Over on my blog friend Joshua's site, Vive Le Nerd, he's got a foreign film conversation started. This is why I love his blog. I can go there and nerd it up to my heart's content. He posted his top five foreign films list and I gave him my top ten. Does that make me a gigantic nerd that I even have a top ten foreign films list? Or am I just a nerd one-upper and I had to take his top five and raise it five? Oh, it's a nerd battle royale and it's on like Donkey Kong.
Just kidding. I don't play chess or video games. I lose.
Is it just me, or did your college professors make you watch foreign films up the wazoo? Now that I think about it, I did take one (and only one) film class in college, and it was a French language class so it was like, doubly nerdy. My Chinese Civilization prof also had us watch a ton of Chinese flicks. This may be why my top ten list is dominated by French and Chinese movies of the early 90s.
For your viewing pleasure:
1. Raise the Red Lantern (Chinese)
2. Life Is Beautiful (Italian)
3. Camille Claudel (French)
4. Au Revoir Les Enfants (French)
5. The Wedding Banquet (Chinese)
6. Journey of Hope (Turkish)
7. Shall We Dance (Japanese)
8. Jean de Fleurette (French)
9. Red Sorghum (Chinese)
10. Ran (Japanese)
Those are my top ten. May not be the critic's top ten but there you go. Be warned, however, that I like insanely, slit-your-throat, depressing kinds of films. It's called catharsis. Though I don't know how to say that in French. (It's probably the same thing.)
2. Life Is Beautiful (Italian)
3. Camille Claudel (French)
4. Au Revoir Les Enfants (French)
5. The Wedding Banquet (Chinese)
6. Journey of Hope (Turkish)
7. Shall We Dance (Japanese)
8. Jean de Fleurette (French)
9. Red Sorghum (Chinese)
10. Ran (Japanese)
Those are my top ten. May not be the critic's top ten but there you go. Be warned, however, that I like insanely, slit-your-throat, depressing kinds of films. It's called catharsis. Though I don't know how to say that in French. (It's probably the same thing.)
Go on over to Joshua's blog and celebrate your inner (or outer) nerd.
Foreign films? In college? HAhahahaha! I went to college in Oklahoma. The only foreign thing there were the engineering students.
ReplyDeleteBut, now that I have all this leave time on my hands, you've inspired me to get my cathartique on by watching these. Thank you!
I'm thinking I was a very dark 20-something grunge college student. Now I tend towards the uplifting and/or funny.
ReplyDeleteWatch some of these at your own risk. Some of them would go on my Top Ten LIst of the World's Most Depressing Movies of All Time.
"Who's the bigger nerd? The nerd, or the nerd who follows him?"
ReplyDeleteHmm...you watch foreign films but don't play video games? I think I'm the bigger nerd, only because I've never been forced to watch a foreign film. By a teacher or a girlfriend or The Wife.
{Cue Sad Charlie Brown Song; Hang Head; Shuffle Away}
Oh, thanks for the mention!
I think you just pwned me.
ReplyDeleteNever went to college, not seen many foriegn fils so I will just have to line these up in the list on Netflix and get back to you on this...
ReplyDeleteOh, goody. I'll add as many of these as are available to my Netflix queue.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend who did a hilarious send-up of depressing foreign films, on youtube, and he entitled it, "Life is Boring". You'd LOVE IT.
I think it lasts a couple of minutes. Let me see if I can find the link. Be sure to watch the clock on the wall: it's riveting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HNgbMrm7D8
@One Bad Pixie: Do get back to me. You might say, "What the hell are you doing to me, lady?!?"
ReplyDelete@Susan in the Boonies: Get a box of tissues and some chocolate before you watch.
I'll go check out that video now.
Hiroshima mon amour.
ReplyDeleteau bout de souffle
ReplyDeleteAmélie
ReplyDeleteThe triplets of Belleville
ReplyDeleteI'll stop now.
ReplyDeleteI loved Au Bout de Souffle and Amelie. I haven't seen the others but will Netflix them, a tout de suite.
ReplyDeleteThis all sounds like Greek to me..lol
ReplyDelete*Rimshot*
ReplyDeleteI cant watch foreign films. I am very uncultured like that. I would rather read sub-titles and that is just too distracting.
ReplyDeleteThe last one I did see was a soft porn style where this older yet young woman was teaching a younger boy/man how to please a woman, to slow down and give her pleasure first. Then when he mastered giving her pleasure, she left him. and broke his heart.
Every young man should watch it. It was quite sexy.
You are one hot nerd Mandy.
Have you ever seen The Lover?
ReplyDeleteIt's all relative.
ReplyDeleteEver think that even American films are foreign films--somewhere?
I was feeling pretty bourgeois that my favorite is Amelie. Feeling much better now that I see it made an appearance in the comments.
ReplyDeleteCity of God and Before Night Falls are also high on my list.