Foreign language films

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I'm just full of topics today, it would seem.

I know there seems to be a lot of people who watch foreign films on the board (mostly Asian, it would seem), but I was just wondering what films people have seen?

Asian (since I don't want to hazard a guess at which country each film is actually from >_>)

Battle Royale - Japanese

Battle Royale 2 - Japanese

Audition - Japanese

Ichi The Killer - Japanese

The Ring - Japanese

Oldboy - Korean

Infernal Affairs - Hong Kong

[Spee]

Pretty much seen them all (on the first poster's list) with one or two exceptions. Most of Head-On was in Turkish actually, but it's a minor quibble.

If there is one 'foreign language' film (does anyone else find the term a bit disingenuous, much like 'world music'? It's too broad and disparaging) you must see Let The Right One In. Cannot recommend it highly enough.

[Liam]

13 Tzameti

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475169/

French, awesome.

Go see.

I've got that, borrowing it off of someone. Not seen it yet.

I'm just full of topics today, it would seem.

I know there seems to be a lot of people who watch foreign films on the board (mostly Asian, it would seem), but I was just wondering what films people have seen?

Asian (since I don't want to hazard a guess at which country each film is actually from >_>)

Battle Royale - Japanese

Battle Royale 2 - Japanese

Audition - Japanese

Ichi The Killer - Japanese

The Ring - Japanese

Oldboy - Korean

Infernal Affairs - Hong Kong

Stop showing off >_> And to be honest, I had all of them right in my head, aside from being a bit unsure as to whether a couple of the Japanese ones might be Chinese.

Pretty much seen them all (on the first poster's list) with one or two exceptions. Most of Head-On was in Turkish actually, but it's a minor quibble.

To be honest, I kinda mixed stuff up a little there. It's a German film, by a German/Turkish director. The language is Turkish, but I lumped it in with Germany due to setting/nationality of director, from what I remember. Cheers for clearing it up though. SECOND EDIT: Yeah, Fatih Akin, born in Hamburg of Turkish descent. I was also a little confused as it was part of the German Films section in my University Module about Film History, or something like that.

EDIT: I also forgot these films on the list:

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

And

French

Amelie

Taxi

Taxi 2

The Taxi films are awesome, and well worth watching for fans of comedy.

Edited December 16, 2008 by rvdwannabe

[nabeel]

I watched this French movie a couple of years ago (i'd guess it was released somewhere b/w 1998-2002) and it was about two burglars breaking into a large corporation where as it turns out, a large mafia operates. It was quite funny actually.

Anyone know what its called?

[MalaCloudy Black]

Does it count if English isn't my first language?

From the top of my head, I remember watching some Asian movies (Battle Royale comes immediately into mind, also anime movies, if those count), Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno, spanish), and Les Rivières Pourpres and the Asterix films, French.

Tell us some Portugese films you've seen!

[Johnny Latino Heat]

Does it count if English isn't my first language?

From the top of my head, I remember watching some Asian movies (Battle Royale comes immediately into mind, also anime movies, if those count), Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno, spanish), and Les Rivières Pourpres and the Asterix films, French.

Tell us some Portugese films you've seen!

Lol, Portuguese movies. They suck. I tend to stay away from them. Honestly. They are the pits. Can't stand them. Usually poor production quality, and the acting is atrocious. Usually. There's been a couple of times where I've seen some bits and parts, like "O Crime do Padre Amaro" and "Call Girl", but that's only because of the actress doing nude scenes

What? She's hot

[Liam]

Ended up watching that 13 in the end last night. Been on a bit of a kick for these kinda films. Twas quite good, if a little.....dunno, I was kinda lacking any emotional reaction to most of it, aside from the first round (I won't say what it is, in case it spoilers it for someone else). That was a bit tense. The film is well shot though, and quite stylish, methinks.

[Blue Rosler]

One of my lecturers gave me a list of decent Spanish/Portuguese language films. I will go home, find the piece of paper and then edit this post with them in. Some are pretty offbeat topics. I love how my course lets me watch these and pretend I'm working. Now go rvdwannabe, pretend to be cultured.

Argentina

Nueve Reinas (Fabián Bielinsky) - Two con artists try to swindle a stamp collector by selling him a sheet of counterfeit rare stamps here

El Hijo de La Novia (Juan José Campanella) - At age 42, Rafael Belvedere is having a crisis. He lives in the shadow of his father, he feels guilty about rarely visiting his aging mother, his ex-wife says he doesn't spend enough time with their daughter and he has yet to make a commitment to his girlfriend. At his lowest point, a minor heart attack reunites him with Juan Carlos, a childhood friend, who helps Rafael to reconstruct his past and look at the present in new ways. here

Nordeste (Juan Diego Sabanas) - After having sacrificed almost everything for her career, Joelle decides, at 43 years of age, to change her life. She travels to Argentina to adopt a child. While there, Joelle discovers the North East, an untamed and vast natural region which is in sharp contrast with the social inequality that abounds in more urban Argentina.

Brasil

Madame Sata (Karim Ainouz) - Loose portrait of João Francisco dos Santos, also known as Madame Satã, a sometime chef, transvestite, lover, father, hero and convict from Rio de Janeiro here

Pixote (Hector Babenco) - The life of a boy in the streets of Sao Paulo, involved with little crimes, prostitution, etc here

Bye Bye Brasil (Carlos Diegues) - The Caravana Rolidei rolls into town with the Gypsy Lord at the mike: he does magic tricks, the erotic Salomé dances, and the mute Swallow performs feats of strength. A young accordion player is completely enamored of Salomé, and he begs to come along. The Gypsy Lord shrugs, and the accordionist and his pregnant wife, Dasdô, join the troupe. Television is their enemy as they go from the coast deep into the Amazon. Salomé lets the accordion player sleep with her once, with Dasdô's knowledge. He's moon-struck. Then, after Dasdô's baby is born and financial disaster hits the troupe, and the accordionist must choose between seeing his wife a prostitute and leaving the caravan. here

Columbia

Maria, eres llena de gracia (Joshua Marston) - A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family here

Ecuador

Ratas, ratones, rateros (Sebastian Cordero) - The world of Salvador, a young and naive petty thief is changed by the arrival of his cousin Angel, an ex-convict in search of easy money, and with a hideout. Salvador gets wrapped up in Angel's twisted dealings in an attempt to escape from his suffocating family, dragging along his family and friends, in his criminal path. Where will this all lead? here

Cronicas (Sebastian Cordero) - A suspense thriller about a reporter from Miami who travels to Ecuador in pursuit of a serial killer known as the "Monster of Babahoyo." here

Uruguay

Whisky (Juan Pablo Rebella) - When his long-lost brother resurfaces, Jacobo, desperate to prove his life has added up to something, looks to scrounge up a wife. He turns to Marta, an employee at his sock factory, with whom he has a prickly relationship. the owner of a sock factory in Montevideo, and Marta, his employee, realize that their estranged relationship needs to change when Jacobo's long-lost brother prompting them to pose as a married couple. here

Venezuela

Huelepega (Elia Schneider) - This stirring drama tells the story of Oliver, a young boy thrown out of his house by his alcoholic stepfather and terrorized mother. Forced to live on the streets, like so many other children, Oliver falls into a bottomless pit of drugs, poverty, and the constant threat of injury and death. There are no actors in this movie, it's all real street children.

[Gabriel]

Night Watch and Day Watch were both good films. The former moreso than the latter, but I digress. Where's the love for Russian-language films?

Also, I can't remember what language it's in... but Let the Right One In sounds absolutely fantastic, and if they weren't already making an English-language version, I'd probably have gone out of my way to see it by now.

[MalaCloudy Black]

Columbia

Maria, eres llena de gracia (Joshua Marston) - A pregnant Colombian teenager becomes a drug mule to make some desperately needed money for her family here

How is that? It seems like that movie is always on one of the film channels here and I never have bothered to check it out, though it sounds interesting.

[TheRyno]

Because I'm really bored, here's my list. It's big but it would be a lot bigger if I could include all the 70's Italian gore flicks that have been dubbed over.

Akira (Yeah, it's anime but I'm counting it. I don't watch much anime anyway.)

Audition

Azumi 1 and 2

Battle Royale 1 and 2

Bio-Zombie

Death Trance

Drunken Master

Electric Dragon 80,000V

Fudoh: The New Generation

Gozu

Hellevator: The Bottled Fools

House of Flying Daggers

Ichi-1

Ichi The Killer

Iron Monkey 2

Izo

JSA: Joint Security Area

Kung Fu Hustle

Lady Vengeance

The Machine Girl

Master of the Flying Guillotine

New Police Story

Ninja Wars

Oldboy

Ong-Bak

Police Story 1 and 2

The Protector

Red Shadow

Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky

Samurai Fiction

Seven Samurai

Sex Is Zero

Shaolin Soccer

Shogun's Samurai

Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance

Tetsuo: The Iron Man

Versus

Visitor Q

Wild Zero

Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs

I'm sure there's a few more random-ass kung fu flicks I'm forgetting, but those have probably been dubbed as well.

[Colossus]

Tell us some Portugese films you've seen!

Yeah, basically what Johnny said, they are atrocious, the acting is poor, everything bad about a movie you'll find it in a Portuguese Movie. Although, Arte de Roubar (Art of Stealing) is quite good, from what I heard, but it is in English, so, that's out. Amalia is being considered by grand part of the Portuguese critics the best moie yet, and Second Life is going to be intersting. Although, everyone is going to the cinema to see the lesbian scenes, and the celebrity guest apearances, like Figo.

From what i have seen of foreign films:

Cidade de Deus - Awesome. Simply Awesome

Tropa de Elite - As Cidade de Deus, awesome.

Amelie - Liked it. It could have been better, but it coould have been worse.

Then, I remember seeing some Asian films, like Crouching Tiger, but couldn't remember if I liked it or not