Foreign Movies
 

Im a big movie buff when it comes to Foreign Movies.


Has anyone seen

Martyrs (2008)
Johnny Mad Dog (2008)
Tokyo! (2008)

If you havent.. You are in for a real treat.
Especially Martyrs.


But.. if you are into blockbuster hits.. these are not for you.

got any recommendations from japan , germany france or italy?

Martyrs
Although not from France.. it is a French movie.
Cant say much.. other than to watch this....

Tokyo!
This one is from Japan, Currently one of my favorite movies coming out of Japan.

Johnny Mad Dog is based in Africa

Under The Bombs from the Lebanon-Israel conflict.

The Great Match is based in Mongolia.

Alexandras Project is a thriller from Australia


Other than Martyrs and Johnny Mad Dog, the others are geared slightly towards the Indi Arts followers... All great movies in my books.

give me a list of directors from germany and japan then

Sorry.. Couldnt say exactly which directors have made great movies.
As any director could have made a great movie followed by a bad movie or vice versa.
I tend to follow movies that come out of indi awards or even simply indi nominations.

Well this is an old movie now and I'm positive you probably watched it but what the hell. District 13 a French movie was kick ass. There's an English release to the movie as well for those who don't like subs.

takashi miike for japan

District 13 was good. Very action oriented.

The original version of Insomnia is wayyyyyy better than the Al Pacino/Robin Williams version.

Haute Tension is a French movie that had a pretty decent twist at the end that I didn't see coming.

Say what you want about his consistency but Dario Argento can make a good movie when he wants to (Italian)

I liked City of Men, or City of God. I forget which one. I know I've seen one but not the other. Its Brazilian.


Oh, and for an older Australian movie - The Rabbit Fence

I really prefer foreign films over US ones since the film methods are more creative. For Germany try Der Tunnel (2001), it's a good loosely fact-based drama about a group of people that created a tunnel to smuggle loved ones from East Germany into West Germany. If you can find it, Once is a good romantic comedy from Ireland that has a cool Handycam-style film method since the director had such a tight budget.

However in terms of HK movies, Six Strong Guys (Luk Jong Si) was an awesome comedy-drama, and I found Sixth Floor Rear Flat and Fat Choi Spirit pretty good as well. I really want to see a few more since I haven't seen too many, preferably comedy if anyone can suggest any.

Yes.. if you liked City of God.. you will like Johnny Mad Dog.
Possibly MUNYURANGABO would peak your interest as well.

And Rabbit Proof Fence. Surprised you watched this.
Great movie. Definitely wont entertain most...
Check out Dreams Of Dust.. Just as good as Rabbit Proof Fence.

For Germany, try "The Lives of Others." One of my favourite movies of all time.

+ 10000

one of the best hidden gems when it comes to foreign movies.

Heard it was a good movie beforehand and was at blockbuster and saw it, girl working their said it she loved it, so I thought I would give it a try not expecting much. . . .

but turned out to be a 10/10 for me.

Oh, avoid Romanian films if at all possible. They're far too eccentric and dark for my liking. :p

Sounds interesting.... Saw this cover at Blackdog Video...
Will have to pick this up.

Being a war buff I was a huge fan of Der Untergang (Downfall). That's the only German film that comes to mind right now but I'm sure there a few others that are well worth the view.

Rise of the Foot Soldier is one of my favorite movies.

After watching it, for a real twist, look the movie up in Wikipedia and read it over. :)

But don't look it up now. You'll ruin everything!

bcrdukes,
Rented the movie. "The Lives of Others". watched it..
And.. simply wow... What a great premise/story..
Great great movie.... It was a great surprise to see such a great quality movie..

for yakuza flicks, i enjoyed most of takashi miike and takeshi "beat" kitano movies.

go watch oldboy

Did you read up on the main character's Wikipedia? The movie's storyline was practically a mirror image of his real life. :)

Yup!
sure did!

As a past film student I have some favourites.

Herzog: Stroszek (1977) Argued as one of the greatest films of all time.

Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War: My favorite war film of all time.

Tell No One: French detective film.

Let the Right One In: Amazing vampire film... exceptional last scene.

Nochnoy dozor / Night Watch: Russian movie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMHQsjgQDrA

Are any of these movies "mainstream" enough that I can actually rent it from a local Blockbuster video store?

Some of these movies are soo rare and hard to find.