A Few Favourite Foreign Films…

It is always so hard to choose a list and I am quite sure I may miss one or two, but anyway, here are a few foreign films that knocked me off my feet, and that any film goer should see.

CITY OF GOD – Brazil
(Fernando Meirelles, Director of The Constant Gardner)

“City of God” is based on a true story.

This film tells the tale of two boys in the 60′s and 70′s who grew up in Rio de Janeiro’s notorious slum called “City of God”. Both spent time around thieves and hoodlums as children and followed their lead. Despite this, ‘Rocket’ aspired to becoming a professional photographer. Meanwhile, Li’l Ze aspired to becoming the most feared gangster in the slum. As the two became teenagers, both were surrounded by drugs, crime, and murder. While Rocket dabbled in drug dealing and robbery, Li’l Ze became a vicious murderer. He also murdered all of the other drug dealers in the slum and took over their territories.

DELICATESSEN – French
(Co directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet ,of Amelie)

The story is centered on a microcosm of a post-apocalyptic society where food is so rare it’s invaluable and is used as currency. The story centers on an apartment building with a delicatessen on the ground floor. The owner of the eatery also owns the apartment building and he is in need of a new maintenance man since the original “mysteriously” disappeared. A former clown applies for the job and the butcher’s intent is to have him work for a little while and then serve him to quirky tenants who pay the butcher in, of course, grain. The clown and butcher’s daughter fall in love and she tries to foil her father’s plans by contacting the “troglodytes”, a grain eating sub-group of society who live entirely underground. The “trogs” are possibly the most sensible of the lot, as they see food as food and not money. Info from imdb.

PANS LABYRINTH – Spain
(Director Guillermo del Toro,  of Hellboy, Blade 2)

Plot Summary: ”Pan’s Labyrinth” is a fanciful and chilling story set against the backdrop of a fascist regime in 1944 rural Spain. The film centers on Ofelia, a lonely and dreamy child living with her mother and adoptive father; a military officer tasked with ridding the area of rebels. In her loneliness, Ofelia creates a world filled with fantastical creatures and secret destinies. With post-war repression at its height, Ofelia must come to terms with her world through a fable of her own creation.Read more: Pan’s Labyrinth – Trailers, Videos, and Reviews ComingSoon.net Movie Database

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN – Sweden
(Director Thomas Alfredson, of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy)

Plot Summary: A fragile, anxious boy, 12-year-old Oskar is regularly bullied by his stronger classmates but never strikes back. The lonely boy’s wish for a friend seems to comes true when he meets Eli, also 12, who moves in next door to him. But Eli’s arrival coincides with a series of gruesome deaths and attacks. Though Oskar realizes that she’s a vampire, his friendship with her is stronger than his fear… Swedish filmmaker Tomas Alfredson weaves friendship, rejection and loyalty into a disturbing, darkly atmospheric, yet unexpectedly tender table of adolescence. Read more: Let the Right One In – Trailers, Videos, and Reviews ComingSoon.net Movie Database

AMORES PERROS – Mexico
(Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, director of Biutiful, 21 Grams- starring Gael Garcia Bernal)

Three interconnected stories about the different strata of life in Mexico City all resolve with a fatal car accident. Octavio is trying to raise enough money to run away with his sister-in-law, and decides to enter his dog Cofi into the world of dogfighting. After a dogfight goes bad, Octavio flees in his car, running a red light and causing the accident. Daniel and Valeria’s new-found bliss is prematurely ended when she loses her leg in the accident. El Chivo is a homeless man who cares for stray dogs and is there to witness the collision. Info from imdb.

LA HAINE – French
(Starring Vincent Cassell)

While to most outsiders Paris seems the very picture of beauty and civility, France has had a long and unfortunate history of intolerance toward outsiders, and this powerful drama from filmmaker Mathieu Kassovitz takes an unblinking look at a racially diverse group of young people trapped in the Parisian economic and social underclass. Vinz (Vincent Cassel), who is Jewish, Hubert (Hubert Kounde), who is Black, and Said (Said Taghmaoui), who is Arabic, are young men from the lower rungs of the French economic ladder; they have no jobs, few prospects, and no productive way to spend their time. They hang out and wander the streets as a way of filling their days and are sometimes caught up in frequent skirmishes between the police and other disaffected youth. One day, a street riot breaks out after police seriously injure an Arab student; the three friends are arrested and questioned, and it is learned that a policeman lost a gun in the chaos. Read more http://www.moviefone.com/movie/la-haine/1093514/synopsis

WALTZ WITH BASHIR – Israel

Plot Summary: One night at a bar, an old friend tells director Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. Every night, the same number of beasts. The two men conclude that there’s a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can’t remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images.
Read more: Waltz with Bashir – Trailers, Videos, and Reviews ComingSoon.net Movie Database

Plot Summary: The Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra arrives in Israel to play at the opening of an Arab Cultural Center. Dressed in full regalia and observing all military police protocol, the members of the orchestra are at a pivotal time in their careers. It’s not just the political nature of an Arab military police band playing traditional Arab music in Israel that makes this event so important; budget cuts and many reorganizations have threatened the continued existence of the Orchestra. Faced with the heavy burden of this assignment, the stoic conductor Tewfiq (Sasson Gabai) is determined not to foul their excursion.
Read more: The Band’s Visit – Trailers, Videos, and Reviews ComingSoon.net Movie Database

A PROPHET- French
(Jacques Audiard, director of The Beat My Heart Skipped)

Plot Summary: Condemned to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena cannot read not write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. He is 19 years old. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang who rules the prison, he is given a number of “missions” to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader’s confidence in the process. But Malik is brave and a fast learner, daring to secretly develop his own plans.
Read more: A Prophet – Trailers, Videos, and Reviews ComingSoon.net Movie Database

This disturbing Japanese thriller follows Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), a widower who decides to start dating again. Aided by a film-producer friend (Jun Kunimura), Aoyama uses auditions for a fake production to function as a dating service. When Aoyama becomes intrigued by the withdrawn, gorgeous Asami (Eihi Shiina), they begin a relationship. However, he begins to realize that Asami isn’t as reserved as she appears to be, leading to gradually increased tension and a harrowing climax.

RUN LOLA RUN – Germany
(Starring Franka Potente from Bourne)

In this visually and conceptually impressive film, two-bit Berlin criminal Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) delivers some smuggled loot for his boss, Ronnie (Heino Ferch), but accidentally leaves the 100,000 mark payment in a subway car. Given 20 minutes to come up with the money, he calls his girlfriend, Lola (Franka Potente), who sprints through the streets of the city to try to beg the money out of her bank manager father (Herbert Knaup) and get to Manni before he does something desperate.

Forty years ago, Harriet Vanger disappeared from a family gathering on the island owned and inhabited by the powerful Vanger clan. Her body was never found, yet her beloved uncle is convinced it was murder and that the killer is a member of his own tightly knit but dysfunctional family. He employs disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nyqvist) and the tattooed and troubled but resourceful computer hacker Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) to investigate. When the pair link the disappearance of Harriet to a number of grotesque murders from almost forty years ago, they begin to unravel a dark and appalling family history. The Vangers are a secretive clan, and Blomkvist and Salander are about to find out just how far they are prepared to go to protect themselves.

Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN – Mexico
(Alfonso Cuaron, director of Children of Men. Starring Gael Garcia Bernal)

Julio and Tenoch are two teens ruled by raging hormonesand a mission to consume exotic substances. But one summer, the boys learn more about life than they bargain for when they set off on a wild, cross-country road trip with seductive, 28-year-old Luisa. Both boys taste forbidden fruit as Luisa schools them in the finer points of passion, but will their mutual desire for her destroy their friendship forever?