Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 28, 2024, 04:57:08 PM

Login with username, password and session length

Recommend World Cinema

Started by Kapuscinski, September 06, 2010, 02:48:30 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

holyzombiejesus

Quote from: Ja'moke on March 31, 2011, 07:10:46 PM
I got a Lukas Moodysson boxset this week, watched his first two films Show Me Love (aka Fucking Amal) and Together. Thought they were both fantastic, Together is especially heart-warming, and the acting by the kids is fantastic, I love that little kid called Tet. And the scene were
Spoiler alert
Goran finally chucks out Lena is real punch the air the stuff!
[close]

The final scene in Together is one of the most uplifiting in cinema.

I love Spirit Of The Beehive, a Spanish film set in the1940. Very basically, it tells of a young girl's life, her dreams of Frankenstein's monster and her relationships, although it does contain quite a lot of symbolism and references to Franco (something which I've never really been alert to but still adore the film).

spirit of the beehive_edited trailer


My Life As A Dog is also worth checking out; directed by  Lasse Hallström, it too is a 'coming of age' story, this time Swedish and a bit more sugary than TSOTB. Here's a trailer in Swedish with Japanese subtitles.

MITT LIV SOM HUND ( My life as a dog )


Penfold

This is really a Thank You slight bump.

already mentioned in the Full House Poker thread in Gaming but since this thread is still around I thought I'd put this here as well.



Finally watched these tonight, took me long enough but they great, although ending spoiler
Spoiler alert
13: Game of death ending was odd, or underwhelming, or odd.
[close]

and, to contribute, i've not looked back through the whole thread but the current world cinema films I can think of that I own and like are...

Mesrine Pt.1 & 2[nb]This and Death Note 1 & 2 are the only foreign films I own on Blu Ray and I've yet to watch Death Note[/nb]
Boiling Point[nb]which i'm currently watching, it's much better than I remember, maybe because the lack of 'Beat' Takeshi so far, in a good way, I don't even like Baseball[/nb]
La Haine
Brotherhood of the Wolf
Taxi
Taxi 2
Taxi 3[nb]not watched this in a while but I assume it's as good as any third film in a series[/nb]
Sonatine
Zatoichi
Most eXtreme elimination Challenge[nb]Season 1[/nb]
Hana-....basically any Kitano film I've seen. I've not seen Dolls yet.
3 Extremes??
There's probably an awesome film I love that I haven't mentioned but chances are everyone has already seen or heard of it like the ones I've already mentioned or the Vengeance trilogy or Visitor Q.

Is The Happiness of the Katakuris any good, I always meant to see it?

Johnny Townmouse

Finally got around to watching Mia Hansen-Løve's The Father of My Children. A very odd little film that can probably be defined by what it DOESN'T do with the material, rather than what it does. By that I mean it chooses not to present the drama in a clear three-act structure, instead letting the story play out at a pace that suits the tone, rather than storytelling conventions. I don't even want to talk about the plot in spoilers (unless someone on here has already seen it) but suffice to say that the choices Hansen-Løve makes make no sacrifices to high drama. At times it is laid back to the point of being almost tedious, but something about the organic style and slightly dreamy feel kept me engaged for the whole 100mins or so.

phes

Quote from: Shameless on October 14, 2010, 12:31:27 PM
check out last year's american film, Triangle. It's a bit of a rip-off, and not as good, but is an enjoyable watch, for more of that kinda thing. But on a boat.

PLUS MELISSA GEORGE OFF HOME AND AWAY IS IN IT

Aces. Now you've bumped this thread I just want to correct ^^ as TRIANGLE was a UK/Australian release. And it was very good. I've not seen Timecrimes or whichever film it rips off (I guess there's a few), so it felt quite new. And on those grounds it was one of my favourite films of the year.

The Widow of Brid

Quote from: Penfold on April 09, 2011, 01:41:47 AM
Is The Happiness of the Katakuris any good, I always meant to see it?

It's fantastic. Watch it immediately.

Neville Chamberlain

Not sure if it's been mentioned before, but The Vanishing (Spoorloos) by Georg Sluizer is one magnificent film. Bleak but beautiful. A true horror film.

Serge

It is indeed and you've just reminded me that I don't own it on DVD. I must rectify that. The remake counts as one of the worst ever, to the point of giving it
Spoiler alert
a happy ending!
[close]
Uh?

The original is definitely one of the scariest films ever, making something as innocuous as a motorway service station seem filled with dread.

CaledonianGonzo

Just watched Fresa Y Chocolat (Strawberry and Chocolate), Havana-set gay-straight buddy movie.

Hmmm.  Dunno whether to applaud its candour about tricky subjects under a restrictive socialist regime or to think it all a bit dated and humdrum.  I mean, fine if you're actually in Cuba and this sort of stuff is considered subversive and all-to-rarely pictured on the big screen in any sort of local context - but for the rest of us, short of giving us a flavour of 1980s Havana, it didn't seem especially enlightening or resonant.  Worth a watch by all means, but expectations should be kept in check.

Funcrusher

Quote from: CaledonianGonzo on April 29, 2011, 05:00:52 PM
Just watched Fresa Y Chocolat (Strawberry and Chocolate), Havana-set gay-straight buddy movie.

Hmmm.  Dunno whether to applaud its candour about tricky subjects under a restrictive socialist regime or to think it all a bit dated and humdrum.  I mean, fine if you're actually in Cuba and this sort of stuff is considered subversive and all-to-rarely pictured on the big screen in any sort of local context - but for the rest of us, short of giving us a flavour of 1980s Havana, it didn't seem especially enlightening or resonant.  Worth a watch by all means, but expectations should be kept in check.

I thought exactly the same. It's pretty daring for the time, but does look a bit dated now. If you've not seen Memories of Underdevelopment yet, don't be put off, it's really good and not dated at all.

CaledonianGonzo

Quote from: Funcrusher on April 29, 2011, 05:22:18 PM
I thought exactly the same. It's pretty daring for the time, but does look a bit dated now. If you've not seen Memories of Underdevelopment yet, don't be put off, it's really good and not dated at all.

Memories of Underdevelopment came as part of the same box-set of Cuban cinema, so I'll no doubt slide it into the disc-drive at some point in the foreseeable.

vrailaine

Right I've to do all my obtaining for what to watch over the summer now, and I wanna get a Kurosawa film that isn't about Samurai. There's something about Samurai that just bore the arse off me, I've got Ran anyways though, just in case I feel like giving one a shot.

Only non-Samurai Kurosawa I've seen are Dreams (unwittingly, when I was about 10, mightn't like it as much now) and Ikiru, both of which I really liked, loved Ikiru, in fact.

The Bad Sleep Well sounds like it might be the kind of thing I'm looking for, but it seems like three quarters of his output is about struggling samurai and shite.



Other things I've gotten so far, no chance of me getting through them all:
Scenes from a Marriage mini-series (already started it, will get through it eventually)
Poetry (2010, this thing has amazing reviews, surprised I only heard of it today)
The Idiots (cos I liked Riget)
Close-Up (long overdue trying some Kiarostami, had no idea where to start)
Berlin Alexanderplatz (I'm never gonna get through this, no idea what I was thinking)
Shoah (see above)
and a heap Wong Kar-Wai

Probably have a look through this thread to find one or two more.

Herbert Ashe

Quote from: vrailaine on May 27, 2011, 10:24:43 PM
I wanna get a Kurosawa film that isn't about Samurai. There's something about Samurai that just bore the arse off me, I've got Ran anyways though, just in case I feel like giving one a shot.

Hmm, I wouldn't call Ran a Samurai film. Nor Kagemusha, which is my favourite Kurosawa after Yojimbo. Red Beard I haven't seen in an age and don't remember much about it but I have good latent impression of it, Toshiro Mifune is a doctor in (IIRC) early Meiji-era Japan.



Elsewhere in the world - rather than bumping the Eastern European thread - I've just got the new BFI release of Jan Svankmajer's Alice, which from a brief peek looks like a gorgeous transfer, so consider this a massive recommendation. I'm really hoping his Faust gets a good release at some point if these releases do well for them.

Oh, finally to add to the brief Rivette discussion upthread, apparently a German release of Out 1 / Out 1: Spectre is coming, which I'm hoping means that a parallel english-subbed release will come out on at least one side of the Atlantic.

vrailaine

Will check them out, thanks!

Wasn't mad keen on Alice but it's long overdue a remastering

The German release would surely include english subs, if only to make it more commercially viable.

Serge

Quote from: Herbert Ashe on May 27, 2011, 10:59:08 PMElsewhere in the world - rather than bumping the Eastern European thread - I've just got the new BFI release of Jan Svankmajer's Alice, which from a brief peek looks like a gorgeous transfer, so consider this a massive recommendation. I'm really hoping his Faust gets a good release at some point if these releases do well for them.

Yes! I'd love to see 'Faust' again. I remember BBC2 showing it a few years ago - back in the days when they showed European films on TV - and being mightily impressed. I think I'm definitely going to check out 'Alice' now, too - on the back of your recommendation and a rave review in the new Uncut magazine.

Peru

QuoteRed Beard I haven't seen in an age and don't remember much about it but I have good latent impression of it, Toshiro Mifune is a doctor in (IIRC) early Meiji-era Japan.

I think Red Beard is in with a good shout of being his best film. It is extraordinary. Also, you should check out Dersu Uzala - the available prints are all pretty rotten but it doesn't matter.

Herbert Ashe

Well, compared to the VHS rip I had before this Alice is fantastic. It's a dual DVD / Blu-Ray so that's another boost to look forward to once I get a BR set-up. The film itself; well, my only real quibble is that I think it's about 10 minutes too long, bearing in mind the small and not very varied physical setting of the film. It does make me wish Svankmajer had done more children's films: I think he has a great sense for the child's point of view and sense of scale, etc (which you also see in Down To The Cellar).

The English dub of Faust is by Andrew Sachs, and he does an excellent job; it helps that all the dialogue is either voiceover or spoken by puppets so there's no lip-synching to put you off. I haven't heard the original audio, IMDB people suggest it's very different in tone from the English, as the actor was terminally ill. It's Svankmajer's first post-communist feature film, and he really lets rip; I'm not any sort of expert in the region but I'm sure it must be one of the purest expressions of the Czech / Bohemian middle-european culture on film or anywhere.

Lee Van Cleef

Quote from: vrailaine on May 27, 2011, 10:24:43 PMRight I've to do all my obtaining for what to watch over the summer now, and I wanna get a Kurosawa film that isn't about Samurai. There's something about Samurai that just bore the arse off me, I've got Ran anyways though, just in case I feel like giving one a shot.

I'd recommend Stray Dog, it's essentially a Kurosawa film noir.

Herbert Ashe

Ah, I forgot Stray Dog! Yes, that's definitely a recommendation from me as well. Also interesting historically for a look at Tokyo whilst it was still showing the effects of the war.

Famous Mortimer

Hombre Mirando Al Sudeste (Man Facing Southeast)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_Facing_Southeast

An absolutely cracking film, about a bloke who suddenly appears in an Argentine asylum claiming to be from another world; and the ripples that spread outward from that. As dark as it is, it can't be claimed to be exactly a life-affirming film, but it's brilliant and absolutely worth tracking down. I guessed without having seen it that it had been an influence on K-Pax, and it seems the makers of this film were a bit baffled that the guy who made K-Pax claimed to have never seen their film. Anyway, watch it.

Famous Mortimer

Also, I notice on eBay someone with the username "Streeb-Greebling" is selling a load of Pasolini films, Criterion editions and so on. Is he any of you fellows?

Famous Mortimer

Bump for Bela Tarr. And also because this is a great thread full of great things.

I'm just taking a break after the first hour of Satantango, Bela Tarr's film about...well, it appears some people are dividing up the proceeds of a crime of some sort, but as it's not exactly hurrying along not a lot else happens, but I can already tell it's going to be a hum-dinger.

vrailaine

I thought that about an hour in too!

Famous Mortimer

I could probably have lived without seeing that girl torturing that cat at about the 2:45 mark, and was wishing "well, I actually hope you die in soul-crushing poverty now, you rotten little fucker".

vrailaine

I thought that was a high point, the scene with all the dancing was the fucking gutter.

Werckmeister Harmonies is immeasurably better, imo

alan nagsworth


I've given it a shout here before but having watched it for the third time last week, I believe Miike's The Bird People in China deserves another mention for those who're unfamiliar. The second time I watched it, it didn't have nearly the same effect as the first, when I wept profusely at the sheer beauty of it, and I was worried that maybe I'd been biased in my love for Miike the first time around and it wasn't actually all that good. Upon revisiting it last week, though, I was once again reduced to tears, endorphins tearing my spine out as I absorbed every single little bit of this truly wonderful film.

Here's a review wot I wrote for Amazon the first time I saw it:
QuoteIf you're looking for depravity and violence similar to that of Visitor Q or Ichi the Killer, or even the warped and complex Yakuza mystery of Gozu, then you will not find it in this film. Here, Miike excells once again as a true masterful director with an awe-inspiring and beautiful drama that left me in floods of tears.

Detailing the story of a businessman sent to a remote village to discover a vein of the precious stone 'jade', and watched closely by a Yakuza gangster who wants a cut of the profit, this story deals heavily with ecology and the mixed morality of Western/Eastern culture. There is a very blurred line between what is right and wrong, and these issues are dealt with in a soft and humanistic manner which is not often found in Miike's films. The resulting film is a touching and life-affirming work of art that explores the influence of the third world on the first world, and vice versa. It's wonderfully unbiased and creates excellent points for both sides in a way that is not just friendly, it's down-right unifying.

This is strongly recommended for those who appreciate Miike's underlying sense of values and also his wonderful sense of humour, and who are also willing to take a break from his more popular forays into gruesome violence and sexuality. A superb Japanese drama, and easily one of his greatest works to date.

What I didn't mention in the review is how this films starts off as a quirky and almost slapstick comedy, with the Yakuza and the businessman essentially playing a dysfunctional and hilarious double act, and slowly makes a seamless transition into a deeply involving character drama that explores human nature in an honest and heart warming way that would otherwise seem extremely contrived and tacky if it were made for Western audiences. There are still laughs to be had throughout - the Yakuza and the guide who takes them out to the village have their fair share of bizarre traits and daft outbursts - but they trickle down as the film goes on, making way for the warmth that lies at this film's core.

Miike is renowned for using experimental filming techniques ('Visitor Q' was filmed entirely on handheld cameras) and it certainly feels as though the camera and sound equipment used to make this film are deliberately sub-par to really let the human factor of this film shine through. Despite the poor film quality, the abundance of scenery in the Chinese mountains is breathtaking, and once again Miike demonstrates how you don't need crystal clear sound and vision to make a beautiful piece of cinema. This film to me is an honest-to-god masterpiece. Go watch it.

Famous Mortimer

I just finished Satantango and...I'm not sure. Spoilers, I guess, although the film is 20 years old.

The two people who take the money from the townspeople are described on more than one occasion as charismatic and interesting, but one of them has a face like a smacked arse and never says a word, the other is a weasel-looking motherfucker who never shows the remotest bit of enthusiasm, and who I wouldn't trust as far as I could throw.

The film itself is amazing to look at - imagine scenes cut from "Silent Hill" for being too bleak and depressing, and you're on the way. The length really works for it, but those last two hours were a bit of a slog to get through. I kind-of admire the way the storyline doesn't really get resolved either, like he was going to make a 7-hour film and got to that point and went "ah well, no more time".

I saw it as how communism messes you up, but capitalism does you over even more so, while smiling and pretending to be on your side. The collective farm was at least dependably rotten. Still, not a single person went "Irimias, you're a weird looking guy, I don't trust you or your mate, I'm definitely not giving you my money". A qualified thumbs up, glad I did it but not sure I'll be rushing to watch it again.