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Q Cubed
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t3h y3ll0w p3ril
Apr 1999
time: 23:29
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i'm curious as to whether any of you keep abreast of foreign films (or if you watch native flims, if you live outside the us).
seeing as my friends tend to have a large quantity of good american-made (well, english-language) movies which i can borrow, i've taken to starting to spend my money on foreign dvds.
an aside: it's hard to watch this on a regular dvd player, granted, so i've had to circumvent the (damned fvcking stupid) region lock system on my ps2 with the extra-legal dvdregionx, and on my computer with the extra-legal dvdregionfree.
the movies that i've bought, however, are all korean; i'm doing it because a) i can understand them, b) because they seem to have recently started making many extremely high-quality/good movies, and c) to bone up on my comprehension skills.
so i want to know if anybody has any suggestions on other foreign movies that might be interesting to see/watch.
i'm particularly curious about japanese, chinese, indian, and german movies. french is also welcome, and might be easier to get stateside (thus far, i've had to purchase my korean movies through yesasia.com or by phono.co.kr).
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anyway, my recommendations of what i've seen in korean cinema:
koyangirul butakhae (take care of my cat)
official site
koreanfilm.org
i like the soundtrack, and some of the technical effects (typed words, the opening and ending credits) are spectacularly well done.
the story itself is a mixed bag. although it has its charm, it kinda ignores two of the main characters (the twins), while at the same time kinda not focusing too well on the other three.
it also ends somewhat abruptly, but in the context of the film, which itself has a very subdued narrative (common in korean films) it makes sense.
apparently produced with the aid of warner brothers.
i'd recommend this. 4/5.
yupgijugin keunyuh (my sassy girl)
official site
koreanfilm.org
wonderfully done movie. the first part is hilarious, especially with the imagined scenes, but one wonders in a way why the guy stays with the girl.
the second half of the movie gets dangerously close to the traditional flaw of many korean movies, that of overwhelming melodrama. i think, however, it manages to work. slower paced and not as funny as the first half, it also requires one to take quite a few leaps of faith--one which i think most will accept, given the humor and nature of the first half. it also leads up to a most satisfying ending.
it's also ostensibly based on real-life experiences, so there's a moment of a sort of meta-filmmaking in that second half.
dreamworks has bought the rights to a remake in the states, but since some of the humor is distinctly korean, i don't know how it'll pan out--that, and i don't know of any actress who could pull it off.
i'd definitely recommend this one. 5/5.
kyulooneun mitchinjitshida (marriage is a crazy thing/crazy marriage)
koreanfilm.org
this one is more understated than most korean movies. as such, some of the humor is subtle, and so one might miss it. i remember the subtitles not being the best, but. i'm also not too sure what to classify this movie as. it's not quite a romantic comedy or a romance drama, but it's not exactly a satire, either, so far as i can tell.
it's told from a guy's perspective, so naturally it sorta makes the woman look a bit crazy, but also endearing.
there's a bit of graphic sex (you don't actually see much, but it's very suggestive), and it's concentrated in the beginning.
i'd recommend this one too, but not as strongly as the other two. 3/5.
chingu (friend)
koreanfilm.org
a movie about four friends. focuses on two of them, who end up as gangsters, and the disaster than follows. one friend ends up being sidelined, the other, the ostensible narrator, pops in and out as a minor character.
i found this one hard to understand without the subtitles--the pusan dialect is not the one i'm used to, so it's a lot more melodic than your standard seoul or elegant chungbuk dialect. the pronunciation's the same, though--it's just the rise and fall of the words that threw me.
it's more depressing, and there are scenes in it which are harder to understand if you're unfamiliar with korea's recent past; however, those scenes are far and few in between, and the rest of the movie works well, although it also distances itself from the characters, like a lot of korean movies.
i'd recommend this one. 4/5.
hwasango (volcano high)
official site
koreanfilm.org
turbocharged and special-effects laden. story? what story? it's meant to look like a comic book, as is its plot and everything else. which makes it funny.
it's not a great movie, and i was disappointed with less fighting than i expected. it's still fun to watch.
somewhat recommended. 3/5.
shiri (shiri)
koreanfilm.org
i didn't like this one too much. it's your typical hollywood action film, only displaced into korea with korean things replacing everything that would be stock american characters.
there's nothing spectacular about it, even though it is a decent action flick on its own.
eh... give it a shot. 2/5.
kongdongkyungbikuyuk jsa (joint security area)
official site
koreanfilm.org
interesting drama that reaches fairly well to the core of a divided korea. set along the dmz, it revolves around an incident that eventually claims the lives of four koreans--two nkoreans and two skoreans; what's worse is that they'd become friends by the time of the incident.
it's remarkably well done, and narrates the events leading up to the incident, as well as the incident itself, in a series of flashbacks.
however, the female lead is supposedly a swiss of korean extraction--but her english is not very good, which deflates that believeability. that, compounded with the less-than-stellar acting of the non-koreans, weighs down the non-flashback scenes.
also, one wonders if this story would be nearly as interesting if it were displaced from the dmz and korea itself.
still, it's worth watching. 4/5.
dongkam (ditto)
koreanfilm.org
i didn't like this one either. think frequency, only with a romance that crosses time rather than a father-son romance. yes, it has something to do with the girl being in the turbulent 70s, and the guy in the sedate and luxurious 90s, but still.
not worth your time, imho. 1/5.
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Proteus_MST
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"Knocking on Heavens Door" a german movie (despite the english title) from 1996 with Til Schweiger and Moritz Bleibtreu
A Comedy about two Cancer-Patients who have only a short time to live and decide to steal a car (because one of them wants to see the ocean before he dies). Of course the Car belongs to some Gangsters and has some money hidden in the trunk and soon they are being chased by both, the police and the gangsters.
"Anatomie" (Germany, 2000) with Franka Potente
Horror/Thriller
Paula, a young female Medicine Student goes to the University of Heidelberg to attend to an Anatomy-Course given by a well known Professor.
Soon she stumbles upon the Activities of a secret society of Physicians, the Antihippocrates, who kidnap people with genetic defects and/or special anatomic characteristics and turn them (while they are still living) into anatomic preparates by injecting a Drug into the bloodstream which coagulates the blood and at the same time conserves the tissue. Soon Paula herself is targetted by the Antihipppocrates...
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Spiffor
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CPA - Evil Clone brigade
Nov 2001
time: 06:29
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There will be a movie by Jeunet with Audrey Tautou, indeed produced by Fox. French title should be "Un long Dimanche de fiançailles". The same team of costumists, scenarists etc. seems to be working on it, and Jeunet says the title could have been "Amélie goes to war".
Most probably, "A Very Long Engagement" (English title) will milk as much as possible from the Amélie appeal. Since Jeunet is used to quality movies, we can expect this movie not to be a quick and dirty rip-off
Last edited by Spiffor on 22-06-2003 at 21:39
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Spiffor
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CPA - Evil Clone brigade
Nov 2001
time: 06:29
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BTW, if you are interested in a cynical movie, you can try With a Friend Like Harry (original title : "Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien").
Also, a good action flick is the real version of La Femme Nikita" (original title is simply "Nikita"). Luc Besson also directed Leon but he stopped being a French director at this time (it doesn't make the movie any less good)
Alinestra Covellia recently asked about Manuel Poirier's Western. I haven't seen the movie, but I've heard many good opinions on it. As a side note, the same person is starring in this movie and in Harry
And how could I forget The Dinner's Game, an extremely funny movie (I don't know if it can export that well though). Original title : "Le dîner de cons"
Edit : And I forgot Going PLaces, but I'd advise to be cautious on this one. It is filled with sex and amorality, but has a serious dose of fun as well, and I overall enjoyed the movie very much. But definitely not the thing to watch first if you want to discover French cinema. Original title : "Les Valseuses"
Last edited by Spiffor on 22-06-2003 at 21:38
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Mercator
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Sorekara no Nanimo
Jan 1970
time: 06:29
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quote:
Originally posted by alva
The best Belgian film I can think of is:
Daems. |
Damn, I hate that movie... We've had to watch that in school several times. You get sick of it after a while.
The Dutch cinema has been growing lately, although until now it has been mostly old TV series/children's books turned into film, or "teen movies" about teens getting pissed in Spain.
I've heard good things about "Van God Los" ("godforsaken", the English title appears to be "Stir Crazy") though, I might go see it.
Unfortunately, I haven't seen any Kurosawa yet, but I love Takeshi Kitano (non-yakuza, I haven't seen any of those yet). I've recently seen "Dolls" and it's beautiful. And his "Kikujiro no natsu" ("The Summer of Kikujiro") is a masterpiece.
 I can't think of any good Dutch or Belgian movies right now... Well, I can, but I either haven't seen them myself yet, or I forgot the title of the film. 
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raghar
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I wish somewhere else.
Oct 2002
time: 05:29
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Jungle was nice and then come Guu.
I know others, but you'd not understand them. ( like e eu movies, or pakistan, or was it daghestan, sci-fi movies and other WEIRD stuff)
As general rule nice movies and France's fairy tales aren't commonly avilable to general public.
Pekka, when was made that movie? I recall something old and nice... Could it be...
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22-06-2003 08:38
I haven't seen it in a long time either though, maybe I will see it again next time it's on TV.
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