Look out! Here come the Americans!

May 30, 2008 9:49 AM

I am looking for foreign (non-American) films wherein the antagonists are a nefarious bunch of Americans, doing stereotypically bad American things.

Watching the new Indiana Jones film and reading about the Russian communist party uproar over the film's Soviet evil-doers has me curious about foreign films with American bad guys (like the constant evildoing Nazis and Soviets we see in so many comic books/spy novels/action/adventure flicks).

Sadly, I fear a large portion of American moviegoers buy into this traditional Nazi/Communist schtick, so I'd be very interested in seeing some corresponding examples from "the other side". It would be particularly interesting to me if (a substantial portion of) the home market audience of these films buys into the stereotyped portrayals in the film.

posted by daveleck to media & arts (10 answers total)

Valley of the Wolves
posted by Science! at 9:54 AM on May 30, 2008

The Host is a Korean movie where the main antagonist is the monster of the title, but it's the Americans' fault the monster came into being, as shown in the movie's intro sequence.
posted by needled at 10:16 AM on May 30, 2008

Mainly because I've seen the American films. I am interested in other nations stereotypes/negative opinions of Americans as told via popular culture.

Of course, I am not try to say that the Nazis/Soviets weren't actually bad guys, I'm talking about the often cartoonishly evil depictions of them so prevalent in our pop culture. I'm interested in seeing something similar regarding other nations' views of the US.
posted by daveleck at 10:16 AM on May 30, 2008

I was thinking Canadian Bacon, but it's an american movie...
posted by ddaavviidd at 10:21 AM on May 30, 2008

The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks
posted by HotPatatta at 10:28 AM on May 30, 2008

Russian Souvenir (1960)
posted by HotPatatta at 10:35 AM on May 30, 2008

There is a collection of animated Soviet propaganda films available which I found a fascinating peek into the other side of the cold war. The discs are available individually through Netflix and there is a disc that deals specifically with anti-capitalist (typically anti-american) themes.

Oddly, in these films the capitalist is usually won over and sees the error of his ways, rather than being killed.
posted by Durhey at 11:17 AM on May 30, 2008

Welcome to DongMakGo was a black comedy from 2005 but set during the Korean War in which patrols of North and South Korean troops inadvertently end up in the same magical village but then band together to save it from the trigger happy Americans coming to bomb it. Yeah, we came off pretty bad in this one.
posted by sharkfu at 12:39 PM on May 30, 2008

Henri-Georges Clouzot's WAGES OF FEAR - An American oil company hires some very desperate men to drive two trucks full of nitroglycerin through 400 miles of bad roads in South America.

Great film.
posted by cinemafiend at 3:35 PM on May 30, 2008

I Am Cuba has a great caricature of wealthy Americans in Cuba hanging out in a club. It's only a small section of the film, but I think it's exactly what you're talking about.
posted by Espy Gillespie at 9:07 AM on May 31, 2008