World Cinema/Foreign Language Films/Asian Movies etc. Recommendations and discussion.

[SaturnReturn]

I don't know if this had been done before or not. I had a quick search and didn't find anything.

I noticed last night that Film4 in the UK is currently doing a run of Asian films. I've always been more interested in Asian cinema for some reason. I think a lot of interesting concepts come from Japan in particular. The Korean Hallyu also brought a lot of enjoyable films to my attention. The Host is one of my all time favourites and the Vengeance Trilogy is both affective and effective in exploring extremely uncomfortable subject matter. Obviously Hong Kong has always churned out many a martial arts classic. It's also given us gems such as thriller Infernal Affairs, a story widely recognised in the subsequent remake The Departed, and who can forget the hilarity of Kung-Fu hustle? Thailand seems to also have a few great films. I've seen a couple of chillers from that country and also a very funny comedy, about a martial arts rock drummer, called Bangkok Loco. I probably don't need to mention the Chinese classic Hero, but there are plenty of films to come out of China on far different subjects, such as Little Red Flowers, which I'm glad didn't end up as yet another film that I recorded but never watched.

Anyway, let's get to the point:
I haven't watched many films recently, but after watching Death Note last night (well I almost finished it before Avalon distracted me :P) I find my interest is once again piqued. My own knowledge is pretty limited and am keen to expand my horizons. So if you also share an interest in this kind of thing then feel free to recommend and discuss some of your favourites. As the thread title suggests, it doesn't have to be Asian films. Any kind of world cinema or even small independent stuff that wouldn't normally get much attention is welcome in this thread. I'll hold off on recommending anime though, as that has it's own thread.

Here are some of my favourites, which I expect most who are interested in this have already heard of:

Zatoichi, The Host (Gwoemul), Wandâfuru raifu, My Sassy Girl, 3-iron (Bin-jip), Little Red Flowers, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Kung-Fu Hustle, Old Boy & Vengeance Trilogy, In the Mood for Love , Bangkok Loco.

So there you go, if you're into it, please share. :)

Here are suggestions from others in one place (contributors' names in brackets):

Battle Royale (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266308/) (KGB1971)
Boondock Saints (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0144117/) (IH8YOU)
Chocolate (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183252/) (TorquedSoul)
Crying Out Love, in the Center of the World (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424430/releaseinfo#akas) (Koleax - this is the film of the drama series, Socrates in Love, that Koleax mentioned)
Honey and Clover (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0810400/) (Medusa)
Horseman on the Roof, The (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113362/) (Medusa)
Ichi the Killer (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0296042/) (KGB1971)
Jackie Chan's First Strike (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116704/)/Who Am I (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127357/)/Supercop (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106544/)/Mr. Nice Guy (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117786/) (Koleax)
No Country for Old Men (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477348/) (IH8YOU)
Ong-Bak (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368909/) (TorquedSoul)
Pan's Labyrinth (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0457430/) (Motorsagmannen)
Ran (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089881/) (TorquedSoul/Motorsagmannen)
Rashômon (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042876/) (TorquedSoul/Motorsagmannen)
Saddest Music in the World, The (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366996/) (Medusa)
Shaolin Soccer (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286112/) (KGB1971)
Seven Samurai (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047478/) (Lance)
Shinjuku Incident (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1075419/) (Koleax)
Three Colours: Blue (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108394/) (Medusa)
Tokyo Boy (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1179301/) (Medusa)
Twilight Samurai, The (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0351817/) (ACE-FLO)
Water (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0240200/) (Medusa)
Yi Yi (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244316/) (Koleax)
Yojimbo (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055630/) (KGB1971)

[Lance]

Foreign to whom? ;)

[TorquedSoul]

The vengeance trilogy is a great set of movies. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance was the best IMO due to the moral confusion it was able to create.

A fun martial arts movie is chocolate. Its about an autistic girl that learns her fighting skills from watching movies.

Ong Bak, in spite of its horrible production and dull plot (the movie flows like a video game), was also a pretty good martial arts movie just for the fight scenes.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll be sure to check them out if I can find them.

[Koleax]

The first film that came to my mind when reading the thread title was "Yi Yi." It starts out in Mandarin, following a Taiwanese family and the wedding of one of their relatives. The father goes to Japan on business multiple times, where much Japanese is spoken, but he and the Japanese businessman speak to each other in English. I know some Japanese so it was very fascinating to me. Worth watching, even if you don't know any of those languages. ;)

I'm watching "Shinjuku Incident" right now, actually, which is Jackie Chan's latest film. He plays an illegal Chinese Immigrant to Japan. I'm halfway through and there have been no martial arts or stunts or anything. I think it's really quite good.

My favorite Jackie Chan films are from the mid-90s, "First Strike" and "Who Am I?" and "Supercop" and "Mr. Nice Guy," those ones. Those are very international films too. He goes to Australia, Russia, Ukraine, South Africa, The Netherlands, rural communist China. My favorite line at the end of Supercop, he says to Michelle Yeoh, "after 1997, we'll be working to together, eh?"

Also, I recently saw "Ghost in the Shell" in 720p and 5.1 surround. Wow. It looks like it could have been made yesterday. The sound is also mixed very well. Better than watching "The Matrix" again. Way better.

[KGB]

Never reall got into the live action Asian films, but some I like are as I said in our Avalon discussion last night are Ichi the killer, I can't recommend it highly enough. Battle Royal, and ONG-BAK. The two Stephen Chow films that I have seen are great, Kung Fu Hussle like SR said and Shaolin Soccer. Anything by Akira Kurosawa is usually very watchable, Yojimbo being my favorite.

[Koleax]

Oh yeah, and i just started watching the Japanese television series of the book that was published in English as "Socrates in Love." i don't have the subtitles and can only understand about a fifth of it, but I'm wondering if that will make it better, since the language of love is universal and will become more apparent. Right? :P

Regardless, it's really cool to see the cinematography of a small Japanese town on the mountainous coast. There's really no other place in the world that looks like that, is there? So amazing.

If you like movies filmed in Thailand, though, what about "The Beach?" Heheh. I want to be on the record saying that I liked Danny Boyle both after and before it was cool. :P

Eight episodes in to "Stargate Universe" and finally the temptation to yell "the grrrreat, CHUNKY CHARLIE" every time I see Robert Carlyle is finally wearing off.

[SaturnReturn]

Foreign to whom? ;)

It's an English language forum, so foreign language would be other than English. But really I just used that title in the hope that it would be fairly inclusive for anyone doing a search in future. :)

[Lance]

I was joking. Rhetorical question, sorta. :) We're all foreigners to sOmbody.

[SaturnReturn]

I got it. I'm just trying to be a smart-arse.;)

[IH8YOU]

Boondock Saints (not foreign to me - but maybe you)

Cat Soup

FLCL

No Country For Old Men (foreign to everything "Hollywood" these days)

[Lance]

}wants to be a smart brain{

---

+1 on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

And don't forget that ancient classic, 'Seven Samurai'.

[Task]

Oooh! Indie Film thread!
Not only have I seen most of the movies mentioned (as soon as I think to recommend one of them, someone else already has!), I've also written reviews for some of them!
Check it:
TIFF 2004 reviews (http://www.fardelsbear.com/filmnerd2/)
TIFF 2005 reviews (http://www.fardelsbear.com/fn3/)
TIFF 2006 reviews (http://fardelsbear.com/fniv/)
Older stuff (not my reviews but I watched them too) (http://www.fardelsbear.com/tiff26.html)

So there's a big list of some of the best "foreign language films" that I would (or would not in some cases!) recommend.

And in the Vengeance trilogy, I would say that Ms. Vengeance was the best one. Mostly for that part where everyone's waiting for their turn at the kidnapper. 8 )

Anyway, if any other movie titles jump out at me I'll add 'em in here, but feel free to ask me about anything else in any of the above links.

Oh, such good movie...

[Medusa]

(Go to the "anime topic" thread started by Wamdue for anime recommendations)

Here's some I remember:

Deepa Mehta's film "Water".
"Le Hussard sur le Toit". (The Horseman on the Roof)
"Trois couleurs: bleu" (another Juliette Binoche one)
The Saddest Music in the World. (okay it's in English, but very indie.

Some girly-type Japanese movies/dramas (you could watch this with your significant other and get some...err, points?)

"Tokyo Boy"
"Honey and Clover" (Hachimitsu to clover), Make sure you watch the live action series, (not the movie, it SUCKS big-time and the anime is...not quite as realistic lol).

Oh yes, huge kudos to The Motorcycle Diaries. Everyone must watch that once at least.

[TorquedSoul]

Seven Samurai was my first netflix movie ... I followed it up with Ran. Also Rashomon is a good Kurosawa movie also.

[ACE-FLO]

Akira Kurosawa movies all move at that atypical samurai pace, which has become the trend in Japanese period movies til present day.

check out Acadamy Award nominee (2004) best foreign language film, "The Twilight Samurai" by Yoji Yamada, it really is reminiscent of Kurosawas' earlier works...

[Motorsagmannen]

two of kurosawas best samurai movies:
"Ran" from the 1980's one of the best movies i ever seen
"Rashomon" brilliant movie which revolutionised, storytelling by telling the same story from multiple sources, leaving the question open to where the truth is.

El laberintho des faun (Pans labyrinth.) Spanish masterpiece
Anime:
Akira
Horatu no haka (grave of the fireflies.)
Nausicaä of the valley of the winds
Mononoke hime (princess Mononlke.)
Metropolis
Ghost in the shell (already mentioned but its frakking epic.)

[SaturnReturn]

Thanks to all for your suggestions so far. I've compiled them all in the first post of this thread (http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forum/showpost.php?p=158290&postcount=1) so that they're easy to find. There are some great anime films suggested too, but I might post a similar list in the anime topic and link to it from here.

Keep 'em coming. :+ I will compact that list if it starts getting too long.

[JJPAP]

Nice thread :)

What immediately springs to mind is the belgian film Man Bites Dog, a grotesque black´n white film ´bout a film crew following an absolutely "hillarious" serial killer.
I must admit I have a weak spot for the Kaurismäki-brothers (Finland). Zombie & The Ghost Train was the the first of their film I saw. It´s about this guy who wants to be a part of Harry & The Mule****ers, a band, but ends up amazingly drunk in Turkey.
Festen, a danish film, ought to be seen by everybody - as well.

[guillaume]

You may want to keep children away from both Man Bites Dog and Festen, though... Prevent a first-class trauma: :paperbag

[ACE-FLO]

(Go to the "anime topic" thread started by Wamdue for anime recommendations)

Here's some I remember:

Deepa Mehta's film "Water".
very good movie, good call!

OK, here's some more I can recommend:

Romanzo Criminale (Crime Novel) (2005) (Italian - subbed)

Watch it, its about 3 friends growing up in Italy circa 60's, following their rise to the top of the Mafia, right up till the 90's... very well made, the cinematography is awesome, and it's shot some excellently chosen locations... excellent ending too!

La Haine (The Riot) (1995) (French - subbed)

Draws its inspiration from movies like Mean Streets, Do the right thing and The Battle of Algiers, Essentially, this one's also about 3 buddies, growing up in the city, amongst a cosmopolitan society which shuns the multiracial youths it's supposed to nurture... common story, but never made into a movie which had the kind of impact on its' audience the way La Haine does.

... more soon... :) enjoy

[DrMannevond]

I recently watched a dutch movie called "Spoorloos" (Vanished) which was really good, and really disturbing psychologically. Just don't watch the Hollywood remake, it's supposedly utter garbage.
I also enjoyed the danish "Flammen & Citronen" about the danish resistance during WW2. And a couple of norwegian movies : Veiviseren (remade as Pathfinder a couple of years ago), Free Jimmy (A lot of people hate it, but I loved it. And just for the record - it is not for the kids!) and of course the big one : "Flåklypa Grand Prix":rock (Pinchcliffe Grand Prix). Even George Lucas rips it off (And if he says otherwise he's lying. The big race in Episode I is pretty much identical to the race in this one).

[Medusa]

This one just sprang to mind, I'm sure many have already seen it, but if not:

The original, uncut version of Das Boot. (subtitled! not dubbed, ugh.)

I know I've seen so many awesome "foreign" films, including some really good French Cdn ones, but do you think I can remember them? Not freakin likely. Cause all I've been watching lately is anime. It's a terrible disease, that stuff.

[Task]

What? the "original uncut version"? Well, I guess if you want to watch a movie as a miniseries that would be a good call. If you want to watch it all in one go (3.5 hours of constant U-boat action! Woo!), then you want the director's cut version!
And, of course: subtitled, not dubbed (ugh).

Other films I'd recommend that I haven't seen mentioned already:
Banlieue 13, Black Sheep, Cashback, Citizen Dog, Fido, Last Winter, Primer, Severance, Wasabi, World's Fastest Indian, Zebraman.

Anime I'd recommend that I haven't seen mentioned already:
Capeta, Initial D

[Medusa]

Yeah, I guess it depends on how long you stand the tension! I thought the uncut was the best, it built up so massively I thought I'd die...then again, the poor suckers watching it with me gradually dropped off like flies. ("This is soo boring, this is sooo long..." Pansies. ;) )

[Task]

8 D They are WEAK!

"You want a good movie? You can't handle a good movie!"

After watching 5 (FIVE!) festival movies in one day, it totally changed my outlook on what "a lot of movie" was. Now I just automatically downrate a movie if it's less than 2 hours long. 8 )

[G'Kyl]

One more movie I can highly recommend is "A Tale of Two Sisters" - the Korean one, of course. It kind of came out of the whole Ring business, but in fact turned out to be a well told emotional story. Loved seeing it!

Ben

[ACE-FLO]

Anime recommendations:

i know i've said this before somewhere, but Samurai Champloo is my all time favourite anime series, 26 episodes.

Appleseed (the 3D CG movie) another awesome anime by Shirow Masamune (ghost in the shell) and once you've watched it, get Appleseed EX MACHINA, directed by the master of on screen gunplay, Mr John Woo and anime icon, Shinji Aramaki. Appleseed and Appleseed Ex Machina are both visually stunning masterpieces, you're jaws will drop and you're eyes will moisten with the level of detail and attention which has gone into making them... both of these are really excellent animes!

[designer_79]

Appleseed Ex Machina is soooooo close to perfection and imho the closest runner up to Ghost in the Shell, why it didn't achieve the same cult status as GitS is a mystery to me.

Somebody seen 'Paris 2054 Renaissance'? it's a superb French(!!) take on the anime genre, really cool drawn and completely B&W a totally unique animation style. Ace, hope at least you did, otherwise this is a must see for you. Btw recently the French seem to go pretty crazy (anyone see 'Doberman'?) ... but have to agree with Ace, 'La Haine' is a masterpiece, violent, but a masterpiece.

[G'Kyl]

Is Appleseed really that good? The one reason I stayed away from it till now is I read it was a rather bland "tech-demo" kinda movie...

Ben

[designer_79]

G'Kyl, just watch the first 10 min of the first Appleseed movie , it's a jawdropping urban warfare sequence (and the girl soldier is smokin' hot too). Might call it a tech demo, but certainly not a bland one ;)

[Medusa]

Hear hear for Renaissance! I loved that movie. Mindblowingly awesome!:clap

Funny story about Appleseed: I was all hyped to watch it and rented the old one by mistake. Baaaaadd mistake. It was so awful! And I have a soft spot for old animation--this was just sooo bad.

[G'Kyl]

Are you two guys talking about the same movie?! ;-) Seriously, I'm even more puzzled now!

Ben

[ACE-FLO]

Medusa, the old Appleseeds are a bit... meh! True. :D but not the ones i've recommended. The first one even has a stomping musical score and soundtracks by Basement Jaxx and Paul Oakenfold - what a nice touch!

Ok, couple more for the 3D cg anime fans, KARAS - the Prophecy and KARAS - the Revelation

Though not strictly 3D CG, the movies are made using 3D CG in places, blending seamlessly with the 2D cell animation to give an interesting take. Works very, very well imo... Neo (anime magazine) claims that these movies have raised the bar for anime. Must say, they are superbly stylish, flawlessly animated and have a pretty cool storyline too! featuring dub-overs from Jay Hernandez, Mathew Lillard and Piper Perabo. Watch 'em... they :rock

[SaturnReturn]

There's a bit too much anime going down here, particularly from you Monsieur FLO.

Yonder anime thread would be a good place for that. People looking for good anime recommendations might miss out on it otherwise.

http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forum/showthread.php?t=630

[OBH]

Koreans make some of the best horror/thriller films ever, im not much of a horror fan normally, but i love the korean ones.

My 2 recomendations would be :
R - Point - Thriller set in Vietnam after the war.
A Tale Of 2 Sisters - brilliant psycological horror movie.

Both films have awesome endings too.

[yeldar2097]

Do French films count as being foreign enough? I really like French cinema, can't remember everything that I've watched which is a shame, I prefer a lot of them to some of the crap Hollywood has churned out.
I haven't really watched many other foreign films/programmes because I'm highly uncultured etc...(although I defs plan on starting soon :+) so I'll stick to french for now :)


Anyway, French stuff I like:
La Haine - Like Kidulthood/Adulthood but way more awesome. Slightly less intense, slightly more vulgar. Bit juvenile in a way but I'm a young'un so there ^_^
Irréversible (not the crappy censored version) - One of my faves :). It's a bit raw/freaky in some places. I'm glad they filmed/edited it the way they did though, otherwise the whole experience would probably have left me feeling rather more traumatised than it did.
Le Placard - Quite funny and highly rated (so I've heard) but not as good as some other films featuring the same protagonist. Worth a watch though.
Un Coeur En Hiver - Different to the other films mentioned so far, much more subdued. Beautiful film in my opinion. Yes I am a pansy :nod
Spiral - Actually this is a TV series (recently shown on the BBC). Detective crime thingy series but it's way better than all the English one's I've seen. Much more intense/action packed and it's quite clever too. Me likes :)

There's more but I can't remember them at the moment.

Enjoy :g

P.S. Great shout on Battle Royale KGB, tis awesome!

[mic-dk]

+1 on Irréversible. It is unsettling to say the least. And not just in a bash-your-head-in-with-a-fire-extinguisher kinda way.

Also +1 for Das Boot. I watch that at least once a year. "Jawohl Herr Kalöjn" and "ALAAAARM" springs to mind :D

I though it did wonders for my german when I was younger, but my teacher wasn't really into 1940ies Uboot slang :D

[ACE-FLO]

OBH hit on some Korean numbers there, i'd like to add " Fighter in the Wind" to those too. About a Korean martial artist who travels to Japan nearing the end of WW2, thinking he can become a fighter pilot. Not gonna say any more, except watch it. Korean and Japanese language with English subs, 2hrs run time, released 2005.

[OBH]

Sounds good ACE. Not heard of that. Ill keep an eye out.

:+ For Das Boot too! Badass film.

I need to watch more french films. Run Lola Run is the only one iver seen i think. Good film.

[SaturnReturn]

Wasn't Lola Rennt German? If not then it was a total waste watching it in my German lessons.

[ACE-FLO]

Speaking of French cinema, tell me you've seen my favourite Luc Besson movie - "Taxi" ... the Hollywood version was just so lame in comparison. It lacks the humour which the French has, and boy, it's funny as .... !

[yeldar2097]

Yah RLR AKA LR was a German film - watched in in German lessons too ^_^
Great film...actually not so much great as classic :)

Goodbye Lenin is a nice German film too :D

[OBH]

it was a german film!? how can i not remember that!!

Hot girl, red hair, french in my eyes :)

[Koleax]

Holy crap, of course!

*puts RLR AKA LR soundtrack in Wipeout custom playlist*

[G'Kyl]

Alright, ACE-FLO, here it comes... Bought the first Appleseed, watched it, and gotta agree with Medusa. ;) Me and my girlfriend we both thought it was a very dull repetition of the same-old-same-old Blade Runner/Ghost in the Shell thingy. The 3D engine is amazing, but it doesn't carry the movie. Besides, I didn't like the way they draw characters. Even the soundtrack (boygroup singing? Hip Hop??) seemed misplaced on more than occasion.

Soooo... how is Ex Machina different from that? :-)

Ben

[OBH]

Anyone seen Casshern?? Mental foreigh sci-fi film. Some best effects ive ever seen.

[ACE-FLO]

Obh, Casshern is awesome too! Kinda like Zombies meet Mecha meet Zombies again! Got that one too :roll

G'kyl, not the kinda anime you'd wanna watch with GF's (Studio Ghibli movies are better for that!) But since you're asking what the Ex Machina is like - well, it's a sequal to the 1st one. If you didn't enjoy the 1st one, I wouldn't recommend Ex Machina, even though it's one of my faves. I love all that futuristic "GitS / BladeRunner" type stuff. Partly why wipEout appeals to me is due to their influence
---

... Appleseed, watched it, and gotta agree with Medusa. ;)

Medusa saw the old one, not the 3D CG ones btw! meh :D

[SaturnReturn]

I've seen Casshern. At first it's all like, ooooooh :eek. But then I stopped following the 'story' and got confused, so I was all like :blarg Then the effects just got a little too much, and I was all like :dizzy, you know?

[ACE-FLO]

yeah, i do :D its like full of promise in the first half hour - 40 mins (musical score/fast moving plot/special effects), then it goes a little like a badly thought out bladerunner type plot, where the zombies all want to be accepted as a species, like whu? and there are like huge gaps in the story, which the director tried to represent as absract visuals (I didn't get it). Now, i've read that Casshern (the manga) has a huge following, but the movie itself was a bit of a let down if i'm tbh. Having said that, it's grown on meeeeeee, sowwy :D

it's one of those movies where you just know its 'cult' enough, and begs enough answers from a questionable storyline - to be watched again, ... and, er, again :D

... oh, btw, I do now think I know what the director was trying to do with the abstract visuals. I also believe Casshern will go down as a cult classic, in years to come. But yeah, it's pretty aweful the first time around :D

[Task]

I seem to remember wanting to see Casshern, but I never did. I'll have to put it back on my list! I've seen some truly awesome movies that fit really well into the "hella messed up yo" category.
Perhaps the best example of such would be the Dead Or Alive movies by the notorius Miike. The first movie has the most jaw-droppingly amazing ending I've ever seen. The second movie is good, but I spent most of it trying to figure out what the connection is between the two movies. And then the third movie ends up at "penis-headed flying robots" and you realize that it went way past the point of no return at least an hour ago.
So yeah, watch the first, but you can skip the rest. 8 )

[Mr Phlanj]

I would ony see once though, when i saw it a second time it went from 'that crazy film!' to 'whats the point?' but i loved it when i thought of it as crazy.

[ACE-FLO]

Mr Phlanj, your post :rocks now i'm convinced Casshern is gonna go down as cult classic! :)

Once upon a time in High School Korean with English subs. Approx. 114mins.

Saw this one over the weekend. Quite a violent film, adopting Bruce Lees, Jeet Kune Do moves ... and nunchaku weapon :) ... awesome showdown at the end too, whoop ass lol.

Synopsis (from the DVD) Is there anything more traumatic than changing schools? For Hyun Soo, his new college is the stuff of nightmares as he gets acquainted with the charming likes of Stabber (the name tells it all), the porn peddling Hamburger, and Woo Sik - the class kingpin! Behind their funny names though, lie dangerous characters and Hyun Soo is about to get an education in violence that's as dark as anything you'll have seen from Korean filmmaking.

[abukii]

Pan's Labrynth. Does that count?? Ive actually seen and/ or own several of the movies mentioned in this thread. Talk about Zoners sticking together:rock

Appleseed is AWESOME!! See, ACE...you truly ARE the man :nod

Casshern has my attention now.

[ACE-FLO]

Aha, Abukii, now it all makes sense :) ;)

So, what can you recommend me? :)

[BulletWraith]

Lets Kick this off with a Bang! shall we
Wild Zero (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ_D9OjDoQ0) :rock
The Science of Sleep (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUCrM5i_W3c) (my favourite movie forever):nod
Nausciaa Of the Vally Of the Wind (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NSxMNRNY1Y)


(all are linked to youtube trailers)
Rock an Roll never die!
-zer:donutshen

[Medusa]

Oh my goodness I think I should go watch The Science of Sleep now. I thought at first it was The Science of Sheep, and I was thinking, wow a New Zealander dared post that?:dizzy

Or maybe I'll just go to sleep.

[BulletWraith]

Go and watch the Science of sleep, just watching the trailer got me full of big gay sparkles of happiness, I couldn't help myself :hyper

actually after the movie finished I was so dizzy with happiness/floaty heart brain mind I walked out the fire exit and got lost in the halls under the cinema, I ended up behind the counter of a Chinese eatery in a food hall under the theatre hehehe
the floaty feeling stayed with me for ages

also another movie to check out for all those who love Asian cinema is:
God Of Gamblers
(I'll edit a link in soon)

-zer:donutshen

[ACE-FLO]

i'll have to check out "the science of sleep" ... i could do with some right now!

[mic-dk]

I can't believe nobody mentioned Cidade de Deus yet?

Gripping story and quite violent for those blood'n guts types :)

@abukii - I say Pans Labyrinth definitely counts.

[KGB]

A few French films that I like are:
Les amants du Pont-Neuf
Betty Blue - Béatrice Dalle - A schoolboys fantasy at the time.
Subway - Christopher Lambert does French better than Scottish ;).
Brotherhood of the Wolf.
Talking about Scottish, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Trainspotting. I understand Swahili more than that! :P

[Lance]

I though Trainspotting was pretty easy to understand the language of. Easier than understanding the 'Welsh'-English of the character Rhys in Torchwood. I'm still wondering just what counts as "foreign-language" on a multi-national forum like this one. English is a foreign language to some of us.

[ACE-FLO]

I don't think there's anyone here at WZ who doesn't understand English, (the American English) but hey, I could be wrong. When I go to a HMV store, and check out the World Cinema section - I see movies from everywhere but Hollywood Cinema! I think it'd be the same in any city. I'm a Londoner, it's multi-racial here. People from all cultures are here too, and yeah - some don't speak English at all, maybe like a few members here? maybe not? :)

[abukii]

"Nausciaa Of the Vally Of the Wind"

Ive seen this yeeeeeaars ago. Back then it was called, "Warriors of the Wind". That trailer brought back memories lol

As for recommendations, Id really have to think about it. I did get to see 2012 last night, which was actually pretty good.

@Lance-- I was kinda thinking the same thing too. What is classified as a foreign film on multi-cultured forum? I mean, what's the norm in England, for example, would be considered foreign or 'import' here in the States.

Elfen Lied (Pronounced leed) was an excellent series (anime) as well as Saikano and Gunslinger Girl. Im sure I'll think of more :)

[DrMannevond]

+1 for the first ten minutes of Appleseed. If you like miniguns it doesn't get any better:D

[mic-dk]

I can't imagine anyone who doesn't like miniguns. :)

I'll surrender and put Appleseed on my must-see list.

[ACE-FLO]

"Nausciaa Of the Vally Of the Wind"

Ive seen this yeeeeeaars ago.
Yeah, i've got this one too. One thing I love about Studio Ghibli is the traditional style of 2D cell animation. Studio Ghibli have a ruddy good collection, i love them all. They're all full of fantastically memorable and magical characters, and stories which make you wonder at their genius.


Elfen Lied (Pronounced leed) was an excellent series (anime) as well as Saikano and Gunslinger Girl.

Got Gunslinger Girl too, and Elfen Lied, both dark tales... manga anime really is a bit much sometimes. Watch Samurai Champloo. awesomeness squared.

Sorry SR, I went off again :paperbag - You said you enjoyed Stephen Chows' "Kung Fu Hustle", you seen his "Shaolin Soccer" yet? It's funny as four asterisks would lead you to believe ;)

[SaturnReturn]

Yup, seen that too. It didn't go in the list because I don't remember it being as good as Kung-Fu Hustle, so I thought I'd see if anyone else suggested it. KGB beat you to it though. :P

[ACE-FLO]

Great stuff :lol, KGB 1971 beats me regular whenever we race, now he's taken the race to posts :lol and beaten me here too :lol

got one here for ya, with the dude who played Old Boy - 'Choi Min Sik'

CRYING FIST 2006 Korean with English subs

synopsis from dvd: From director Ryoo Seung-wan, comes the extraordinary CRYING FIST. A gritty and violent, deeply inspirational tale of two boxers that turns the boxing film genre onto its head.

Internationally acclaimed actor Choi Min Sik (Old Boy) and versatile actor Ryoo Seung-beom are mesmerising as two men forced into the boxing ring where, ultimately, each will fight for a better destiny. Based upon the two true stories of real life fighters, Haereruya Akira and Seo-Cho (often referred to as Koreas Tyson) Ryoo Seung-beom combines their separate tales into one personal epic of fate and the courage to fight back against the odds, for their last chance at personal redemption.

A very different boxing movie :)

[abukii]

Wow...Ace, Ive seen everything youve mentioned there.

Another that I enjoyed-- Howl's Moving Castle. Pretty good Ghibli anime. Steamboy, Eureka 7, Bubblegum Crisis...aye...dont get me thinking. Im an anime nuttah-buttah:nod

But movie (MOVIE) wise, Snatch is a favorite along with Lock, Stock and 2 Smokin' Barrels and of course, RockNRolla:rock

Seriously...my list will go on and on if you let me.:blarg

[Aeroracer]

@ace

i saw kung fu hustle ..it was really good..i like the bit where the gangsters did the axe dance the best..:nod:nod

[BulletWraith]

Akira (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpmDWL0uPp4)
Can't believe no one listed Akira, can't explain how awesome this movie is
Akira: Neo-Tokyo has risen from the ashes of World War III to become a dark and dangerous megalopolis infested with gangs and terrorists. The government seethes with corruption and only maintains a token control over the powerful military that prevents total chaos and hides the secrets of the past. Childhood friends Tetsuo and Kaneda plunge into Neo-Tokyo's darkest secret when their motorcycle gang encounters a military operation to retrieve an escaped experimental subject...
(from the Amazon listing) (http://www.amazon.com/Akira-Nozomu-Sasaki/dp/B00005JG6Q)
also has a lil bit of Biker gangs clashing in Neo Tokyo if your into it


Churr
-zer:donutshen

[Lance]

Steamboy sucked unless you turned off the sound. Completely absurd technology that could never work. Amazingly annoying girl who suddenly, unbelievably changes character in seconds 'halfway' into the story to become more sympathetic as a victim/hero to be rescued to hype up the drama. Has no respect for the intelligence of its audience; assumes that they are both ignorant and stupid. I wouldn't have believed any of it when I was the same age as the lead character.

Or at least I like to think so. :D

[abukii]

Ok, youre right there. Perhaps a bad choice. I watched it once and promptly sold the UMD. Anyway--- Akira. YES! I have seen all (4?) versions and own 2. One on VHS and one on DVD. Ok...better one: Jin Roh, anyone?

[OBH]

@KGB
Trainspottings easy to understand! Though being half scottish, i guess its just in the blood :beer

Im surprised so many of you like Appleseed, biggest steaming piece of turd ive ever seen :)

For a god british film check out Dead Man's Shoes. One of my favourite films ever.

[Koleax]

No one mentioned Akira because Akira is terrible. :P Maybe it was just too bleak for me. I'm not into bleakness porn. At least Akira was honest with itself and didn't try to have pleasant-looking art. Take the series Elfen Lied for example. It's like they said, "hey you guys who like pure beauty and naturally inspiring innocence-- screw you, screw you right in your soul, your imagination, let it all collapse or I'll knock holes in it until it does because everything you love about art is worthless." Evangelion was a little like that too, but not as insidiously sadistic.

There's a 1998 Australian film called The Interview (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120714/) starring Hugo Weaving, before he played Agent Smith in The Matrix. It takes place mostly inside a police interrogation room and most of the dialogue is only from three actors. It was interesting to watch in the theater, sort of replicating the feeling of being trapped in a dark lonely room (not many people go to see low-budget Australian films where I live). I suspect it would be even more interesting now, given the attention towards "enhanced interrogation techniques" in recent years. BTW, I had no idea that he was the voice of Megatron until I saw it on IMDB, and "V" in "V for Vendetta." Cool!

[KGB]

Most people didn't mention Akira or any other Anime because this is a world cinema thread not the Anime (http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forum/showthread.php?t=630) thread. :P

@ Haydn, Dead Man's Shoes is a brilliant film. I'm a big fan of Shane Meadows and Paddy Considine is a brilliant actor have you seen A Room for Romeo Brass or 24/7 both very good.

About Trainspotting. Spud (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vhWpuU1b_8) Classic.

[OBH]

Havnt sen either film KGB.... though checking HMV for them both on the way home :beer nice one!