Foreign Language Films

Ah yes +1

And Kristin Scott Thomas +14

So lots of new and highly exportable (i.e. relatively conventional) action films, horror movies, and thrillers, but there's a wealth of foreign cinema not mentioned for anyone that wants to raid the archives.

It always makes me sad that so much great cinema is overlooked.

What about post-revolution Russian cinema (Eisenstein, Vertov...)

Surrealist cinema (Bunuel, Dali, Dulac...)

German Expressionism (Lang, Murnau, Wiene...)

French Impressionist cinema and Romanticism (Gance, Epstein, Renoir...)

Post-war Italian cinema (Visconti, De Sica, Rossellini...)

The French New Wave (Godard, Truffaut, Resnais...)

Then there's South American and African counter cinema; the Polish and Hungarian New Waves; New German cinema; and so much more besides.

Sorry if I come across as a snob, I just think it's a shame that the phrase "foreign language films" is often reduced to French, Japanese, Hong Kong, and Korean cinema produced in the last twenty years.

That said, more recent efforts worth a look (not mentioned in other posts) include: 

Head On (2004),

4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)

The Piano Teacher (2001), which I think is Haneke's best film, perhaps because he doesn't attack his audience so much (though it's certainly not for the squeamish, so I guess he assaults them in other ways).

All three are pretty bleak (which is perhaps why people tend to watch less foreign cinema), but genuinely excellent films.

It's also surprising how much of the above is available on Blu-ray, or at least in collections of lovingly restored DVD boxsets.

Maybe the OP should learn to walk before he runs

But I agree with you on The Piano Teacher, and I also like Funny Games and Hidden (Cache) by Haneke.

"I agree with you on The Piano Teacher, and I also like Funny Games and Hidden (Cache) by Haneke."

In that case I can't recommend Head On highly enough (if you haven't seen it already).

Just out of interest, which version of Funny Games?

Was there any point to the US remake, or was Haneke playing his own "funny game" with this shot-for-shot remake? To be honest, I still feel ambivalent about both versions...

Was the original, and I did like it, but I don't think I could watch it again; hits you like a hammer in every sense.

Thanks for the Head On recommendation, will add it to my ever growing list of films to watch.

You mentioned Hungarian films, have you seen Kontroll, and what did you think?

To be honest, I haven't seen Kontroll (I'm sure it was shown on Film 4 fairly recently, but I never found the time to watch it).

From what I know of the film it's a black comedy/thriller. (Or perhaps this description's a little off?)

I remember watching Cache at the cinema in 2005. I can recall the fury expressed by most when the film ended because of the lack of clear resolution, or perhaps they didn't appreciate being told they should feel guilty about their relatively comfortable, bourgeois existences...

Should also mention that there are two films titled Head On released in the last decade. I'm referring to Fatih Akin's 2005 film. This doesn't mean the 2008 film isn't worth watching (I haven't seen it, so of course couldn't proffer an opinion). 

EDIT: incidentally, here's a link:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0009M9F64/sr=8-1/qid=1336226280/ref=...

Alas there's no Blu-ray release, or I'd have pounced and bought a copy myself, but the DVD's well worth £6.52.

And I got the year wrong (it was 2004)...

And don't forget Jacques Tati's wonderfully funny/surreal/satirical take on life.

As a child, I nearly peed my pants when I first saw Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot and Mon Oncle - same effect today, while now also appreciating the 'clever' aspects

I needed to know, I wasn't angry at the lack of resolution, just inquisitive....and it was in the final credits all along.

Kontroll is good, not as good as I was hoping from reading the reviews,  but maybe I just built it up too much, so it disappointed a little.

I've just read that Oldboy is being remade by Spike Lee, decent director, but I wish Hollywood would have some good ideas of it's own, instead of ruining other people's.

It'll be a Danish theme tonight: double header of The Bridge, followed by Nightwatch, followed by Drive - but might watch the last-mentioned first... 

Perhaps, but the meeting of Majid's and George's sons at the end doesn't neccessarily mean they were conspiring all along. We can't hear the dialogue, so in my view the film still ends on an equivocal note. It's just one more thing thrown in by Haneke to mess with his audience (he holds them in disdain, don't you know)!  

Yep, and if we're delving into the unconscious we should also mention Fellini's hugely influential 8 1/2...

The BFI's Blu-ray release of Un Chien Andalou and L'age d'Or is also pretty spectacular given the age of the prints, in an eyeball-slicing, scorpion-fighting kind of way!

Then there's Resnais' L'Annee derniere a Marienbad, which has fantastic Blu-ray releases from both Studio Canal and Criterion (the latter's the better option, for those lucky enough to be able to play Region A discs).

Admittedly this could go on forever...  

This looks promising: "Like a whole season of The Wire packed into a single film" - clickety

Some Bollywood films which are brilliant:

1) Black

2) Like stars on Earth

3) Lagaan: Once upon a time in India

I've never thought of watching Bollywood films, presumably there's some singing and dancing involved?

I might have to check it out if I can find somewhere close by that's showing it.

How did you get on with Nightwatch?