Top Foreign Films

 Yeah.

Movies are my salvation. Not only was I denied access to the Disney parks during the serious throws of the epidemic; movies, the simple act of going to the theater, was also taken from me. That was serious, very serious to my soul. Disney? Expensive and a trek. 

Movies? Five minutes from the theater. 

Yes, yes, yes, there's streaming.

I'm aware of that, and it filled that space, but not by much. When I'm at home, the sense of escapism that seems so necessary to balm my wounds, is removed. I'm still on the couch, ungraded papers a mere few paces away, hissing at my brain like basket-ed cobra, waiting to strike. The dog still need to go out; that laundry needs to be folded. Even a mere five minutes away was far enough that my heartbeat starts to drop so dramatically that my Fitbit registers me as sleeping. 

Which is kinda cool, too.

None of that. 

We've eased ourselves into theater going again, taking advantage of pre-ordered tickets, where we can establish were we sit far from the maddening crowds.

Wait.

There's not even those. People have stopped going to the movies out here in the countryside. Never was particularly big to begin with.

So?

So there. That's why I've had movies on the brain. Even Entertainment Tonight (I know, drivel, but, hey, better than watching the news) had nothing to report for eons. Those gaps hit and they hit hard. 

More movie talk again with this input. 

Foreign movies are hip and cool. 

Or so I like to think. For me? As a fiction writer, I have the Western storyline down pat, I like to think. Rarely does it waver. And that's okay, it works for most of the stories I like. However, seeing a picture from overseas opens up the audience to what other countries know, see, believe, revere, and hate. I remember in undergraduate having a Russologist and specialist in Slavic cultures and presented. Remember, I went to college in the late 80s, where Reagan was doing his best to keep the Cold War strong so his cronies can keep earning cash from profiteering. So Russia and the Eastern Bloc were still an enigma for me and many at our small college. To have someone come in and complete the simple act of putting Russian television opened my eyes and my perception of the world at large. They had kid cartoons, just like us. Instead of the evil KGB villains in our films? They had a tv miniseries (and, yes, they apparently had miniseries) where, you guessed it, the evil CIA was trying to undermine something or other. 

Changed my world. 

Not that was too far for me to grasp. Working in a video store for the past three years, I was able to view a variety of overseas pictures and start the journey. But those titles? Those were the popular ones, with images or tales that attracted Americans to it. 

And had a great many naked people, for some reason. Oh. Wait. 

Somethingsomething Americans are uptight. Violence? Sure. Naked people? Nope.

I noticed this list tends to be on the more recent side. Makes sense. As I grew up and older, I got it, I understood more. 

Except for the martial arts stuff. 

Loved that from day one. Didn't even need subtitles. I got it. Maybe it was a past life, or maybe, like porn, you don't need much to understand what's going on. I started small. 

Jackie Chan.

In fact, let's just include him, here. The dude rocked. This was Buster Keaton/Charlie Chaplin stuff-crossed very language barrier.

And was hilarious AND thrilling. Like riding a decent roller coaster with a good friend. The laughs and fun are worth the effort. 

Escapism for any culture. 

The Legend of the Drunken Master

This title is actually a sequel, but released in the United States as the first title. Doesn't matter. Plot? Jackie's roustabout needs a good, strong, drink to unleash his inner kung fu master. Nope. No stunt double. These are women and men doing everything themselves. 

And it is jawdropping. 

What is weird, too, given the violence? It comes off as cartoon-y. Even the heavy drinking aspect. I would actually feel safe with watching with kids. There's frequent sly winks to the camera, as if he's warning us this is all in good fun. Mr. Chan even stuffs the end credits with outtakes, emphasizing the work, craft, and danger. 

Highly recommend it.

La Dolce Vita

I watch TMZ. Entertainment Tonight. Access: Hollywood. 

And I should know better. This movie, made by Italian master filmmaker, Federico Fellini, is a blistering take on fame and celebrity. Having watched it recently, I realized, damn, the dude was looking into internet culture before it was a thing. 

It is horribly accurate about how our own boredom and obsessions ruin lives. How we stop seeing the movie stars we vault as human and seeing them as things. Just the things we don't want to be seen as. It is the tale of a gossip columnist and his own guilt at having to follow stars around Rome and basically harass them until they talk or go crazy and respond. 

Amazing. 

I am just as guilty with watching the results as much as I am about discussing the movie that should shame me. 

Seven Samurai

I was never a fan of the Western, per se. They tended to all appear the same for me, and really the story could be better told, elsewhere. 

Then I saw Seven Samurai. 

I got it. A loving look back at Japanese history, I could see why Americans tend to venerate the frontiers our country had and the lack of structure that it proposed. Here? Ancient Japan, lawless as well, where a small town, with no protection or police, bands their cash together to hire mercenaries to stop a series of bandit attacks. But the mercenaries are more then that. They are samurai. Their purpose is to protect and to live and die by the katana/sword. 

What ends up happening is a rousing adventure while seeing what a culture looks up to. 

Again, violent, and a completely different presentation of martial arts films that are shown by China. Chinese tales serious or not, use their choreographed body language as the special effect, the spectacle. In Japan? Martial arts are more integrated, an art form to explain the different characters. And here? There are seven men, each unique. One old, a leader; one young, unsure of his skill; each an archetype. 

Even a wild card, who we aren't sure about. 

Enjoy. It is long, but so worth it.

Wild Strawberries

This is another title where I accidentally discovered it's existence when I was working at a projectionist in my undergrad years. It's one of those movies where I should be interested, it's merely a bunch of people talking, but I noticed I became more and more involved in this sweet character study of a man who flashbacks to his past (much like Citizen Kane), and all the horrible memories. But once they are duly noted, his memories sweeten. As he experiences these flashbacks, he's heading to an awards ceremony for all of his life's work. But the reward is meaningless. It's his memories that define him. As he elects to settle on the good his life has experienced he...

...give it a watch. The title is a Swedish idiom, for that sweet secret spot that only one person knows about. 

The Wedding Banquet

For years, foreign and art movies, indie titles, were the only place where I could see my existence. Remember, representation matters. And having grown up during the AIDS crisis, I never saw myself on any screen, and if I did? The gay person was dying. Or a wit, and dying. Or killed themselves. Or was evil.

Then? Literally one month after coming out, the Advocate LGBTQ magazine told me about this title, and I noticed it was playing at my favorite art house movie theater. 

Ang Lee is one of the best filmmakers ever.

And he created this incredibly simple tale, that is light hearted and real. Almost like a My Big Fat Greek Wedding for the queer set. And, while the gayness was part of the plot, there was no violence, no negativity. In fact, it becomes a statement about how the old ways can apply to the new present, and how ethnicity plays into culture. Very good stuff. 

Kingdom

I love me some zombie fun action. 

Korea, apparently, does too.

This is like a good Walking Dead, where it doesn't manipulate the audience to keep you watching commercials and protracting long dying scenes to make us uncomfortable. Instead? A period drama about medieval Korea, with knights and ladies and court intrigue. I may be cheating here, but this is actually a miniseries, and I was riveted, like reading a decent novel. Twists are in every episode and, yes, this is what horror television should be like. 

The Killer 

I've frequently mentioned my things for Asian film and the aesthetic that goes along with it.

But I may not have exhausted that love.

Here? Here is pure Hong Kong cinema. A delicious mashup of east and west that that vibrant city has and represents, and you couldn't get any cooler than Chow Yun-fat's super cool hit man. This movie, and many more from John Woo and this actor occupy a place that cannot truly be defined outside of its style. Drama? Film Noir? Comedy? Does it matter? Everyone is in on the take the violence is wild and alluring. There's no concept of physics with the ways these bullets fly; people don't just get shot, they explode. Think John Wick long before there was a John Wick. 

It served to even deepen my love for this particular style of cinema, which the public would lovingly begin to call "gun-fu." 

Violent? Oh fuck yes. But awesomely entertaining. 

Cinema Paradiso

A movie about the role movies and narrative play in our lives; how movies mark the passage of our place as we go through life. Yes, a deciousy nod to all things movies, and I might be lazy to list it here, as it is such an outright crowd pleaser.

But hear me out.

If you watch movies, at all, this movie will warm your heart. 

It tells of a projectionist and his young protege and the movies that are playing in the background of their daily existence in Italy at the local cinema. We all know where we were when we saw Star Wars. Or Casablanca. And the emotions we felt. This film captures that and slaps it onto the screen. To this day, it is one of my favorites. 

Cause I love the movies.

Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon

Everything old is new again. 

Take all the things I loved about classic martial arts movies.

And then awaken it to the needs and wants of a modern audience. Ang Lee grew up in Hong Kong and loved the kicking ass aspect of those titles as a boy, just as much as I did. But today's society? They don't ring true. 

So he made a feminist drama with martial arts and swords. 

And the film is enchanting-and kicks many asses. We have forbidden loves, honor, faith, secrets, all the plots of a Shakespearean court drama. And yet? We break away for incredible fights. 

Many American audiences, hearing the buzz, laughed at the first fight scene, having never seen people suddenly leap across rooftops without breaking an ankle. But by the finale? The realities the film created were easily accepted and applauded. By a movie that wasn't even in English. 

Bravo.

And there you have it. Some more titles to consider should you need something to watch. 

Peace!