Okay, here’s the thing - the library where I work has decided to start a foreign-language video collection and I’ve been given the task of ordering about 500-800 titles to start us off.
Presently, I’m talking to my library patrons to see what they want, and browsing through my catalogues like crazy. I’m still open to suggestions - so if any of you have recommendations, I’d love to hear them. They don’t have to be popular titles; maybe something obscure you saw and loved. Just give me the title and if possible, the director. I’ll try to track it down from there.
My Life as a Dog - Wonderful Swedish coming of age story.
Pelle the Conqueror - another gem about a father and son who emigrate from Sweden to Denmark, with Max Von Sydow.
The Commissar - a Russian movie made during the 60’s that was shelved for years. Not a joyride, but worth seeing. It concerns a female commissar during the Russian Civil War who winds up pregnant and staying with a Jewish family. She is torn between her duty as a revolutionary and as a mother.
Europa Europa - Harrowing fact-based story of a Jewish boy who masquerades as a German to evade capture and then is drafted into Hitler’s army
And of course you can’t go wrong with Das Boot, the original German version of course.
Hmmm…I’m trying to think of films not previously mentioned…
Tampopo, the best of Juzo Itami’s films (although the first A Taxing Woman movie was amusing too).
Diva, a French film about a bike courier obsessed with an opera singer.
Subway, an early Christopher Lambert flick.
Tout les Matins du Monde, featuring Gerard Depardieu and his son and a lot of really good viola da gamba music.
Life is Beautiful and Johnny Stechino, both starring Roberto Benigni.
Taxi, a French comic-action film. The sequel hit the theatres not all that long ago.
If you’re planning on including more violent films, look at John Woo films such as The Killer and Hard Boiled, both starring Chow Yun Fat. And, of course, old Jackie Chan films like Legend of the Drunken Master.
When I was studying French in high school (way back when), we used to watch the Arsene Lupin films (AL being the name of the main character) about a master criminal who always outwitted the police. Actually, looking more closely at the website, we were probably watching the '70’s TV show with Georges Descrieres in film form (with subtitles); but still worth watching – family viewing, amusing, and easy to follow. I assume they’re out on video.
Central do Brasil / Central Station by Walter Salles, starring Fernanda Montenegro.
It’s about an boy whose mother is run over by a tram and killed, and a lady who writes letters for illiterates, but never sends them. They travel across Brazil looking for the boy’s father.
OK I’m probably going to mess up on the titles, but a couple of french movies come to mind. One was “My New Partner” It think that was the translation. It was so long ago. Anyway, it was about a crooked cop with a heart, who gets a young sidekick and shows him his way of being a cop. I know I’m oversimplifying.
Another was part of a series.“Red”, “White” and “Blue”. This one had Julie Delpi in it. I think it was “White”
Can’t forget “la Femme Nikita”
“Il Postino”, Italian flick. I loved that movie.
“Queen Margot” French?. Couldn’t tell you the director. Only saw it once but I loved it.
Now that I know “Les Ripoux” I just might go out and find it. If I recall correctly Billy Joel borrowed the haunting whistle throughout the score, for one of his songs. Could be wrong on that one.
Hirokazu Koreeda’s “After life” (Wandafuru raifu)
Takeshi Kitano’s “Kikujiro no natsu” & “Hana-bi”
Paul verhoeven’s “Soldier of Orange”
George Sluizer’s “Spoorloos” (the Vanishing)
[sub] all the Gendarme movies with Louis De Funès [/sub]
Here are some watchable foreign language films that haven’t been mentioned yet:
Z by Costa-Gavras (great movie) The Fourth Man by Paul Verhoeven Vampyr, Joan of Arc and Day of Wrath by Carl Dreyer
Clouzot’s The Wages of Fear Betty Blue (French film) Festen aka The Celebration (recent Danish film) Show me Love aka F—ing Ammal (recent Swedish)
Bergman’s The Virgin Spring
Polanski’s Knife in the Water
A lot of people like Lars von Trier’s stuff (The Kingdom, Zentropa) but I’m not one of them. People might also expect to see films by John Woo and Wong KarWai; basically anything they made is OK.
Of course, there are also a TON of famous exploitation/ horror films from Europe and Asia, but I’m assuming a library isn’t interested in that stuff.