The Personal Recommendation Hall of Fame III: Foreign Language Edition

Firstly, broken record time: @cricket truly did hit gold when you came up with this variation to the HoF. It's been an absolute plethora of gems and continues to. To keep myself for remarking over and over again, I am pretty excited and intrigued by ALL my nominations. Hopefully I'll be returning the favor with ones I chose for others.

The 400 Blows (1959) (France) Director: François Truffaut This will be my second Trauffaut film and one that has continually been on my peripheral every time I see the title.
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) (West Germany) Director: Rainer Werner Fassbinder I thought my chance to check this one out was lost when it was no longer in the 24th HoF. Only to be found again here - SWEET
A Man Escaped (1956) (France) Director: Robert Bresson Lovely bit of kismet here. This weekend was my discovery of Bresson films, picking up two of them from the library. This one and Pickpocket which I watched last night and was curious to see if it would show up here and if it did, I was going to steal that First Review Position with it. I am very happy to see A Man Escaped since, like Pickpocket, I was very much intrigued by it and Bresson's minimalist style and attention to technical detail.
Army of Shadows (1969) (France) Director: Jean-Pierre Melville I have become an ardent fan of Melville very recently. With already a keen interest after the first time seeing both Le Samouraï and Le Cercle Rouge a few years back, I have delved into his list of films in the past few months and this is one of several I have on my watchlist for the 2021 Film Challenge.
The Cranes are Flying (1957) (Soviet Union) Director: Mikhail Kalatozov I am nearly nonexistent when it comes to Russian films and, with a review from IMDb that is titled "Exquisite romantic tale of bittersweet war romance" it definitely looks like an excellent starting point. I do believe I'll leave my research to that and happily go into this blindly and enjoy.
Rashomon (1950) (Japan) Director: Akira Kurosawa One of two Kurosawa films on my plate which is a wonderful thing since he is a director I've held in great awe since I was a teenager and yet have seen a very small slice of his work.
Samurai Rebellion (1967) (Japan) Director: Masaki Kobayashi I absolutely loved Kobayashi's Hara-Kiri and this was something that had caught my eye at the time but never had the opportunity to explore.
Shoplifters (2018) (Japan) Director: Hirokazu Koreeda Heard a lot of great things recently regarding this so pretty happy to be one of the four folks who will be experiencing it.
The Tin Drum (1979) (West Germany) Director: Volker Schlöndorff If @CosmicRunaway was in this I would have instantly thought it was her nomination. There is something deliciously off-kilter and almost fanciful about this film that truly appeals to me.
Wild Strawberries (1957) (Sweden) Director: Ingmar Bergman I have always been hesitant when it came to Bergman. Believing myself a little lacking in intellect to properly appreciate his work. But as I've experienced his work via these HoFs I do find myself finding an admiration, if not an all out enjoyment of his work.
Yojimbo (1961) (Japan) Director: Akira Kurosawa The film that inspired Sergio Leone to make A Fistful of Dollars, F@CK YES

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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 Human Beast: My third Renoir and I'm no closer to loving him. I love all the train footage. I could watch a couple hours of just that. Once the inciting incident takes place it mostly loses me. The characterizations feel weak. The scenes don't feel cohesive. The time line doesn't really make sense. Some of it might be trying to deal with very risqué and violent subject matter in 1938. I don't think all of it can be chalked up to that though. Not a bad movie, I see what people love about Renoir. I need more than glimpses to call a movie great though. This one was just fine

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Letterboxd

The Given Word (1962)- can't seem to find this anywhere anyone got a link?

It was a serious gamble when I picked that one for you, sean. Could not remember how you felt about Renoir. Glad you enjoyed the trains aspect of it. Jean Gabin learned how to drive a train for the role.

Ask Jiraffe, I watched it last year and I think he gave me a link.

I didn't know this was on a list.

I got one with English subs, I'll PM you.

Well isn't that sweet, Sean has the first write up. I've seen 5 from that director and I'm not a fan either. The Human Beast might've been my favorite of those. I do like that actor whatever his name is. He's been in a few good movies.

Cannes

If it starts with an o and ends with a u, it's the same one I found.

That [CENSORED] PERFECTLY LEGAL Russian site's brilliant for finding rare films, and there's no weird pop up ads!

That's a coll tidbit. I almost did a smart ass three word review because it sounded cool in my head. Train Car Noir

I’ve only seen 2 Renoir. Really liked Grand Illusion, didn’t care for The Southerner.
The Golden Coach is available to stream on Amazon so I’ll try that one out as well soon

Taste of Cherry

I had wanted to see this when I first read about it in the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book at least ten years ago. But then I watched Ten and Close Up and really didn’t get along with either. Fortunately, Taste of Cherry is a lot more accessible than either of those, with the focal point to the narrative which is the story of a man driving around looking for someone to complete an unusual job for him.

At first you share in the awkwardness and suspicion of his first passenger, but as it becomes apparent what he wants and as he meets more people, there is a shift in mood and how you view him and his quest. The film makes no judgement (or even a firm conclusion). The final passenger is the most interesting as well as the most successful for the driver.

A lot of this is shots of the car driving along dusty roads (and even that may be a metaphor in itself) but it is nonetheless compelling. I liked this film and I’m glad I watched it.

I remember Ebert not liking this film and not understanding how it could win the Palm D’Ore, as if he had to approve of all the winners.
One of the films I had hoped for my recommendations.

I would have thought after Wild At Heart won, all bets were off...

Good work Thursday, but I'm not going to read it yet since it was also picked for me.

I tired to be as non-specific and spoiler-free as possible since I knew it was picked for other people!

LOOOOVE that place!!

LOL
Did something similar to that by accident for American Beauty where I did a gif with the words, "This is all just stuff" and hit post instead of preview. Everyone got a laugh out of it.
I've seen two as well, Grand Illusion and Human Beast and I've got Rules of the Game on my Watchlist for the 2021 Film Challenge.

Wow, first two reviews are both my recommendations - very cool!
Very happy I was able to find a good one for you. I've never heard of this but as I read about it felt very ideal for you, so, YAY.
:: makes mental note - not that it'll stick. . .::

Oh so it was a blind nom? You should watch it!

with your recommendation I think I will.