I made this quick and dirty list for my friend Matt who is trying to see more films in languages other than English. Some of these come from as early as the 1950s and some are really recent, but I have restricted myself to one film per country. They are in no particular order:
Germany: Werner Herzog - Aguirre, the Wrath of God
Czechoslovakia: Jiří Menzel - Closely Watched Trains
South Africa: Gavin Hood - Tsotsi
Canada: Denys Arcand - Jesus of Montréal
China: Zhang Yimou - Raise the Red Lantern
Italy: Marco Bellocchio - Fists in the Pocket
Denmark: Thomas Vinterberg - The Celebration
Korea: Kim Ki-duk - Spring Summer Autumn Winter ... and Spring
Poland: Krzysztof Kieślowski - Three Colors: Blue
Sweden: Ingmar Bergman - Fanny and Alexander
Brazil: Fernando Meirelles - City of God
Japan: Kon Ichikawa - The Burmese Harp
Belgium: Dardenne Brothers - The Son
Spain: Pedro Almodóvar - All About My Mother
India: Satyajit Ray - Pather Panchali: Song of the Little Road
France: Jean-Pierre Melville - Le Samouraï
Making a list like this means leaving off so many good movies, but I figure these are all must-sees. Have you seen them all? If not, consider putting one in your Netflix queue today. You will not be sorry; I promise.
I probably would have gone with different Bergman and Almodovar offerings...or broken the rules and suggested two or three of each. However, I had forgotten, until seeing this list, just how much I enjoyed the Arcand film. Thanks for the reminder.
ReplyDeleteArcand fans should all also see The Decline of the American Empire and its even-better follow-up: The Barbarian Invasions.
ReplyDeleteWhich Bergman and Almodóvar would you have chosen?
Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down! - Probably a sentimental choice as it is the film that introduced me to him and his work...and you have Antonio Banderas. I also rather like High Heels.
ReplyDeleteFor Bergman, I just would have gone with the older work, really. Ansiktet, perhaps, or The Silence.
Just added the Arcand films to my Netflix queue.
ReplyDeleteNow, maybe you can explain why Netflix recommends "Eddie Murphy: Raw" and "Blood Simple" as "more like The Decline of the American Empire"?! I mean, I love me some early Coens, but other than being early-to-mid 80s indie films, I have a little trouble finding the similarities....