Foreign Language Hall of Fame

Does anyone have a good link for Assassination? I couldn't find it as easily as the others.

They do have it on Netflix Stream right now, if that helps.
If not, let me know.

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What I actually said to win MovieGal's heart:
- I might not be a real King of Kinkiness, but I make good pancakes

~Mr Minio

The Sword of Doom

I wasn't quite sure how to interpret the main character. Was he actually evil, or was he simply responding to the insanity that surrounded him, which gradually caused the decay of his mind?
The fight sequences and the ghost scene were well-executed, and seeing Toshiro Mifune made my day.
This is one I will have to re-watch at some point.

The Saragossa Manuscript

The first part was the most enjoyable, in my opinion. It was very trippy and made me feel like I was on some kind of stimulant.
The second part was fun to watch, but it was confusing in the manner of a dream... stories looped between stories between stories.
I feel the ending wasn't very satisfying, but that was probably the point. This is another I should view again in order to appreciate it more.

The Belier Family

A cute little feel-good story that was almost family-friendly. The girl had a lovely singing voice. I had wanted to hear more of her singing with her crush guy, though. Reminded me of a French film about two people who fall in love without seeing each other's face, Blind Date.

I am sorry MijaFrost but this is a movie that I always had about no chance of liking. We all have our preferences and our turn offs as far as subject matter, and I'd be hard pressed to find something lower on my list than monk tales. If this were a similar story, except with a nun, I'd be all in. Monks just don't do it for me, and I'm about as spiritual as a wet dream. The story is actually just fine, but I never cared. What should have been a relaxing watch gave me anxiety. I did like it a little more going into the second half as there was slightly more conflict, but too little too late. I suppose the movie is filmed well, yet it's a landscape and brightness that is unappealing to me. The sound quality was very good. I'm still wondering where the rock fell from. At the time, I thought it best if one fell on my head. It's just not a movie for me so it's pretty hard to judge. I'll just give it a gentlemen's rating.

I thought this was so great, a fantastic blend of dramatic character storytelling and colossal crime story with a bit of a western atmosphere. The film is entertaining from beginning to end, the two hours and twenty minutes just flew by, props to the film for always having something progressive to the story on screen; whether it's a an epic shoot-out on a busy street, a car hijack, or a simple verbal interaction between the characters. Those big action sequences were so well choreographed, shot, and edited, I was pretty much gripped throughout and there were actual stakes that gave power to each bullet that was shot. The film also tries to add complexion to the narrative, and it does so effectively, my inability to properly predict were the film was going definitely left me satisfied. Overall, definitely an elevated crime film with multiple things to offer: excellent action, likable characters, tightly paced, and gradually thrilling.

SCORE - 87/100

Ah, but in it's self, is not a wet dream a moment of Zen; a mixture of personal relief that attains a kind of spiritual. . .

I'm sorry, I don't know where the f@ck I'm going with this.

nevermind

Glad to hear you found this and even more so that you enjoyed it!

Finished up The Saragossa Manuscript and will try to get a review written up for it.
Also rented Samsara and Entre Nos, so should be knocking them out in the next week.

The Saragossa Maunscript

I am so very glad to be introduced to this film.
I have been teased with bits and pieces sans English subtitles and had a strong feeling I would enjoy this when kismet allowed me to have the time and good fortune to get to see this. (Thank you so much @Citizen Rules for your immense assistance in this).

Like an operatic score, the story has such an intricate cascading amount of stories within stories that, they themselves have stories to tell; and yet, they all connect, and while it can get a bit confusing as the layers begin to interweave and crisscross on one another, it never loses itself. Which is an amazing thing to juggle and not drop a single thing. Bravo.
A Gothic, supernatural folk story with a blend of comedy, I had a wonderful time with this and did not feel too worn out from the 3 hour length. And I'm sure, having seen the course of it, a revisit will bring even more pleasure for me. Understanding the multiple layers of stories I will ride the waves for the enjoyment of the ride itself.

The filming was great, the acting was very well done by all and I gotta say, for so many stories to be told, I didn't feel detracted or overwhelmed at all. I also enjoyed how well they were able to reuse the same settings without it appearing repetitive.

A great nomination to a great HoF.

This is probably my favourite line from one of these reviews since it's comedic in its own right, while also referencing Tashi's problem in the film haha.

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I've seen this film a few times now, and you can't help be spellbound by the entire thing. Del Torro's fusion of the magical, ghostly, harsh reality of war and youthful escapism is a joy to watch. The backdrop of the war can almost be seen as the real horror, even though the fantastical creatures are what linger in the memory. It's a hugely well done film and was probably one that projected del Torro into super stardom. I'm always torn as to whether I prefer this film or the Devil's Backbone as my favourite del Torro - and some days it's this, some days it's that. Both are quite superb films. It's beautifully dark too, which really helps as I'm not a real lover of fantasy in film. I prefer reality more. This though, for me at least is probably the perfect "fantasy" film. And one of the best in the genre of all time.

I'm a bit a fanboy of del Torro myself and he has a great style of mixing reality and fantasy and he, for me, nails it in this film.

There are only 2 weeks left until the deadline.

For your convenience, I have listed everyone who has yet to hand in their list along with their nomination, which films they have yet to post about, and the runtime of said films. Those of you who have a fair number of films left to watch may want to prioritize watching the nominations of those who are nearly finished first. Nominations from those who have already completed the HoF will be coloured so you know that they are mandatory.

@cricket - The Sword of Doom
La famille Bélier (1hr 46min)
Pan's Labyrinth (1hr 59min)

@edarsenal - Assassination
Benny's Video (1hr 50min)
Entre Nos (1hr 21min)
Samsara (2hr 25min)

@Luis - Pan's Labyrinth
The Age of Shadows (2hr 20min)
The Leopard (3hr 05min)
Samsara (2hr 25min)
The Saragossa Manuscript (3hr 05min)
The Sword of Doom (2hr 1min)

@MijaFrost - Samsara
The Leopard (3hr 05min)
Pan's Labyrinth (1hr 59min)
Phoenix (1hr 38min)

@MovieMad16 - La famille Bélier
The Age of Shadows (2hr 20min)
Assassination (2 hr 20min)
Entre Nos (1hr 21min)
The Leopard (3hr 05min)
Samsara (2hr 25min)
The Saragossa Manuscript (3hr 05min)
The Sword of Doom (2hr 1min)

@Nemanja - The Saragossa Manuscript
The Age of Shadows (2hr 20min)
Assassination (2 hr 20min)
The Leopard (3hr 05min)
Pan's Labyrinth (1hr 59 min)
The Saragossa Manuscript (3hr 05min)

@Okay - Benny's Video
Benny's Video (own nomination)
Samsara (2hr 25min)
The Saragossa Manuscript (3hr 05min)

@ScarletLion - Entre Nos
Entre Nos (own nomination)
La famille Bélier (1hr 46min)
The Leopard (3hr 05min)
The Saragossa Manuscript (3hr 05min)

@Siddon - Thelma
Entre Nos (1hr 21min)
Thelma (1hr 56min)

@Thursday Next - The Age of Shadows
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1hr 35min)

@Ultraviolence - The Leopard
Entre Nos (1hr 21min)
La famille Bélier (1hr 46min)
The Leopard (own nomination)

Those of you who still have a lot left to watch may want to take a close look at the runtimes of your remaining films and make the decision now about whether or not you can complete this HoF in the next two weeks.

Anyone who has more than 4 films left must check-in with me by this time next week (by posting in the thread, sending a post comment or PM) or they will be disqualified.

This is to allow anyone who is waiting to watch certain nominations enough time to watch their remaining films. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

I really wanted to like this more than I did, it's very middle of the road for me. It's quite effective in a few areas, I would argue that the shot construction is fantastic, there are a good handful of great shots like the one depicted above, it's also nicely paced, some fight scenes are well-choreographed and others aren't, it's kinda funny. The film mostly faults for me in the choppy editing, and the characters. There are many shots that just cut abruptly and it hurt the coherence of the film, some other fights were cut very oddly. And I honestly couldn't latch to any of the characters, there was nothing about them that I thought was particularly interesting or worth rooting for. Not a bad film, structure-wise it's very good, and it has some seriously excellent technical aspects, I just sort felt very unaffected after watching it. Definitely a film I will appreciate, but not re-watch.

SCORE - 60/100

The Leopard



This film is filled with such gorgeous, resplendent eye candy: the intricate period sets and costumes, the beautiful Silician countryside, the two dashing main male characters (Prince Fabrizio and Tancredi), and the alluring, seductive Angelica (played by Claudia Cardinale).

However, the narcissistic older Prince, who refused to help improve his country because he was seemingly too captivated by the opulence of his lofty position, was not a very sympathetic character, nor was his nephew, who, being young, good-looking, and wealthy, was typically conceited and reckless.

The mildly soapy drama was slightly entertaining at times, but there were far too many unnecessary scenes, and the movie dragged on too long for these characters who weren't terribly interesting. Maybe I just wanted to see more scandalous behavior. (I would have shipped Fabrizio with Angelica.)

Thanks for posting the list, Cosmic!!
I started Samsara yesterday (gorgeous visuals) and have Entre Nos from the library which leaves me Benny's Video to take care of.

Just finished Entre Nos right now. Will do a review tomorrow, promise.

Submitted my list. Still need to write something about Umbrellas of Cherbourg, will do that soon.

Still annoyed that I watched Borgman for nothing.

Borgman was...something. It would not have placed high on my list, but it was an interesting watch haha.