Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Yes, Yes. I Know. It Isn't American.

Do you ever get sick of the basic American values in film?  Do lust, explosions, and superficial plots bore you? Imagine that! It may be time to give foreign films a serious try. Here's a quick list of a few very good ones:

Kitchen Stories
This is a Swedish film about two men who become friends while one is conducting a study of the other's behavior in the kitchen. It is extremely funny, in an awkward sort of way.

Howl's Moving Castle
This is a Japanese film based on the book of the same title by Diana Wynn Jones. It's about a cowardly but powerful wizard named Howl and an insecure but loved woman named Sophie. The themes are self perception, bravery, and forgiveness. It is so well adapted to the screen, and so beautifully animated, that watching it is like reading a beautiful poem. Same goes for all Studio Ghibli films I have ever viewed.

The Color of Paradise
This is an Iranian film about a blind boy and his father, who finds it difficult to love  his disabled boy. The story is about family love, forgiveness, and God. It is poignant and full of hope. The director, Majid Majidi, also directed Children of Heaven, another favorite of mine about two siblings who share a pair of shoes.

The Road Home
This is a Chinese film about love and total fidelity. It breaks my heart in a way American films have never been able to. It is tender in a way no chick flick ever was.

Joyeux Noel
This is French film about armies during Christmas during the first world war. It will probably make you cry, even though the lip synching for the "Opera" singers is pretty off, especially the woman.

Not every foreign film is good. I have seen some truly terrible ones, truth be told, but there are some real gems waiting to be viewed, like these ones!

That is all.

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