# Recommend some indie and foreign films for me, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 8, 2010, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428 "2010-10-08T00:14:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![gladtobeblazed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@gladtobeblazed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gladtobeblazed)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/21 "2010-10-08T07:05:32Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > There are some great suggestions here, and some awful ones (_The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover_, really?) I thought it had a unique style and strong acting from Helen Mirren. I admit the political message went over my head, but even ignoring the politics I thought it was enjoyable. Did you just not like it, or do you disagree with it being an independent film? It certainly is not a conventional, mainstream film. ---
**Author:** ![Future\_Londonite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9dc877/32.png) [@Future\_Londonite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Future_Londonite)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/22 "2010-10-08T07:41:09Z")
> [@wheresmymind](#): > > Flame and Citron is a great Danish WWII movie, great drama and lots of tense moments. > > Primer is an excellent indie sci-fi film. Probably the most “realistic” time-travel movie I’ve seen, and probably the best I’ve seen period at that budget (shot for ~$7,000 IIRC). Mentioned in [XKCD](http://xkcd.com/657/) > > I second the recommendation for the Vengeance Trilogy - they’re a great jumping off point for Korean cinema, and based on your OP you should really like them. > > I also second Brick - it’s unique and stylish and a lot of fun to watch. > > All of these are available to watch instantly, if you have Netflix. Seconding **Primer** …I recommend **El crimen ferpecto** ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/23 "2010-10-08T07:43:10Z")
Well, I’ve only seen about half the recommendations, but everything I have seen I agree with. A few of my favorites would be **Brick, Primer, Being John Malcovich, Pi, Life is Beautiful**. Also **Let the Right One In** or **Let Me In** , I just saw the remake and I think they did a really good job, see either one, or, ya know, see both. I’d like to add, **Children of the Revolution** , a quirky Austrailian comedy starring **Sam Neill** and the underappreciated **Judy Davis**. **Clay Pigeons** is a cool thriller with a creepier than life Vince ‘my name ain’t cowboy’ Vaugn. And, of course, **Tremors.** ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/24 "2010-10-08T08:09:13Z")
Here are some movies I like. Some of these have already been mentioned in this thread. Foreign-language films: [Waltz with Bashir](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1185616/) [The Story of Qiu Ju](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105197/) [City of God](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317248/) [The Lives of Others](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/) [Kung Fu Hustle](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373074/) [The Host](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0468492/) [La Vie en Rose](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450188/) [The Triplets of Belleville](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286244/) [The City of Lost Children](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112682/) [Let the Right One In](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1139797/) [Persepolis](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808417/) [Good Bye Lenin](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301357/) English language foreign films: [Once](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0907657/) [The Queen](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436697/) [Vera Drake](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0383694/) [Notes on a Scandal](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465551/) [Nowhere in Africa](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0161860/) [Brazil](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088846/) [Proof](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102721/) (There is more than one movie by this name, so be careful to get the right one if you’re interested - this is an Australian movie released in 1991.) Indies (and other non-mainstream American movies): [Lars and the Real Girl](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805564/) [Fido](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457572/) [Chan Is Missing](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083728/) [Tully](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212604/) [House of Games](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093223/) [You Can Count on Me](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203230/) [Memento](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209144/) [American Splendor](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0305206/) [Being John Malkovich](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120601/) [Bagdad Cafe](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095801/) ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/25 "2010-10-08T08:31:29Z")
Oh yeah, for your animated pleasure I’d like to 2nd \*\*Waltz with Bashir \*\*and **Persepolis** , and add **Through a Scanner Darkly**. The scene where the truck breaks down and they’re trying to fix it is worth the price of admission. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/26 "2010-10-08T08:46:02Z")
> [@FlyingRamenMonster](#): > > [Goodbye Lenin!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301357/) is a hilarious and sad film about life in post-communist Germany. The protagonist’s mother falls into a coma just before the fall of the Berlin Wall and he’s told after she wakes that she’s too weak to handle the news, so he and his friends recreate the trappings of East Germany for her in their apartment. Seconded - this really is a superb movie. Someone upthread mentioned _How to get Ahead in Advertising_. Add to that my favourite movie of all time,_Withnail & I_ by the same screenwriter and director, Bruce Robinson. He originally conceived HtgAiA as the sequel to W&I, but changed his mind. However, both movies have Richard E. Grant at his best. ---
**Author:** ![Stauderhorse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Stauderhorse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stauderhorse)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/27 "2010-10-08T11:54:43Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > How many years do you want to go back? Do you want foreign and independent American films from the entire history of movies or just those no further back than some given number of years? Let’s say everything from 1960 onward. ---
**Author:** ![Alka\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Alka\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alka_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/28 "2010-10-08T12:24:55Z")
A good one that hasn’t been mentioned yet is [Burnt by the Sun](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111579/). ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/29 "2010-10-08T13:16:03Z")
Provided you’re OK with subtitles, then some I’ll recommend are: **Hong Kong** _Kung Fu Hustle_ _Hard Boiled_ _A Better Tomorrow II_ _Vengeance_ **Japan** _Battle Royale_ **France** _Les Pacte Des Loupes (The Brotherhood Of The Wolf) Astérix et Obélix contre César (Asterix & Obelix vs Caesar)_ (Both films have pretty good English dubs, FWIW) **Germany** _Die Untergang (Downfall)_ ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/30 "2010-10-08T13:54:19Z")
O.K., all these are post-1960 and among my favorite films: Foreign (and I’ve dropped a couple which are generally listed as being produced outside of the U.S. but have substantial American participation): _The Adventures of Baron Munchausen_ (1989, U.K./West Germany, dir. Terry Gilliam) _Amarcord_ (1974, Italy, Federico Fellini) _Chungking Express_ (1994, Hong Kong, dir. Wong Kar-Wai) _Excalibur_ (1981, U.K., dir. John Boorman) _Fantastic Planet_ (1973, France, dir. Rene Laloux) _Jules and Jim_ (1961, France, dir. Francois Truffaut) _La Jetée_ (1962, France, dir. Chris Marker) _My Brilliant Career_ (1979, Australia, dir. Gillian Armstrong) American independent (but “independent” is very loosely defined, so other posters may not consider some of these to be made by independents, just as I don’t consider _Being John Malkovich_ to be an independent production): _American Splendor_ (2003, U.S., dir. Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini) _Before Sunrise_ (1995, U.S./Austria/Switzerland, dir. Richard Linklater _Before Sunset_ (2004, U.S., dir. Richard Linklater) _Blood Simple_ (1985, U.S., dir. Joel Coen) _Diner_ (1982, U.S., dir. Barry Levinson) _Do the Right Thing_ (1989, U.S., dir. Spike Lee) _House of Games_ (1987, U.S., dir. David Mamet) _Menace II Society_ (1993, U.S., dir. Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes) And that takes me through M in the alphabet. I’ll give you more later. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/31 "2010-10-08T13:58:28Z")
**Diner.** Very quoteable movie with such a fantastic young cast. He ate the whole left side of the menu! ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/32 "2010-10-08T14:10:03Z")
Not really sure if it counts as “Indie” (or “Foreign”), but I highly recommend _Flash Gordon_, which has (amongst others) Max Von Sydow, Timothy Dalton, and **BRIAN BLESSED** in it. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/33 "2010-10-08T15:22:08Z")
[Akira](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akira_%28film%29) [Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock,_Stock_and_Two_Smoking_Barrels) [La Retour de Martin Guerre](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Return_of_Martin_Guerre) Everyone should see [Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riki-Oh:_The_Story_of_Ricky). It is unquestionably the [del]worst[/del] finest film ever made. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/34 "2010-10-08T16:24:59Z")
[Gummo](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119237/) is good, but you’ll need to watch it with a movie buff afterwards so you can figure out what the hell it is you just saw. ---
**Author:** ![Flip\_Pancake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f1d935/32.png) [@Flip\_Pancake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flip_Pancake)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/35 "2010-10-08T17:22:10Z")
If you don’t mind David Lynch, there’s _Mulholland Drive_. _The Vanishing_ - the Dutch original, not the American remake. _“Following”_ - very early Christopher Nolan Another vote for _Withnail and I_. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/36 "2010-10-08T18:34:39Z")
> [@Apocalypso](#): > > If you can overlook the face punchability of insane couch-jumping scientology wacko Tom Cruise, check out [Vanilla Sky](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0259711/), a strange but very cool movie. Or, instead of having to endure pretty-face-full-of-himself Cruise, just watch the original [“Abre los ojos”](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0125659/) (open your eyes). ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/37 "2010-10-08T18:38:34Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > **France** > > _Les Pacte Des Loupes (The Brotherhood Of The Wolf)_ This got an awful lot of hype when it came out, but I was very underwhelmed when I saw it a bit later on TV. Correction: I was very disappointed. Not only did it have handsome Marc Dacasos, they had stressed it was not a Hollywood production, but a lot of money put to good use. Instead, it had a stupid script and money wasted on special effects. We can have that from Hollywood any day of the year, no difference. > [@](#): > > _Astérix et Obélix contre César (Asterix & Obelix vs Caesar)_ Well, if you know the Asterix comics, I guess. I have no idea how it looks to an outsider not familiar with them. > [@](#): > > **Germany** > > _Die Untergang (Downfall)_ Nitpick: It’s “Der Untergang”. Also, as long as we are on that topic, “Das Boot” of course. ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/38 "2010-10-08T18:41:26Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > > [@FlyingRamenMonster](#): > > > > [Goodbye Lenin!](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0301357/) is a hilarious and sad film about life in post-communist Germany. The protagonist’s mother falls into a coma just before the fall of the Berlin Wall and he’s told after she wakes that she’s too weak to handle the news, so he and his friends recreate the trappings of East Germany for her in their apartment. > > Seconded - this really is a superb movie. While I really liked that movie, I wonder how much an American not familiar with Germany can get out of it. When the mother is lying in bed and hears the gong of the Tagesschau from her upstairs neighbour, you need to know the background about “Westfernsehen” (Watching west TV) during the DDR, and the reputation of the Tagesschau in the West, to understand the significance. I’ve read many comments from Americans dissing the movie as “a son lying to his mother, big deal” because they didn’t know anything about the background and so didn’t understand most of the clues. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/39 "2010-10-08T18:42:58Z")
> [@gladtobeblazed](#): > > > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > > > There are some great suggestions here, and some awful ones (_The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover_, really?) > > I thought it had a unique style and strong acting from Helen Mirren. I admit the political message went over my head, but even ignoring the politics I thought it was enjoyable. Did you just not like it, or do you disagree with it being an independent film? It certainly is not a conventional, mainstream film. Oh, the acting was fine. The cinematography was fantastic. The score was memorable. The story is just a big, “What the fuck?” Even for Greenaway, who likes allegory (his previous film, the excellent _Drowning By Numbers_, is basically an adult fable) it was pretty abstruse, and seemed mostly calculated just to shock and disgust. It certainly isn’t the film I would cite to introduce someone to the world of non-Hollywood big studio films. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![constanze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@constanze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/constanze)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2010, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428/40 "2010-10-08T18:44:18Z")
Have you seen already the Oscar-winning movie “[Das Leben der Anderen](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0405094/)” (Lives of others)? With the same caveat as before - you need to know some background about the DDR - and it’s a bit depressing (I haven’t watched it myself), but Ulrich Mühe (who died shortly after from stomach ulcers; he was a very sensitive guy) got heaps of praise for his portrayal of a Stasi (secret police) man listening to an artist couple and reflecting on his own life. (Ulrich Mühe lived in the DDR for some time before moving to the West). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-indie-and-foreign-films-for-me-please/556428.md?page=3)