What do you consider to be the best (or your favourite) forgein film of all-time? From before the Italian Neo-realist cinema of the forties through the French New Wave, to the current renaissance within Japanese cinema, there is a lot to choose from.
My choice has to be Hana-Bi (Takeshi Kitano, 1997, Jap), Fireworks in the U.S. As an execise in exploring the themes prevalent in Takeshi's work, Hana-bi is almost perfection. The preoccupations with sudden brutal violence punctuating serenity, questions of individual existence and social downfalls all feature heavily. Stylistically from the judgement of the editing to the rich composition within the mise-en-scene, to the melancholic score it is a tour-de-force. Kitano along with Hal Hartley and Atom Egoyan is probably one of the few auteurs (directors who display a constistency of style and theme, like authorship, they control all the films areas) working today. He is incredible; writing, directing, editing, composing paintings and the occasional score. He manages all his actors, runs a production company (Office Kitano), appears on Japanese television 7 nights a week and has the time to write poetry and critical essays.
My choice has to be Hana-Bi (Takeshi Kitano, 1997, Jap), Fireworks in the U.S. As an execise in exploring the themes prevalent in Takeshi's work, Hana-bi is almost perfection. The preoccupations with sudden brutal violence punctuating serenity, questions of individual existence and social downfalls all feature heavily. Stylistically from the judgement of the editing to the rich composition within the mise-en-scene, to the melancholic score it is a tour-de-force. Kitano along with Hal Hartley and Atom Egoyan is probably one of the few auteurs (directors who display a constistency of style and theme, like authorship, they control all the films areas) working today. He is incredible; writing, directing, editing, composing paintings and the occasional score. He manages all his actors, runs a production company (Office Kitano), appears on Japanese television 7 nights a week and has the time to write poetry and critical essays.
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Personality goes a long way...
Personality goes a long way...