What is my favourite film from World Cinema?
Aside from the cropping Instragram did when I posted this picture, this is my DVD collection. I haven't actually counted how many DVDs I have. Packing and unpacking these from university, it is one of the few times I've acknowledged I have too many DVDs. However, I still aim to buy more. Three of them are going to be honourable mentions, due to not having them in my collection. The others: The Good Doctor Season One, Criminal Minds Boxset Seasons 1-12, and Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012), are on my wishlist, but are probably going to end up on my Christmas list, rather than my summer list.
I have twelve foreign language films, in eight different languages: French, Italian, Portuguese, Cantonese, Sweedish, Spanish, Zulu and Hebrew. Two of the other films I wish to buy are Finnish, with one of them being a mix of Finnish and English, and the other is Spanish. There is one film on my list that you could argue is possibly a foreign language film: Call Me By Your Name (Luca Guadagnino, 2017), however, I do not consider it a foreign language film myself. Therefore, I will not be including it on my list, otherwise it would take the number one spot.
A common theme you will find with these films, is me discovering them when I was at college. Without my Film Studies course, I would not be as into foreign language films as I am. If you want a blog post on how Film Studies revealed my inner film nerd, let me know.
But without futher adieu, onto my honourable mentions, counting down from twelve, to one. Lets start with the three honourable mentions. I highly recommend watching all these films - foreign language films don't get as much love as they deserve.
All opinions are my own, so if they differ from yours let me know. I'd be interested on your thoughts about ranking these.
Honourable Mentions
- Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale (Jalmari Helander, 2010). Finnish.
I first watched this film during my second year at college, and I really enjoyed it. Until watching this film, I was unfamiliar with Krampus, so when I first watched it, I was curious. I definitely prefer this tale of Krampus, to the actual Krampus films. I aim to buy this in time for Christmas 2018, as I wanted to watch this last year with a friend, and didn't have access to it on their laptop. As someone who isn't a massive horror fan, I really recommend this film.
- Big Game (Jalmari Helander, 2014). Finnish/English.
This is the first foreign language film I watched, and I went into it completely blind. I had no idea it was Finnish and English, but I really enjoyed it. My brother and I were the youngest in the audience by about twenty years. When I saw this, it was prior to the inner film nerd in me coming out, so I like to think this is a turning point for my film nerd.
Samuel L. Jackson was a welcome actor for this film, and his character really worked well with the other characters in the film. Definitely one I wish to re-watch again.
- La Zona (Rodrigo Plá, 2007). Spanish.
La Zona is the only film I studied during my Film A Levels that I have yet to buy. I haven't watched it since college, but I still remember really enjoying this film. As I type this, I can still see the opening sequence, and various scenes from the film (though that could be because I studied the film, so I had to analyse some of the scenes that I'm currently visualising). The only issue I have with buying this film, is it's actually really difficult for me to find the film to buy.
The Countdown
- 12 - Cinema Paridiso (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988). Italian. Whilst I enjoyed the film, and the cinematography is gorgeous for the late 1980s, it wasn't my favourite. I can see why it won an Oscar, and is a must see for foreign language films, but I've enjoyed other films more. It's one I'll watch again, but it's not one I'd immediately reach for.
- 11 - Amour (Michael Haneke, 2012). French.I'll admit, the only reason this is at number 11 is because I haven't actually watched it yet. I picked it up during this past academic year because it looks like a powerful love story. I am determined to watch this film over the summer. I'm interested to see where this will end up after I have watched the film.
- 10 - Chungking Express (Kar-Wai Wong, 1994). Cantonese.Chungking Express (Kar-Wai Wong, 1994) confused me when I first watched it. The two narratives going on side by side, and stopping and starting during the film just didn't work. I recently bought it, in the hopes of watching it again and hopefully understanding the film more. This was definitely the hardest to track down out of the foreign language films I own, but it was so worth it.
- 9 - La Haine (Matthieu Kassovitz, 1995). French.I did enjoy studying this La Haine, and the social and historical content, but I haven't picked it up since college. Whilst I believe that this film is still relevant, it is no longer my favourite French film. What I do love about this film, is how it is set over twenty four hours. It's a definite film to watch if you're answering a question on social context.
- 8 - Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008). Sweedish.
Let me start off by saying this is the definitive version of this film you should watch. I'm not a horror fan, which is why this is so low on the list. Truth be told, this final eight was really difficult to rank. The American adaptation of this film has a score that just ruins the film. I actually walked out (I had film club after and the option to stay and watch the film, or go to film club, and I chose film club). What is unique about the original version, is it only uses a film score as and when it is needed. My aim is to make this my Halloween tradition because it is just such a wonderful film.
- 7 - City of God (Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund, 2002). Portuguese.
I've actually been debating buying the sequel and documentary to this film, because socially this film was outstanding. I love the progression of this film over the different decades, and how it is still an accurate representation of what living in certain parts of Brazil is like today. I highly recommend this film, especially as the documentary from 2012 accompanies the development of the social context perfectly.
- 6 - Rust and Bone (Jacques Audiard, 2012). French.
This is one of the films I've watched a couple of times, so I'm surprised I actually put it at six. It's a lovely story line, and every time I watch it, I see something new. This is another one that I watched in film club, and even though it has been a while since I last saw this film, I can still see the opening sequence, as well as a few other scenes playing in my head. Definitely one I'm going to re-watch over the summer.
- 5 - Pan's Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006). Spanish.
Until I was in film club, I had never seen this film. Aesthetically is is gorgeous, and had me captivated with Guillermo del Toro's work. If only I could write a screenplay half as well as del Toro, I could die happy. As I type, I'm visualising characters and scenes and it just makes me want to watch the film all over again. It's one of those films I wish I could forget watching, just so I can repeatedly experience it again for the first time.
- 4 - Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001). French.
I think a lot of people that know me would be surprised that this isn't number one on my list. And I did struggle to decide whether or not it's 3 or 4 on this list. I recently re-watched this with one of my friends and I still find it as wonderful now, as I did when I first watched it in college. If you are starting out with foreign language films, this is the film I recommend you start with.
- 3 - Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman, 2008). Hebrew.
This was another film that was quite difficult to buy, but it does deserve its place in my top 3. It did, in the end come down to a narrative as to whether this film took third or fourth place. The animation is brilliant for it's time, and the way the story is presented is even better. I am definitely glad this is animated, as I think some of the story would have been lost had it been live action. Without giving too many away, if you want to know more about the Lebanon War of the early eighties, this film is a must see.
- 2 - Tsotsi (Gavin Hood, 2005) Zulu.
There is more reason than the fact the ending made me cry to me placing this film at number two. I studied this one at college and there is so much you can talk about, from power divides, to social context. The film takes place over six days and so much goes on in it that perhaps goes unnoticed, that whenever I go back to watch this film, I always notice something new.
- 1 - Untouchable/The Intouchables (Oliver Nakache, Éric Toledano, 2011). French.
I think most people who have watched this film will agree that is one of the purest and most wonderful narratives they have seen. Every year I see a picture from this film that I shared praising this story and the acting. Based on a true story, it is heartwarming and one of my feel good films. The more I research the film, the more I love it. I definitely recommend watching this film.
Thank you so much for reading and sticking by me through this long and slightly vague post. I didn't want to do full reviews of each film, though I will happily do a more in depth film review for each of these films if you'd like. Let me know.
Also, like I mentioned earlier, if you want to know my Film Studies story - what I learnt, how it made me more confident about being a film nerd, why I considered switching courses at the start of first year, let me know. I can do it as a mid-week post, or a full Saturday post.
With all that said, I'll see you next week with another post.
-Emmaberry-
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