Foreign Language Movie Exchange...Recommendations Thread

The one without the horse scene, that's the one I'd personally watch.

Latin America:

Memories of Underdevelopment (Alea, 1968)
Black God, White Devil (Rocha, 1964)
Invasión (Santiago, 1969)
Jackal of Nahueltoro (Littín, 1969)
In the Mouth of the Wolf (Lombardi, 1988)
Extraordinary Stories (Llinás, 2008)
Memories of Prison (Santos, 1984)
The Dependent (Favio, 1969)
Araya (Benacerraf, 1959)
Embrace of the Serpent (Guerra, 2015)

India:

The Cloud-Capped Star (Ghatak, 1960)
Charulata (Ray, 1964)
North Chennai (Vetrimaaran, 2018)
The Visual (Joseph, 2013)
In Search of Famine (Sen, 1981)
The Walls (Gopalakrishnan, 1990)
The Churning (Benegal, 1976)
Ee.Ma.Yau (Pellissery, 2018)
The Ritual (Kasaravalli, 1977)
Mind of Clay (Kaul, 1985)

I had a bit of a movie mini-marathon and watched:

Orphee - bonkers, but it's not about the plot, it's about the imagery and just being really, really French. A married poet falls in love with death (who is a princess) and mirrors are a gateway to the underworld.

Escape From the Liberty Cinema - also bonkers, Polish film about a censor who runs into trouble when actors in a film start going off-script and talking to the audience. A fun curio, but won't make my list.

The Naked Island - a good one for people who don't like reading subtitles as there's no dialogue (but it will be eligible). Very sad and somewhat frustrating to watch at times.

Z - political thriller that caused something of a stir at the time being deliberately based on real events in Greece. I was completely absorbed in the story and loved the cool look of the film too. Very glad I watched this and would recommend to anyone.

I heard of Z, Siddon talked about it when he nominated another similar film State of Siege (Costa-Gavras 1972)I liked State of Siege, so Z sounds promising.

When you say The Naked Island was frustrating to watch, do you mean because of the chosen lifestyle & hardships that then occurred to the couple living on the island? Or do you mean the way the movie was filmed or the director's decisions was frustrating?

Can you guys do me a favor? Take a look at the first post and see if the two-columns are showing up for you and not looking too funky. It probably looks different on different devices/browsers.

If you going to go with Costa-Gavras film....The Confession which focuses on communism is a bit better.





Z is kinda like a documentary but it doesn't really have the best narrative, The Confession is a much more linear story that would be more up your alley.



I wasn't that impressed with The Naked Island...now I didn't really sit down an dissect it

I had Z as a possible nom for a couple of people.

It Hass to be the website. It was fine for me before and now is all crazy looking.

Never mind I thought I was in a different thread LOL

I thought I was in the thread that I made and I thought gee that looks strange

Yeah, it looks different than last time I checked.

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If you liked State of Siege I think you would definitely like Z. It's available on yt with subs.

It was more the lifestyle that was frustrating - more so to live it, I suppose! Just the seeming futility of the water draining into the soil so quickly - and then them being surrounded by water but not having enough.

I will add that one to my watchlist too.

I would start with a Japanese classic like Seven Samurai,Harakiri, or Woman in the Dunes.

Z is a very good film. A far more accurate and realistic political thriller than the silliness you'd see in a Hollywood political thriller.

I doubt this one has any business on ballots, but I'd like to see this again (I kinda remember it was fun when I was a kid). So, if anyone has a link to Dutch comedy called Flodder with English subs, please send me a PM.

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Some Hidden gems that I've seen in the last few years:

'Song Without a name' (2019) - excellent Peruvian film that is based on a true story about mothers having newborns taken away from them. The director's father was part of the journalist team that broke the story. LGBTQ subplot is beautifully done too.

'A Moment of Innocence' (1996) - Iranian film that is an absolute mindbender. Documentary style in the vein of Kiarostami's 'Close Up', but taken a step further, where the lines of reality blur into films about films about films being made. Truly brilliant filmmaking.

'Fireworks' (Hanna Bi). Kitano's finest that I've seen

'The Broken Circle Breakdown'. If you're in the mood for a European modern tearjerker, watch this

'The Diving Bell and the Butterfly'. Same here. Devastating true story

'Ida'. Polish modern cinema. Brilliant. or 'Cold War' from the same director

'The Return' or 'The Banishment from Andrei Zvaginstyev. Russian new wave. Great films

'Beanpole'. Another modern Russian film about the aftermath of war and rebuilding the motherland.

'Incendies'. Anybody who hasn't seen this needs to get it watched asap.

'Beasts clawing at Straws and 'The Wild Goose Lake' are 2 recent Asian films that you'll enjoy if you like stylish action crime films. 'Ash is purest white' is another.

'Kaili Blues' and 'Long Days journey into night' for those who like long takes, slow paced films and ingenius camera positioning.

'Beginning'. A brutal Georgian film about the persecution of Jehova's Witnesses.