If you like anime you’d probably like these movies.
Whispers of the Heart
Wolf Children
I forgot to mention all the animations by Studio Ghibli. They are gorgeous! I am currently watching them again in netflix: in English, in German, in the original with this or that subtitle… great fun!
Le Magnifique (1973) in which Jean-Paul Belmondo sends up spy films and his roles as a ladykiller. But the real reason to watch it is his costar (image from the movie).
If I look through my list of my 100 favorite films, beside Chungking Express, which I’ve already mentioned, I find the following ones which are not originally in English:
Amarcord (1974, Italy, dir. Federico Fellini)
Army of Shadows (a.k.a. The Shadow Army, Army in the Shadows) (1969, France/Italy, dir. Jean-Pierre Melville)
Fantastic Planet (1973, France, dir. Rene Laloux)
La Jetée (1962, France, dir. Chris Marker)
La Strada (1954, Italy, dir. Federico Fellini)
M (1931, Germany, dir. Fritz Lang)
Seven Beauties (1976, Italy, dir. Lina Wertmuller)
Seven Samurai (1954, Japan, dir. Akira Kurosawa)
The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978, Italy, dir. Ermanno Olmi)
There’s one other film which I should mention which isn’t among my 100 favorites but is certainly unique and not originally in English:
The Tribe (2014, Ukraine/Netherlands, dir. Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi)
Not only is it not originally in English, but it’s not in any other spoken language. It’s in Ukrainian Sign Language. For the benefit of those of you who don’t know much about sign languages, knowing one of them doesn’t allow to understand another one any more than knowing one spoken language allows you to know another spoken language. Knowing the spoken language of a region doesn’t allow you to know the sign language of that region. Knowing the sign language of a region doesn’t allow you to know the spoken language of that region. There are something like 300 sign languages in the world, and they are mutually incomprehensible.
There is no narration in The Tribe and no subtitles. It’s set in a boarding school in Ukraine for deaf students. Despite that, it’s possible to understand what’s going on. This is really unique.
I would disagree about Babette’s Feast personally. I was brought to see it when I was like 10 and one scene/dish from it has horrified and left some deep lasting scars. If I saw it as an older teen or adult more interested in foreign films I think it could have been fine, at worst.
Years ago I read a review for a showing of Non-Stop (aka Dangan Runner) by Sabu. It’s like Run, Lola, Run but done differently. It got me into watching other films of his, and I really enjoyed Postman Blues and Drive.
I also liked the South Korean film Attack the Gas Station directed by Kim Sang-jin.
I’m weird and liked El Topo by Alejandro Jodorowsky. I expect I’d also enjoy The Holy Mountain of his also.
I used to look for Criterion Collection DVDs in the past, because they often were films that I hadn’t seen or heard of from other countries.
I’ve seen every one of Kaurismaki’s movies (even a few with his brother directing), but for me, his best movies were Matti Pellonpaa - shame he died so young.
I’ll look for the mini-series, thanks again.
Another vote for Army of Shadows - quite closely based to real events and experiences of Resistance groups
Because of the way you described him, it made me want to see the movie. I guess I just like those who are “sore thumbs” in their communities, and to see if their movies are different as a result.
I’m at the 22 minute mark (and the stream froze because I tried to rewind), but this seems like Emir doing Fellini via some Yugoslavian Amarcord with a little bit … of this early 70s Italian movie. There’s about a dozen who live in one room, and this father hides his 1 million Lira (or whatever) inside the wall… He’s constantly talking about it. Worried that someone will steal it.
It becomes a lot less about quaint characters as it progresses, believe me.
Which scene / dish was it that bothered you in Babbette’s Feast? Was it the turtle wriggling in the kitchen helplessly, or the quails in the pastry?
I had a similar reaction to seeing The Elephant Man when I was 10. Didn’t sleep for a week after that. Goddam creep, David Lynch. Was in my 30s before I could finally watch and appreciate it.
A few of my favorite foreign films have been mentioned already: Amelie, Das Boot, Fantastic Planet, Ikiru. So I’ll throw in Life is Beautiful. I didn’t know anything about it going in except that it had to do with the Holocaust. The scene in the barracks where Roberto Benigni “translates” for the German guard had me absolutely rapt with tension and amusement.
I love Tampopo as well. It used to be hard as hell to find though - streaming services don’t typically carry it, and Amazon had just a VHS version. I checked just now and they are carrying it on DVD and Blu-ray, at a fairly reasonable price.
Nothing in common but the rhythm of the titles, but all the mentions of Tampopo have reminded me of Rififi, the French crime drama from 1955. It’s not quite the first heist movie, but it’s one of the earliest, and it was very influential on later ones. The highlight is the depiction of the heist itself, an almost half-hour scene filmed in near silence, with no dialogue or music, and very few sound effects. The rest of the film is a brilliant character study of different kinds of criminals, and how even what seems to be a successful crime is ultimately the stuff of brutal violence.
I did, but I’m not sure if I finished it… I am a big fan of Marcello Mastroianni, but this one didn’t do it for me… Non-stop farting, belching – it disgusts me in real life and in fantasy land, lol.
The silence during the heist is what made is so compelling - the heightened anxiety.
I love “Pickpocket” by Bresson, one of my favorite directors.
I would like to mention a movie that almost nobody outside Norway have seen. “Flåklypa Grand Prix” (The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix (1975) - Reference View - IMDb) “Pinchcliffe Grand Prix” in english voice. Its a 1975 animated movie that i still think is amazing, the english voices are quite as good as the norwegian ones, so you can watch that with good concience. Its stop motion animation, of the highest quality as i see it. Ofcourse youll see the wear and tear of time in such a movie, but id give it a try!
Native Sámi movie “Ofelas” (Pathfinder Pathfinder (1987) - Reference View - IMDb) Oscar nominated movie. Very exciting and great Apocalypto style movie.
In case anyone was curious, the movie I was thinking above earlier is down below
For Studio Ghibli films, Castle in the Sky is my hands-down favorite. Air pirates, a combat zeppelin, a spunky hero, a winsome princess, ancient secrets and lost treasure… great stuff!
This was a Japanese-language film, but it’s interesting to note that the novel it’s based on was in English.
I liked your short review enough to check it out among many others (I posted this on a few sites), and just finished it. Thanks!
The Lunchbox - 7/10
Saikh to me was the most interesting character, but he played 3rd banana. I didn’t feel any romance. Partly because they didn’t meet, and partly because it seemed like he was just a platonic pen-pal. Still a good movie.
I’ll try to get to more. Some are hard to find… But this is the kind of movie I like – where you are interested in the characters, good dialogue, acting… No endless car chases, shoot-outs, corny jokes, cliches, conflict/solution, conflict/solution every 30 minutes.