Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations

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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I kinda thought that might be your reaction. And yes they are not always good people and that's 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.

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.
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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
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.

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



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
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.



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].



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
As you liked that one it might be worth you checking out the pseudo follow-up Bewildered Badger, Ninja Turtle.
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.


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 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.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
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.



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.

...

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



rbrayer's Avatar
Registered User
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.
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.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
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

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



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
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'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.



rbrayer's Avatar
Registered User
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.



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.

WARNING: "SPOILERS about the ENDING of "Cinema Paradiso"!!!" spoilers below
When I saw the adult Salvatore tearing up while watching all the films clips of the cut scenes that Alfredo spliced together for him, everything just suddenly fell into place, and I fell in love with the movie. It was like someone just flipped a switch in my brain, and all of a sudden the whole movie made sense, and I loved it.


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?
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



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
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.
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.


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
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.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
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.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
@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.

WARNING: "SPOILERS about "Sunflower (1970)"!!!" spoilers below
This movie was heartbreaking. I knew that they had to be faking it when he was trying to kill her before he went to Russia. They loved each other too much for him to just turn on her that way, and faking mental illness is a common way for people to get out of things like going to war, or jail, or other places they don't want to go. I loved how Giovanna wouldn't give up when she "knew" that he was still alive, and I was in tears, just like her, when she found him with a new family. But somehow, I still wanted them to end up together, even though I knew it wasn't likely to happen anymore. It was devastating to see them end up in two separate families because they loved each other too much to end up with other people.


Thanks for the great recommendation.

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



matt72582's Avatar
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@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.

WARNING: "SPOILERS about "Sunflower (1970)"!!!" spoilers below
This movie was heartbreaking. I knew that they had to be faking it when he was trying to kill her before he went to Russia. They loved each other too much for him to just turn on her that way, and faking mental illness is a common way for people to get out of things like going to war, or jail, or other places they don't want to go. I loved how Giovanna wouldn't give up when she "knew" that he was still alive, and I was in tears, just like her, when she found him with a new family. But somehow, I still wanted them to end up together, even though I knew it wasn't likely to happen anymore. It was devastating to see them end up in two separate families because they loved each other too much to end up with other people.


Thanks for the great recommendation.

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

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.



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)
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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
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 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.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
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.

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

Thanks for the recommendation.