The MoFo Top 100 Foreign Language Film Countdown

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Fireworks, My Neighbor Totoro, Rififi, Chungking Express. Four more titles I haven't seen, although I've heard of three of these.

Four more for the list!



Welcome to the human race...
Two from my list!

Rififi was my #23. The last few titles on my list were a bit of a random handful that I could readily swap out for one thing or another, but I think this was ultimately a better choice to make than not. Maybe the ultimate heist film out of the ones I've seen (with the caveat that Reservoir Dogs arguably qualifies on a technicality due to the heist occurring off-screen) that goes through every aspect - the set-up, the execution, the getaway - with aplomb, which is enough to net it just a few points.

Chungking Express was my #13. Few filmmakers manage to get by on pure cinematic vibes as well as Wong does, offering a bifurcated narrative where both strands share common elements but complement each other nicely. That the woozy nighttime neon of Hong Kong is backed by an eclectic soundtrack that uses repetition for good and is filled with all sorts of colourful characters does make this a fun experience each time.
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A continuation of a theme for me here, Chungking is a film I enjoyed in the 90's and haven't seen since, while Riffi is a film I think I own but not seen. I remember catching bits here and there, but haven't sat and watched it properly.

I watched quite a lot of Kitano in the 90's, but not sure if Hanna-Bi was one of them. Obviously I haven't seen My Neighbour Totoro.
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Masaki Kobayashi's 上意討ち 拝領妻始末 - Samurai Rebellion made my list, down at number twenty-three. It holds my favorite non-Kurosawa Toshirô Mifune performance and is also my favorite non-Kurosawa samurai film. However I do not think it is Kobayashi's masterpiece, though it is the only work of his I voted for. His Human Condition trilogy are his best and most important films, but I could neither choose one over the others nor delegate three slots to the complete work, so I went with Samurai Rebellion which is so very well done.


HOLDEN’S BALLOT
6. Army of Shadows (#90)
19. The Conformist (#88)
22. Roma (#83)
23. Samurai Rebellion (#79)
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Have not seen Chungking Express, but I do believe I need to rectify that.

As for Rififi, it is another from my list and a high-ranking one at that. Coming in at #5.





Rififi (1955)

L'Age d'Or Showgirl Hostess: Hello, you.
Jo le Suedois: Hello, kid. Sit your moneymaker down.

I love this film and will be watching it. . . well, a lot, in the future. The Ending along with, pretty much, every aspect of the film.
As mentioned, the execution of the Heist was top class AND VERY INNOVATIVE. In fact, it played out a little too much like a Self Help diagram to commit the Jewel Heist that, according to IMDb Trivia: Mexican authorities pulled the movie from theaters after multiple burglaries were committed employing methods similar to those shown.

How awesome is THAT!?

Also, the Director, Jules Dassin (one of Hollywood's Black Listed during the witch hunts aka McCarthism-ran Communist Trials, plays the safecracker, Cesar le Milanais

He changed what becomes of his character from the VERY explicit book it is based upon. Or, more specifically, the film only covers something that occurs within the novel. Making it a bit personal and symbiotic to when friends betray friends.

And those friends were all excellent, across the board. From the above Cesar, to the lead, Tony le Stéphanois, played byJean Servais. Capturing the "fresh out of jail", been through the wringer in the worst possible way, a shell of a man. Who says "f@ckit" when asked to join in a simple "Snatch & Grab" by the final two friends and insists they go for the Full Monty and take the Jewellers for everything they got.
Even though, after hearing that - my man! Jean Gabin was considered for the role, I'm thoroughly happy with Servais' performance and take, on the character.

Of the remaining two,

Robert Manuel's smooth-talking, the man with the connections, Mario Ferrati (Center) was my favorite. Utterly loved him.



Movies Seen: 11 of 26 (42.3%)
4. Rome, Open City (1945) #93
5. Rififi (1955) #76
6. Army of Shadows (1969) #90
13. Samurai Rebellion (1967) #79
19. Paprika (2006) #100
25. In This Corner of the World (2016) One Pointer
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70 points, 5 lists
74. Battle Royale


Director

Kinji Fukasaku, 2000

Starring

Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Taro Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama









70 points, 5 lists
73. Sundays and Cybele


Director

Serge Bourguignon, 1962

Starring

Hardy Kruger, Nicole Courcel, Patricia Gozzi, Daniel Ivernel






I haven't seen Battle Royale.

However, I watched Sundays and Cybele for the 25th Hall of Fame fairly recently. Here's the review I wrote for it there (it didn't make my ballot though):

This was an interesting watch and I'm glad it was nominated. When it comes to the complex dynamic between Pierre and Cybèle, I figure I'll give my interpretation on the significance and implications of their relationship as there has already been a lot of discussion on this. As others have noted, it's mainly Cybèle who turns the father and daughter relationship between them sexual. Initially, she jokingly suggests marrying Pierre when she gets older, but keeps escalating by making a handful of sexual advances with him throughout the film (which likely occurred due to her young age and her inability to comprehend why her behavior wasn't okay and could backfire). Pierre, on the other hand, doesn't make these advances towards her, nor does he say he's in love with her.

In spite of this, however, I don't think this gets Pierre off the hook. Pierre handled the situation between them quite poorly since he did nothing to prevent or stop Cybèle's behavior as her sexual advances escalated. He instead lead her on and went along with her behavior, especially during the uncomfortably tense Christmas scene at the end where he had an, at best, passive reaction throughout it. Given this, I think it's logical to wonder if he would've escalated (e.g., making sexual advances himself) had the film kept going on. Regardless of his intentions though, while I understand why the two of them wanted to remain together, I think their relationship was unhealthy due to the naivety Cybèle displayed with her sexual advances and Pierre's refusal to put a stop to that behavior. Also, without spoiling anything, I thought the implication at the end gave me a lot more to ponder over in regards to Pierre. While this film doesn't give you the answers on what Pierre's intentions were (Was he in love/not in love with Cybèle?/Did he have malicious intentions?/etc.), it gives you a lot to ponder over and there's a handful of ways one could view their relationship.

Overall, I really enjoyed this film. Its refusal to spoon-feed its intentions to the audience and its willingness to leave them up to interpretation is its greatest strength. This makes the film ambiguously menacing and I can see myself rewatching it down the road.
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Three from my ballot have appeared in the last eight. Fireworks is the Kitano I remembered most clearly, and the only one I've rewatched recently (my own HoF nomination). It's such an amazing combination of drama, comedy, and crime made in the unique Kitano way. Battle Royale is a dystopian action that makes very little sense but is extremely entertaining in its insanity. Also, Kitano is really good in this one, too. Sundays and Cybele is a new addition to my favorites. Emotional, beautiful, and provocative drama.

Haven't actually seen any of the other five, so...

Seen 8/28
My Votes:
7. Fireworks (1997) [#78]
14. Sundays and Cybele (1962) [#73]
19. Battle Royale (2000) [#74]
25. Eight Deadly Shots (1972) [1-pointer]
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I was very disappointed when I watched Battle Royale but I'd like to try it again.

If Allaby doesn't become a member here, perhaps Sundays and Cybele never gets mentioned in this thread? But he did join, and I've seen it twice in the last few months.

9. The Skin I Live In (#92)
14. Sundays and Cybele (#73)
16. Samurai Rebellion (#79)



Count me as big fan of Sundays and Cybele. I seen it for the 25th HoF and was very impressed with the film's sophistication in how it handled it's subject mater. It was my #12 choice on my list!

My post from the 25th HoF

Sundays and Cybèle (1962)

Such a beautifully filmed movie and such a moving and yet sometimes uncomfortable story. And I loved the film for that!

So many Hollywood films tell you what to think & feel...and in doing so dumb down the narrative so that there's no room left for our own interpretation...Sundays and Cybele presents the narrative as it is and allows us to make of it what we will.

I found the film to be dynamic in that it presented so many facets of the relationship between the amnesic Pierre and the orphan girl Cybele. Was their love pure and about two wounded souls trying to heal their fractured worlds?...Was their love misunderstood? Or had Pierre & Cybele built a fantasy world for themselves that was doomed to crumble around them? I don't know...and that's why I love the film as it didn't spoonfeed the answers. Instead it allowed me to contemplate what was unfolding on the screen. I respect that.

The film did make me uncomfortable at times especially in the last scene where Pierre & Cybele share Christmas together. It's touching in that it's her first real Christmas and Pierre wants to make it special. It's also uncomfortable as they sip champagne and seem like they're lovers. But is the evil actually in our own minds? Pierre never touches Cybele in an inappropriate way, he never kisses her on the lips, there's nothing physical between them implied.

As a side note I was intrigued by the spiritual mystic references through out the film and the idea that Pierre & Cybele were going to escape this world for a pool of water beyond their painful existences.







A big CONGRATS to Allaby who nominated Sundays and Cybele and in doing so pretty much ensured it would make the countdown list as it was a popular film in the 25th HoF.



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I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
I hadn't heard of Sundays and Cybele until very recently when people started reviewing it for one of the halls of fame.

I've seen Battle Royale. I didn't have high hopes for it at all, I thought the whole premise was daft, but I liked it a lot more than I expected.



A big CONGRATS to Allaby who nominated Sundays and Cybele and in doing so pretty much ensured it would make the countdown list as it was a popular film in the 25th HoF.
I think the Sundays and Cybele movement started in the movie roulette thread

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