Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

Now that it's official that the next countdown will be Foreign (Non-English) Movies, I need help finding movies to watch.

To be honest, I don't have much patience with subtitles, so I don't know how many movies I'll be able to watch, but I want to at least make an effort to watch enough movies to submit a good list. This means that I don't want people just throwing out a bunch of titles. That will just cause many of them to get lost in the shuffle. Please try to make an effort to recommend movies that you think might have a real chance to make my list.


This is a link to my favorite movie lists from the various countdowns that we've done here on MoFo. It should give you an idea of what movies I like.

https://www.movieforums.com/lists/custom/viewall/84622


For additional help with recommendations, here are a few guidelines:

I like romance and rom-coms.
I like musicals, but not loud, rock-music type of musicals. I like the classic musicals, like the ones from the 1960s and earlier.
I like comedy, but not raunchy comedy. Screwball comedies are okay too.
I like mysteries and suspense movies, as long as they're not too graphic.
I like sci-fi, but more the fantasy/sci-fi movies, NOT the horror/sci-fi movies. Time travel movies are good too.

I do NOT like horror movies, especially bloody, gory, disgusting movies.
I do NOT like raunchy movies, or movies about sex, rape, etc.
I do NOT like movies where children and/or animals are hurt or killed.
I usually do NOT like long movies.


Thanks in advance for your help and recommendations. :)

Start with Francois Truffaut, Godard, Fellini (although some are long), Bergman. I know you’re looking for specific titles, but you can find some good stuff that avoid your dislikes from the above directors.

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

Maybe try The Young Girls of Rochefort. Rom-com musical from the 60's that's just delightful.

Try Jacques Demy.


And india masala films. No wait, they can be long ass one as i remember.
https://youtu.be/PQmrmVs10X8

I'm sure you've seen some of these-

All About My Mother
Cappernaum
Cinema Paradiso
The Invisible Guest
The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)
Smiles of a Summer Night
Samurai Rebellion
The Big City
A Seperation
The 400 Blows
Bicycle Thieves
Wolf Children
The Sea Inside
Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Children of Paradise
The Hunt
Divorce Italian Style
Good Bye, Lenin!
Umberto D
Pather Panchali
Le Jour Se Leve
Z
Pepe Le Moko
Dersu Uzala
Monsoon Wedding
Wadjda
The Intouchables
Dancer in the Dark
Adam's Apples

High and Low--a thrilling mystery/police procedural from Kurosawa. Criminals try to kidnap the child of a wealthy man, but end up grabbing the chauffeur's child instead. Will the wealthy man still pay the ransom? This is one of my favorite movies ever.

Mustang (2015)--a powerful drama/thriller about a group of sisters in Turkey whose guardians (an uncle and a grandmother, I think?) basically keep them locked up in the house. Has some light moments and also some more intense parts.

Kung Fu Hustle--an action comedy (emphasis on the comedy) about a pair of hapless guys who want to be big bad gangsters and end up in the middle of a turf war between a gang and a low-income housing project. This is one of my go-to happy movies.

Ida--a beautifully shot drama about a novice nun who, before taking her orders, goes to learn more about her family.

The Orphanage--okay, I know you said you don't like horror. But this Spanish-set ghost story is a really cool film.

Le Bonheur--I was just head over heels for this Varda film about the relationship between a man and his wife when he begins to get smitten with a co-worker. Really powerful and unsettling.

Roma--Cuaron's drama more than lived up to all of the hype. The look is gorgeous and the performances are solid. It also contains one of the more intense (in a good way!) sequences I've seen in the last year or so.

Ivan's Childhood--Tarkovsky's film follows a boy who is enmeshed in spying and other activities during WW2. I keep using "powerful" as a descriptor, but it's also the word I would use for this one! The visuals are amazing and the story is gripping.

Polytechnique--a fictionalized account of a massacre that took place in Montreal in 1989 in which a student, angry at women in general, went after several of his female classmates. While some of the film does show the actual event, much of the focus is on what came before and after, and it is a very empathetic look at the impact on all of the students, including one male student who is a witness to the events.

Bread and Tulips--a fun romance/comedy about a woman whose family leaves her behind at a rest stop on a vacation and begins to make new friends and connections after she is stranded. Very sweet.

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

Most of my favorite movies are dramas, so I only have a few
"Sunflower" is my favorite love-story movie. Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni have great chemistry.


For suspense, "Fist in Pocket" and "M"

Amélie (2001, Jean-Pierre Jeunet)
Eat Drink Man Woman (1994, Ang Lee)
Music on Hold (2009, Hernán Goldfrid)
The Man Who Copied (2003, Jorge Furtado)
Good Bye, Lenin! (2003, Wolfgang Becker)
Love Me If You Dare (2003, Yann Samuell)
OSS-117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006, Michel Hazanavicius)
The Brand New Testament (2015, Jaco Van Dormael)
A Town Called Panic (2009, Stéphane Aubier & Vincent Patar)
La Havre (2011, Aki Kaurismäki)
The Man Without a Past (2002, Aki Kaurismäki)
A Somewhat Gentle Man (2010, Hans Petter Moland)
Keinohrhasen (2007, Til Schweiger)
When the Cat's Away (1996, Cédric Klapisch)
Like Water for Chocolate (1992, Alfonso Arau)
Romantics Anonymous (2010, Jean-Pierre Améris)
Shall We Kiss? (2007, Emmanuel Mouret)
Jet Lag (2002, Danièle Thompson)
Gloria (2014, Sebastián Lelio)
Hipsters (2008, Valeriy Todorovskiy)
Taxi (1998, Gérard Pirès)
Nine Queens (2000, Fabián Bielinsky)
Eldorado (2008, Bouli Lanners)
Wild Tales (2014, Damián Szifron)
Kitchen Stories (2003, Bent Hamer)
O'Horten (2007, Bent Hamer)
Terribly Happy (2008, Henrik Ruben Genz)
Incendies (2010, Denis Villeneuve)
Tell No One (2006, Guillaume Canet)
Angel-A (2005, Luc Besson)
Reykjavik-Rotterdam (2009, Óskar Jónasson)
Revanche (2008, Götz Spielmann)
The Robber (2010, Benjamin Heisenberg)

You might like:
Ophüls' The Earrings Of Madame De… (1953) or
Bresson's Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut [A Man Escaped] (1956)
Gbg

A Man Escaped is a great rec. So is Nine Queens.

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

It's been mentioned but I would also recommend The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort, both fun and colourful musicals.

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

Everything asian :) I would start with 90's hong kong since it was with which I started (john woo, johnnie to for action; Wong Kar wai for wong kar-wai stuff). There is also Taiwan with Edward yang. If you loved his long scene and static shot you can try Hou Hsiao Hsien. Then there is Japan and way too much stuff you can start by the two giants being kurosawa and ozu.

movie name
directors
important stuff


Sorry I did not read your comment before commenting myself so i'll post a better comment.

Because you don't like subtitle I really dont recommend watching Fellini's movies or most Italian stuff because due to their speed of speach you quickly start reading instead of watching the movie.

Wong Kar-Wai is an even better recommendation because for a long time he didn't even knew cantonese so much of his movies are told by the intermediate of music and eye directions/ looks. So you'll rarely have the impression of reading.
-Chungking express (WKW)
-In the mood for love (WKW)
- fallen angel
If you like those movies, Edward Yang might be interesting as well since he is a director that takes his time. So you'll not have to be in a rush to read subtitles.
- YiYi
- A brighter summer day
-terrorizers
Again if you like those movies who are slowpaced I would recommend Tsai Ming Liang. (little bit harder to find- I found mine at libraries and on criterion) After his first movie, he took a radiccal turn and made very modern movies. This means his movies became very ambiguous, had a lot of long shots, etc... But it is always quite easy to read subtitles even thought they bring very little to the story.
- Rebel of neon god
-amour

Because I'm french I don't know how it feels for an english speaker to read french subtitle but i'm from canada and speak french as a first language and even I have issues understanding french people because they talk so quicly. But a french director who uses very few words is Jean pierre Melville so I would watch :
- Le samourai
- Un flic (a cop)
- Le cercle rouge
I wouls probably try breathless because it has an english speaking actress in it but the rest of godard might be difficult to begin with.

If you liked those very slow and ambiguous heroes of melville I recommend Takeshi kitano's early work where he uses enigmatic and calm heroes to bring a melancholic touch to violent yakuza movies
- violent cop
-hanna-bi
- sonatine
If you like this mix of greety and calm stories I would recommend in a more hardcore way Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. There is again few subtitle because the hero is mute.

I will now list a bunch of foreign movies I appreciated and for which I dont recall having any trouble with subtitles
--Amores Perros
- Pixote
-touki bouki mambéty diop
-bleu blanc rouge trilogy
-Suspiria
-Playtime Jacques tati
-battle of algier
-German expressionist ( I dont know if it count because it's just silent)
-Cold war pawel pawlikowski


Once you are familiar with subtitle, because it is like anything in life, youll once get used to it, youll be able to watch european movies. Indeed, european movie uses a lot of dialogues and are very intellectual so if youll either have to read the subtitle without paying attention to the image or paying attention without fully understanding all the dialogues. So I recommand starting with the one I listed and then go with the one everyone recommend you being Fellini, Godard, etc...

GBG, we have similar taste in movies, especially the 'don't like stuff'. So I've went through my old Foreign Language list and found films that I really think are right up your alley, I'd rate all of these or better:)

Mon Oncle (Jacques Tati 1958) A comedy! that I think is right up your alley.

Twenty-Four Eyes (Keisuke Kino****a 1954) A very beautiful and compelling human drama about a young teacher and her love for her job and her students.

Beauty and the Beast (Jean Cocteau 1946) An interesting French film on the classic tale.

Young Girls of Rochefort (Jacques Demy 1967) I believe you've already seen it, maybe watch it again!:)

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy 1964) In my top 10! A must see for anyone who loves heartbreaking romance films and musicals.

Entre Nos (Paola Mendoza,Gloria La Morte 2009) Uplifting true story of an immigrant woman who has to struggle to raise her kids. Not R rated or violent.

Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky 1971)...
Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky 1979) Two classic Russian sci-fis!

The Cranes Are Flying (Mikhail Kalatozov 1957)...
Ballad of a Soldier (Grigory Chukhray 1959) Two beautiful filmed, dramas about soldiers in WWII Russia. More about the people and emotions, than actual fighting.

Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou 1991) Beautiful looking Chinese film about women who are part of a royal household during the imperial period.

Le Trou (Jacques Becker 1960) A prison break film where you can match logic and wits with the prisoners who come up with all sorts of ingenious methods to avoid detection as they tunnel their way out of their cell.

Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen 1981) 4 hours but worth it!

Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray 1955) Story of a poor boy growing up in rural India.

Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki 2001) I'm sure you've seen this one.

Good Bye, Lenin! (Wolfgang Becker 2003) Fun drama about an East German family. It's light and entertaining.

Contratiempo (The Invisible Guest) (Oriol Paulo 2016) Crime Mystery, not violent but about a cover up of a road accident.

In the Mood For Love (Wong Kar-Wai 2000) Romantic, forbidden love drama set in Hong Kong circa 1960.

Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet 2001) ...Another must see comedy.

Day For Night (François Truffaut 1973) Fun, almost screwball comedy about a director making a film with all kinds of obstacles.

Late Spring (Yasujirô Ozu, 1949) *Beautiful film about an adult daughter who loves her elderly father and doesn't want to leave her childhood home to get married. I think you'd really like this!

The Naked Island (1960) I loved this! slow humanistic study of a family living on a remote Japanese island with no water. Almost no dialogue is spoke, so no subs to read...Note the island is barren, but the people do have clothes on:p

I would second the recommendations of In the Mood for Love and YiYi (although it is long) :up:

@gbgoodies I do not recommend you watch Sympathy for Mr Vengeance because of the torture I really do not think it would be your kind of film.

Pixote has some very violent and graphic scenes. I don't think it would be to your liking.
Wild Tales (2014, Damián Szifron)
I doubt GBG would like this. It's pretty violent and there's this scene
Which appeared to be very real and extremely gross.

We took the time to recommend you foreign films. Maybe take a little time to post your thoughts on those films in this thread?:)

And I must add for movies recommended for you but you should avoid are Violent Cop, Suspiria, and the great Amores Perros. Good tries though.

I still don't know if Suspiria would even count as a foreign language film. Regardless of that, I agree that it's probably not for gbg.

Unfortunately,
covers about 90% of the foreign films I've seen so I'm not going to be much help but I can second a few of the movie that have been mentioned:

The Orphanage - It's a ghost story horror if I remember correctly. I don't remember anything too violent, more suspenseful and kind of scary.
Le Trou is very good so is Rififi. They're kind of similar. If you like one of them I can't imagine you wouldn't like the other.
Kung Fu Hustle is like a Looney Tunes movie. Really. It's a live action cartoon and it's a lot of fun.
Hanna Bi is a good. If you haven't seen a Takashi Kitano I'd recommend Hanna Bi over Sonatine, which is also very good but very different.

And a couple great ones I haven't seen mentioned:
Rashomon. Anything by Kurosawa is going to be good but why not start off with a short one to see how you like it.
Timecrimes is a good sci-fi time travel movie.
I loved The Triplets of Bellville. It's an animated movie. I don't think there's any talking so you don't have to worry about subtitles.
Les Diaboliques is good. I think it's classified as horror but it's barely horror. More suspense.
Hero The Jet Li film. A lot of high flying swordplay and looks fantastic
Shoot the Piano Player and Viridiana I've had bad luck recommending these. Both are pretty short and I think they're great but not everyone thinks so.

The North Face is a mountaineering movie, based on true events, about scaling the North Face of the Eiger in the 30's. Kind of a personal fav (love movies about mountain climbing) but it is pretty good.

Agreed on both counts.

Was Suspiria in English? I don't even remember.

It's Italian horror. In other words, every language version is dubbed and actors speak multiple languages during the shoots.

From Wiki:

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

Cinema Paradiso- A movie about the love of movies French



Wings of Desire _Wim Wenders. City of Angels was based on this movie. I personally believed that they butchered Wenders original. German


Pan's Labyrinth. One very violent scene in beginning of movie.

Winter's Light- Ingmar Bergman. Part of Bergman's silence o God trilogy. Powerful movie Swedish


8 1/2 Nights of Cabria La Strada, The ship Sails on. All by Fellini. These are all I have seen, but looking forward to seeing more. Italian


**** Jean de Florette/ Manon of Spring. Two movies/same story. One of my top tens


Camille Claudel featuring Isabella Adjani. Explore Camille's relationship with, and influence on Rodin






If you want to see a film that is in English, but directed by a foreign director try out Paris Texas. Another of my top 10. Directed by Wim Wenders, the same director who did Wings of Desire.

Thank you to everyone for all of your help and recommendations. I'm reading through the replies now, and it looks like there are some great recommendations here.

I've seen some of the movies mentioned here already, mostly from joining some HoFs over the past few years, so thanks for reminding me to go through those nominations too because some of them have a good chance at making my list.

I watched Amélie, Wings of Desire, and Parasite in the last couple of weeks. (Since it looked like foreign was going to win the poll, I started early. :D) I liked all three movies.

I've seen both The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort, and I liked both movies, so I'll look for movies from Jacques Demy.

I saw and liked these movies:
Contratiempo (The Invisible Guest) - This was one of my favorite foreign movies from the HoFs, and I didn't even join that HoF. :)
Wolf Children
Divorce Italian Style
M
A Town Called Panic
Le Samouraï
Beauty and the Beast (1946)
Das Boot (This was a bit long, but it's a very good movie.)
Spirited Away
Rififi


I think I've seen these movies, but I'll have to rewatch them:
Smiles of a Summer Night
A Seperation
Wadjda
High and Low
Breathless
Sonatine (If I remember correctly, I didn't like this movie, but I'm not sure. I'll check the HoF thread before rewatching it.)
Twenty-Four Eyes
Solaris (1972)
Raise the Red Lantern
Le Trou
Late Spring
Rashomon (This is another movie that I don't think I liked, but I'll double-check and decide it I should rewatch it.)
Les Diaboliques
Pan's Labyrinth (I saw this a long time ago, but I don't remember much about it.)

These movies are already on my watchlist because I've read a lot of good reviews of them:
Cinema Paradiso (I even have this movie on DVD. :))
The 400 Blows
Bicycle Thieves (Is this the same movie as The Bicycle Thief (1949)?)
The Hunt
Pather Panchali
Le Cercle Rouge
Mon Oncle
Shoot the Piano Player

That sounds fair. I appreciate all the help you've all given me, so I'll try to write some thoughts on the movies as I watch them. :)

I watched Paris, Texas recently for the All-Time Countdown. I didn't know that it was directed by the same director as Wings of Desire.

Paris, Texas was pretty good, but it was a bit slow and kind of depressing.

I liked Wings of Desire a lot. I didn't know much about it before watching it, except that it had something to do with angels, and Peter Falk was in it. It took me a while to figure out what was going on because at first I thought it was just about a couple of angels who seemed to be bored with their job, but as the movie went on, it just kept getting better.

The only thing that I knew about Amélie before I watched it was that it's a romance movie, and it's highly rated, so I had a good feeling about it. Fortunately, it didn't let me down. :)

I found the character of Amélie to be a little bit annoying at times, but I think that was just her quirkiness coming through, so it wasn't enough to hurt the movie at all. My favorite parts were the part with her and Nino, and trying to figure out about the guy who kept showing up in the photos, and the part with the garden gnome pictures from around the world. I couldn't figure out how she was getting those gnome pictures from all over the place, but I probably should have realized it before the movie revealed how.

It's still early, and I have a lot of movies to watch for the upcoming countdown, but this movie probably has a good chance to make my list.

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

@gbgoodies

Since you like Divorce Italian Style, I think you should try Seduced and Abandoned by the same director. It's the follow up to DIS. It has a lot of similarities, and while not quite as good, it is still very worthwhile.

I also think you should try out Shoplifters (2018). I have a hunch you could at least enjoy it. I think it is superior to a sort of similar film in Parasite. I recommended it to @Citizen Rules and he enjoyed it, so he could vouch for it too.

Pather Panchali, The Cranes are Flying, and Late Spring have all been mentioned; I'll throw my support behind them and recommend them to you.

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

Probably avoid Touki Bouki too. While a good film, it features a cow being graphically slaughtered.

Yup, I can vouch for Shoplifters. An easy watch, compelling, even humorous though it's not a comedy...I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think GBG would like it too. BTW my first choice for GBG is Late Spring. I think she'll see a lot of truth and heart in that film. I gave it a .

I almost didn't watch Parasite because I thought it was a horror movie, and from the title, I thought it had something to do with bugs, but when it won the Oscar, and there was so much hype surrounding it, I decided to give it a chance. (I figured that I could just turn it off if it wasn't my type of movie.)

I'm glad that I gave it a chance because I liked it. I'm not sure that I really understand all the hype about it, and why it's getting as much praise as it's getting, but it's a good movie. It's just not Oscar-caliber good in my opinion.

Thanks for the recs. I'll look into these movies too. :)

I vaguely remember watching Late Spring for an early HoF here, and I think I liked it. I just wish I could remember it better. But I added it to my watchlist already, so I'll make sure to rewatch it for the countdown.

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

heres the list of the good ones https://www.timeout.com/newyork/film...reign-language

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

The Legend of the Golden Pearl (1987) is very good adventure movie with leitmotive of golden pearl.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQCmbSLX1BM

that movie look pretty good

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

Tras El Cristal

Lots of anime films have good English dubs, so check those out if you want.

-A Silent Voice. Warning, it's a real tearjerker!

-"Jolly Fellows" by Grigori Aleksandrov
-"Le Million" by René Clair
-"Zouzou" by Marc Allégret
-Allegro non Troppo

-Jaques Tati, lots of slapstick and not many subtitles.

-Spoorloos: Very disturbing but not remotely graphic.

-Icarus XB 1
-La Jetée (There's a good English dub from what I remember)
-Run Lola Run

Considering that you liked Le Samourai, I'm sure you'll like some of Melville's other films.
Considering that you liked Spirited Away, you'll LOVE Kiki's Delivery Service
I also see lots of people in the thread recommending Bergman, but I don't know if you'd like him. If you want to check him out, I'd recommend starting with The Magic Flute

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

I was gonna recommend you Kaya and An Event, but it looks like Anno Domini 1573 is more up your alley
I also recommend Ivan Vasiliyevich Changes Professions, Allegro non Troppo, Alexander Nevsky, The Return, Siberiade, Assa, H-8..., and A Wonderful Night in Split. All of those, barring the last one, are available on Youtube with subtitles.

Is this professional level trolling or what?

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

You might have seen Plein Soleil (Purple Noon) because it was in a hall of fame once, but if not I recommend it. It's sort of a thriller/suspense/drama, based on the book The Talented Mr Ripley. It's a good looking film and I'm pretty sure it's PG.

I recently watched Portrait of a Lady on Fire and it has become a new favourite. It is a period drama romance, very atmospheric and lots of bits without talking.

Still Walking and Departures - both deal with death but in a reflective sort of way. Still Walking is about a family coming together who are still grieving the death of a son who died many years ago, Departures is about a cellist who becomes an undertaker's assistant which is sort of funny and sentimental at the same time.

Thanks for the link. I'll have to read through it when I get a chance, but I'm sure that I'll find a few movies on there to watch.

ur welcome :D theres alot to choose :p

I've never heard of this movie, but it sounds like it might be a fun adventure. Thanks for the rec. :)

Yes. This is the perfect suggestion I think.

Google translated this to In a Glass Cage. If this is the movie with the guy in the iron lung, I watched it for a HoF a few years ago, and if I remember correctly, I don't think I liked it. Maybe I'll give it another chance anyway.

I've seen a few anime movies, (mostly dubbed), and I have several of them on DVD that I haven't watched yet, so I'm going to try to watch some of these movies.


Some of my favorite movies are tearjerkers, so I'm looking forward to watching this movie. Thanks.


I have Run Lola Run on DVD, but I haven't watched it yet. I guess this countdown will finally give me the push I need to watch it. :)

I've seen Allegro non Troppo and La Jetée, but I haven't heard of most of the others, so I'll check them out. Thanks.


I watched Kiki's Delivery Service recently for a HoF and I liked it.

I'll check out some of Melville's other films, and Bergman's The Magic Flute. Thanks. :)

With the exception of Allegro non Troppo, I haven't heard of any of these, but I'll check them out. Since they're available on YouTube with subtitles, they should be easy to find.

I'm not sure, but I think I watched a foreign movie called The Return for one of the HoFs here a few years ago. I think it had something to do with 2 brothers and their father, but it's been a while, so I don't remember much more about it. If that's the movie that you're recommending, I vaguely remember liking it, so it will be nice to watch it again.

Thanks for the recs. :)

Yes, I watched Plein Soleil (Purple Noon) for a HoF here a few years ago, and I liked it. It's already on my list to rewatch it. (But surprisingly, I still haven't seen the movie The Talented Mr Ripley.)


I'm hit or miss with period dramas, but I'll give this a try. Thanks.


These two movies sound like they could be my kind of movies, so I'm looking forward to watching them.

Thanks for the recs. :)

Of Jacques Demy, my suggestion is try The Umbrellas of Cherbourg first, then go on to his other films. The man's a pure romantic. I think you'll like him.

(*Sorry for double-post, just got caught up in other things before I could detail my response.)

*Edit:

I also concur with the Jacques Tati recommendation too.

I've seen The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and The Young Girls of Rochefort.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is very likely to make my list, but The Young Girls of Rochefort might just miss it.

I'm hoping to watch a few more of Jacques Demy's movies that might make my list.

Thanks for the recs. :)

That's the film, and I'm pretty sure raul was trolling. I don't see it as your kind of film, and I'm actually positively surprised that your opinion is just "I don't think I liked it" considering the ruckus it's caused in a current HoF I nominated it for.

So yeah, it's a great film and will definitely be on my ballot, but I doubt you'd like it that much.

I didn't read much about it in the recent HoF because I didn't rewatch it. I watched it for an earlier HoF, but that was a few years ago, so I don't remember much about it.

From what I remember, I didn't think it was my type of movie, but I was willing to give it another chance because it was recommended by someone who I thought I could trust. (Maybe he should have added an appropriate emoji so I knew that it wasn't a "real" recommendation.)

Thanks for your help. :)

I think you'll find, (as I have), that the best international films seem to influence other films or are part of a movement/have some historical and aesthetic value. Most international films are in competition with a "First Cinema/American" product which has been an age-old battle since post-WWI. So "Second Cinema" is very "aesthetically driven" and "innovative" where as the other "Third Cinema" is highly political. An example is Wings of Desire, which on it's own is a beautiful piece of cinema, (which apparently you've seen and enjoyed.) But if you know the history of the German New Wave post-WWII and some of it's directors like Fassbinder and Herzog and Wenders himself, it really opens up the experience and makes it that much more interesting. Hopefully this helps you in your viewings too. :)

Thanks for the information. History was never one of my best subjects, but hopefully it will help.

I watched Cinema Paradiso (1988) earlier today.

It took me a little while to get into his movie because at first, I didn't realize that Toto (the young boy) was the same person as Salvatore (the adult at the beginning). Once I realized that the movie was a flashback to his childhood, it made more sense, and everything started to fall into place.

Through most of the movie, I liked it, but I didn't love it the way I thought I should based on what I've read about it, (which wasn't much, except that it's a movie that all movie lovers should watch). I loved the way the relationship grew between Toto and Alfredo, and while Toto seemed like a bratty little kid at first, for some reason, he was always lovable. I loved the way Salvatore kept trying to win Elena's heart, but he had trouble talking to her. I really wanted to see them end up together.

I was fully immersed in this movie from the start, but for some reason, I just didn't love it as much as I wanted to. But that changed by the end of the movie.



I watched the original (2 hr. 4 min.) version. Since I liked this version, is it worth my time to also watch the longer version?

As far as I know In A Glass Cage was never nominated in an HoF before the current one. But maybe I missed it..Do you know which previous HoF was it in? It's extremely violent so I'm guessing if you watched it you'd remember it:eek:

Maybe it wasn't in a HoF. It might have been nominated in a movie tournament. I know that I watched a bunch of movies for a movie tournament a while back because I couldn't vote in some matches without watching both movies that were against each other.

I rarely watch foreign movies without a reason, so I doubt I watched it just because it was on TCM.

Although with my (bad) memory, I could be mixing it up with a different movie, but I don't think so. Either way, it doesn't sound like my kind of movie, so I'm going to pass on watching it.

I like romance and rom-coms. - Christmas in August, Rust and Bone, My Sassy Girl
I like musicals, but not loud, rock-music type of musicals. I like the classic musicals, like the ones from the 1960s and earlier. Try Jacques Demy films
I like comedy, but not raunchy comedy. Screwball comedies are okay too. Castaway on the Moon, Playtime
I like mysteries and suspense movies, as long as they're not too graphic. L'Avventura, Werckmeister Harmonies, The Spirit of the Beehive, Three Colours trilogy, The Conformist, Incendies
I like sci-fi, but more the fantasy/sci-fi movies, NOT the horror/sci-fi movies. Time travel movies are good too. Cargo, Time Crimes, Aniara

‘The lives of others’ a great German film from about ten years ago, A fairly simple story with characters you end up caring a lot about, and a fine ending.

I wonder if what you watched was: Through a Glass Darkly (Berman 1961)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055499/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3

I thought I saw a foreign movie called Playtime in a HoF a few years ago, but I don't remember it being a comedy, so I'm probably thinking of a different movie with a similar title. Either way, I'll check it out, along with the rest of the movies that you recommended.

I recognize the titles of most of the mystery/suspense movies that you mentioned, but I don't know much about them, so this is a good time for me to finally check them out.

Thanks for the recs. :)

I've never heard of The Lives of Others, but it sounds interesting, so I'll definitely check it out.

Thanks for the rec. :)

I'm pretty sure that I watched Through a Glass Darkly because I remember there was something about a spider in it. :eek:

I know that my memory is getting worse as I'm getting older, so you might be right, but I think I saw both movies. But it's been several years for both movies, so I don't have a clear memory of either movie.

@cricket,

I watched The Secret in Their Eyes (2009), and it's a great movie. Like most foreign movies, I had trouble figuring out some minor things that are different in the U.S. from where the movie takes place, but nothing that affected the movie, and they made sense once I figured them out. (For example, I thought Espósito was a lawyer at first, but I eventually figured out that he was an investigator, and I had trouble figuring out who was whose boss in his office. And I thought the "racing club" was like NASCAR, but it turned out to be soccer, but this stuff eventually worked itself out.)

I didn't read anything about the movie before watching it, and I don't want to say too much about it here because it's too easy to spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it, but this movie was brilliant. It kept me guessing and trying to figure things out, and while there were a few minor things that were predictable, there were also several twists that I didn't see coming.

This movie has a good chance to make my list.

Thanks for the rec. :up:

@Holden Pike,

I watched Music on Hold (2009), and I liked it a lot. It required a bit of suspension of disbelief, (especially when she introduces him to her mother, and he just automatically plays along), and it became more and more predictable as the movie went on, but like most rom-coms, that's to be expected.

Paula and Ezequiel are two very different people, so at the beginning, it didn't feel like they belonged together, but I loved watching them get closer and closer as the movie went on. I loved how her mother kept piecing together the clues, trying to figure out what was going on with "Santiago".

This isn't a "laugh a minute" comedy, but I definitely smiled throughout the whole movie. Thanks for the great recommendation. :up:

@Tramuzgan,

I watched Ivan Vasilievich Changes Profession (1973) (aka Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future). I had never heard of this movie, so I wasn't sure what to expect from it, but I decided to watch it because it listed as a comedy/sci-fi, and it mentioned time travel in the synopsis, so I thought it might be an interesting change of pace.

This was a very strange movie. It was fun, goofy, and even a bit stupid at times, and I loved every minute of it. It has a very offbeat sense of humor that reminded me a lot of Mel Brooks type of comedy. It has some fun songs too. :)

I loved when Bunsha was supposed to be impersonating Ivan the Terrible, and Miloslavsky had to keep talking for him because Bunsha didn't know what to say. :lol:

Thanks for a great recommendation. :up:

I have one question for anyone who might know the answer. Ivan the Terrible listens to music when he's in Shurik's apartment. Is the singer the same singer who Baryshnikov dances to when he's at the Kirov? It sounded like the same voice.

@ScarletLion,

I watched Christmas in August (1998). I didn't read anything about the movie before watching it because it was listed as a romance/drama, but maybe I should have. It felt like there wasn't much happening for the first half hour or so, and I seemed to be missing something. I thought it was at least 2 or 3 different girls coming into Jung-won's store at the beginning of the movie, but now I'm not sure if maybe it was the same girl over and over again. (It didn't help that they all worked together, so they all wore the same uniforms.)

Also, for most of the movie, I didn't know that Jung-won was sick and dying. I knew that he was at the hospital a couple of times, but they showed him waiting in the hallway. I had no idea that he was sick.

But putting that stuff aside, I thought Jung-won was a very likable guy, (and I loved his smile), but Da-rim was only okay. She wasn't unlikable, but she seemed a bit too quiet and shy at times. There were some scenes where I wanted see the two of them end up together, but I never really felt like I cared enough about their relationship to be upset if it didn't work out. (And it had nothing to do with the fact that he was dying because until the scene where he had a breakdown in the police station, I didn't even realize that he was that sick. I didn't think the movie made that clear until it was too late.)

Once I figured out a few things that weren't made clear in the movie, I liked the movie, but I just wish they had some additional scenes, or even just some extra dialogue, to explain why he was in the hospital at the beginning of the movie, and who the girls were who kept going to his shop for pictures.

It was a good movie, with some minor flaws.

Well I'm glad you didn't hate it! I thought it was a touching film about love and grief. I think there are enough subtle hints at what is going on during it.

I liked the movie, but I didn't love it. I probably would have liked it more if I had just read the quick summary on IMDB. I usually try not to read much about the movies or watch the trailers before I watch them because it's too easy to ruin a movie with a spoiler, but in the case of Christmas in August, I think just knowing that he was dying would have made a difference because it has a lot to do with his character. Even the voiceover at the beginning makes more sense now, knowing that he's dying.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, and I'm glad that I watched it.
Thanks for the recommendation. :)

Have you tried Ikiru? It's a highly sentimental film and perhaps my personal favorite film by Akira Kurosawa, but I think that's another director in foreign that you would like very much. :)

I watched Ikiru for a HoF a few years ago, and I liked it. It's been a while since I saw it, so I don't have a clear memory of it anymore, but I have it on my watchlist to rewatch it before submitting my list.

Thanks for the rec. :)

For the next movie, I went off the recommendations list to rewatch a movie that I watched for a HoF a few years ago. I watched The Garden of Words (2013) because it's a movie that I remembered liking, and parts of it stuck with me over the years.

This movie is beautiful, in both the visuals and the story. I remembered that the story was basically a romance, but the images are what stuck with me the most, and that's what motivated me to rewatch it. It's one of the most beautiful movies that I've seen.

The story is also wonderful. I loved the way these two lonely people helped each other just by talking.

I recommend this movie to anyone who likes romance movies.

Of Kurosawa's more sentimental works that I think you may enjoy, (although his entire oeuvre is spectacular):


*Note: Most of his works display some degree of humanism and sentimentality. Although these are the ones that stand out to me.

I've seen Seven Samurai, Ikiru, and Rashomon, but I added some of his other movies to my watchlist.

Thanks for the recommendations. :)

@jiraffejustin and @Citizen Rules,

I watched Shoplifters (2018), and while I liked the movie as a whole, I kept going back and forth on my opinion while watching it. It kind of felt like a strange version of Parasite meets Oliver Twist.

These people seemed like nice people, but they weren't good people. They did some things right, like taking in the little girl, (Yuri), when they realized that she was being abused, but then they did some bad stuff, like not only stealing, but also teaching the children to steal. It felt like a roller-coaster of emotions for a while.

The best part of the movie was the relationship between the two children, Shota and Yuri. I loved how he took her with him when he went out, but then he realized that what he was doing was wrong when he saw her doing it too. (I think the shopkeeper who told him not to make her do it helped him come to this realization.)

I kinda thought that might be your reaction. And yes they are not always good people and thats where the rub is. Are they a loving family of misfits?...OR are they about something totally different? I guess that's up to the viewer to decide. To me that juxtaposition was the most interesting aspect of the film. Glad you watched it:) I hope you'll watch my recommendation, The Naked Island.

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

All Koreeda's fims are worth seeing. 'Nobody Knows' is probably the best I've seen. But 'I Wish' and 'Like Father, Like Son' are also up there. And 'Maborosi' too.

They're not really a family at all. They're just a bunch of people who needed each other, so they formed a pseudo-family.

I already added The Naked Island to my watchlist a few days ago, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.

I liked Shoplifters, so I'll try to watch some of his other movies.

I went off the list again to watch the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). To be honest, I didn't know much about the movie, and I didn't think it would be my type of movie, but it aired on one of the cable movie channels, and I remembered that there was a lot of hype about it when it was nominated for a bunch of Oscars a while back, so I decided to give it a try.

This movie reminded me of The Matrix, with the weird fight scenes, but while The Matrix was mostly style over substance, this movie actually had an interesting story to go with the stylish fight scenes. Truth be told, I don't really understand the whole ninja/samurai thing, but I understand that these people are supposed to be great warriors with some type of special fighting skills, but at times, it looks like they're flying, not just jumping across the rooftops. That didn't make much sense to me, but it was cool to watch.

In between all the cool fight scenes, there was an interesting story about a retrieving a stolen sword, revenge, love, and more. This movie certainly deserved all of the praise it got when it was released.

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

As you liked that one it might be worth you checking out the pseudo follow-up Bewildered Badger, Ninja Turtle.



Ok ok, okay, I'll admit I completely made that one up ..... but as you liked CT,HD it might be worth you giving a watch to Yimou Zhang's Shi mian mai fu [House of Flying Daggers] at some point as well.

Another that I think you might find some pleasure from is Welkkeom tu Dongmakgol [Welcome To Dongmakgol].

I've actually never seen a (Teenage Mutant) Ninja Turtles movie, but I have at least one of them on DVD. It's too bad that it's not a foreign language movie. It might have given me an excuse to finally watch it. :lol:



I've heard of House of Flying Daggers, but I've never seen it. I've never heard of Welcome To Dongmakgol, but I added both of these movies to my watchlist.

Thanks for the recommendations. :)

I went off the list again, but this time it was TCM's fault. I watched Il Bidone (1955) mainly because it aired on TCM, and also because I liked La Strada by the same director.

This movie is about a group of con men who find ways to swindle people out of their life savings. Their cons seem to work well, probably because they are all basically likable people, which makes them believable when they lie to their victims.

It's interesting to watch how these people are affected when their family members find out about where their money is really coming from. That's when we find out what these con men are really like, deep down inside.

While I think La Strada is probably a better movie than this movie, I think I liked this movie more, but to be fair, it's been a while since I watched La Strada, so it deserves a rewatch.

You also really ought to go the whole hog and complete the 'trilogy' with Le notti di Cabiria [Nights Of Cabiria] which was the inspiration for Sweet Charity ;)

Based on the above and lists:

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (delightful french musical)
La Jetee (french time travel film)
Breathless (French New Wave/Noir, very accessible)
Beauty and the Beast and Orpheus - both by Jean Cocteau, beautifully imaginative films from a visual artist.
Wings of Desire (German, beautiful fantasy film including angels and Peter Falk)
High and Low (Kurosawa - but not a samurai film, essentially the first kidnapper/cop film)
Smiles of a Summer Night (Ingmar Bergman, but before he got crazy and experimental, a fun romcom. No scenes with death, I swear).

And, if you like family drama, you might want to consider the works of Ozu like Tokyo Story and Late Spring - both masterpieces.

I added it to my watchlist, even though (surprisingly), I don't think I've ever seen Sweet Charity.

I've seen several of these movies already, but I added the ones that I haven't seen to my watchlist.

I loved The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Wings of Desire.

I liked the Jean Cocteau version of Beauty and the Beast.

It's been a while since I saw Breathless, High and Low, Tokyo Story and Late Spring, but I vaguely remember liking them, so they're all on my watchlist to rewatch them before the countdown.

I think I may have seen La Jetee and Smiles of a Summer Night, but I'm not sure, so I've added them to my watchlist.

I haven't seen Orpheus by Jean Cocteau, so I added this to my watchlist too.

Thank you for the recommendations. :)

Absolutely, glad to help. Orpheus will blow your mind. As great as Beauty and the Beast is I think it's Cocteau's masterpiece. If I think of anything else I'll post.

Glad this film clicked with you, definitely one I would have recommended for you. 👍
Wouldn't bother with the longer version, doesn't add anything significant to the original imo.

Other Non-English movie recommendations based on your guidelines, I think you could like are:

Hachi-ko 1987 Seijiro Koyama
(Since you liked the US version, good chance you'll like this one as well.)
In the Mood for Love 2000 Wong Kar-wai
Jean de Florette + Manon of the Spring 1986 Claude Berri
Cold War 2018 ‘Zimna wojna’ Paweł Pawlikowski
Dexter the Dragon & Bumble the Bear 1983 ‘Als Je Begrijpt Wat Ik Bedoel’ Harrie Geelen
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0188404/?ref_=ttmi_tt
Black Book 2006 ‘Zwartboek’ Paul Verhoeven
Curse of the Golden Flower 2006 Zhang Yimou
The Intouchables 2011 ‘Intouchables’ Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache

Thanks for the info about the longer version of Cinema Paradiso. I have a lot of other foreign movies to watch, so I didn't want to waste time watching the longer version if there wasn't something extra worth seeing.


I think I've only heard of two of these movies, but I don't know anything about any of them, so I'll definitely check them out.

Thanks for the recommendations. :)

I don't think anyone recommended the movie The Exterminating Angel (1962), but it aired on TCM, and I've heard it's supposed to be a good movie, so I watched it.

This movie felt like a very long and slow paced episode of "The Twilight Zone". After watching the movie, I'm still not sure about why some things happened in the movie, but I guess they're just things that we're supposed to accept, and not understand. But while I can accept that these people were trapped in that room, I would have liked to see what happened if someone tried to leave. It just seemed like people stopped at the doorway, but they never explained what was keeping them from leaving.

It also seemed like most of the people in the room were unlikable because they were mean or self-centered, so I never really cared enough about them to care if they got out or not. I watched the movie more for the curiosity of how it ended, rather than to see if everyone got out safely. I think it might have worked better if these were good people who didn't deserve to be stuck in that room, but maybe that was the point of the movie. Maybe those people were "chosen" because they deserved to go through that ordeal. (I don't know which makes more sense, but I think it would have been easier to connect with these people if they were just nice people, instead of rich snobs.)

It's an interesting movie, but it seems a bit overrated to me.

@matt72582,

I watched Sunflower (1970). This was a great movie, but it's a tough watch at times. From the very beginning of the movie, Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni had such great chemistry together that it felt like they belonged together forever.



Thanks for the great recommendation. :up:

And for future recommendations, please note that it's hard to read subtitles with tears in my eyes. :bawling:

I'm so glad you saw this!


One "lesson" I really liked was how love transcended borders, and even enemy nations. It was a little difficult for me to think he'd leave his wife and child, though, but hey, it's a movie... Most love movies I see aren't very good, but this is the best. If you like Mastroianni and Loren like I do, I'd recommend checking out the rest of the movies with them with Vittorio De Sica directing. He made a really good one after this (without actors I've never seen since) with "A Brief Vacation".

I recommend El Mal Ajeno (2010), by Oskar Santos.
I watched it last week and it really got me. Spanish actor Eduardo Noriega was amazing.

Re: Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations
 

Some choices I think you might like...

Romance/Romcom:
Sand Dollars (Dominican Republic)
Priceless (France) -- Thanks to Apex Predator for this rec
The Lovers on the Bridge (France)
That Obscure Object of Desire (France/Spain)
The Lunchbox (India)

Drama:
La Ciénaga (Argentina)
The Lives of Others (Germany)
King of Devil's Island (France/Norway)
Mother (South Korea)
Spring in a Small Town (China)

Action/Adventure:
Kon-Tiki (Norway/Sweden, etc.)
The Wave (Norway)

Fantasy/Sci-fi:
Open Your Eyes (Spain)
Delicatessen (France)
The 10th Victim (Italy)

I didn't think he'd leave his wife and child either, but both he and his new wife said that he didn't remember anything when she found him. If we believe them, I guess it's possible that he fell in love with his new wife before he got his memory back.

I'll try to check out some other movies with Mastroianni and Loren. They were great together in this movie.

Thanks for the recs. :)

I've never heard of this movie, but I'll check it out.

Thanks for the recommendation. :)