Help me with Foreign (Non-English) Movie Recommendations

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I like romance and rom-coms. - Christmas in August, Rust and Bone, My Sassy Girl
I like musicals, but not loud, rock-music type of musicals. I like the classic musicals, like the ones from the 1960s and earlier. Try Jacques Demy films
I like comedy, but not raunchy comedy. Screwball comedies are okay too. Castaway on the Moon, Playtime
I like mysteries and suspense movies, as long as they're not too graphic. L'Avventura, Werckmeister Harmonies, The Spirit of the Beehive, Three Colours trilogy, The Conformist, Incendies
I like sci-fi, but more the fantasy/sci-fi movies, NOT the horror/sci-fi movies. Time travel movies are good too. Cargo, Time Crimes, Aniara



‘The lives of others’ a great German film from about ten years ago, A fairly simple story with characters you end up caring a lot about, and a fine ending.



Maybe it wasn't in a HoF. It might have been nominated in a movie tournament. I know that I watched a bunch of movies for a movie tournament a while back because I couldn't vote in some matches without watching both movies that were against each other.

I rarely watch foreign movies without a reason, so I doubt I watched it just because it was on TCM.

Although with my (bad) memory, I could be mixing it up with a different movie, but I don't think so. Either way, it doesn't sound like my kind of movie, so I'm going to pass on watching it.
I wonder if what you watched was: Through a Glass Darkly (Berman 1961)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055499/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I like romance and rom-coms. - Christmas in August, Rust and Bone, My Sassy Girl
I like musicals, but not loud, rock-music type of musicals. I like the classic musicals, like the ones from the 1960s and earlier. Try Jacques Demy films
I like comedy, but not raunchy comedy. Screwball comedies are okay too. Castaway on the Moon, Playtime
I like mysteries and suspense movies, as long as they're not too graphic. L'Avventura, Werckmeister Harmonies, The Spirit of the Beehive, Three Colours trilogy, The Conformist, Incendies
I like sci-fi, but more the fantasy/sci-fi movies, NOT the horror/sci-fi movies. Time travel movies are good too. Cargo, Time Crimes, Aniara

I thought I saw a foreign movie called Playtime in a HoF a few years ago, but I don't remember it being a comedy, so I'm probably thinking of a different movie with a similar title. Either way, I'll check it out, along with the rest of the movies that you recommended.

I recognize the titles of most of the mystery/suspense movies that you mentioned, but I don't know much about them, so this is a good time for me to finally check them out.

Thanks for the recs.
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You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
‘The lives of others’ a great German film from about ten years ago, A fairly simple story with characters you end up caring a lot about, and a fine ending.

I've never heard of The Lives of Others, but it sounds interesting, so I'll definitely check it out.

Thanks for the rec.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
I wonder if what you watched was: Through a Glass Darkly (Bergman 1961)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055499/?ref_=fn_al_tt_3

I'm pretty sure that I watched Through a Glass Darkly because I remember there was something about a spider in it.

I know that my memory is getting worse as I'm getting older, so you might be right, but I think I saw both movies. But it's been several years for both movies, so I don't have a clear memory of either movie.



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

I watched The Secret in Their Eyes (2009), and it's a great movie. Like most foreign movies, I had trouble figuring out some minor things that are different in the U.S. from where the movie takes place, but nothing that affected the movie, and they made sense once I figured them out. (For example, I thought Espósito was a lawyer at first, but I eventually figured out that he was an investigator, and I had trouble figuring out who was whose boss in his office. And I thought the "racing club" was like NASCAR, but it turned out to be soccer, but this stuff eventually worked itself out.)

I didn't read anything about the movie before watching it, and I don't want to say too much about it here because it's too easy to spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it, but this movie was brilliant. It kept me guessing and trying to figure things out, and while there were a few minor things that were predictable, there were also several twists that I didn't see coming.

This movie has a good chance to make my list.

Thanks for the rec.



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

I watched Music on Hold (2009), and I liked it a lot. It required a bit of suspension of disbelief, (especially when she introduces him to her mother, and he just automatically plays along), and it became more and more predictable as the movie went on, but like most rom-coms, that's to be expected.

Paula and Ezequiel are two very different people, so at the beginning, it didn't feel like they belonged together, but I loved watching them get closer and closer as the movie went on. I loved how her mother kept piecing together the clues, trying to figure out what was going on with "Santiago".

This isn't a "laugh a minute" comedy, but I definitely smiled throughout the whole movie. Thanks for the great recommendation.



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

I watched Ivan Vasilievich Changes Profession (1973) (aka Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future). I had never heard of this movie, so I wasn't sure what to expect from it, but I decided to watch it because it listed as a comedy/sci-fi, and it mentioned time travel in the synopsis, so I thought it might be an interesting change of pace.

This was a very strange movie. It was fun, goofy, and even a bit stupid at times, and I loved every minute of it. It has a very offbeat sense of humor that reminded me a lot of Mel Brooks type of comedy. It has some fun songs too.

I loved when Bunsha was supposed to be impersonating Ivan the Terrible, and Miloslavsky had to keep talking for him because Bunsha didn't know what to say.

Thanks for a great recommendation.

I have one question for anyone who might know the answer. Ivan the Terrible listens to music when he's in Shurik's apartment. Is the singer the same singer who Baryshnikov dances to when he's at the Kirov? It sounded like the same voice.



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

I watched Christmas in August (1998). I didn't read anything about the movie before watching it because it was listed as a romance/drama, but maybe I should have. It felt like there wasn't much happening for the first half hour or so, and I seemed to be missing something. I thought it was at least 2 or 3 different girls coming into Jung-won's store at the beginning of the movie, but now I'm not sure if maybe it was the same girl over and over again. (It didn't help that they all worked together, so they all wore the same uniforms.)

Also, for most of the movie, I didn't know that Jung-won was sick and dying. I knew that he was at the hospital a couple of times, but they showed him waiting in the hallway. I had no idea that he was sick.

But putting that stuff aside, I thought Jung-won was a very likable guy, (and I loved his smile), but Da-rim was only okay. She wasn't unlikable, but she seemed a bit too quiet and shy at times. There were some scenes where I wanted see the two of them end up together, but I never really felt like I cared enough about their relationship to be upset if it didn't work out. (And it had nothing to do with the fact that he was dying because until the scene where he had a breakdown in the police station, I didn't even realize that he was that sick. I didn't think the movie made that clear until it was too late.)

Once I figured out a few things that weren't made clear in the movie, I liked the movie, but I just wish they had some additional scenes, or even just some extra dialogue, to explain why he was in the hospital at the beginning of the movie, and who the girls were who kept going to his shop for pictures.

It was a good movie, with some minor flaws.



@ScarletLion,

I watched Christmas in August (1998). I didn't read anything about the movie before watching it because it was listed as a romance/drama, but maybe I should have. It felt like there wasn't much happening for the first half hour or so, and I seemed to be missing something. I thought it was at least 2 or 3 different girls coming into Jung-won's store at the beginning of the movie, but now I'm not sure if maybe it was the same girl over and over again. (It didn't help that they all worked together, so they all wore the same uniforms.)

Also, for most of the movie, I didn't know that Jung-won was sick and dying. I knew that he was at the hospital a couple of times, but they showed him waiting in the hallway. I had no idea that he was sick.

But putting that stuff aside, I thought Jung-won was a very likable guy, (and I loved his smile), but Da-rim was only okay. She wasn't unlikable, but she seemed a bit too quiet and shy at times. There were some scenes where I wanted see the two of them end up together, but I never really felt like I cared enough about their relationship to be upset if it didn't work out. (And it had nothing to do with the fact that he was dying because until the scene where he had a breakdown in the police station, I didn't even realize that he was that sick. I didn't think the movie made that clear until it was too late.)

Once I figured out a few things that weren't made clear in the movie, I liked the movie, but I just wish they had some additional scenes, or even just some extra dialogue, to explain why he was in the hospital at the beginning of the movie, and who the girls were who kept going to his shop for pictures.

It was a good movie, with some minor flaws.
Well I'm glad you didn't hate it! I thought it was a touching film about love and grief. I think there are enough subtle hints at what is going on during it.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Well I'm glad you didn't hate it! I thought it was a touching film about love and grief. I think there are enough subtle hints at what is going on during it.

I liked the movie, but I didn't love it. I probably would have liked it more if I had just read the quick summary on IMDB. I usually try not to read much about the movies or watch the trailers before I watch them because it's too easy to ruin a movie with a spoiler, but in the case of Christmas in August, I think just knowing that he was dying would have made a difference because it has a lot to do with his character. Even the voiceover at the beginning makes more sense now, knowing that he's dying.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie, and I'm glad that I watched it.
Thanks for the recommendation.



Have you tried Ikiru? It's a highly sentimental film and perhaps my personal favorite film by Akira Kurosawa, but I think that's another director in foreign that you would like very much.
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-Stan Brakhage



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Have you tried Ikiru? It's a highly sentimental film and perhaps my personal favorite film by Akira Kurosawa, but I think that's another director in foreign that you would like very much.

I watched Ikiru for a HoF a few years ago, and I liked it. It's been a while since I saw it, so I don't have a clear memory of it anymore, but I have it on my watchlist to rewatch it before submitting my list.

Thanks for the rec.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
For the next movie, I went off the recommendations list to rewatch a movie that I watched for a HoF a few years ago. I watched The Garden of Words (2013) because it's a movie that I remembered liking, and parts of it stuck with me over the years.

This movie is beautiful, in both the visuals and the story. I remembered that the story was basically a romance, but the images are what stuck with me the most, and that's what motivated me to rewatch it. It's one of the most beautiful movies that I've seen.

The story is also wonderful. I loved the way these two lonely people helped each other just by talking.
WARNING: "SPOILERS about the ENDING of "The Garden of Words"!!!" spoilers below
I loved how in the end, we learn that they helped each other work out their life problems, and they remained friends by writing letters to each other, but we don't know if they eventually get together. I don't think this type of ending would work well for most romance movies, but it works here because of the difference in their ages.


I recommend this movie to anyone who likes romance movies.



Of Kurosawa's more sentimental works that I think you may enjoy, (although his entire oeuvre is spectacular):

Madadayo
Rhapsody in August
Dreams
Dersu Uzala
Red Beard
Seven Samurai
Ikiru
Rashomon
Stray Dog
Drunken Angel
One Wonderful Sunday
Sanshiro Sugata

*Note: Most of his works display some degree of humanism and sentimentality. Although these are the ones that stand out to me.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
Of Kurosawa's more sentimental works that I think you may enjoy, (although his entire oeuvre is spectacular):

Madadayo
Rhapsody in August
Dreams
Dersu Uzala
Red Beard
Seven Samurai
Ikiru
Rashomon
Stray Dog
Drunken Angel
One Wonderful Sunday
Sanshiro Sugata

*Note: Most of his works display some degree of humanism and sentimentality. Although these are the ones that stand out to me.

I've seen Seven Samurai, Ikiru, and Rashomon, but I added some of his other movies to my watchlist.

Thanks for the recommendations.



You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.
@jiraffejustin and @Citizen Rules,

I watched Shoplifters (2018), and while I liked the movie as a whole, I kept going back and forth on my opinion while watching it. It kind of felt like a strange version of Parasite meets Oliver Twist.

These people seemed like nice people, but they weren't good people. They did some things right, like taking in the little girl, (Yuri), when they realized that she was being abused, but then they did some bad stuff, like not only stealing, but also teaching the children to steal. It felt like a roller-coaster of emotions for a while.

The best part of the movie was the relationship between the two children, Shota and Yuri. I loved how he took her with him when he went out, but then he realized that what he was doing was wrong when he saw her doing it too. (I think the shopkeeper who told him not to make her do it helped him come to this realization.)

WARNING: "SPOILERS for the ENDING of "Shoplifters"!!!" spoilers below
But I was very conflicted about the ending. Osamu just gets away with everything that he did wrong because Nobuyo takes the blame and goes to jail for both of them. Shota seems to have the best ending because he gets away from the bad influences in his life, and finds out information that might help him find his real parents, (if he wants to find them, because it sounds like they might not have been good parents if they left him alone in a locked car). But I hated the ending for Yuri. She was sent back to her abusive parents, and they still don't want her, so she's just back in the same bad environment that she was in when they found her. I wish she had gotten a happier ending.



@jiraffejustin and @Citizen Rules,

I watched Shoplifters (2018), and while I liked the movie as a whole, I kept going back and forth on my opinion while watching it...These people seemed like nice people, but they weren't good people....
I kinda thought that might be your reaction. And yes they are not always good people and thats 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.



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.