Foreign Film's topics - tribe.net

The Kite Runner - What's your take?

2008-08-06T14:44:37Z

Personally, I really liked the film. One of the best I've seen lately.

posted in Foreign Film - 3 replies

foreign film or quality film?

2008-07-25T22:43:55Z

seems to me this tribe should be called quality film rather than foreign film. theres an obvious quality level on the films being discussed here which seems to over-rule the fact that they are ....ah.....foreign? not in english? which is more important?
thanks, obrigada, gracias, merci, tesekkur ederim, shukran, grazzie, arigato

posted in Foreign Film - 3 replies

The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros

2008-07-06T03:02:08Z

wonderful...

http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/340452/The-Blossoming-of-Maximo-Oliveros/overview

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479506/

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Check out international indie films @ Caachi

2008-07-06T01:48:56Z

Caachi - http://www.caachi.com - is a new online indie film destination where film fans can download great indie films and filmmakers can distribute online reaching new global fans.

INDIE FILM FANS
Check out the award-winning, DVD-resolution, downloadable indie films on Caachi. Support indie films and indie filmmakers!

Benefits:

* Feel good knowing that $0.75 of every $1 spent goes to the filmmaker
* Download DVD resolution films and watch them on your computer, TV or video iPod/iPhone and other personal media devices.
* Get started with our free films

FILMMAKERS
Distribute globally and directly sell to your fans. Get 75% of the sales revenue, partner with Caachi on a non-exclusive basis, and you can remove films from the site at any time. A risk-free opportunity.

How it works:

* We receive your film,
* We help market it online,
* Audiences buy your DVD-resolution film by downloading it, and
* We pay you your royalties monthly.

Contact us at films@caachi.com, get more info at http://www.caachi.com/about/show-your-film-on-caachi, or call 415.794.5456. Send a DVD & Quicktime trailer for review to:

Caachi, Inc.
P.O. Box 590066
San Francisco, CA 94159

http://www.caachi.com

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Might as well be a forgeign film...

2008-06-05T04:06:09Z

http://www.sundancechannel.com/greenporno

w/ Isabella Rossellini dressed like bugs... talking about bugs

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

Café Lumière?

2008-05-27T10:13:33Z

I liked the detached eye of the camera and the intricately formal way the shots were framed. What do others think?

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Your Top Ten(ish) Foreign Films

2008-04-23T04:00:57Z

I'm looking for some recommendations. Here are mine ...

Ali Zaoua: Prince of the Streets
Au Revoir Les Enfants
Cinema Paradiso
City of God
The City of Lost Children
The Cuckoo (Kukushka)
Jean de Florette
Manon of the Spring
Raise the Red Lantern
The Return (Vozvrashcheniye)
Run Lola Run

posted in Foreign Film - 60 replies

Virgin Spring, Man Facing SE, My Dinner with Andre, and Kagemusha

2008-02-29T03:50:50Z

I requested the local library to reserve the Virgin Spring for me: is it good?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053976/

And Man Facing SE?

http://www.culturecourt.com/F/Latin/ManSE.htm

I reserved that too. It is ready for pickup.

My friend Adrian and I were about twenty minute into My Dinner with Andre when we were interrupted by a police matter. Should we expect a very interesting ride with this one, when we get back to it? It already seems fascinating.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0082783/

What do people think of Kagemusha, done by Kurosawa? That is in our hands too.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0080979/

posted in Foreign Film - 3 replies

man facing southeast.

2008-02-29T01:45:40Z

are we always doomed to have such brutally depressing endings in films about sort-of prophets. does the world always smash such people?

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Persepolis!

2008-02-28T20:21:51Z

Saw it yesterday and was blown away! Previously unfamiliar with the graphic novel, but I am a big fan of animation. Clearly I'm not alone in loving this film, but I'd be curious to also hear from anyone who didn't like it and to know why-

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Just one film?

2008-02-28T19:35:11Z

If you were going to another planet and could only take ONE foreign film with you (the only foreign film you would ever see again), which one would you take and why?

posted in Foreign Film - 12 replies

The Counterfeiters

2008-02-27T22:54:10Z

won best foreign film at the oscars! Starts this Friday (the 29th) at the Clay theatre (San Francisco)!

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

forgot the title

2008-02-14T02:42:39Z

hi, i need some help. recently i saw a german movie about a young turk girl meeting an older turkish guy in the hospital after she slit her wrist and he drove into a wall and she asks him to marry her so she can get away from her parents. i want to recommend it to a few people but simple cannot recall the title. does it sound familiar to anyone? do you know the title? thanks in advance :D

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

Best films that show off the city

2008-01-30T09:45:07Z

Please list your favorite foreign films that show of the city well. I want to do some "travel" via watching films.

posted in Foreign Film - 5 replies

1958 version of Devdas?

2007-12-15T06:33:14Z

I checked this out from the local library. Anyone familiar with Bimal Roy's work?

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

AFI in Los Angeles

2007-10-21T06:08:38Z

Catherine Breillat (my personal favorite of fat girl, anatomy of hell, romance) is screening a movie at AFI -@ the Arclight called "The Last Mistress" on Nov 3&4.

I've been looking at all the trailers that are available and these few look good:

the art of negative thinking - Norway
the mugger - Argentina
3 months, 3 weeks and 2 days - Romania
the counterfeiter - Austria/Germany
irina palm - Belgium (this looks hilarious)
the aerial - Argentina

tickets range from $7-$11

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Bergman and Antonioni die on the same day

2007-08-19T23:45:34Z

We're losing the great ones.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/movies/31cnd-antonio.html?hp

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/31/movies/31bergman.html?ref=movies

posted in Foreign Film - 4 replies

Dercourt’s ‘The Page Turner’

2007-08-13T01:15:21Z

I recently enjoyed Denis Dercourt’s ‘The Page Turner’ -- a revenge story of the smoldering beneath the placid surface variety. Anyone else seen it? I’d recommend it, especially if you like your classical piano music served up with a taut psychological narrative that clocks in neatly (and keeps you guessing till the end) at less than 90 minutes. Packed the kind of punch you’d expect from a well-drawn one-act play.

And that’s another thing: In this day of “supersize me” filmmaking, isn’t there something truly refreshing when a film can bring its full narrative force, that ineffable wallop, at you in less than, say, 3 hours? Wallop may be a bit strong, as far as ‘The Page Turner’ goes... But if anyone’s seen Catherine Breillat’s ‘Brief Crossing’, then you know what I’m talking about. (And if you saw the latter, Wasn’t that a delicious twist at the end?) I’m wondering if anyone could suggest something similar.

A literary analogue to films like these might be the tightly focused, psychologically penetrating novella you read over the course of a rainy day.

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

New film blog

2007-08-07T23:16:34Z

I've got a new film blog where I review US and foreign movies. Check it out at:
http://flickflake.blogspot.com/

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Curisity kills the cat

2007-07-19T05:43:27Z

A Chinese movie, people trust, people kill.....

Reviews: http://www.foreignercn.com/cn/bbs/archiver/?tid-1450.html
Post : http://www.thatsbj.com/blog/media/200612RMoCuriosityKilllsCat.jpg

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

download foreign films

2007-07-01T02:42:05Z

on jaman.com

http://www.jaman.com/a/home/

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Cognition Factor

2007-06-24T09:59:42Z

I've been asked to write the soundtrack to an independent South African film called "Cognition Factor". More details about the film & trailers are on my website:

www.deviantdidg.com/news.html

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Brand Upon The Brain

2007-05-08T23:36:49Z

Did anyone else get a chance to check this out? I saw it at the Castro (SF) last night and it was amazing! If it rolls out anywhere else be sure to check it out! It's opening in theatres (the Lumiere in San Francisco) but I can't imagine what it'll be like without the live orchestra, foley artists and Joan Chen narrating. In the theatrical release Isabella Rosellini is doing the narration so that'll be interesting. I wonder how Crispin Glover did in New York (was it New York??)

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

after the wedding

2007-05-07T22:56:58Z

lots of people love this movie (i'm not a huge fan) but Thursday is the last day it's going to play here at the Clay Theatre. After that it'll be at the Embarcadero for at least a week.

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

Fun Brit film: Hot Fuzz

2007-05-05T09:46:00Z

In the realm of pure fun.

Just saw it this weekend. It's very fun. It is done by the people who did Sean of the Dead.

posted in Foreign Film - 4 replies

Suggestions?

2007-04-29T16:14:30Z

Hey all. I'm new to this tribe but not new to tribe. I had deleted my old account and started fresh.

In the last year I've really come to appreciate foreign and independent movies . I've watched quite a few foreign films, but not nearly enough! I just signed up for Netflix about three weeks ago and have way more selection and opportunity to view them.

I really enjoy offbeat movies and of course, drama. Comedy is fine, as long as it is slightly original lol. Horror movies are fine and I absolutely love time pieces.

I would appreciate it if anyone would make some suggestions. I basically like anything, as long as it's not the same formula over and over again. Thank you!

posted in Foreign Film - 17 replies

Two free tickets for foreign films with anti-corporate themes

2007-04-08T23:43:47Z

Tribespeople,

We're in the process of pulling together the program for The 2007 Anti-Corporate Film Festival (Oct. 19-21, www.countercorp.org), and are inviting cinema-savvy folks such as yourselves to recommend foreign films that include some elements or themes on how corporations affect our lives.

These can include documentaries, narrative (fictional) films, animation, experimental, feature-length and short -- pretty much anything. The only caveat is that they need to have English subtitles.

If we end up screening a film that you suggest, we'll give you two free tickets to *any* film at this year's festival.

The fastest way to send us your suggestions is directly to the festival at submissions@countercorp.org.

You can also post your suggestions in reply to this post, but our volunteer staff does not check Tribe every day (unlike e-mail). If two people suggest the same film, the first suggestion we receive wins if we end up screening it.

Thanks, and look forward to hearing your ideas!

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

what did you think-feel of "mitt liv som hund"...(my life as a dog)

2007-04-06T15:43:59Z

it broke my heart
and somehow
put it back together again

what is the difference
between
what you want
and what you need

...???...

posted in Foreign Film - 1 reply

Found the Film Title!

2007-03-31T14:28:29Z

I deleted the previous thread because I had to cite key plot points which may spoil the film for some people.
Anyway....
I found it! It's called Swing and is directed by Tony Gatlif. It is a very nice film, and I can't wait to see it again.

Here are two links to the film descriptions I found:
www.imdb.com/title/tt0307538/
www.rickmcginnis.com/movies/swing.htm

The imdb site has a search by plot, and that's how I found it. I typed in a few words associated with the plot, and then read and scrolled for an hour. :)

thanks again!

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

Exterminating Angels (Les anges exterminateurs)

2007-03-23T23:30:20Z

I saw Jean-Claude Brisseau's newest film at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston last night. First off, props to the MFA for screening this film. There were some extremely provocative scenes and Boston isn't known for its tolerance of things provocative.

I enjoyed the movie very much and thought the actresses did a wonderful job of portraying the intense and complicated emotions associated with sex and sexual experimentation. What I didn't understand were the cryptic voice-overs -- not the narrator, but the announcer style voice-overs. Has anyone else seen this, and if so can you shed some light on this aspect of the film?

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

Brazilian films

2007-03-23T06:18:05Z

City of God
Man of the Year
Mango Yellow
Madame Sata

These are all superb Favela films, fresh, vibrant, handheld, street, and fast. In foreign films I dont think there's a more promising film culture than the one emerging in Brazil.

posted in Foreign Film - 29 replies

The Host- Korean

2007-03-22T17:37:04Z

www.hostmovie.com/

If you want a TRULY fun experience.... DONT click the link above...DONT read any reviews or look it up online.... just go see this movie.

It had one of the most visually stunning movie moments I have seen in a long time.

It made me squirm and laugh and almost cry.

Go see it! Do this soon as it might not be in theaters much longer.

(worth it to see on the big screen)

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival / Cinema Paradiso Events

2007-03-22T14:57:59Z

Colour Me Kubrick: A True...ish Story
John Malkovich stars in the true story of a man who posed as director Stanley Kubrick during the production of Kubrick's last film, Eyes Wide Shut, despite knowing very little about his work and looking nothing like him.
General Admission $8.00 | seniors and Students $7.00 | FLIFF Members $5.00
Thursday, March 22
Cinema Paradiso
7:30 PM

Saturday, March 24
Cinema Paradiso
1:30 PM

Sunday, March 25
Cinema Paradiso
12:00 PM
3:30 PM

Undiscovered Gems: We Feed the World
WE FEED THE WORLD is a film about food and globalization, fishermen and farmers, long-distance lorry drivers and high-powered corporate executives, the flow of goods and cash flow–a film about scarcity amid plenty. With its unforgettable images, the film provides insight into the production of our food and answers the question what world hunger has to do with us. Interviewed are not only fishermen, farmers, agronomists, biologists and the UN's Jean Ziegler, but also the director of production at Pioneer, the world's largest seed company, as well as Peter Brabeck, Chairman and CEO of Nestlé International, the largest food company in the world. Website: www.tentilnoon.com
General Admission $8.00 | seniors and Students $7.00 | FLIFF Members $5.00

Wednesday, March 28
Cinema Paradiso
7:00 PM

Thursday, March 29
Cinema Paradiso
7:00 PM

Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience
A unique documentary about troops' experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan based on writings by soldiers, Marines, and air men. Some writings were published in the New Yorker in summer 2006. A larger assortment was published as a book by Random House last September. The film drew upon the submissions by soldiers for the book. It's a remarkable portrait of troops at war - the complexities, doubts, and fears - written with honesty. The 81-minute version of the film includes 11 pieces of writing, with different visual strategies, along with interviews with the writers, and with more established American writers who are also veterans.
General Admission $8.00 | seniors and students $7.00 | FLIFF Members $5.00
Friday, March 30
Cinema Paradiso
6:00 PM
8:00 PM

Saturday, March 31
Cinema Paradiso
3:00 PM
5:00 PM
7:00 PM

Sunday, April 1
Cinema Paradiso
3:00 PM
5:00 PM
7:00 PM

Ten 'til Noon
In ten minutes, everything can change. For these ten people...it will. A jet-lagged Larry Taylor awakens to find two strangers in his bedroom, and over the next ten minutes, will experience the most terrifying, and possibly final, moments of his life. But who these strangers are, and what they want, can only be determined by events occurring elsewhere at the same time. We relive those same ten minutes through the eyes of those connected to what is not a simple home invasion, and with each person, find ourselves closer to the truth. Cast: Alfonso Freeman,Jenya Lano,Dylan Kussman,Thomas Kopache,Rick Wasserman,Rayne Guest.
General Admission $8.00 | seniors and Students $7.00 | FLIFF Members $5.00

Monday, April 2
Cinema Paradiso
7:00 PM

Tuesday, April 3
Cinema Paradiso
7:00 PM

Wednesday, April 4
Cinema Paradiso
8:00 PM

Thursday, April 5
Cinema Paradiso
6:00 PM

Tropic Cinema - Key West
9:15 PM

Friday, April 6
Cinema Paradiso
10:00 PM

Tropic Cinema - Key West
9:15 PM

Saturday, April 7
Cinema Paradiso
8:00 PM
9:30 PM

Tropic Cinema - Key West
5:15 PM

Sunday, April 8
Tropic Cinema - Key West
3:15 PM

Monday, April 9
Cinema Paradiso
7:00 PM

Coming soon...Air Guitar Nation - do you have what it takes??

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Cafe Lumiere

2007-03-19T10:11:56Z

2 nights ago, i watched, "Cafe Lumiere" by Hou Hshou Hsien (sp?)
I thought this was totally brilliant, especially in the way it was a tribute to Ozu. The first scene, of the long, lingering shot of modern Tokyo, shot from the classic "ozu angle", the train goes by, the camera still sits and ponders.
Sugoi!!! :)

phil

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

Lost another film title!

2007-03-17T01:37:40Z

This one will be tough. I once saw part of a b&w english film on television about druids and knights who were out to get them. The druids seemed to be the bad guys, which I don't buy, but the movie was intriguing. the forest scenes were cool.

everyone in the woods was dressed sort of like shabby robin hoods and hid in the forest. the druids were actually the good guys, guerilla fighters against the oppressors who invaded some years ago from across the channel. buy hey! the victors get to write history.

here's a key scene which may jog your memory, if you know this film. the druids had a giant hollow tree short and stout which had a hollow branch that someone would blow a deep loud bass note to call all the druids to arms.

does this ring a bell for anyone? ( or blow a horn? ) I have no clue who was in the film or what the title was, but I would sure like to find a copy and watch it all the way through.

???????????????????????????????????

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Perfume: Story of a Murder

2007-03-16T15:33:44Z

I haven't seen it yet, but it looks very promising. The film is directed by Tom Tykwer who also did "Run Lola Run." In addition, it's based on novel by Patrick Suskind. Also as a side trivia Kurt Cobain wrote the song "Scentless Apprentice" off of the "In Utero" album after reading about Jean Baptiste Grenouille. For more info click on link below:

http://imdb.com/title/tt0396171/

posted in Foreign Film - 5 replies

Fellini

2007-03-07T01:27:01Z

was he brilliant? what are your favorites? did his films need to be heavily edited?

posted in Foreign Film - 11 replies

Attributes of films...

2007-03-06T20:24:44Z

Ok, let's look at the big picture for a minute. I was talking with a friend about some of the countries I have watched foreign films from and what attributes they have.

Example: The most interesting ones, for me, come from countries who's culture is so completely different from mine that it makes me really think about what is happening and why people are reacting the way they do.

So...

What countries tend to produce films that:

1) make you analyze them more
2) are more dramatic
3) are more confusing
4) are more difficult to sit through
5) add whatever you want

posted in Foreign Film - 3 replies

Dursu Urzala

2007-03-06T06:56:05Z

what a great film, such stark scenes. so sad, too.

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Three Times

2007-03-04T02:46:37Z

I just borrowed this movie from the library "Three Times" link is below. Although I agree with the critics review that the storyline moved really slow with no real end result. I felt that the visual settings were beautiful and the actors were equally as beautiful.
I would recommend it for fans of Wong Kar Wai's "In the Mood for Love."

http://imdb.com/title/tt0459666/

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

Cannibal

2007-02-28T03:02:35Z

Ugh. If I had to describe this film in one word, it'd be:

DISTURBING

Though I imagine that's the effect they were going for. The fact that it's for real, well, that just makes it all the more so.

posted in Foreign Film - 1 reply

Center Stage

2007-02-26T13:50:35Z

Center Stage is a 15 year old film by HK filmmaker Stanley Kwan. It won lead actress Maggie Cheung a Silver Bear in Berlin, the first major Western acting award to go to a Chinese actor. It is a brilliant, highly unconventional film, a blend of narrative and documentary, about the events leading up to the suicide of Ruan Lingyu, one of China's most iconic silent film stars. It only recently became available on DVD in the West, and I highly recommend checking it out.

posted in Foreign Film - 4 replies

A great source for info about Korean Film

2007-02-25T18:34:16Z

http://www.koreanfilm.org/

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Gloomy Sunday

2007-02-24T04:16:51Z

I just watched this one the other night and it was AMAZING!! I actually watched it twice in a row. Has anyone else seen it??

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

The Happiness of the Katakuris

2007-02-23T20:06:01Z

What a peculiar film.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0304262/

I haven't seen anyone mix animation and live action with a great result through an entire movie, but the first three minutes of this film do it beautifully. Too bad the rest of the movie doesn't have a lot more of it (I kept waiting, and kept being disappointed). It's downhill after that first bit - eventually, I got bored, and it started looking like a sitcom.

You might want to watch it if you're a mad Takashi Miike fan, or if you're just in the mood for something totally different. Think about a mixture of Shawn of the Dead and The Sound of Music, but with subtitles and a smattering of claymation. Does this sound intriguing? Then this movie might be just what you've been looking for.

posted in Foreign Film - 4 replies

The Lives of Others

2007-02-23T17:57:28Z

I am not the first one to comment on the resurgence of the German cinema.
The best movie I have seen in years : The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen), read more on http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/
Don't have much time to comment on it, but I would love read what you think of it.

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

La Moustache

2007-02-23T17:53:28Z

Anyone seen this flick? I'd be curious to hear what you thought of the ending.

posted in Foreign Film - 5 replies

Blood and Chocolate

2007-02-23T13:34:57Z

Bucharest was eerie and lovely, a gray, winding city with great forested areas. The story was dramatic and kept me on my seat at times, and the special effects of diving and transforming species was very cool. I would have liked a little more chocolate with the movie, however.

A worthwhile film, although not high art and some of the acting was rather wooden. It did offer a little different spin on the werewolf legend. Nice to get a look at Romania, I would like to travel there.

Did you see the film? What did you think?

here's an example of what Romanian looks like: (talking about a Kodak camera)

" Pentru a incheia, consideram ca Kodak V610 Camera digitala este o camera fantastica si incurajam cu incredere pe cititorii nostri sa cumpere aceasta camera minunata. "

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

one of my faves

2007-02-11T04:14:35Z

Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse, directed by Fred Haines is available on dvd! Wow. . .i have had a videotape for years, and it was extremely rare, now I can get the dvd and not worry about the tape becoming corrupted.

I looove the music in this film. Great scenes, very trippy. a little dated with special effects in the magic theater, but altogether a fun film.

Max von Sydow is terrific. . .

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

OLD BOY - directed by Chan Wook Park

2007-02-07T03:37:19Z

is playing at the Parkway Speakeasy Theater in Oakland this week.
The theater has sofas and serves beer, pizza, and other food.

http://movies.yahoo.com/shop?d=hv&cf=info&id=1808570534

posted in Foreign Film - 21 replies

Farewell My Concubine

2007-01-28T19:45:09Z

I just saw the DVD version of the movie. Long, but kept me glued to the screen not wanting to miss any scene. A great movie. What do you think?

posted in Foreign Film - 1 reply

turtles can fly

2007-01-27T00:13:11Z

just a recommendation, the performances of the children are especially astounding.

posted in Foreign Film - 1 reply

Laberinto del Fauno/Pan's Labyrinth (Spain/Mexico)

2007-01-23T07:33:24Z

I don't usually watch fantasy films but I had a chance to see the advance screening of this one. It's really a good movie but certain scenes could be too graphic for some. Turns out that it has won many awards already and is nominated for so many others, including the Golden Globe. Highly recommended.

posted in Foreign Film - 1 reply

Tom Tykwer

2007-01-09T18:53:16Z

German directors... Not many easy movies from the directors I like.
Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo), RW Fassbinder (I saw yesterday, 'The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant'), Volker Schlondorff (The Tin Drum ), Veit Helmer (Tuvalu), Sandra Nettelbeck (Mostly Martha), Vim Wenders (Wings of Desire), Oliver Hirschbiegel (Das Experiment) ...

One German director is on the top of my score card, Tom Tykwer
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0878756/

I have seen 4 of his movies and love them all.
- Heaven
- Run Lola Run
- The Princess and the Warrior
- Winter Sleepers

'Der Krieger und die Kaiserin' is in my humble opinion the hardest to accept but in all these movies are creative and beautiful. There is an unmistakable style in the directing but TK also bring a haunting music - best in Run Lola ... - .
Another reason I admire in Tykwer is is excellent choice of actors and Cinematographer (Frank Griebe)

I cannot wait to see his next movies.
True (Natalie Portman)
Paris, je t'aime - 10th Arrondissement. (Coen Brothers)
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer.

posted in Foreign Film - 3 replies

Lone Wolf and Cub

2007-01-06T11:59:00Z

I have yet to see anyone on tribes mention the Lone Wolf and Cub series, i love these movies, if you are into samuria movies you must check this out. Anyway i just wanted to throw that out there, would like to see other fans comments.

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

My Mother's Smile....a DVD movie

2006-12-26T06:06:04Z

This movie brought a knowing smile to my lips... It is an Italian film
that raised a few hackles in Rome. Very well done and me being
Spiritually Independent and not religious doubled the pleasure I got
from this movie.........

http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/mymotherssmile#critics

There was a lot I could relate to in this movie; including family
dynamics when it comes to religion. Anyone else see it?

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

looking for screenwriting partner

2006-12-12T06:09:42Z

as an agent for film distribution, i have -over the years- accumulated good contacts in the business. Time to use them more... personally (and creatively). I would like to find a screenwriting partner, and get a script ready for Cannes at the earliest, next AFM at the latest. I write about 5 script coverages a week, and my criticism of other people's scenarii has led me to face... continuous writer's block. I REALLY need the stimulation and inspiration a collaboration can provide. My first language is French, so i'm open to a French or English collaboration. We would only be able to meet in person a few days each month, and most of the collaboration would have to happen via phone or i.m. If you're interested, send me some info about yourself, including which movie (precisely or more vaguely) you would like to write, which films/ scripts have inspired you etc. Please do not contact me with an already finished script you're trying to place. Send all info directly to my tribe address (no need to respond to this post)

posted in Foreign Film - 1 reply

Like Water for Chocolate

2006-11-19T15:50:37Z

My office is holding its holiday party at a movie theater/restaurant (Foreign Cinema, in San Francisco). The movie that's being shown in December is _Like Water for Chocolate_. I haven't seen it but have heard that it's a pretty erotic film. Will it be horribly uncomfortable to see this film while I'm surrounded by my coworkers? They're bankers.

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

middle and eastern europe, the balkans and the mediterranean, turkey and the middle east. docs for example

2006-11-07T15:31:50Z

Hi there,

as I am new to this tribe I should introduce myself: Markus, 28, German cultural anthropologist living in Istanbul. That's done then.

I guess from time to time I would like to bring in here, besides all the other docs I like, those from German speaking countries, because as I have lived for example in Paris for a while and as besides English speaking movies especially those from lumieres-landia can be found everywhere in the world and usually the German ones almost nowhere, I'd like to share some of these hidden but promising little blossoms with you ;-)

One of the esthetically most stunning, yet because of its content also most unsettling documentaries I have seen this year was definitely Nikolaus Geyrhalter's Unser Taeglich Brot/Our Daily Bread, an Austrian seemingly hyperrealist, yet very quiet, 'peaceful' film showing you without any commentary what you eat and were it comes from, no matter if meat or sunflower. Living at the other end of the endlessly producing food chain...

www.europeanfilms.net/reviews...rot.html

Another one I would like to recommend to you strongly is an already rather famous one by Volker Koepp, a somewhat 'traditional' documentarist from eastern Germany with a great interest in Eastern Europe.

Herr Zwilling und Frau Zuckermann (1999) is about an old 'couple' who are two of the last surviving, German speaking Jews after the Holocaust and Migration still living in their small town of Czernowitz at the Ukrainian/Rumanian border. A portrait of the past and a present imbedded in nostalgia with the witty, laconic irony of its protagonists...

www.cine-holocaust.de/cgi-bin/gdq

- but everyone who's seen Stanislaw Mucha's hilarious Die Mitte (The Center) about Europe's new 'center' and where it can possibly be found, will know that these regions won't stay forever at the fringes of a continent drifting more and more to the east... :-)

See you next time, same place different content.

And by the way all people interested in 'mediterranean', 'eastern European', 'Balkan', 'middle East' documentaries having some favorites to share (as my focal point I will sımply say: Turkey, because that's where I live at the moment) please let me know :-)

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

one more thing: 'German-Turks'. Thomas Arslan for example

2006-11-07T14:20:12Z

As difficult as the term German-Turks might be (that's the social scientist speaking..) and as unapropriate this might be to approach a very talented young filmmaker, I can't help but introduce him here under that label, too, considering the fact that the few people who actually do talk about him put him in the same drawer as Fatih Akin because of their 'same' background...
Well, I like Fatih Akin, too, very much, I have to admit, but besides their common descent (Akin's parents are from the black sea as you can learn in his documentary We forgot to go back, where Aslan's parents are from exactly I can't tell and don't care) they have nothing in common, neither in style nor in temperament nor from socialisation: Akin is from Hamburg, Arslan from Berlin. Whereas Akin's movies are usually like steamtrains or a fist pointed at your stomach, fairytales from a St Pauli Street Kid full of irony and sarcasm - Arslan's movies are quiet, reduced, minimalist and always rather as if the world was seen through a blurry window, from a distance, even when you come closer to the protagonists as in any of akin's movies there will always be the feeling of never being really able to 'grasp' them. There are other directors like him in Berlin, like Angela Schanelec for example - but they all have something rather 'french' to them: usually you don't laugh out loud and although people themselves move fast, everything seems to happen in slow-mo...

Be it in Der schoene Tag/ The beautiful Day, Kardeşler/Geschwister (Siblings) or Dealer which all of them take place in Berlin Kreuzberg, a Kreuzberg that's speaking of a district shaped by long time migration on the one hand, but far from the endlessly created clichees around it.

www.german-cinema.de/app/fil...view.php

Now this year Arslan seems to have made his 'Istanbul/Turkey' documentary just as Fatih Akın had made his one (the much praised crossing the bridge, on istanbul music scene - i won't say that i don't admire this one myself, too, one of the featured singers being a close friend of my flatmate :): Aus der Ferne/From a distance. And in a way that's striking: Akın again crossing something, cultures, the bosphorus, the east and the west and having a huge laugh on it all - and arslan: still. curious. open but keeping the distance. With Istanbul as a multiple parting point to explore a Turkey Arslan himself is rather a stranger, too, although having studied two years at Ankara.

Having not had the opportunity to see this one yet at this year's berlin film festival, because İ just wasn't there, I am still looking forward to it and recommend it to you as it was recommended to me.

www.signandsight.com/features/606.html

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

!!!CALL FOR ENTRIES!!!

2006-11-02T21:08:05Z

Entry Deadline: Febuary 1, 2007

The Delta International Film and VIdeo Festival is devoted to showcasing the work of independentt film and video artists. We are looking for work that exibits exceptional artistry, insight, and innovation in all categories and genres. We welcome submissions from established and emerging artists working in the United States and internationally. We also seek work made by students currently wnrolled in college or university. Cash Awards.
We at DIFVF belive that filmmaking is a profoundly unique phenomenon of cultural exploration and selff-expression. We wish to promote and give visibility to the art of filmmaking by celebrating and recognizing the work of outstanding filmmakers and video artists. We look forward to receiving your entry!

Text for Call

The Delta International Film and Video Festival
March 30-31, 2007
Cleveland, Mississippi
Entry Deadline: Febuary 1, 2007
www.difvf.com
662-846-4731----(Robyn Moore)
rmoore@deltastate.edu

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

The Cinema Of Sorrows

2006-10-30T07:36:06Z

I have just started researching an essay on melancholy in the cinema - tentatively titled 'The Cinema of Sorrows' - and am compiling a list of films I have either seen or intend to see as part of my investigation. Would anyone care to suggest a text (either visual or written) that they think might be useful? No limits: arty/ trashy, old/new, Hollywood/World, feature/short, genre/experimental, book/magazine, theoretical/tabloid, web/hardcopy, etc..

Thanks.

Louis

P.S. Feel free to check out my blog (Voltaire's Monkey), which is composed entirely of visual and textual quotes from the worlds of art, cinema, photography, illustration, philosophy, social theory, literature, etc., and where I have just posted an entry devoted to this topic, with an illustrated excerpt from a superb article by Adrian Martin.

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

Downfall. . .

2006-10-27T05:04:31Z

Has anyone seen this film? It is kind of mesmerizing. You know the feeling in a movie when the truly evil villain gets his? In this one ALL the truly evil villains get theirs. And it's true!!!

posted in Foreign Film - 1 reply

Good recent Foreign Film releases?

2006-10-07T03:57:42Z

What are some good foreign films that have been release over the last year. I especially like Italian, French, Eastern Eupopean, Danish films.

posted in Foreign Film - 17 replies

what to watch w/child

2006-10-05T19:46:10Z

I would love to watch movies but I have a 5 year old boy so I have not been able to watch many movies since he was born. I get too tired at night so that I can not wait for my son to go to sleep even if to watch a movie after his asleep.

can anyone recommend me any foreign movie I can watch with my son together ? ... I do not mean children movies, movies for grown-ups but no guns and sex. ... I like movies like, Hero, Green snake, Central station, Subway, Shine, Erik the Viking ...

posted in Foreign Film - 6 replies

the Banquet

2006-09-24T02:28:36Z

Here is an excerpt from a review I wrote for a local film magazine about the new Chinese reworking of Hamlet:

The Banquet (Ye Yen), Feng Xiaogang’s contribution to the burgeoning juggernaut of contemporary Chinese wuxia (“heroic martial arts”) films is a martial arts version of Shakespeare’s Hamlet set in Tang Dynasty China. It is clearly aimed squarely at the hearts and minds of western film critics. And atypically for a Feng Xiaogang film, it looks set to hit this target. Feng is easily the best-known director in China, but has yet to build any recognition whatsoever in the West, partly because his stock and trade is comedy and his comedies generally don’t translate all that well. My prediction is that this film will be hailed as a masterpiece throughout the US and Europe, while here in China it will by and large be dismissed as a silly extravagance.

On a literary level, this is a fascinating film because Feng and his screenwriters Qiu Gangjian and Sheng Heyu have shifted the focus of Shakespeare’s story from the Hamlet character to the Gertrude character, here called Empress Wan. I strongly suspect that the primary motive for this change is that she is played by Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Memoirs of a Geisha), who for some inexplicable reason is the biggest box office draw China has ever known. But whatever the motivation, this shift in emphasis is carried off fairly successfully and makes the story considerably more dynamic than Shakespeare’s original. Let’s face it, Hamlet, in Shakespeare’s conception of the story, is basically a story about a poor little rich twit who literally can’t make a decision to save his life. There are some interesting elements of intrigue in the plot, but what makes the play sing is the eloquence with which the central character describes his moral dilemma. But Gertrude, now there’s a fascinating character to begin with. She’s a woman who loves her husband and son, but is somehow persuaded by her brother-in-law to collude in betraying them.

In Feng’s re-envisioning, Empress Wan is not actually Hamlet’s mother, allowing the film to neatly sidestep the issue of whether there is anything oedipal going on between them, and perhaps more importantly, allowing the rather young Zhang Ziyi to believably play the role. Instead, she starts out as the girlfriend of Prince Wu Luan (Hamlet) until she gets noticed by his father, the Emperor, who snaps her up and makes her his new favorite wife. No one objects since the Emperor’s will cannot be questioned, but the Prince exiles himself to a remote theatre where he and his troupe of performers practice some sort of mystical dance. He and the new Empress continue to pine for each other from afar. Enter brother-in-law Li, who kills the Emperor, proclaims himself the new emperor, and asks Empress Wan to marry him. The alternative is certain death for her and her beloved prince, while if she accepts the villainous Li’s hand in marriage, she may be able to save Wu Luan’s life as well as her own. Now that is a serious moral dilemma.

Over the course of the film, Empress Wan is repeatedly placed in a position of having to make similarly morally ambiguous decisions and they gradually begin to taint her. Gradually, her attitudes and priorities shift, leading to her ultimate downfall. Her character remains morally ambiguous to the end.

This ambiguity is likely to play well with critics in the West, where moral ambiguity is enshrined as a great literary virtue, and not so well with Chinese audiences. Xuxia is a firmly established, well-defined genre here, and local audiences understandably like their wuxia films to have clearly distinguished heros and villains. The Gertrude-centered spin on Hamlet is also likely to make the film seem fresh and intriguing to western critics brought up on Shakespeare, while its significance may be lost on a Chinese audience much less familiar with the original script.

The biggest problem the film is likely to have with Chinese audiences is the overly wordy and often pompous dialogue. This will not be a problem for Western critics because they won’t understand the dialogue and will be relying on subtitles. But it is a very real and very major problem of the film for anyone who actually understands the dialogue. At the press screening I attended, there were titters of laughter throughout at excessively pompous moments, many of which fell to the character of Emporer Li. This is unfortunate because despite the awkwardness of his dialogue, Li is played with verve by Ge You, an actor known mainly for his work on lightweight comedies. It is good to see him stretch into a meaty role of the kind he really hasn’t had an opportunity to play since his masterful portrayal of Xu Fugui in Zhang Yimou’s epic film To Live more than 10 years ago.

In fact, as a character, Emporer Li ought to be a good deal more interesting than Claudius in Shakespeare’s play. He is a man torn between two desires – his megalomaniacal urge for power and his desire to truly win Empress Wan’s affection. To bad this potentially dynamic internal conflict is handled so inelegantly – stated too obviously in his dialogue and then repeated ad nauseum with little sign of any real impact on his actions up until a point late in the story, where it suddenly comes into play but rings false. This misstep is a crucial flaw that seriously undermines the film’s climax.

There are other, smaller problems that contribute to a sense of unevenness. There are several odd choices that seem out of place given the film’s Tang Dynasty setting - China’s golden age. The dance that Wu Luan and his troupe perform looks for all the world like contemporary Japanese Butoh, and distinctly unlike any Chinese classical form that I am aware of. The fight choreography is at times brilliant, but at other times seems lazy, relying too heavily on fancy aerial wire work with little connection to the actual fight in progress. Tan Dun’s musical score seems to be a confused hodgepodge of classical Chinese, contemporary new age, and Broadway show tune genres.

Another problem is with the film’s final moments. I don’t want to give any secrets away, but the denouement is a little too clever for itself. Intended, I believe, to provoke either contemplation of the central character’s shortcomings or perhaps a meditation on the karmic balance of nature, it does neither, instead leaving me wondering what the hell I just saw.

Yet there are still good reasons to see this film. The art direction is nothing short of spectacular – lush sets compete with elaborate costumes in nearly every scene. The cinematography is gorgeous – all deep, vivid colors, striking textures, and breath-taking lighting, slyly augmented by just the right amount of camera movement.

The acting is also generally very good, despite the heavy, awkward dialogue the actors are laboring under. Ge You and Huang Xiaoming, who plays the Laertes role, deserve special mention in this regard. I am not a fan, but overall, I have to concede that this is one of Zhang Ziyi’s best performances. Despite moments when her performance seems a bit brittle, for the most part she handles the complexity of her part with aplomb. Empress Wan is a far more challenging role than the turn in Crouching Tiger that first brought her into the limelight, and much of her work between these two roles has been anemic at best.

Paradoxically, I believe that both the Western critics who will likely laud The Banquet and the Chinese audiences who will likely shun it are right. There is much to recommend this film, yet it also has major shortcomings. It is probably no accident that the major investment in the film went into those aspects likely to carry more weight with Western critics. Surely it would not have been too difficult to also invest in the aspects more meaningful to Chinese audiences, which are also elements that would contribute to the film’s overall universality and longevity. Since we seem to be destined to endure watching these Western-oriented Chinese historical action films get churned out for as long as they make box office in the West, I hope that future Chinese directors will start taking this consideration into account. But I’m not holding my breath.

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

The Road Home and The Raincoat

2006-09-21T03:16:41Z

They both had a nice quiet feeling to them, but are very different sorts of films. Anyone seen either one?

posted in Foreign Film - 4 replies

Ponette

2006-09-20T14:06:43Z

what did you think of the movie?

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

What Foreign Film have you. . .

2006-09-20T06:47:26Z

Seen the most and how many times?

Wings of Desire. . .18 times

posted in Foreign Film - 8 replies

Does anyone know where to watch foreign film trailers????

2006-09-19T04:31:08Z

I have searched and searched and have yet to find a place to watch foreign film trailers on the internet, it is hard to find anything outside of us sites, So if anyone can help me that would be great. Thanks for the read.

posted in Foreign Film - 1 reply

Lady Vengeance

2006-09-09T08:44:00Z

A new Korean film (also under the title Sympathy for Lady Vengeance) from the director of Old Boy. Well worth seeing. A woman who takes the full rap for a kidnapping she colluded in but was not responsible for gets out of prison, vowing revenge on the real kidnapper. Several plot twists later, you end up with a taut dark comedy full of visual irony. Acting, art direction, and narrative technique are all exquisitely executed.

posted in Foreign Film - 1 reply

Why Do Most Women I Meet Hate Subtitles?

2006-09-09T05:18:33Z

I sure hope the women in this community enjoy reading the subtitles found on foreign films. I can't seem to meet women that like them at all. I am wondering why women hate subtitles? As MUSIQ would say "Whoknows?"

posted in Foreign Film - 19 replies

Movies from Spain

2006-08-03T08:20:06Z

Any recommendation for good movies from Spain aside from Almodovar's?

posted in Foreign Film - 8 replies

divorzio all italiana

2006-07-29T14:07:45Z

I'm fortunate enough to have an Italian film festival going on in my area. Every Friday in July an Italian film is aired outside under the stars. Tonight they showed the movie, Divorzio all'Italiana. Its an Italian comedy from 1962. If you're into Italian films and comedies, I highly recommend it. I laughed through most of it. I think its my favorite foreign film yet...next to Amalie :)

posted in Foreign Film - 5 replies

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring.

2006-07-26T22:25:51Z

Beautiful movie; Korean, I believe.

posted in Foreign Film - 8 replies

Can you recommend any good foreign anti-corporate films?

2006-07-03T07:39:34Z

Not "anti-corporate" as in non-corporate (i.e., independent), but rather films that examine the true nature of big corporations, the role they play in society, and the effects they have on people and cultures around the world, and on the planet itself.

The CounterCorp Anti-Corporate Film Festival is looking for a wide variety of films, including foreign feature-length and short documentary and narrative films (and even animation). We welcome submissions on film and in digital format. Non-English films should have English subtitles.

If you'd like to suggest a film for inclusion in the festival, please include as much of the following information as possible:
- name of the film
- brief description
- year it was released
- name of the director
- country and if possible production and/or distribution company
- Why you think it should be considered for the festival

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and ideas,

CounterCorp Film Festival
www.countercorp.org

posted in Foreign Film - 21 replies

Taste of Tea

2006-07-02T04:35:05Z

There is a new Japanese film out there that blends the impish, innocent sense of fun you find in Tampopo with a seriously bizarre aesthetic like that found in Kiyoshi Kurosawa films. The story centers around an artistic family in which each member is going through some kind of life transition. The Anime artist mom is trying to get back into the industry after quiting to have kids. Her son, a shy adolescent, regrets not having ever spoken to the first girl he fell in love with, and resolves not to repeat that behavior with the second. Her daughter is struggling to understand why she keeps seeing a giant version of herself at odd and embarrassing moments. Various other characters are also overcoming personal obstacles, so this is a multi-linear narrative with a lot of quirks. Perhaps the best scene in the movie is a rough cut anime sequence drawn by the mother, that the employees of an anime company provide human sound effects for. There are a lot of odd but beautiful moments in this film - a train emerges from the boy's forehead, a long sequence of movement of a dancer's hands peeking over the top of a sand dune, a hilarious but really strange music video that several of the characters make. This film is not for anyone who has to understand the meaning of everything that happens in a movie, but it is an infectiously fun romp through the lives of some pretty entertaining characters.

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

R.I.P. Shohei Imamura

2006-05-31T19:34:57Z

"Icon of Japanese cinema dies" http://film.guardian.co.uk/news/story/0,,1786648,00.html

Imamura, best known in the US as the director of 'Black Rain' and 'The Pornographers', was a two time Palme d'Or winner at Cannes and one of the major figures of the Japanese New Wave cinema. Imamura's last full-length film was 2001's surreal sex comedy 'Warm Water Under a Red Bridge', and he contributed an excerpt to 2002's '11'09"01'.

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Russian Dolls

2006-05-31T04:06:06Z

Russian Dolls is finally coming to St. Louis on June the 2nd. People we have to see this...it's the seq to the spanish apartment. By the way....if this is not to your liking, Kinky boots is also showing...sooo funny. Great shoes.

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

Place Vendôme

2006-05-22T07:35:11Z

do yourself a favour - don't rent this movie.

it is sooooo slow. it was a tremendous sheer torture to watch this film.

it was only towards the ending that there was a pinch of suspense, and it lasted for, eh, five minutes?

i enjoy watching jacques dutronc though. love his looks and of course, love his hair! : )

*meow*

posted in Foreign Film - 1 reply

Fatih Akin: Crossing the bridge: The Sound of Istanbul

2006-05-18T07:53:17Z

Young German-Turkish director Akin has a documentary on the musical scene of contemporary Istanbul. I have just seen it in Istanbul, I don't know to what extent it will be released but I would strongly recommend the movie and its soundtrack....

posted in Foreign Film - 5 replies

WATER

2006-05-01T04:58:32Z

I have seen Earth and Fire but this one was the most troubling of the 3.
Great Canadian woman film maker!

What did you think of it?

posted in Foreign Film - 5 replies

Muriel Sparks, the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, and revisiting GREAT CINEMA!

2006-04-24T22:24:26Z

Muriel Sparks has recently passed away, so I got the DVD Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.
How great is this? So dated, so foreign cinema and so fresh!

posted in Foreign Film - 4 replies

Tasogare Seibei (The Twilight Samurai)

2006-04-24T02:14:44Z

2002 release...

The Twilight Samurai is such a great movie....it's a simple film, but very good!!!

I watched it about 2 weeks ago and am still thinking about it...it's such a touching movie....the main character, Seibei Iguchi, is such a strong person though he is looked at as a weak "weird" person in this movie. He sacrifices so much....the love for his family is touching and very real...

I suck at explaining things but trust me when I say, WATCH THIS FLICK!!!! :-)

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

the 25th Istanbul Film Festival

2006-04-19T08:41:03Z

The festival had already finished. Here is the list of awards:
http://turkfilm.blogspot.com/2006/04/awards-25th-international-istanbul.html

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

SF Int'l Film Festival

2006-04-17T03:29:17Z

It's coming up April 20-May 4. The festival is recruiting volunteers already. If you're in the Bay area and cash poor, but have a lot of time on your hands, it's a good way to see a bunch of foreign films. Technically, you only get a comp ticket for every shift you work, but in reality, there are always leftover tickets given away the same day for films that don't sell out, usually day time showings. To volunteer call:

Sarah Cathers
Volunteer Coordinator
415-561-5019

posted in Foreign Film - 4 replies

where to go to rent korean films in PDX

2006-04-10T02:20:01Z

I really want to rent 3-Iron and My Sassy Girl this weekend where in Portland can I go to rent them???

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

Dia de Santiago

2006-03-30T04:26:22Z

Peruvian vet movie. Pretty messed up. Has anyone seen this? I just got done watching it, thought it was really messed up but very interesting storyline and also cinematography.

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Cache'

2006-03-26T23:44:41Z

Has anyone seen it? What are your thoughts?
I saw it a couple of weeks ago & it is still haunting me. I love movies that don't have a happy, tight ending, but I think the lack of ANY kind of closure in this film is what's staying with me.
I found the entire film uncomfortable to watch--it seems that everything about the direction in the film was designed to keep the viewers off-kilter and tense. The excruciatingly long scenes & lack of a soundtrack really keep your stress level up, evoking the kind of feelings the protagonists must be having.

posted in Foreign Film - 3 replies

2046

2006-03-24T13:19:55Z

Should i watch In the mood for love before renting 2046?

posted in Foreign Film - 7 replies

japenese film came out last year cant remember the name but it referenced a golf club???

2006-03-24T04:07:56Z

Does anyone know the name?

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies

french film fest 2006 in NY

2006-03-11T15:10:50Z

hello,
the rendez-vous with french cinema has started. i'm blogging www.abhadawesar.com/blog.html it. feel free to add your comments!

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Great Korean flick: "Tae Guk Gi: Brotherhood of War"

2006-03-05T00:47:54Z

I just saw this last night and it was amazing. It came out a year or two ago and has been often compared to Saving Private Ryan. In terms of cinematography, action, and dramatic themes, there was clearly a huge influence, though I thought it was better-done than any Hollywood war film I've seen, including Saving Private Ryan. Now I understand why the Korean War is referred to as the forgotten one. If the amount of violence and brutal slaughterings in this film is even just 50% historically accurate, that is enough to make me continue wondering why our textbooks never taught us about this conflict as much as we were taught about, for example, Vietnam.

posted in Foreign Film - 4 replies

Greetings

2006-03-03T15:54:26Z

Hello Group;

My name is Rudy. I thought I'd pop in and introduce myself. I currently reside in Southern California, but I resided a long spell in Macedonia and many parts of Eastern Europe. My interest lies mainly with Russian and ex-Yugoslav films, and I appreciate directors such as A. Tarkovsky, Milcho Manchevsky, and the animator Jan Svankmajer. I'm just looking to learn something more about film here, so I thought it best to take the time to say hello.

Best,

Rudy
http://rudycarrera.com/wp

posted in Foreign Film - 5 replies

Werckmeister Harmonies is out on dvd.

2006-03-02T19:37:36Z

this film is rated 92/100 on metacritic.com, making it the highest ranked foreign film... I've seen this twice on the big screen though it's was never given a proper theatrical release. It's an incredible b/w masterpiece from Hungarian bela tarr, a man who's recent project was canned out of sympathy for the producer, who committed suicide. For WH, he suspended filming 3 times to raise funds. Actors had to bring their own food... The guy who plays lead actually had to starve himself 3 times to get back to the weight he is in the film... I cant over recommend bela tarr; and if they release his MO satan tango, which is 8 hours long, I'll know there is justice in the world....

http://www.metacritic.com/video/titles/werckmeisterharmonies

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Twisted Foriegn Films - Obession! Passion! Denial! Mind-F*ck! Let's make a list!

2006-03-02T01:55:02Z

This is from a local post I did, thought I'd ramp it up a notch here. Here are the contributions to the list from our humble group - please add more!

I'd prefer to stay away from kitsch twisted (John Water's as example) but whatever. I know these aren't all foreign, but you may still find them appropriate as twisted flicks.

From Yours Truly:

Equus
Primo Amore'
El Mar
Bad Guy
City of Lost Children
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Heavenly Creatures
Fellini (D'uh)

From Krumpet - http://people.tribe.net/krumpet
Naked
Sexy Beast
Chopper
Buffalo '66
The Celebration
Audition
The Business of Strangers
Sin City
Kalifornia
Happiness
Man Bites Dog
Nil By Mouth
Shallow Grave

From Edward - http://people.tribe.net/em3?_click_path=Application%5Btribe%5D.Person%5B30aaf124-74e0-4cd3-a1ce-bbdc16dcc3c7%5D&r=10288

Miracle Mile

posted in Foreign Film - 55 replies

Valley of the Wolves-Iraq (Kurtlar Vadisi)

2006-02-14T13:37:12Z

I guess this film will generate much more news as it is released in other countries than Turkey. To begin with, here is my comment on this controversial film: http://frazer.rice.edu/~erkan/blog/archives/000785.html

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

The Return

2006-02-10T23:52:24Z

Anyone on here caught this Russian flick? I'd like to hear what you thought.

Personally, I thought it was fantastic. If it's playing near you, definitely check it out.

posted in Foreign Film - 7 replies

The Promise - take my word, avoid this one

2006-01-22T07:29:39Z

The new Chinese film The Promise, which may or may not have opened in US theaters (I'm in Shanghai right now so I don't know) is being billed as the next great martial arts film in the vein of Crouching Tiger, Hero, and House of Flying Daggers. Believe me, it isn't. Noted director Chen Kaige (who in my opinion hasn't made a really good film since Farewell, My Concubine), is trying to jump on the bandwagon that Ang Lee got rolling with Crouching Tiger, but he doesn't manage to pull it off. The opening scene is quite promising (no pun intended) but it is all downhill after that. Most of the characters are flat and uninteresting and most of the actors are just walking through their roles. Most of the fighting is of the overdone guys-magically-flying-through-the-air type. The film is very special effects heavy, but the FX are lamely executed. The central love story is tepid at best, and the revenge plotline is so formulaic that it doesn't create much suspense to drive the film forward.

posted in Foreign Film - 0 replies

Trying to Remember a Movie's Name

2006-01-14T23:53:29Z

I'm trying to remember the name of this movie I saw in film school. I'm pretty sure it was Chinese, and pretty sure the censorship board had issues with it. The basic concept is there's this kid who really liks to sneak into people's houses when they aren't around and use their stuff and eat their food, but he doesn't really steal anything and mostly puts stuff back the way it was, and this obsession with this girl was... I wanna say his brother's girlfriend? Or his gangleader's girlfriend? Something like that? I have an impression of it being set in the Mao era? I don't think it was THAT old... It was color, seemed pretty new. Guessing 90's? Any ideas?

posted in Foreign Film - 2 replies