Foreign Language Hall of Fame

THANKS for the update.

Will be watching Entre Nos this evening

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Just noticed that 3 members need to watch:

The Leopard (3hr 05min)
The Saragossa Manuscript (3hr 05min)

That's 6 hours of fun movie time, enjoy

Imagine a Stanley Kubrick directed, Ingmar Bergman written adaptation of a Twilight Zone story and you've got Thelma. Thelma is one of those films that excels in using negative space to create a luscious a wide world. You've got scenes of perfect symmetry that you could frame in an art gallery.


Like most Bergman-esque films the story is about choices and the dark ones we have to make. Their is a scene which is the most Bergmanesque death I think you'll ever see where a character has to choose between two horrible supernatural fates.



The performances and more importantly the characters were well defined. I didn't have trouble keeping track of the players and I found that to be a very important aspect from these nominees and will be one of the more deciding factors when I submit my list.



I would not be shocked if Jakob Ihre isn't brought in to shoot Hollywood films in the next few years, because his work was especially good and likely should have gotten a cinematography nom for this.

Entre Nos

To Quote @Citizen Rules: "simplistic yet effective story telling," is an excellent way to describe this sad, but very good film.

I am definitely cried out, having watched Make Room For Tomorrow and this, today. I actually had to steel myself in preparation, knowing the gist of this film.
I also had a strong feeling, like MRFT, this would be as effective in story telling and I was right. Though, amusingly, the tears came as the final notes on what happened to them all were presented. Perhaps it was relief for them and a deeper understanding and appreciation, having gone through a few rough patches and hard times myself.

As CR so aptly expressed, the story telling IS simplistic; relying on the most basic of necessity and the harsh struggle of day to day. Which, more often than not, have far more crueler endings and crueler lives. It was a blessing to know that all three made it out the other end, and created lives for themselves. An additional kudos for such. Which is an even harder thing to achieve.

What I also found impressive was the reality of it all. Without going the route of Reality TV.
If that makes any sense.
What we watched had the nuance of realism without glamorizing. It was very obvious that this was made by someone who lived it and survived it.

Simply made and yes, VERY effective.

That'll do it for me. AMAZING HoF!
Should have a list shipped out tonight.

EDIT: List sent it!!

Ditto, this was a great idea for an HoF! And it's cool that so many new people joined up We need new Hof members to replace the old ones that keep dropping like flies, ha...(I mean leaving the site of course)

BTW, Thanks for the mention Ed! That made my day

very true across the board. Really enjoyed this and hope to see a Foreign Film #2 in the future. And YES, some new folks with some incredible nominations.

and, you are WELCOME! that was an ideal description, I HAD to use it

I've now re-watched Pan's Labyrinth so I'm sending in my list. Will write soon about that and Phoenix.

I would also love to see a second Foreign (i.e., World Cinema) HOF, or an Asian Cinema HOF (East and Southeast Asia).

'The Leopard' (1963)

I'll be honest - I struggled a bit with this one. I did like the splendour of it all. The period, the costume, palatial homes dripping with gold, the grand battles and power struggles, they were all good to watch unfold. But the length of the film meant it dragged a little. Some scenes seemed to go on forever - particularly the dancing scenes. There was some lovely camera work and close ups though - character's facial expressions were used well to convey emotions. But overall I can't say that I ever "got into it". I know next to nothing of the history of Italy and in particular Sicily, so may be that was a disadvantage.

One highlight was Claudia Cardinale though. What a beautiful lady



I can't say I'll return to this film soon, but I am glad I watched it

LOVE the gif!!

I thought this was mostly great, was thoroughly impressed with the design of it all; the scenery. the production, the costumes, the hair, the make-up, all top-notch for a film like this. Italy is something that interests me a lot and I really want to learn the language, so this was definitely very entertaining in a cultural sense, I think this HoF was essentially to open windows to other cultures, and none really interest me as much as this one, so that was neat. The story itself is quite simplistic, but the character interactions did keep this entertaining, I mostly found myself really charmed by the love story. The central character study revolving around the uncle was a bit hit and miss for me, I did feel like we got a nice progression towards different emotional extremes, while at the same time I found his long scenes of dialogue not very interesting and I felt myself dozing off a little bit. That being said, I've watched 3 hour films that have failed miserably to keep my attention, and this one managed to charm me. I will definitely remember the scenery and cinematography if the story doesn't have a lasting impact on me, great film yo!

SCORE - 80/100

The Saragossa Manuscript 1965

A surrealistic film about the impossibility of escape: No matter where you escape, you end up in the same situation - certainly as a reflection on the political situation in Poland at the time. Technically and visually, a highly qualified film has succeeded in overcoming long periods of hard work and in some places with a brave actor. The manuscript found in Zaragoza is an adaptation of Jean Potocki's eponymous novel. It is also one of Wojciech J. Has's best-known films (Sanatorium pod klepsydra 1973 Petla 1958)
Magical and terribly incarnate that requires the viewer to question constantly...

14/14 I'm sending my list

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A normal man? For me, a normal man is one who turns his head to see a beautiful woman's bottom. The point is not just to turn your head. There are five or six reasons. And he is glad to find people who are like him, his equals. That's why he likes crowded beaches, football, the bar downtown...

I just updated the score spreadsheet with the lists I've received over the last couple of days, and there have been some interesting changes in the rankings.

Once I get the last list in, I was thinking about doing little charts or something for each nomination, to show how many points it earned from each placement. I think there would be some extreme lines for some of these films haha.

Is that something anyone else would like to see, or am I the only one who finds that data interesting?

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I find stats and data interesting!

stats are always fun to check out, should you be inclined to do the extra work on them, THANK YOU Cosmic!!

I'm officially done, will send my list in a bit, will do a write up on Saragossa tonight probably. What a fun experience y'all. Definitely had a great time on my first ever HoF, can't wait to join many more! So much fun discussing films and seeing everybody's different take on them. To the post above, I love stats as well. I think after all the watching and reviewing, it would be well worth it to see specifics.

I agree, I like seeing stats too.

The final two films for me...

Phoenix



This is one of the most powerful World War II-themed films I've ever seen.
The main character, coming from an experience that was traumatising beyond words, just wants to experience some semblance of normalcy again, and maybe, find her lost love.
She is willing to basically relinquish her dignity just to reinvent herself as her former persona, because it seems she has no idea who she is anymore.
This is relatable, as I can understand how it is more comforting to look into the past than try to come to terms with the depressing reality of the present.
Amazing movie.

Pan's Labyrinth



Back in 2008, I bought the DVD and watched it for the first time, and was impressed by this "dark fairytale" with the creepy fantasy visuals, and the gritty details of the surrounding real-life war.
My second viewing for this HOF, I felt the same way, although because I've seen many films in that decade, it didn't have quite the same affect on me as it did the first time. I still love the creativity of Guillermo del Toro, though. This reminds me I have yet to view The Shape of Water.

Well, this is the last one, I don't know why I'm getting emotional this was so much fun, lol I'm so sensitive. Anyway, this was definitely a very interesting film to dissect, on the one hand, it has a very lighthearted and infectious comedic tone to it, it's a bit out-dated so obviously some of it felt outlandish rather than funny, but still it was very amusing. The storytelling was also very interesting given how it's not linear whatsoever, and the novelty was definitely interesting. Obviously the problem for me, and I can see others saying the same thing, is the runtime. It's just so very long, which is fine, a lot of 3 hour films have kept my attention, (just look at The Leopard lol) but this one just relied on the same tactics for the entire runtime it just became a bit tiring at one point. Still a very interesting project I would give a good score to.

SCORE - 70/100

Very cool Luis I'm so glad new people are trying out HoFs and getting into the spirit and I'm glad you enjoyed yourself! I hope to see you in the next Hof soon

You definitely will see me in the next! I definitely enjoyed myself and the variety of films in this HoF, very interesting indeed, enlightening even.