Recommend me some foreign films

First off, let me just say that I wan't quite sure where to start this thread, so all you mods feel free to move it if you feel it's necessary.

I'm a little stupid when it comes to foreign films and I would love to see more of them. The only movie I've seen that's not in English is Pan's Labyrinth. So, if any of you have any suggestions, it will be greatly appreciated.

Oh my goodness...where to start? You're not stupid when it comes to foreign films, you just haven't seen many yet that's all So, what type of films do you like? Did you like Pan's Labyrinth? As you can imagine your question is like - recommend me a film....films in other languages cover all genres so if we started with your favourite type of film you'll get lots of recommendations. A whole world awaits you, and that's really exciting

Using your fave films as a jumping-off point, I'd probably suggest:

Les Diaboliques, Z, The Wages of Fear, Oldboy, Purple Noon, M - All thrillers of various kinds
Das Boot, Come and See - Powerful War films, one by sea and the other by land
Black Cat, White Cat, King of Hearts, Delicatessan - Comedies (either farce, black comedy or anti-war)
The Seven Samurai, The Virgin Spring, The Marriage of Maria Braun - Historical films; the first, an action-packed Japanese samurai "western"; the second, a tragic medieval fable with horror overtones; the third a social satire about post-WWII Germany.

I hope that helps, but there are a lot more.

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Is it really possible for someone to see only one foreign film in 19 years of their existence? Really and truly? Don't you have some TV programs that show this type of thing, at least as a late night curio? No?

Does that mean you've never heard what French, German, Italian or Japanese sound like? :unsure:

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It's not just possible, it's pretty easy. In the US, we have this huge English-speaking film industry. I bet you've heard of it.

Does this question mean you've only heard other languages in film?


Here are some I love, all of which I didn't see til I was old enough to babysit adi:
Jean de Florette (French) drama
Manon des Sources (French) drama
The Tin Drum (German) off-beat comedy
Fitzcarraldo (German) drama
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (German) Historical fiction
Chungking Express (your choice of Asian languages) Romance
The Orphanage (Spanish) Suspense

Two that are *technically* in English, but you might want subtitles if you're in the States :
Withnail and I (English) comedy, buddy picture
Dead Man's Shoes (Irish) revenge

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I believe I've heard something of the sort...


For the most part yes. That's how I learned English and got to know a bit of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese. I've had some real life exposure to Italian and German because I live in a tourist country but I imagine that's not the case for most Americans. And I've never met anyone who speaks Chinese, Korean or Japanese or a multitude of other languages I've had the pleasure of knowing through TV and film alone.

How would your average American Joe get to know other languages, aside from traveling (which not many can afford) and/or taking a course...?

Dead Man's Shoes is an English film, not Irish; it's set in the Midlands.

But in answer to this thread, I'd have to recommend my number one Cinema Paradiso.
Also pretty much anything by Akira Kurosawa, Werner Herzog, Roman Polanski, and Pedro Almodovar (except Kika).

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Oops, right you are!


adi, in answer to your question, taking a course is the main way here. OR maybe having a friend who speaks the language. Following that, the only way I've heard of with any frequency is people watching Sesame Street to learn English. But all those are ways people learn a language, not necessarily just hear it. I've heard languages in stores, as people pass by talking on cell phones, in restaurants, etc.

Good Foreign Filmss....One of my all time favorite movies is The Kingdom directed by Lars von Trier. Its long as hell but if you can sit through it (over 4 hours) you wont be disapointed. Seven Samurai is probably one of the greatest movies ever made but again its a pretty long movie. Pan's Labyrinth is amazing and super easy to find because of how popular it is. The Orphanage is fantastic as well.

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This ones very popular , great look at the very gritty crime of third world countries and an easy starting point for your interest in foreign films.



I love these three samurai movies by Akira Kurosawa - Sanjuro , Seven Samurai , Yojimbo. Of course close to every movie he has made receives a ton of praise , these are my favorite of his : solid character story telling with deep messages and awesome music.



Suprisingly straight forward in it's reality television approach to a game of life and death. Shot with the energy of a japanese anime and full of really fun scenes.



Takeshi Kitano is my favorite foreign director , his films all share basic existential themes - then create complex and highly entertaining ways to tell the story. A lot of his films are also very violent , but always contain stunning visuals. Takeshi is originally a comedian though his work is overall depressing , Kikujiro being the exception as it's one of the happiest movies I've seen (maybe that's why it's my favorite of his).

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Recommend some Foreign Faves

http://www.movieforums.com/community...hlight=foreign

You know what Adi, that's even possible in Britain and we're in the EU, much closer to other "foreign" language speaking countries than America is. Back in the day BBC2 used to show a fair amount of foreign language films at peak times and that's when we only had 3 channels, that's where I got hooked .

Nowadays you can find some films from around the world on BBC4 and occasionally on Channel 4 and Film4, but given that there are so many channels now as well as computers and games - a whole welter of entertainment that unless you're specifically looking for something you mightn't ever get to see a foreign language film. Unlike the old days where you were virtually forced to watch one if there was nothing on the other 2 channels .

Thanks for all the suggestions guys, I really appreciate it.

You used to babysit adi?

As for recommendations, most of what's been recommended are good to great films (City Of God, Jean De Florette, Das Boot and Seven Samurai are all magnificent) so I'll only add a few.

Romanzo Criminale (Italian crime drama)

Rififi (classic French heist film, possible remake with Al Pacino in the pipeline)

Man Bites Dog (Belgiun black comedy. Very dark. Quite possibly several shades of black darker than black. But also one of the best and funniest films I've ever seen.)

Babette's Feast (Danish drama and one of the most beautifully shot films I've ever seen.)


John Woo
A Better Tomorrow 1&2
The Killer
Hard Boiled

Paul Verhoeven
Soldier Of Orange
The Fourth Man

Akira Kurosawa
Ran
Seven Samurai
Throne Of Blood

A few foreign movies you might like
French
Les Chansons D'Amour
Ensemble, c'est tout (Hunting and Gathering)
Hors de prix
Dans Paris
Italian
Heaven
Anime
anything by these directors
Satoshi Kon
Hayao Miyazaki
Katsuhiro Otomo

Although "technically" its not a foreign movie per se and in english once again it may need subtitles if shown in the States, you should see Garage. Its a fantastic Irish movie, based around a slow witted garage worker's (amazingly portrayed by Irish actor Pat Shortt) drab and dreary life.

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the Science of Sleep


Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

these are fairly mainstream choices but theyre still very good films

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Let The Right One In is a great romantic-horror-foreign I reccomend.

Daimajin trilogy. 3 films about an unstoppable Japanese god.
Mortadelo Y Filemon. As chaotic as the comics. One long laugh. (Spanish)
Ambulance. Swedish film about 2 men who steal an ambulance.
The Court Jester films (Chinese)
The Fantastic Three (Italian - first one only)
Muriel's Wedding (Australian)
The 4 Taxi films (French)

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There are many worth watching on the Sight & Sound: Directors Poll.

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