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May 31, 2007 10:28 PM

[Foreign Film Filter] What newer foreign films would I like?

I just finished watching Deepa Mehta's "Water" and I feel a foreign cinema kick coming on.

What should I watch now?

I'd prefer recommendations for newer films, but I'll occasionally watch the classic "Seven Samurai." Speaking of Kurosawa, I have a large portion of his catalogue already. I'm looking for modern foreign language films of any genre from action to romance to comedy. No Japanese horror whatsoever, because I get creeped out very easily. Also, I'm not looking for anime recommendations, unless it's a single, feature length film that I must see. Finally, I'd like to be able to get these films from Blockbuster Online or in the store, if possible.

Some foreign films I've liked:

Water
Monsoon Wedding
The Sea is Watching
Letters from Iwo Jima (which is sort of foreign)
Amelie
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not
A Very Long Engagement
Volver
Pan's Labyrinth
City of God
Kung Fu Hustle
Crouching Tiger/Hero/House of Flying Daggers
all Miyazaki films
Kakurenbo
Tree of Palme
Oldboy
Mr. Vengeance/Lady Revenge
Brotherhood of the Wolf


Some foreign films I didn't particularly like:

Curse of the Golden Flower
2046/I'm In the Mood for Love
some Spanish film where a man steals good luck from people
the new Zatoichi

MetaFilter is always full of recommendations for films. I'd love to hear many responses. Hooray for you in advance.

posted by santojulieta to media & arts (39 comments total)

Elling.
posted by flod logic at 10:34 PM on May 31, 2007

D'oh, forgot a couple. Now that I'm thinking about Norwegian movies, I also recommend Insomnia and Kitchen Stories. Both of them, along with Elling, were available at the local video store, so I assume you should be able to find them easily enough.
posted by flod logic at 10:39 PM on May 31, 2007

Seconding the flod logic, although you might like Insomnia more than Elling, based on your list. I loved the fairly recent Hungarian Kontroll.
posted by StrikeTheViol at 10:51 PM on May 31, 2007

Kebob Connection - German hiphop kung fu romantic comedy.

Evil - Fight Club meets The Chocolate War -- violent Swedish film set in a prep school -- may be an allegory of WWII (or may not be).

The Devil's Backbone - by the director of Pan's Labyrinth -- I actually prefer this one. Haunted orphanage. More allegory.

Dead or Alive by Takashi Miike - violent Yakuza film, TOTALLY over the top.

Happiness of the Katakuris - also Miike -- zombie horror comedy musical (!!)

Run Lola Run - but you've probably seen it and just forgotten to put it on your "like" list, right? Right?

Linda Linda Linda - Japanese girls play punk rock for a high school talent show. Sweet, funny, Jarmuschian.

Slim Susie - Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in the sticks of Sweden.

Those are some good ones. Thirding Insomnia, too.
posted by Karlos the Jackal at 11:19 PM on May 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

love me if you dare
l'auberge espagnole
posted by thisisnotkatrina at 11:25 PM on May 31, 2007

This seems maybe too obvious, but just in case... Mehta's other two "element" films are Fire and Earth. I consider Earth to be the better one, but it's also pretty harrowing in parts.
posted by nomis at 11:26 PM on May 31, 2007

santojulieta, I think we have similar tastes.

Agreed on Insomnia. Also try the following if you haven't already:

Abre los Ojos (Open Your Eyes) - this is the original Vanilla Sky.

Tsotsi - spectacular film about a street thug in Africa who rediscovers himself thanks to a baby he finds and cares for. Put this high on your list.

The War Within - about a man who is mistaken for a terrorist and how it affects his life.

Downfall - the story of Hitler's demise, but from his perspective. Also excellent.

The Devil's Backbone - not really, but almost prequel-esque in tone and theme to Pan's Labyrinth.

The City of Lost Children - French film, sci-fi...it's been a while, but I remember loving this film. I know it has amazing visuals. I'm adding it to my list myself!

Amores Perros - Mexican film that tells the story of 3 lives that intertwine throughout the movie.

The Motorcycle Diaries - The story of Che Guevara's formative youth.

Whale Rider - in English, but I think it was filmed in New Zealand. A truly inspirational film.

Run Lola Run - German action film. Fast paced, but spectacular visuals and intensity.

Maria Full of Grace - actually, she's full of cocaine, as a Columbian teenager who thinks being a mule is her ticket to the American Dream. Harrowing...but worth seeing.


Well, that should get you started!
posted by Zimm at 11:28 PM on May 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

I guess I took too long to type, since Karlos lists some of the same...with links even!
posted by Zimm at 11:30 PM on May 31, 2007

Volver
Delicatessen
Love in thoughts
Lower City
Tsotsi
Happenstance
The Green Butchers
Kinamand.

some suggestions.
posted by special-k at 11:39 PM on May 31, 2007

some Spanish film where a man steals good luck from people


That movie was called Intacto. I liked it (pretty original idea)
posted by special-k at 11:41 PM on May 31, 2007

The Man who Copied (same actor as city of god, and also a portugese film)
posted by special-k at 11:43 PM on May 31, 2007

Can't believe anyone hasn't said

All about my mother
talk to her (habla con ella)
Goodbye Lenin (you'll love this movie, just rent it!)
The edukators
Sex and Lucia
Red, White and Blue (the trilogy, 3 different movies)
posted by special-k at 11:51 PM on May 31, 2007

I could go all night but i'll stop here.
posted by special-k at 11:52 PM on May 31, 2007

Cria Cuervos, while not new (it came out in '76), doesn't suffer at all from its age. It's beautiful and sad and an amazing piece of cinematography. One of my favorite films.

Also seconding "Abre los Ojos" and "Sex and Lucia" and any others by those two directors (Amenabar and Medem). I love Spanish cinema - I think it's the post-Franco factor that means things get pretty weird.
posted by hazyjane at 12:41 AM on June 1, 2007

Oh, and also, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown - it's absolutely hilarious!!! I'd say Almodovar's best.
posted by hazyjane at 12:47 AM on June 1, 2007

Caché
Lemming
Tony Takitani
The Twilight Samurai
The Hidden Blade
Delicatessen
If you like Miyazaki, try Satoshi Kon's anime flims.
The Cuckoo
posted by plokent at 2:29 AM on June 1, 2007

I watched The Lives of Others (or Leben der Anderen to give it its proper title) earlier this week and I was absolutely blown out of the water - the film is excellent. I couldn't reccomend it highly enough - easy to see why it was an Oscar winner.
posted by prentiz at 2:50 AM on June 1, 2007

Within the last two years:
L'Enfant (aka the Child)
Moartea domnului Lazarescu (aka Death of Mr. Lazarescu)
Paha Maa (aka Frozen Land)
I've heard very, very good things about The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen), but have not seen it myself yet.

It depends on your definition of 'newer' films, really. If by old you do really mean Seven Samurai you're including 53 years of world cinema since then... I don't really know where to begin.

Watch everything and anything by Krzysztof Kieslowski (though Amator will forever be my favorite). The same goes for Akira Kurosawa.

Here's a short list of films that jump out at me when I think of 'foreign' language films that I have enjoyed. Apologies for the flow of consciousness style they are presented in:

Amores Perros
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios
La Haine
Taxi
Sonatine
Hana-bi
Nueve Reinas
Cidade de Deus
Joulubileet
Solyaris
Le Samourai

That should get you started. A few decades, genres and countries represented there. I'd recommend getting on a DVD rental place online and checking out the recommendations etc.

Good luck and I hope you find something to enjoy!
posted by slimepuppy at 4:10 AM on June 1, 2007

Black Book.
Love Me If You Dare.
Toto the Hero.
Paprika.
Funny Games.
The Werckmeister Harmonies.
L'Important c'est d'aimer.
Paris Je T'Aime.
Wild Strawberries.
Ran.
Death Note.
Tokyo Fist.
Night Watch.
The Host.
The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie.
The Phantom Of Liberty.
Repulsion.

I also enthusiastically second Run Lola Run, Amores Perros, Talk To Her, and The Devil's Backbone.
posted by Sticherbeast at 4:15 AM on June 1, 2007

Not sure these match your style, but:
After Life
Vertical Ray of the Sun
Scent of Green Papaya
Summer, and similar films by Eric Rohmer
posted by DarkForest at 4:33 AM on June 1, 2007

Linda Linda Linda - Japanese girls play punk rock for a high school talent show. Sweet, funny, Jarmuschian.

Hey! I translated the English subtitles for this! Yes, it's a fine movie, do see it!
posted by misozaki at 5:00 AM on June 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

Linda Linda Linda - Japanese girls play punk rock for a high school talent show. Sweet, funny, Jarmuschian.

This reminds me of a glaring omission on my part: Aki Kaurismäki is a genius. Pretty much all of his movies are perfect, in their own Jarmuschian way.

Check out, in particular, Match Factory Girl, Ariel, and The Man Without A Past.
posted by Sticherbeast at 5:26 AM on June 1, 2007

You may be able to already find some of the finalist and winning films from the Cannes film festival.

The winning film was "4 Months, 3 weeks and 2 days" directed by Romanian Cristian Mungiu.

The runner-up was "The Mourning Forest" directed by Japan's Naomi Kawase.

The best director was Julian Schnabel for "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly".

Gus Van Sant won a special prize for "Paranoid Park".

Other new films that sounded interesting were:
Control by Dutch filmmaker Anton Corbijn
"No Country for Old Men"by the Coen brothers
"My Blueberry Nights" by Wong Kar Wei starring Norah Jones!
"Zodiac" by David Fincher
"Breath" Kim Ki Duk
"Alexandra" by Alexander Sokurov
"Death Proof" by Quentin Tarantino
posted by JJ86 at 5:35 AM on June 1, 2007

Some great suggestions so far.

I wouldn't be a filmgeek if I didn't suggest:

Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders)
You'll love fellini's works - 8 1/2 is spectacular.
posted by filmgeek at 5:45 AM on June 1, 2007

Nowhere in Africa
posted by bluefly at 5:47 AM on June 1, 2007

My Left Eye Sees Ghosts is a nicely goofy supernatural comedy from Hong Kong. You might like this if you like Stephen Chow's stuff.
posted by Lentrohamsanin at 6:21 AM on June 1, 2007

Most of my favorites have been covered, but my best film of 2004 was Nói albínói.

And since you liked Oldboy, maybe you'll like some Japanese Horror - Suicide Club. It's fantastically disgusting.
posted by god hates math at 6:50 AM on June 1, 2007

Central do Brasil
Citizen Dog (beautiful movie)
Grave of the Fireflies
Last Life in the Universe
Elevator to the Gallows
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
Madame Sata
Before Night Falls
The Isle
Soy Cuba (amazing)
The King and the Clown
Happy Times
posted by healthytext at 7:37 AM on June 1, 2007

Lot of good recommendations. Cache is particularly good. Somethings that haven't been mentioned

Pusher (2, 3)
Mind Game

and one of my favourite films of the last while, Climates, though it's hard to tell if you would like it.
posted by mkn at 8:01 AM on June 1, 2007

Goodbye Lenin
The Banquet (similar to Golden Flower in plot but waaaay better movie) several trailers in link
Run Lola Run
Akira Kurosawa's - "Dreams" has some good shorts in it
The Host (Korean horror but I thought it was more humor and environmental statement - no japanese ghosts so you should be ok)
Three Times (Zui hao de shi guang)
Appleseed (anime)
Grave of the Fireflies (Anime)
posted by clanger at 8:55 AM on June 1, 2007

For action, you might like some of Johnny To's films, such as Election, Triad Election, and Exiled. (Exiled was my favorite of the three.)

Other action: Banlieue 13, Dead Heat under the Shrubs (the latter may be hard to find, but worth it if you can. It's possibly the most "pure" action movie I've ever seen, if that makes sense. Hardly any plot to speak of: Boy sees a woman disposing of a body, and she sees him and chases him. No big explosions or Hollywood-style special effects; just a chase movie, pure and simple, and incredibly intense.)
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 9:07 AM on June 1, 2007

Princess and the Warrior
Pan's Labyrinth
Sophie Scholl
Devil's Backbone
posted by DieHipsterDie at 9:42 AM on June 1, 2007

3-Iron
Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo - The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Ping Pong
posted by robofunk at 10:03 AM on June 1, 2007

opps, forgot Returner
posted by clanger at 12:02 PM on June 1, 2007

TAMPOPO Japanese comedy about a woman who is trying to perfect the menu at her noodle stand.

TIME OF THE WOLF - French drama (from Austian director Michael Haneke) that is very well done about a family struggling with survival after a nuclear apocalypse.

THE PIANO TEACHER - Another Haneke suspense/drama, this time focuses on a troubled piano teacher that begins an affair with a student.

READ MY LIPS French thriller about deaf woman who falls for a criminal and decides to assist him with a small time heist.

ICHI: THE KILLER" I would recommend this Takeshi Miike film above all the others mentioned in this thread... This is definitely the Japanese filmmaker's most accessible film (aside from the recent YOKAI MONSTERS remake that is worth a watch and actually makes for family friendly viewing), his most over the top, as well as his most coherent narrative. Warning! Its a sadomasochistic gangster film.

By the way, I thought TSOTSI was terrible. I cannot understand the heaps of praise for the film. But most of the other suggestions in this thread are wonderful viewing experiences...
posted by cinemafiend at 1:58 PM on June 1, 2007

Everything I'd recommend has already been suggested.

Also, this thread has resulted in a very full Netflix queue.
posted by sparkletone at 2:43 PM on June 1, 2007

You might be interested in some contemporary Iranian cinema. The heavyweights are:

Kiarostami: Taste of Cherry, The Wind Will Carry Us, The White Balloon (Panahi directed), Where is the Friend's Home?, Ten

Bahman Ghobadi (Kurdish Iranian): Turtles Can Fly, A Time for Drunken Horses, Marooned in Iraq

Jafar Panahi: The Circle, Crimson Gold, Offside (just out)

Mohsen Makhmalbaf (his daughter is also an up and coming director): Gabbeh, Kandahar

Deep Breath is another good recently-released Iranian film - I don't know who directed it though

You might also want to look at some Israeli cinema. Two of my favorites are:

Late Marriage
Kaddosh (by Amos Gitai)
posted by anonymous78 at 3:29 PM on June 1, 2007

Don't forget Quebecois film -

I particularly like anything by Denis Arcand: Jesus of Montreal, Love and Human Remains, Les Invasions Barbares (might want to watch Decline of the American Empire, its precursor, to be familiar with the characters of Invasions).

C.R.A.Z.Y. by Jean-Marc Valée

Anything with Pascale Bussières: Emporte-Moi, Un 32 août sur Terre, Le Coeur au Poing

I may think of more...
posted by loiseau at 2:38 AM on June 2, 2007

Lagaan. Bollywood + cricket = good.
posted by Huw at 4:18 AM on June 2, 2007