Favorite foreign psychological/suspense/thriller/mystery/mind bender

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Tldr: What's you favorite foreign psychological/suspense/thriller/mystery/mind bender?
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Probably my favorite type of movies but I feel I've already watched most if not all of the American movies within this style worth watching, and so I'm curious about what's out there from the rest of the world.

I feel Japan might be a place to start, as their animation tend to lean into the mysterious, dreamy magical and strange but that's about all I can think of, and I don't know anything about Japanese movies outside animation, so it's just a shot in the dark really.

Though they might not fall completely into the mentioned styles, these nevertheless happen to be my favorites:

12 Monkeys
Lost Highway
Conspiracy Theory
Stir of Echoes
Coherence
The Long Kiss Goodnight
The Game
The 4th Floor
Half Light

So, obviously,12 Monkeys is more of a time travel sci-fi. Conspiracy Theory and The Long Kiss Goodnight are more action thrillers.The 4th Floor and Half Light are more on the horror side. Etc. Still these all have this suspense/thriller/mystery thing going that I most of all am looking for. Somewhat related I also enjoy the occasional fantasy/time travel drama, like say these:

Frequency
The Family Man
Midnight in Paris

So what's your favorite foreign mystery/thriller?

And based on this post, if anything, what would you recommend besides your own favorite?



"How tall is King Kong ?"
Hm. Foreign is relative, and so is... every other category. But, let's see.

I loved Sous le sable (2000), by Ozon, with Rampling and Cremer. It's a story about mourning and coping, or not, with an unresolved disappearance.

In a very different way, that's also what Spoorloos (1988) is. You may know the pitch from its remake, The Vanishing (1993), but from what I've heard, it's not faithful to the original's darkness.

One of my absolute favorite movies of all times, Coup de Torchon (1981), could maybe qualify, as it's just a psychologically strange movie, following the revenge story of a character you cannot classify as cunning, dim-witted, lucky or calculating. Or good or evil. So it's a bit mind-screwing in that way. It's actually an adaptation of Jim Thompson's Pop. 1280, but transposed to the racist brutality of colonial Africa.

Another of my very favorite movies is Blier's Buffet Froid (1979), which is completely surreal, and very funny in a way, but in a very dark, cold, detached and violent way. Halfway between lol and eek and wtf. Yet, oddly familiar and logical, feels like a sideways glance at our alienated urban society.

And of course, all of Polanski. I'm thinking Cul-de-Sac (1966) or Repulsion (1965). If you dare checking out what his collaboration with famous dark surreal comedian Roland Topor may result in, try The Tenant (1976).

Or if you care for creepily realistic twisted psychological crime and drama, you have all of Claude Chabrol's work. Too heavy and sticky for me.

You might be interested in Zulawski's Possession (1981), or Villeneuve's Enemy (2013). Two weird stories that break all barriers between madness, intimacy and reality.

Also, does Cronenberg count as "foreign" ? Because oh boy.

Also, if I had opted for Enki Bilal's Bunker Palace Hotel (1989) instead of Butch Cassidy as the tenth of my profile's "favorite films", that would have been three movies of that category among them. Frankly, that was a toss up. I love Bunker Palace Hotel.

Also, maybe check out Jean-Pierre Jeunet when Marc Caro is here to darken his films : I'm less Amélie than Delicatessen (1991) or City of Lost Children (1995).



Hm. Foreign is relative, and so is... every other category. But, let's see.

I loved Sous le sable (2000), by Ozon, with Rampling and Cremer. It's a story about mourning and coping, or not, with an unresolved disappearance.

In a very different way, that's also what Spoorloos (1988) is. You may know the pitch from its remake, The Vanishing (1993), but from what I've heard, it's not faithful to the original's darkness.

One of my absolute favorite movies of all times, Coup de Torchon (1981), could maybe qualify, as it's just a psychologically strange movie, following the revenge story of a character you cannot classify as cunning, dim-witted, lucky or calculating. Or good or evil. So it's a bit mind-screwing in that way. It's actually an adaptation of Jim Thompson's Pop. 1280, but transposed to the racist brutality of colonial Africa.

Another of my very favorite movies is Blier's Buffet Froid (1979), which is completely surreal, and very funny in a way, but in a very dark, cold, detached and violent way. Halfway between lol and eek and wtf. Yet, oddly familiar and logical, feels like a sideways glance at our alienated urban society.

And of course, all of Polanski. I'm thinking Cul-de-Sac (1966) or Repulsion (1965). If you dare checking out what his collaboration with famous dark surreal comedian Roland Topor may result in, try The Tenant (1976).

Or if you care for creepily realistic twisted psychological crime and drama, you have all of Claude Chabrol's work. Too heavy and sticky for me.

You might be interested in Zulawski's Possession (1981), or Villeneuve's Enemy (2013). Two weird stories that break all barriers between madness, intimacy and reality.

Also, does Cronenberg count as "foreign" ? Because oh boy.

Also, if I had opted for Enki Bilal's Bunker Palace Hotel (1989) instead of Butch Cassidy as the tenth of my profile's "favorite films", that would have been three movies of that category among them. Frankly, that was a toss up. I love Bunker Palace Hotel.

Also, maybe check out Jean-Pierre Jeunet when Marc Caro is here to darken his films : I'm less Amélie than Delicatessen (1991) or City of Lost Children (1995).
Wow, thanks for that in depth list of suggestions! Not sure any of it sounds like it falls under the genre, but it seems like things I would enjoy nevertheless. Especially Buffet Froid (1979) sounds interesting.

I've seen The Tenant and somewhat enjoyed it, especially the beginning, with its Kafkaesque, paranoid vibe, though it lost a lot of its appeal when it started to become obvious how it was all going to be sown together.

Though I enjoy some surreal stuff, like say Naked Lunch (1991) or Jan Svankmajers take on Faust (1994), I'm not much of a Jean-Pierre Jeunet fan. Although much better, it's still too Tim Burtony for me.
I feel a bit the same way about Terry Gilliam's other movies unfortunately, despite 12 Monkeys probably being my all time favorite. It's a shame and probably says more about me than Terry Gilliam, but at least it makes the search for great movies more unpredictable and interesting in a way. Like one could stumble over gold in the unlikeliest of places. Anyways, thanks again for the suggestions



You might be interested in Zulawski's Possession (1981), or Villeneuve's Enemy (2013). Two weird stories that break all barriers between madness, intimacy and reality.
Wait, I've seen Enemy (2013). I liked it. Definitely falls within the style I'm looking for. Will check out Possession (1981)






Great forgotten gem with Bill Pullman and Bill Paxton.



All four of Philippe Grandrieux's commercial features released between 1998-2015 are some of most interesting formal experiments in psych thriller/horror I've seen in the past couple decades — especially the first one, Sombre, and 2002's A New Life

World on a Wire (1973) for sure is up there.

Bastards (2013) is excellent.

Rivette's Secret Defense (1998) is also one of my favorite films of all time. Same could be said for Out 1, noli me tangere (1971)