Recommend some foreign films

[Cognitive Gear]

I was surprised that we don't already have a thread for this.

Recommend some of your favorite foreign films. (Please keep anime related recommendations out of this thread, we have a whole other forum for that)

My recommendations:

Run, Lola, Run: A German film about a young woman who has been given 20 minutes to get 100,000 marks to her boyfriend before he is killed. Fantastic film, killer soundtrack(Ryan, you would absolutely love the soundtrack).

Rating: R: for Violence, Language, and some sexual content (If I recall correctly, no sex is actually shown on screen)


Park Chan Wook's Vengeance Trilogy:

A trilogy consisting of three films that while unrelated in plot, are united under the theme of vengeance. All three are good films, however these movies are not for the faint of heart. Each movie carries with it a powerful message.

Rating: R for extreme violence, language, and at least one sex scene on screen in each film.

After Life: A Japanese film about the afterlife. This movie is very meaningful, and is quite thought provoking. It has a tendency to make people contemplate their own lives after viewing.

Rating: Officially unrated. most likely would be rated PG or PG-13. While I cannot recall any bad content, it does take place in a sort of limbo, and does not hold to Christianity's concept of the afterlife.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

The following use the Australian ratings - all are varying levels of the US 'R' rating:

Infernal Affairs (Hong Kong - thanks Ryan!) - very good
M - some violence, adult themes

Oldboy (Korean) - very good (incredibly well done, but not one I'd watch again)
R18+ - disturbing images, very strong violence, moderate sexual themes, minor language

Amelie (French) - brilliant
M - sexual references

City of Lost Children (French) - brilliant
M - some violence, adult themes, disturbing images

La Femme Nikita (French) - very good
MA15+ - some strong violence, moderate language

Pan's Labyrinth (Spanish) - brilliant
MA15+ - some strong violence, disturbing images, minor strong language

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Infernal Affairs was from Hong Kong, not Korea. XD

I also have to second Pan's Labryinth. It's very fantastical and at the same time meaningful. It's definitely one of my favorite movies of all time.

-Joint Security Area - This film was a heartbreaker because you experience the horrible division among a group of friends that lead to some of their deaths. Really sad and pretty deep.

-Friend - Another film that has that similar theme, but it's more focuses around gangsters. It's even more heartbreaking than JSA because you see these four friends growing up together and fighting for each other, only to split due to gang-related problems. Very tragic? Oh yes. XD

-Park Chan Wook's Vengeance Trilogy is also another that I highly recommend as CG mentioned above.

-A Bittersweet Life - It's an "action-noir" film. It's a mob story but really it centers around a man and his pursuit of vengeance against the gang he was originally in. What really shined in this movie was because the emotions expressed by the man were incredibly realistic and the theme was very philosophical. Also, the ending was tragic. XD

-Infernal Affairs - The original version of Scorsese's Academy Award winning film The Departed. It's about a Hong Kong Triad and a Chinese police force. The twist is that the Triads have an undercover cop and the Police have a Mole. Very cat-and-mouse-like and overall an excellent film.

-Memories of Murder - A retelling of a set of murders back in the 80s in a small rural village. Very dark and gritty and shows the corruptness of the police force back then.

-Peppermint Candy - Another tragic story that flows in reverse chronology. It begins with the suicide of a man and slowly goes backwards in time and shows how this man slowly became corrupt.

-Ikiru - One of Kurosawa's films that doesn't have to do with Samurais and whatnot. I can't really express how good this movie was, but it was just too good. XD

-Life is Beautiful - Directed by Roberto Benigni. I teared up at the end of this movie. (We were in school and I didn't want to cry! XD) It's about a family that ends up getting captured and put in a Nazi Concentration Camp and how the father does everything in his power to unite his family together in interesting and comical ways.

[Fish and Chips]

Oldboy is a definite. If you can handle the content, its the best revenge story ever. Or is it?

The Triples of Belleville. It's a French animated film, highly surreal, very little dialogue, but still well executed. Pays homage to the old Disney style in the opening, and provides its own unique art thereafter.

Kung Fu Hustle. Plenty of martial arts films have impossible battle sequences. Kung Fu Hustle is at least honest about it, and has some fun tossing the idea around.

[Sheenar]

My Wife is a Gangster --http://www.mediacircus.net/mywifeisagangster.html
--Korean filmHaven't seen this one, but I saw the one made after it.

But I did see My Wife is a Gangster 3 --It was hilarious!! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0439654/

Both films are completely in Korean with English subtitles. There is cursing and an inappropriate scene in 3, but it was still a good movie (You can FF through that scence --it's only about 3-4 minutes.)

[Technomancer]

Here's a few of my own picks, follow the links for a better description.

No Man's Land

Black Cat, White Cat

Kontrol

M

Fitzcarraldo

Nosferatu (the Werner Herzog version)

Downfall

And the Ship Sails On...

Red Cherry

Russian Ark (an especially astounding movie given that it was done in a signle take)

The Emperor and the Assasin (see also Shanghai Triad)

Shadow Magic

Water

Tampopo This one's probably not for everyone.

[Stephen]

Ha. Nobody has said Hot Fuzz yet!

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Ha. Nobody has said Hot Fuzz yet!

Well... it technically IS Foreign. XD

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Hot Fuzz foreign?
Really?
Theya speaka the samea languagea.

[the_wolfs_howl]

The Wild Child (French), directed by and co-starring François Truffaut. It's an old, black-and-white movie about Victor of Aveyron, a young boy who grew up in the wild, acting like an animal. The movie tells the story of Doctor Jean Itard, who attempts to teach the boy how to behave like a human. A very interesting movie, I thought, and it manages to have a somewhat-happy ending even though the real Victor's story is rather tragic.

[Song of Amazon]

One of my favorites is a chinese film called Not One Less. It's rather obscure, but it's basically about a small chinese village where the usual school teacher has to leave the town for a while and the substitute they find is a very young girl. When the old teacher leaves he charges her to make sure all the students are still there when he returns, not one less.

Of course, one of them leaves for the city, and the movie is the story of her and all of the students trying to hold to that promise and bring him back. It's really sweet.

[EricTheFred]

Ki-duk Kim's "3-iron" is my all-time favorite Korean film. However, I second the motion on the "My Wife is a Gangster" trilogy (I think it's a total of three. That's all I've seen.)

My absolute favorite Jean Reno film of all time, "Wasabi," takes the French category, but with a nod to the previously mentioned "Amelie".

Aussie film category, "Bliss" (I IMDB'ed this one to be sure of the name, and discovered there is also a Canadian somewhat Adult film in the 90's by this name. NOT the same film!!!! I'm referring to an Australian film done in the mid-80's.) The original "Mad Max" is not bad, either.

I don't actually have a favorite Japanese live action, although I might go with the Seven Samurai as a sentimental vote.

You would think, having been married to a Filipino for almost 21 years, that I would have a Filipino favorite, but none come to mind. Despite the Philippines having a remarkably large and active Film and TV industry.

In the South African category comes one of the few made in Africa films I ever liked, the original "The Gods Must Be Crazy." Brilliant.

Das Boot is my all-time favorite German film.

[Doubleshadow]

Whale Rider- A great Oscar winner about a Maori girls attempt to find her place in her peoples ancient traditions. The Oscar was for the lead actress, who was 13 or so at the time.

Rana's Wedding- A Palestinian film about an Eqyptian muslim woman wanting to get married to a man her father dislikes before her time is up and she has to return to Egypt. Set in the predominantly muslim part Jerusalem, and very interesting to see that viewpoint. Somewhat confusing, but that might be the European film style.

City of God (Cidade de Deus) - A very hard R rating for some extreme violence and swearing. A Brazilian movie about life in the super-violent drug slums of Rio de Janiero centering around the true story of one boy who is trying to get out alive. The movie is very powerful, eye-opening, and thought-provoking, but if you don't like to see gangs of eight year olds murdering each other, don't watch.

Naf- A documentary about a young, Jewish, homeless, rapper in Jerusalem, the people around him, and the street and drug culture and legal system in Jerusalem. Another eye opener filmed with his problems and troubles: abuse, anger, drugs, rejection, thoughts on war and terrorism, and an insane amount of swearing.

Sophie Scholl - Die letzten Tage (The Final Days) - An amazing film about Sophie Scholl, a Christian executed by the Nazis for distributing pamphlets, called the White Rose, with others which were against their policies and anti-war. The movie was nominated for an Oscar and depicts both Sophie and the Nazis as intelligent people, making for credible exchanges, and includes Sophia's strong faith.

[mitsuki lover]

Rashomon:Now why didn't anyone think of that one yet?

[Desu]

He Loves Me He Loves Me Not: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/He_Loves_Me..._He_Loves_Me_Not_%28film%29

I liked the way this film was done. The first half gives you info and then the second half completely destroys all that you once thought was true, pretty cool.

Surprised you fans didn't post Ong-Bak:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ong-Bak:_Muay_Thai_Warrior

Fairly typical action film but I have to say that Tony Jaa is worth seeing this film. He does all of his own stunts and in fact there's very little help given to the action that happens throughout the film (i.e. wires, stunt doubles, there's only one sequence that uses a crane, etc).

M:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M_%281931_movie%29

It's a little boring but hey, it's Fritz Lang and that makes it pretty cool considering how old it is.

[GrubbTheFragger]

Pans labyrinth is third'd by me. it was great but it has some rather disturbing scenes *shudders* bottle *shudders*

[jon_jinn]

Pans labyrinth is third'd by me. it was great but it has some rather disturbing scenes *shudders* bottle *shudders*

yeah. i just watched this film with my sister. some pretty graphic violence in this movie. i was seriously forced to shut my eyes during some of the grotesque scenes. the movie, itself, was very thoughtful and contained excellent characterization, music, and visuals. unfortunately, the depressing overtone of the movie, and the graphic violence made this movie hard for me to fully enjoy...

[Jaltus-bot]

Shaun of the Dead (R) is by the same people who did Hot Fuzz. I have not seen it though, but some people I know online like it.

Vodka Lemon is a neat post-Soviet Armenian movie. It starts out kind of bleak with a poor widower who has three sons and who meets a lovely woman he courts.

Danny Deckchair is a fun story about an Australian guy who goes on an adventure and find a new life.

The Dish is a comedy about the satellite dish in Australia that transmitted the moon landing.

[GhostontheNet]

Nosferatu The Vampyre - Werner Herzog's elegent and profoundly symbolic remake of the famous 1921 silent horror movie Nosferatu.

Akira Kurosawa's Dreams - One of Kurosawa's final films, a collection of interrelated short stories also profoundly symbolic and colorful, although much different in tone from Nosferatu The Vampyre.

[kat-su-chan]

mm. Linda Linda was cute. Japanese movie about a group of girl friends making a band together to play at the fesitval.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linda_Linda_Linda

And there's another goood Jap one. But I can't remember the title...durrf.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Delicatessen (French)
Rated M for 'low level violence and adult themes'

It's by the director of Amelie and City of Lost Children.

[GrubbTheFragger]

Shaun of the Dead (R) is by the same people who did Hot Fuzz. I have not seen it though, but some people I know online like it.

Ooh yeah that would be considered "foreign" I does get very graphic in points and there is quite a bit of bad language (typical R-rating Zombie violence and Gore, and Language *around 30ish f-words >_<*

[Blitzkrieg1701]

There have been several Kurosawa films so far, but no one has mentioned Throne of Blood or Ran, his FANTASTIC samurai interpretations of Macbeth and King Lear.

Another interesting Japanese film is Cruel Story of Youth. Many people call it the Japanese Rebel Without A Cause, though it makes a much broader and more ambitious social commentary than it's american "counterpart." Very interestin if you're interested in post-war Japanese history.

One more Japanese film, this one much less "significant" than the others, is Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell. It's a weird little invaders from space movie that should be a lot sillier than it is, but the great direction and relentlessly ominous atmosphere make it well worth seeing for anyone who likes this breed of SciFi.

[ilikegir33]

OK. My favorites:

Kung Fu Hustle (China)-Hilarious. Rated R for "strong stylized violence" (nothing too serious. Shoulda been PG-13; very cartoony.)

This isn't really a film, but: the two Gorillaz DVDs (UK) A Parental Advisory warning on both (about PG-13. Some bad language, a few gross animated gags, and Murdoc's creepiness)

Whale Rider (New Zealand) Excellent story of a Maori girl who is the only heir (or should I say heiress) to the Maori king after her mother and twin brother died. Rated PG-13 (oh my gosh. Just because of a mild drug reference. Nothing serious.)

Triplets of Bellville (France)-Best non-anime animated film I've seen.

Rashomon, Seven Samurai (Japan)-I totally third these.

Billy Elliot (UK)-Nobody's mentioned this?!? This is one of my favorite films. It's about a boy who wants to become a ballet dancer. Rated R for language (about 20 f-words, nothing else that's objectionable)