The Children of Heaven, Iranian, 1997.
From an Iranian movie site:
“Its story told in a neorealistic style reminiscent of Jafar Panahi’s THE WHITE BALLOON, this film provides a glimpse into the daily life of lower-class urban society in contemporary Iran.”
http://www.nima3.com/IranMedia/Irfilm.html
It’s simply beautiful…
La Vie rêvée des anges(1998), (Daydreams of Angels)
A French one, but I guess that’s obvious…
I love Elodie Bouchez in this.
The Scent of the Green Papaya
Cyclo (both Vietnamese I think)
Ridicule. A french movie – I don’t know the director’s name. Set in pre-revolution France. A minor, impoverished noble who needs money to drain a pestilential swamp tries to ascend into the Royal favor on wit alone.
Camille Claudel. Which is about one of Renoir’s mistresses. Also a french movie.
Grave of the Fireflies. A rather serious and sad Japanese anime that takes place during WWII. Directed by Isao Takakata. (Roger Ebert says “it belongs on any list of the greatest war films ever made.”)
Eat Drink Man Woman. A chinese movie I think about a widowed chef and his three daughters.
Mediterrano (not sure if that’s the correct spelling.) A fun Italian romp about some WWII Italian soldiers stranded on a Greek island and forced to give up warring while they wait to be rescued. It won the Best Foreign film Oscar.
Kolya a funny/heartwarming Czech movie about a confirmed bacheor who takes in a little boy.
I have really loved the films from Czechoslovakia! Now the Czech Republic. I recall that I saw “The Shop on Main Street” in 1968 (The “Czech Spring”).
Several weeks ago I saw another called “The Worst of Times”, or some such. It was about a young Jewish adult/teen who escapes from a concentration camp and returns to his home town in Bohemia. He has to hide, and is taken in by a gentile couple.
Docharkheh Savar, aka Bicycleran, aka The Cyclist is an Iranian film directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf that should be a part of every library film collection.
The Fires on the Plain*, by Kon Ichikawa is one of the most powerful anti-war films in any language. Also, a profound and unforgettable experience.
For those interested, I believe there is a retrospective of Ichikawa’s films travelling around the US and Canada, but all I can find information on is the stops in Toronto and Boston, which have already finished. The other stops on the tour are:
Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley
La Cinémathèque québécoise, Montréal
The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Cleveland Cinematheque, Cleveland
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
UCLA Film and Television Archive, Los Angeles
Pacific Cinematheque, Vancouver
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
College of Moving Images, Santa Fe
The Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago
Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus
I thought Girl on the Bridge was excellent. It is a french movie and starred Vanessa Paradis.
I haven’t sen it in years, but one movie that tore me up when I first saw it was “Black Orpheus”, set in Rio during Carnaval. I’m kind of surprised nobody has mentioned it yet.
Then you must have seen Postriziny (Cutting ut short) by Jiri Menzel.
Just to throw in some fun ones that I hadn’t seen mentioned:
Cemetary Man: Rupert Everett stars in this Italian zombie movie about a groundskeeper who has to take his job bery seriously, as all the dead keep rising nightly from the grave sites. Very strange, and very funny.
Kikujiro: I just rented this one from Blockbuster. Japanese movie about a thug whose wife makes him take a neighborhood kid across country to see his mother. Basically a “road trip” type movie, but funny nonetheless.
Battleship Potemkin
Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise) - Marcel Carne
A few of my favorites:
Japanese:
Fireworks
Go, Go, Second Time Virgin
Ecstacy of the Angels
After Life
Maborosi
Female Convict Sorpion: Jailhouse 41
Woman in the Dunes
Perfect Blue
Grave of the Fireflies
Seven Samurai
The Samurai Trilogy
Roshomon
The Hidden Fortress
Kwaidan
Yojimbo and Sanjuro
Spanish:
All About My Mother
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down
Open Your Eyes
Thesis
Live Flesh
Twice Upon a Yesterday (mediocre, but it has Penelope Cruz)
Tango
Midaq Alley
Like Water for Chocolate
The Official Story
Woman on Top
German:
Fitzcarraldo
Run, Lola, Run
Das Boot
Funny Games
French:
La Femme Nikita
Ponette
The Bride Wore Black
Wild Reeds
Blue, White, Red
Small Change
Jean de Florrette and Manon of the Spring
Italian:
Malena
The Postman
Cinema Paradiso
Life is Beautiful
Mediterraneo
The Bicycle Thief (My Favorite Movie)
Chinese (I’m mixing Mandarin and Cantonese here):
Flowers of Shanghai
Not One Less
The Story of Qui Jou
Raise the Red Lantern
Red Sorghum
Ju Dou
Yi Yi
Xiu Xiu, The Sent Down Girl
The Emperor and The Assassin
In the Realm of the Senses
Centre Stage
Rouge
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
I could list dozens of Hong Kong action movies, but I’ll limit myself to the best from each of the big stars.
Hong Kong Action
Chow Yun Fat:
The Killer
Hard Boiled
City on Fire
A Better Tomorrow 1 and 2 (but not 3)
Full Contact
Jackie Chan:
Drunken Master 2
Police Story series (1,2,3; #4 is called First Strike)
Wheels on Meals
Project A (1 and 2)
Armor of God (1 and 2)
Crime Story (one of the few serious actioners)
Jet Li:
Fist of Legend
Fong Sai Yuk
Tai Chi Master (with Michelle Yeoh)
Once Upon a Time in China series (the first 3)
Michelle Yeoh:
Wing Chun
The Heroic Trio
Yes, Madam!
Royal Warriors
So, Skijumper – how’s your list coming along? Still taking suggestions?
Also, are there any films your patrons have recommended that haven’t been listed here? New suggestions are always welcome.
(And I can’t believe I forgot Ridicule, one of the few foreign films I actually saw in a theatre rather than on video or TV. Highly recommended.)
Yes, suggestions are still welcome! Thanks especially to Number Six for your extensive list.
I’ve already placed orders for most of the ‘classics’, award-winners etc.
Phew! This is turning out to be some project, but it’s for the benefit of our local community, so it’s worthwhile.
Thanks again jr8 and everyone who posted here. I really appreciate the help!
Just for the record, some of my personal must-see foreign language flicks (some may have been mentioned) -
Wings of Desire - Wim Wenders
The Three Colours Trilogy - Krystof Kieslowski
Double Life of Veronique - Krystof Kieslowski
Life Is Beautiful - Roberto Benigni
Seventh Seal - Ingmar Bergman
Life of a Comedian - a Swedish director whose name eludes me now
Babette’s Feast - Gabriel Axel
Chungking Express - Wong Kar Wai
The Ring - Nakata Hideo
El Norte - Gregory Nava
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by KarlGauss *
**Jean De Florette by Claude Berri
Manon of the Spring also by Claude Berri
I’m in complete agreement. These are excellent.
Number Six got most of my Chinese picks, but I’d also like to recommend Farewell, My Concubine, directed by Kaige Chen.
–sublight
More Czech films:-
“Closely Obsevered Trains” and “The Firemans’Ball”
Also, anything by Luchino Visconti (The Leopard, The Damned, etc.)
By the way, Number Six… since this is a public library he’s taking recommendations for, I’d be hesitant to bring up stuff like Funny Games or In the Realm of the Senses. Those could lead to obscenity charges or something…
-Antonia’s Line - Dutch, 1996? 1997? Foreign language academy award winner
-Delicatessan - French, very wacky
-City of Lost Children - French, by the makers of Delicatessan, beautiful and wacky. Be sure not to get the dubbed version.
-Love and Human Remains - French Canadian (Denys Arcand)
-Le Confessional - French Canadian (in French and English)
-Marquise - French, featuring the luminous Sophie Marceau
-Il Postino - Spanish
-anything by Zhang Yimou or Akira Kurosawa