Summertime is the ideal season to catch up on your movie-viewing. Summer is also the season to branch out – if you haven’t already – into something other than the average Hollywood blockbuster. If you’re too lazy to make a trip to the Bijou, then here’s a list of a few foreign film suggestions to add to your Netflix queue.
“Good Bye Lenin!” (Germany, 2003)
Wolfgang Becker’s critically acclaimed film is entertaining and – despite its rather misleading title – not overwhelmingly political. Right before the destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Alex Kerner’s politically active mother falls into a coma. When she wakes up in a fragile state of health eight months later, Alex goes to great lengths to conceal the political changes that have taken place while his mother was in a coma. A tender mother-son relationship unfolds as events take on a comical twist. Hilarity ensues when it becomes nearly impossible to hide the truth from the mother, as it turns out that it is not easy to emulate a divided Germany in light of the changing political circumstances.
“The Star Maker” (“L’Uomo Delle Stelle” Italy, 1995)
Contrary to popular belief, not all foreign films are frustratingly obscure. Case in point: Giuseppe Tornatore’s Oscar-nominated film “The Star Maker.” Joe Morelli, a con-man pretending to be a Hollywood talent agent, tours the poor areas of post-WWII Sicily and cons the village folk by promising them movie stardom. Morelli, a surprisingly sympathetic sleazebag, takes advantage of the hopes of common people who see acting as a means of rising above their poverty-stricken background. This film is more about character development – because Morelli’s camera captures people’s most candid and private moments – than wondering if the “star maker” will finally get caught.
“Oldboy” (Korea, 2003)
This psychological thriller thrusts you right in the midst of a convoluted plot, but the ending promises to tie up enough loose ends to make it worth your while. The film revolves around a man who is suddenly released from a room he was inexplicably tortured and imprisoned in for fifteen years. The protagonist’s new-found freedom is, however, conditional: He is given five days to discover the identity of his captor and the motive behind his sinister actions. Director Chan-wook Park produces a uniquely disturbing masterpiece that will have a gripping effect on you, and might even make you want to watch it again in order to better appreciate its intricacy.
“My Life in Pink” (“Ma Vie en Rose” Belgium/France, 1997)
Alain Berliner’s controversial film centers on the identity-confused seven-year-old Ludovic and his family’s inability to cope with their son’s gender experimentation. The film features noteworthy performances, including young Georges Du Fresne’s (Ludovic) role as a girl trapped in a boy’s body. “My Life in Pink” is often misleadingly labeled as a comedy, but there is a profoundly poignant and thought-provoking dimension to this daring film.
“Amores Perros” (Mexico, 2000)
Wittingly translated (not!) as “Love’s a Bitch,” this film is the lesser-known yet more competent older sibling of Iñárritu and Arriaga’s “Babel.” In a similar fashion as “Babel” and “21 Grams,” Arriaga and Iñárritu develop several fragmented storylines which – although seemingly unrelated – eventually converge to form a comprehensive narrative. Any attempt to summarize this film will inevitably prove to be reductive. Suffice it to say that “Amores” uses the pretext of a car accident to interweave the stories of various dog-owners who progressively (and arguably) mirror their dogs’ behaviors. Iñárritu and Arriaga have a thing for fatalistically interconnected narratives that challenge viewers to make sense of it all without much directorial guidance. Be warned: This film is not recommended for viewers with low tolerance for stylistic experimentation and avant-garde filmmaking
Cool off with some foreign fare
Daily Emerald
July 4, 2007
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