Thread: Foreign Films

"The Lives of Others" is a great German film that takes place when Germany was still divided and involves the Stazi, German secret police, that wire-tapped just about every german citizen they felt was a threat. I highly recommend it.

Originally Posted by LarryAndro

That got my curiousity up...

Told in one fluid shot, a tale which floats like a dreamlike journey through the majestic spaces of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, engaging real and imagined characters from Russian and European history. The nameless protagonist, a 19th-century French diplomat, guides the audience through a lost, sumptuous dream that was the Enlightenment period. The film, staged among some of the Western Art tradition's greatest masterpieces, climaxes in a pageant of color, motion, and music. For Sokurov, the Hermitage--home to generations of Romonovs and repository of so much Russian history--is the ark of the Russian soul, guarding it affectionately until the world sees better days.
Source(s):
Russian Ark (2002) - IMDb

That's the one, it was well worth watching if not for the story then for the unbelievable achievement it is to have shot it.

You folks will surely lose a lot if you watch only films where they speak English. Great films (as well as lot of crap too) are made all over the world, imho. With Hollywood movies there's too much of unrealistic violence and unrealistic life in general, and in the last scene bad guy falls from the roof or dies in a huge nuke blast. Of course they are still making good movies in Hollywood too, but unfortunately their golden days seem to be over, mostly. I do not usually categorize films based on where they are made, but some of my favorite movies and series come mostly from Europe.

Originally Posted by ReardenSteel

"The Lives of Others" is a great German film that takes place when Germany was still divided and involves the Stazi, German secret police, that wire-tapped just about every german citizen they felt was a threat. I highly recommend it.

That is a great and unforgettable movie really.

I have been on a Foreign Film kick lately..

Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy (Denmark) and Let the Right One In (Norway though hey remade this one in the US last year I believe and it's called Let Me In ). I also watched some B grade movies out of Japan.. Tokyo Gore Police and Ninja's Vs Aliens..

Das Boot is pretty awesome as well actually, I really like that movie. That always comes out on Boxing Day or something!

One of my favorite films of all time is Cinema Paradiso, the 1989 Academy Award Best Foreign Language Film winner. A famous director returns to his home town where he first developed his love of film at the local cinema. The protagonist's friendship with the theater projectionist reminds us that friendship transcends age. The musical score, written by Ennio Morricone (composer of The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly score), provides an intensely emotional backdrop for the film. OK, OK, it is somewhat of a "chic flick", but it is well worth watching. I prefer the Italian with subtitles to the dubbed version (despite the fact that the only Italian words I know are those used in music terminology).

For a sample of the music, listen to this: Ennio Morricone - Cinema Paradiso - YouTube