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Great films in foreign languages | ||
Tags: Film | Foreign Languages | ||
 Language Learning Forum : Music, Movies, TV & Radio |  | |
| Dark_Sunshine Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 5756 days ago 340 posts - 357 votes  Speaks: English*, French | Message 1 of 60 23 March 2009 at 12:35am | IP Logged | |||||
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OK- following on from the thread about the greatest literary works in various languages, I want to ask you all what are the greatest films you would recommend, (films in languages other than English of course!)
The reason I ask is because I just got a membership for the British Film Institute so this year I'll have the chance to see lots of lesser known, foreign films quite cheaply. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| unzum Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom soyouwanttolearnalan Joined 6905 days ago 371 posts - 478 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: Mandarin | Message 2 of 60 23 March 2009 at 12:59am | IP Logged | |||||
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Kikujirou is a fantastic film. Funny, touching and a great introduction to Beat Takeshi if you've never seen any of his films before. It's lacking in the violence that usually characterises his films and it's a really nice feel-good film. It's basically about this kid's summer and how he ends up going on a road trip with this ex-yakuza.
Ikiru by Akira Kurosawa is also fantastic. In a way, it's kind of in the same genre as 'It's a Wonderful Life', except more realistic and so more affecting. It's about a Japanese office worker who finds out he has stomach cancer and what he does with the last six months of his life. It sounds depressing but it isn't, it's more ... life-altering and so human. It's also a fantastic period piece, depicting Japan post-WWII. And if you just want some straight-out fun, you can't go much wrong with Jackie Chan's 'Police Story'. :) Comedy, action scenes that will make you gasp and hilarious characters. 2 persons have voted this message useful | ||||||
| Satoshi Diglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 5814 days ago 215 posts - 224 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, English Studies: German, Japanese | Message 3 of 60 23 March 2009 at 1:56am | IP Logged | |||||
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Anything by Akira Kurosawa. And I do mean ANYTHING. I haven't watched all of his movies, but I watched a fair deal of them and they have never let me down. In fact, most of his films give me a nice feeling of satisfaction after watching them, a feeling I often do not get watching modern films.
Modern Brazilian cinema is also getting a lot better, or so I've heard. I'll look into it and I will bring you some advices. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| SlickAs Tetraglot Senior Member Canada Joined 5868 days ago 185 posts - 287 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, French, Swedish Studies: Thai, Vietnamese | Message 4 of 60 23 March 2009 at 5:06am | IP Logged | |||||
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Check out the Swedish director Ingmar Bergman; if you were only to see 1 you would choose from between The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde Inseglet), and Wild Strawberries (Smultronstället).
Other than that, what are your preferences in English language film? I personally like directors like Buñuel, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Almodovar, but these guys aren't for everyone. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| ChiaBrain Bilingual Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5799 days ago 402 posts - 512 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish* Studies: Portuguese, Italian, French Studies: German | Message 5 of 60 23 March 2009 at 5:34am | IP Logged | |||||
Ciudad de Dios (City of God) and Cidade Baixa (Lower City) were both great but be warned both are about the rough parts of Brazil. 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Louis Triglot Groupie Italy Joined 5721 days ago 92 posts - 110 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish | Message 6 of 60 23 March 2009 at 5:57am | IP Logged | |||||
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The Russian film industry has been thriving, well, up until this recent economic decline. Брат (Brat, Brother) is a crime film that explores the aftermath of the Soviet collapse and has several interesting subplots. Ночной дозор (Nochnoy dozor, Night Watch) is another more recent film with an intricate storyline based on a novel under the same name. The film was satisfying for me, personally, because it was the first blockbuster film after the Soviet collapse and I was happy the Russian film industry was getting on its feet again. I did get lost at some points in the storyline but it was a great watch. Though... it was pretty graphic!
The last film has been my favorite for years. It is called Остров (Ostrov, The Island) and has a profound depiction of faith and monastic life. The film is fictional, but definitely believable. It focuses on an Orthodox monk (presumably belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church) but I'd rather not say more to keep the plot a surprise. Edited by Louis on 23 March 2009 at 5:57am 1 person has voted this message useful | ||||||
| Satoshi Diglot Senior Member Brazil Joined 5814 days ago 215 posts - 224 votes Speaks: Portuguese*, English Studies: German, Japanese | Message 7 of 60 23 March 2009 at 6:21am | IP Logged | |||||
Cidade de Deus is praised, but I have never watched it. Unfortunately most famous Brazilian films are complete tourist-interest killers, like Tropa de Elite and the ones you mentioned. I can name one film I like. It's called Nina. It is loosely based upon Crime and Punishment, has great acting (in my layman opinion) and some (almost unrecongnisable) influence from Japanese manga in the drawings that appear once or twice and minor aesthetic features. I recommend it. It has a somewhat decadent atmosphere, much in tune to Raskolnikov's state of mind in Dostoyevsky's classic, but that doesn't quite represent Brazil and its culture. Edited by Satoshi on 23 March 2009 at 6:21am 1 person has voted this message useful |
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