experience ever without benefit of hallucinogenic drugs. And the single creepist moment EVER in a movie (when the rabbit person in that procession thingy spots the hiding kid - OOKY!).

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bif Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 12:45 PM
Response to Original message
30. Aguirre: The Wrath of God
I forgot about it. Kinski in this one.
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4_Legs_Good Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 12:49 PM
Response to Reply #30
32. Agree
You'll see the description in every review of this film:

"HYPNOTIC"

and I can't think of a better word to describe it. Utterly glorious. The scene near the end with the ship in the tree and Aguirre's ambition to take the boat down and marry his daughter and found a new, pure dynasty is just sublime.

And the final shot with the monkeys and Aguirre on the raft. *sigh* it doesn't get any better than that.

david

Kucinich 2004
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Kat45 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 01:09 PM
Response to Original message
33. Puberty Blues, an Australian film,
an early directorial effort of Bruce Beresford. It is an excellent girl's coming of age story. I loved it! (Unfortunately, it's not easy to find.)
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TSElliott Donating Member (513 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 01:12 PM
Response to Original message
36. Favorite Movies of all time:
Edited on Tue Sep-09-03 01:17 PM by TSElliott
"kikujiro" - (Great story about a boy coming of age)
"Taboo" - (Good Film about Homosexuality within the Samurai class)
"Battle Royale" - (Flat out best movie ever made)
"Ichi the Killer" - (Nothing but ass kicking)
"Dead or Alive" - (Takashi Miike is extreme, the intro of the movie is amazing)
"Ringu" - (Forget the American version this is what it's all about)
"Fulltime Killer" - (Best movie to come out of Hong Kong in a while)

ON Edit "28 days later" - (Loved it)
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 03:21 PM
Response to Reply #36
58. Well, there are over 200 films on
my Movies for Democrats master list, but here are some recent favorites and a couple of oldies:

The Eye: This Hong Kong movie is one of the best ghost stories of recent years. A corneal transplant enables a young women to "see dead people all the time."

Nowhere in Africa: German Jews living as refugees in Kenya. An absorbing and richly textured film, beautifully photographed. It fully deserved its recent Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film

Emil and the Detectives: The new version, not the Disney version from the 1960s. Made in the new, multicultural Berlin, this German children's movie is entertaining on many levels for both adults and children.

With a Friend Like Harry: No other recent film has come so close to matching Hitchcock's blend of humor and horror as this French story of a young family whose lives are turned upside down when a former classmate of the father invites himself to their summer house.

Afterlife: A Japanese fantasy about recently dead souls waiting to embark on an unspecified afterlife (reincarnation? heaven?) who are asked to pick one memory that they may take with them.

Not One Less: A Chinese film that vividly contrasts rural poverty and urban affluence. When the village schoolteacher is called away, he puts a thirteen-year-old girl in charge of the school and instructs her to make sure that no one drops out.

Z: Even though this film was made in France with French actors, everyone at the time knew that the story of a right-wing military coup in an unnamed European country actually referred to the recent (1966) destruction of democracy in Greece.

The Battle of Algiers: A fictionalized view of terrorism from inside a terrorist cell during Algeria's struggle for independence from France. It's a highly disturbing film, because you find yourself sympathetic to the terrorists' cause and understanding their desperation while utterly deploring their tactics.

The Fringe Dwellers: This Australian film about an Aboriginal family in a small town examines the ways in which people react to racism: by internalizing the stereotypes, by giving into despair, by developing a chip on one's shoulder, by trying to assimilate, by rediscovering one's cultural heritage, or by removing one's self from an unhealthy situation.

Shoot the Piano Player: A highly original French film (Truffaut) about a pianist with a disreputable family who is reduced to playing in bars after a tragedy. While largely a serious film, it contains flashes of utterly off-the-wall humor. (Remember, "If I'm not telling the truth..."?)
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BrotherBuzz Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 01:17 PM
Response to Original message
37. Delicatessen
Musical saw and cello duet! Moo-cans! Frogs!
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LynneSin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 01:18 PM
Response to Original message
38. "Il Postino" with "Life is Beautiful" following close behind
I love "Il Postino" will all my heart and soul. It's a moving movie about Love, Life and 'Metaphors'. I think the saddest part of this movie is the fact that the actor that played the lead in the movie, Massimo Troisi, so believed in this movie that he postponed much needed heart surgery in order to complete this movie. Many of the scene he had stand-ins because he was so hurting. And a week after the movie was completed he died.

"Life is Beautiful" is another wonderful movie, again Italian, which talks about the spirit of life in face of adversity. This time it was WWII. The beginning is magical as the Jewish Waiter woos his "Principessa" (a local school teacher). Fast Foward 5 years and they are married with a beautiful boy. But it's WWII and he is Jewish and he and his son is taken off to a concentration camp. She is not taken because she isn't Jewish but she goes anyways because she would rather go to the camps to be with her true love than to be free without him. They go to separate camps and he has to do everything possible to hide his son, who would have been off to the gas chambers if they find him. And to spare his son of the horrors, he creates a "game" in order to keep his son alive in this horrible camp.

Both movies are beautiful, moving and real tearjerkers. I love them so much.

Other favorites include "Europa, Europa" (a teenage jewish boy escapes a Polish Concentration camp when he is mistaken for an Aryan) and "Amelie" (a whimsical tale about a shy French girl)
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grasswire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 01:56 PM
Response to Reply #38
44. Hmm
The Tin Drum (I'm surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet.)

Dersu Uzala (Kurosawa)

A Japanese movie that I'm blanking on the title -- it was about a house at the bottom of a sand pit and the efforts of those who found themselves there to get out. Georgeous photography, very sensual. Maybe someone knows the title -- I saw it half a dozen times.

I need to resume my old habit of seeing foreign films. My daughter is dyslexic and doesn't tolerate subtitles very well. (Or dark themes for that matter.)
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GumboYaYa Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 02:03 PM
Response to Reply #44
45. Good call on "The Tin Drum."
I love that movie and book.
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Brucey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 02:25 PM
Response to Reply #44
49. It's called
Woman in the Dunes.
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grasswire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-10-03 12:47 AM
Response to Reply #49
82. ahh! thank you!!
Woman in the Dunes. It's very haunting. I'm sure there have been many erudite discussions about the deeper meaning of the tale.
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Lydia Leftcoast Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 03:23 PM
Response to Reply #44
59. It was called
Woman in the Dunes, and it's based on the novel by Kobo Abe.
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cherryperry Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-12-03 11:32 PM
Response to Reply #44
100. Yes, The Tin Drum was fabulous!
That and Z would be my 2 very favorites!
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VOX Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 01:39 PM
Response to Original message
40. Bergman's "Wild Strawberries."
Although its characters struggle to grasp some emotional value from their lives, I find this film to be a great comfort.
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chiburb Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 01:48 PM
Response to Original message
42. "Z" directed by Costa-Gravas...
Best Foreign Film Oscar-Winner from 1969!
A real political thriller, it was also the very 1st movie review I ever read by a young man named Roger Ebert. He compared the assasination story to the recent murders of Fred Hampton and other Black Panthers here in Chicago by the State's Attorney (while they slept!).

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MaineDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 01:54 PM
Response to Reply #42
43. Yes, "Z"
This is my choice. I was in high school when it came out and it made a great impact on me. I didn't "get it" until the end and then I thought it was a brilliant movie. If that makes any sense...

I really need to see it again. It's been a while.
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chiburb Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 02:05 PM
Response to Reply #43
46. I was in HS too...
And saw it 6 times with 6 different dates! It should probably be required viewing for all DUers given the times we live in now.
(Great music too... Mikos Theodorakis(?) whose music was banned in Greece by the Junta.)
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noiretextatique Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 03:55 PM
Response to Reply #42
61. "Z" is a great film
i forgot that one :thumbsup:
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cherryperry Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-12-03 11:30 PM
Response to Reply #42
99. I absolutely love "Z" - I think
I saw it about 5 times!

Thanks for reminding me of this one!
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JHB Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 02:26 PM
Response to Original message
50. Juzo Itami's "Tampopo"
A romantic comedy, but the love affair is with food.
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TSElliott Donating Member (513 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 02:37 PM
Response to Reply #50
52. Excellent movie...
did you ever see his movie "Ososhiki" (The Funeral), every time someone dies in my family I always think of that movie. To bad Itami-san committed suicide.
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NightTrain Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 02:40 PM
Response to Original message
53. Kurosawa's "Ran"

n/t
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Emboldened Chimp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 02:41 PM
Response to Original message
55. Blue, White and Red (Kieslowski)
Truly amazing films. I've seen a couple of the Dekalogs, too. Brilliant filmmaking.
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Jack_Sparrow Donating Member (59 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 02:54 PM
Response to Original message
56. Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown
nt
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bleedingheart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 03:01 PM
Response to Original message
57. The Castle
the Aussie flick about the fellow who lives near the airport runway...

that is a really funny movie...

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SPICYHOT Donating Member (345 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 03:24 PM
Response to Original message
60. i have no idea
who is the director or the actor's names just love the movie, cause the meaning of the whole thing, cause of the wierdness and madness, cause for me was very funny, and i also like scandinavian people a lot.
les idiots
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carolinayellowdog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 03:57 PM
Response to Original message
62. Children of Paradise
Most romantic film ever made, with Arletty the most mysterious and alluring lead actress.
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Rooktoven Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 04:55 PM
Response to Original message
63. Jesus of Montreal (French Canadien)
Poignant, brilliant allegory, and at times bust a gut funny. Not just my favorite foreign film, my favorite film, period.
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Cheswick2.0 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 05:45 PM
Response to Original message
64. The Pianist
I thought it was just perfect. I also loved Life is Beautiful and a commedy no one here has every seen apparently, called Simply Ballroom. SB is about a ballroom dancing school and the competitions etc.... it takes place in Australia. I went with two friends about 8 years ago and we practically rolled in the isles. Afterwards some old ladies come over and said they didn't really get it but they enjoyed listening to our reaction.
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CBHagman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 06:17 PM
Response to Original message
65. "Shall We Dance?" is one of my current favorites.
I also love Bergman's version of "The Magic Flute" (Yes, BERGMAN!), as well as "Babette's Feast," "Amelie," Kieslowski's "Blue," and Roehmer's "Die Marquise von O."

In fact, I think everybody should see something by Kieslowski and Roehmer sooner or later.
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rucky Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 06:27 PM
Response to Original message
67. Whale Rider
It's in arty theaters now. NZ flick about a Maiori family. Breaking tradition. Family relations. Don't have time to wax too much on it, so just SEE IT, dammit!
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Kathy in Cambridge Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 07:01 PM
Response to Original message
70. Wings of Desire (Wenders) Au Revoir Les Enfants (Malle)
M (Fritz Lang, 1930)
The Bicycle Thief
La Strada (Fellini)
The Marriage of Maria Braun (Fassbinder)
Mephisto
Grand Illusion (great '30s movie about WW I, starring French heartthrob, Jean Gabin)
The Vanishing (the original, not shitty American remake)
My Life to Live (Godard)


Au Revoir Les Enfants is a biographical movie about Louis Mall's childhood is a French Catholic boarding school during WWII. The school hid Jewish children. The movie makes me cry every time.
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Brucey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 07:17 PM
Response to Reply #70
72. Wow,
really fantastice choices... especially like Wings of Desire (long, but full of pure cinema magic).
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peacefreak Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 07:07 PM
Response to Original message
71. A few...
Antonia's Line
The Visitors
Hear My Song
Saving Grace
Burnt by the Sun
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NashVegas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 07:26 PM
Response to Original message
73. Wings of Desire, My Life as a Dog
Edited on Tue Sep-09-03 07:31 PM by Crisco
I cried like a baby through at least 1/2 of MLaaD. My parents divorced when I was five, and as a kid there were many winter nights when I was terrified my mom wouldn't come home. Parts of that movie were my worst nightmares on celluloid before me.


WoD was the completely uplifting other side of the coin. No other movie before or since has left me in such a state of bliss.

Other honorables:

Jean de Florette
Seventh Seal
Eat Drink Man Woman
Farewell My Concubine
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DealsGapRider Donating Member (650 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 07:28 PM
Response to Original message
74. Time of Favor
It's about the all Orthodox unit of the Israeli army. It won the Israeli equivalent of the Academy Award for best picture of the year.
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Pert_UK Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 07:38 PM
Response to Original message
75. Amelie anyone?.....Tear of the Black Tiger?
Personally, probably Crouching Monkey Hidden Badger...

Surprised that Amelie hasn't been mentioned.

P.
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chicaloca Donating Member (704 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 11:17 PM
Response to Reply #75
79. yes, Amelie rocks!
I was going to post that! I also love Antonia's Line (or just "Antonia" in Dutch).
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bleedingheart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 07:42 PM
Response to Original message
76. The Manon of the Spring movies!!!!
I cried like a baby at the end of both...

even made the hubby get a bit teary at the end of the last one... which is rare...
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bikebloke Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 08:44 PM
Response to Original message
77. Amelie
Jean de Florette
Manon de Source
Run Lola Run
Galipoli
Once Were Warriors
Chez des Hommes Rififi
Cinema Paradiso
Strictly Ballroom (..Ok, that's a guilty pleasure)
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Brucey Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-10-03 06:42 AM
Response to Reply #77
85. Speaking of Run Lola Run,
check out Tom Tykwer's earlier film Winter Sleepers. Very cool film that uses a similar device as in Momento.
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dudeness Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Sep-09-03 11:46 PM
Response to Original message
80. I think french director Jacques Tati is a comic genius
therefore anything by Tati..
honourable mentions.

chocolat
crouching tiger hidden dragon
romper stomper..(very young russell crowe)
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grasswire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-10-03 12:49 AM
Response to Reply #80
83. ah yes...
...chocolat was very good.

And then there was "Eating Raoul."
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VOX Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-11-03 05:43 AM
Response to Reply #80
92. Tati's "M. Hulot's Holiday" is one of the purest comedies ever...
Full of so many classic bits, like his painting the boat as the tide comes in, or that damn eccentric tennis serve of his. Absolutely great stuff!

:toast:
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Midwest_Doc Donating Member (548 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-10-03 06:39 AM
Response to Original message
84. "Small Change" & "The Last Laugh"
"Small Change" (French) - Best film from a childs' point-of-view.
"Last Laugh" (German)- Best silent film. This is a TRUE silent film. There are no titles, and tiltles aren't necessary.
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ikojo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-10-03 07:31 AM
Response to Original message
86. Nowhere in Africa was awesome
as was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon...it's a shonda (shame) that when it was shown on American TV it was subbed. I prefer seeing anime and foreign films in their original languages with subtitles. It is what the director intended.

Nowhere in Africa comes out on DVD on September 30

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chiburb Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-10-03 09:48 AM
Response to Original message
87. Black Orpheus by Marcel Ophuls...
I already said "Z", but since no one named this beautiful, tragic love story set in the Brazilian carnival, I get to vote twice!
Great music too!
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SodoffBush Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-10-03 10:58 AM
Response to Original message
89. Hope and Glory
directed by John Boorman.

WWII in London, seen through the eyes of a boy.
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grasswire Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-11-03 12:58 AM
Response to Reply #89
90. yes, Hope and Glory
We Americans would do well to watch it now, post 9-11. Might put some things in perspective for us. How does the world not resent the fact that America went so long without night fears?
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JawJaw Donating Member (574 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-11-03 05:29 AM
Response to Original message
91. La Cabina
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Tikki Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-11-03 07:40 AM
Response to Original message
94. "Central Station/ Central do Brasil".....
this is an intelligent movie..and, because, I took Brazilian culture classes in University and have, ever since, been fascinated by the talents of Brazilian artists.

"Shall We Dance" is a deservedly popular movie... mentioned here many times...
Also, just adore "The Full Monty".....
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bicentennial_baby Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-11-03 10:59 AM
Response to Original message
96. City of Lost Children
Man Bites Dog
Dreams
Das Boot
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populistmom Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-11-03 01:21 PM
Response to Original message
97. Like Water for Chocolate
Very sensual from a heterosexual female perspective, lots of interesting symbolism, and full of passion.
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waywest Donating Member (457 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-13-03 12:06 AM
Response to Original message
102. King of Hearts
The irony and insanity of war.
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FredScuttle Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sat Sep-13-03 12:34 AM
Response to Original message
103. Paris, Texas
yes, yes, I know this is cheap, but it does qualify as a foreign film as it was produced by a German company (Road Movies Filmproduktion) and a British company (Channel Four Films).

I pick it mostly because it is one of my favorites of any genre and a opportunity to view America through the eyes of a foreigner (Wenders)...brilliant and heartbreaking.
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