A while back I choose my favourite American films. ( http://iwasjustthinkingsomething.blogspot.ca/2012/06/top-20-american-films.html ) Now the
time is right, after several personal blogs, to turn my sights to foreign film.
Using a similar structure as the American film list, I have chosen, in no
particular order, my favourite – not the “best” – foreign films. The list I have
compiled while perhaps a little heavy in nature, is - in my mind’s eye –
brilliant, thought provoking cinema. International directors, to their credit,
are unafraid and unapologetic for making films of depth and tough subject
matter. My choices have stories that range from a meteor cascading towards
earth, a Mexican road trip, and a family gathering that has gone more than a
little pear shaped. My hope is that for anyone that reads this list perhaps you’ll
see some films that appear interesting to you and check them out. I have
provided a brief synopsis with the films and some of my quick thoughts why I
like them.
The Seventh Seal (Sweden)
1957 - A knight returning from the
Holy Crusades questions his own existence, death, and life while playing chess
with no more devious of an opponent than death himself. Igmar Bergman has long
been the voice of Nordic cinematic existentialism and the depth of his story
telling and range as a director are unmatched with this film of ideas. This
film has seen itself seep into literature and popular culture in a variety of
ways.
City of God (Brazil)
2002 – The City of God is one of the world’s most nefarious and dangerous
slums in Rio De Janeiro. From the depths of this drug infested hell comes a
story of the kids, on the right and wrong side of the law, that are both the perpetrators
of this lawlessness and its casualties. This is the story behind world be headlines
of murder, exploitation and the war on drugs given a human touch.
Melancholia (Denmark)
2011 – A film of gripping intensity as a meteor plummets towards earth
during a depressed woman's wedding. Never one to paint a rosy picture of human nature, Danish
director Lars Von Triers looks at the already tangled interpersonal
relationships of the bride to be and how catastrophe perhaps can be the only
means to repair fragmented relationships and a damaged sense of self. The
imagery of this film is luminous and horrifying... trademarks of Lars.
Amores Peres (Mexico)
2000 – Three inter related stories all centering around a horrific car
accident in Mexico City unveil the complexities of modern life across social
class. Seamlessly blended these stories show realities seemingly unrelated and how the
human experience cannot help but intermingle whether we know it or not. This film
was once called the Mexican Pulp Fiction.
Reprise (Norway) 2006
– A coming of age story of two aspiring writers dealing with the pressures of young
adult hood in Oslo, Norway. In turn funny and intense
this film is a must for anyone that sees themselves possibly as a writer. There
are prices one pays for giving themselves to art and this film encapsulates that
while being stylish, funny and witty.
Y Tu Mama Tambien
(Mexico) 2001 – Two teenage boys seize the opportunity to take an
attractive older woman on a road trip across Mexico. Equal parts a tale of
sexual discovery, friendship, and a discovery of Mexico itself and the shattering
bonds of a land - as we can see even more now in 2013– in peril from internal and external
forces. The camaraderie of the leads brought me back to my own youth when
everything seemed so possible. I really
laughed during this one.
The Lives of Others (Germany)
2006 – ” The Lives of Other” tells the
stories of artists in East Berlin and the limitations placed on their
expression by an autocratic system that breeds mediocrity and enforces
conformity. People in this era legitimately
feared who they spoke to and were amiss to even be candid in their own homes fearing
bugs and government surveillance. This film is really thought provoking and
scary stuff. Especially since it really happened.
Persona (Sweden) 1966
– Is a persona an island of individuality or could it somehow merge with
another person? After mysteriously stopping speaking and going mute in the
middle of a performance an actress seeks treatment at a secluded cabin. A
demonic relationship develops between her and her nurse as literally the idea
of who they are becomes mixed between them. A true psychological thriller and Igmar Begman's second film on my list.
Amelie (France) 2001 –
With all these “heavy” films it’s nice to have one that just wants to show love
and how everyone is better off having it in their life. This film is Jane Austen’s “Emma”
transposed from England to Paris, France and given all the French trimmings.
Amelie is a master of finding love for
everyone around her just not for herself. No film endows Paris with magic like this, it breaths a
new life into the Momartre district with its drowning water colours and magical realism.
L’ Avventura (Italy) 1960 -
During a yachting trip when a woman inexplicable disappears her boy friend and
her best friend search for her. Most films are made for entertainment, this
film actually puts forward an accurate portrayal of life as it is and the effect of time
changing things whether we like it or not. A stark display of the lengths people will go,
or won’t go, for one another. A very unnerving slowly paced film - essential
viewing if just once.
Pan’s Labyrinth
(Spain) 2006 – If sheer terror was paramount on earth could it reach
another dimension? Or perhaps would you create another world in which to psychologically
escape from this horror? Such are the questions that face a young Spanish girl
during the dogged days of the Spanish revolution. Wildly
inventive, with surrealistic creatures that wouldn’t be out of place in a
Salvador Dali painting, this film pushes art as projected through cinema to its
limits.
Festen (Denmark) 1998-
With perhaps the most iconic and outrageous Birthday toast ever (below as a youtube
clip) , Festen is a Danish dark comedy that manages to sear through social
taboo without breaking stride or failing to entertain. A family gathering
for their fathers 50th birthday takes an unexpected turn and a
family is forced to deal with truths previously swept deep underneath the rug.
Amazingly laughs or brought in effectively to carry through otherwise extremely
taboo subject matter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7N-x9TGCuw
Persepolis (Iran) 2007 - Unique animation is used to tell
the story of a girl’s life growing up in Tehran and trying to find herself
during Iran’s cultural revolution. Both eye opening to see how another culture,
specifically middle Eastern culture, works, and more importantly engaging in showing that
in reality we are all just the same as "people" regardless of the culture that generates
many of our beliefs.
Down Fall (Germany) 2004
– The last days of World War 2 in Hitler’s Berlin bunker of the defeated
Germans. Using a unique vantage the story is told through the eyes of Hitler’s secretary.
Viewers are treated to a searing tale of megalomania and madness as Hitler and
his chief lieutenants don’t want to believe, and in some cases will not
believe, the war is lost. A psychological tour de force on a personal and a collective level.
Waltz with Bashir
(Isreal) 2008- A surrealist look at war and the effects it has on the minds
of the combatants. A veteran of the Lebanon conflict in Israel tries to deduce
why he cannot remember battles he was a part of, and to understand the nature of bizarre
dreams that he cannot shake. Using animation, the realities of the mind – as fleeting
as they can be – or transposed with the narrators journey of self discovery.
Lilya 4 Ever (Sweden)
2002 – Sixteen year old Lilya thinks that she is in love, but her dreams of
a new life turn into a nightmare as she is tricked from her home in Estonia
into a life of sexual slavery in Sweden. This film is deeper, darker, and more
authentic than Hollywood’s try at the same topic of human trafficking “The Whistle
Blower.” A hue of surrealism is employed to show how Lilya literally creates
her own make believe world to disassociate from her horrid reality. Harrowing and eye opening stuff.
