Smiling @ Valerie….

Ohhhh….maybe other Brazilian friends can help us here? But here are some movies from the Brazilian vaults:
Central Station (my fav of the bunch!!!!)
When My Parents Went on Vacation
Carandiru
Madam Satan
O Homem do Ano (Man of The year)
Favela Rising
Cidade Baixa (Low City)
Chronically Unfeasible
God is Brazilian
Mango Yellow
Auto da Compadecida
Meu Tio matou um cara ( My uncle killed a guy-?): adventure/comedy
Foreign Land
The Middle of The world

@Valerie Welcome to the J-doramaholic world =)

Oooo, movies! Me love the topic! :)

Foreign fimls, huh? Well, for me American films are “foreign” as well, but I’ll reccomand a non-Hollywood film: Nikita Mikhalkov’s The Barber of Siberia. I saw it in English (I don’t know if the original was in Russian or not), but the director and almost all the cast are Russian – the main non-Russian characters are played by two outstanding British actors: the late Richard Harris (remember the first Dumbledore?) and Julia Ormond. The film is about an American woman who writes to her son about her stay in Tsarist Russia 20 years earlier….. I just read that the film was badly received by the critics, but I absolutely loved it! :)

My goal before this December ends or at least by January is to watch a Bollywood movie. It seems so interesting~

If anyone reading this post knows any good BOLLYWOOD films, please share! I watched one a couple of years ago and I absolutely loved the film, but I don’t remember the name. One of the songs in it had a chorus that started like….SONY, SONY…..I can’t remember the rest.

@Katherine…..So, I finished the 1st episode of the dorama! Wow, I really got into it! Thank you a million times for telling me about it! I really want to learn Japanese now!

@katherine, Valerie

yay! I happen to be a fan of Bollywood movies :)
Bollywood films used to be so popular in Japan few years back! I wish we had more of them today…
Many Bollywood fillms are so surreal! One moment, they’re in a gang fight, next miinute, they’re on top of a mountain in Switzerland singing with flowers on their head. Its so funny…

My absolute favorite has to be “Muthu”.
There are so many times where you think “what?” “why sing now??” during the film. It is hilarious. A typical fun Bollywood film. I think it came out in ’95…but it was really popular in Japan.
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=8Udvdzlyjdc

“Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham”
Its sort of a family drama that takes place all over the world.
The images are really beautiful!
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=jR3udH_c62c

“Kal Ho Naa Hoo”
Love story filmed in New York. Great songs!
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=oCKaYcdufwU

@Nao Thanks! I’ll get started on Muthu =)

@Valerie Here’s another Japanese drama that I really like: Orange Days http://www.mysoju.com/orange-days/episode-1/part-1/ This one is more “realistic” compared to Hana Yori Dango. The lead actor is cute too =)

Oooh what a great topic, so many movies.

From Germany
Shultze gets the blues

Via con Dios
Despite the Spanish title this next one is German, I saw it subtitled into English by the Australian Special Broadcasting Service SBS – I have not been able to find an English subtitle version to purchase

My south sea Island -Südsee, eigene Insel
there is a Spanish version of that film, it is almost word for word the same. Both are very good.

From Korea
Arahan – Arahan jangpung daejakjeon

The quiet family – Choyonghan kajok

I will look for more favorites.

From Denmark, several films by director – Anders Thomas Jensen
Start with this one
Flickering lights – Blinkende lygter

I just watched ‘Ne le dis à personne’ (tell no one), an excellent French movie. Excellent plot and great acting. Very action packed as well!
Le site officiel

I found out which movie I was talking about on YOUTUBE! Yipee! Check it out: http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=3UB3bdSaV_4&feature=related

Spain: Movies by Pedro Almodovar (All About My Mother [sad story about a woman who lost her son in a car accident and then goes in search of the father of her child to tell him/her the bad news], Talk to her [about a male nurse and a comatose woman with a disturbing yet thought provoking ending], Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown [comedic take on the lives of various women dealing with their relationship problems], Volver [with Penelope Cruz]; Bad education [about 2 men who used to go school together as children and confront the emotional experiences of their past through a movie partly based on their lives]); Pan’s Labyrinth (fairy tale like story about a young girl set during the time of the Spanish Civil War); The Sea Inside (about a guy who is paralyzed from the neck down and he wants to commit euthanasia for he believes it is justified for the fact that he is in a vegetative like state. Powerful movie that questions the morals and ethics of anyone who watches this.)
Mexico: Amores Perros (By renowned director Inarritu; 4 sets of stories that interact with each other throughout the movie. If you saw and liked Babel, this is a great movie to watch with the same style of cinematography.)
Argentina: The Motorcycle Diaries (based on the notes of Ernesto Che Guevara’s Latin American trip before he became a revolutionary.)
Brazil: City of God
Africa: Tsotsi (great movie that evokes a feeling of understanding for the protagonist given his decrepit situation)
Germany: Nowhere in Africa (amazing movie set during WWII)

Just a couple of my suggested foreign films that I think are some of the best movies ever made.

I was wondering if anyone could suggest any other Spanish films that are must-see.

I finally saw Suicide Club/Suicide Circle (Jisatsu Sākuru)/whatever last week after having it on my must-see list for the past—oh, I don’t know—SIX years. It was a pretty captivating film the whole way through, from the opening scene to the very end (which was quite vague, but maybe I’m just not good at understanding context clues). I guess what I’m trying to say is I can’t NOT think of this film when I handle daikon.

By the way, Pan’s Labyrinth is great. I don’t know why I don’t own it yet, even though I’ve felt compelled to buy it since the DVD hit stores. I’ll get to it eventually :(

From Spain – these are from the late 1970’s – not long after Franco died in 1975 and Spain started to modernize and artists could exercise some freedom.

Mama turns 100 – Mamá cumple cien años

Raise Ravens – Cría cuervos

Ópera prima

Just like Sandra Iulia told, any American films are foreign for me too!
But I like Hoollywood kinda movies, but old school, like

Casablanca or Singin’ in the Rain

Last week I saw “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”, Woody Allen’s latest film, and I have a thought, It is considered foreign?

England: Snatch
Brazil: Cidade de Deus
France: Amelie
Germany: Goodbye Lenin
Italy: Mediterraneo
US: Empire of the sun, Edward Scissorhands and Pulp Fiction
Japan: Akira Kurosawa’s films
For the moment those are my favourites.

My favourite foreign films are:

French: Amelie – as a lot of you have already mentioned
Arabic: Omar w Salma (Tamer Hosny is my hero)
Hindi: Taare Zameen Par (Aamir Khan is phenomenal and if I am not mistaken, this film is India’s entry to the Oscars) and also Dostana (Girls…. you got to check out John Abraham!!)

From Sweden. As it is in Heaven. In my top five list of all time for any type of movie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLEMyfqKid0

I’ve just seen a great movie and I want to recommend it to you here: Joyeux Noel, a 2005 European co-production. It’s Christmas Eve, 1914. The French, German and Scottish troups involved in combat in the First World War decide to cease fire for a day and celebrate the holiday…. Touching moments, beautiful music and a little bit of romance turn this into more than a war movie! Definitely watch it if you can! :)

English – it is foreign for some of us ;-) : Groundhog Day
French: Amelie (one more vote…)
Japanese: Sen To Chihiro (Spirited Away)
German: while I find Wings of Desire a beautiful film, I like the sequel better, I think it is more fun. The translation to English is “Faraway, So Close”. I also like Run Lola Run.
Chinese: Hero. Another nice movie if you are a romantic person is In the Mood for Love.

Groundhog day is a fun movie! Tada Kimi Wo Aishiteru is a _nice movie…. =) and Tokyo Godfathers (animation) is great too…

Wow! You guys gave some awesome suggestions! It will take me about a year to watch all of these movies!

Belgium: “L’enfant”

Origin unknown but probably American with a Mexican director: “Children of Men”. It’s directed by Alfonso Cuarón who isn’t American but I suppose the movie and the budget are since it’s in English. So it’s a blend.

Italy: “La vita e bella”

I’d be interested in watching a Korean movie.

@Jordan Korea’s The King and the Clown is a personal favorite. The movie My Sassy Girl might be interesting for you too.

The Beautiful Life is an awesome movie!!! If any one is going to watch it, be prepared to cry…..a lot!