Favourite foreign language movie

[Karen El]

I'm going to have to add the original Gojira, which is a classic. My second favourite Godzilla flick is Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla.

[bert]

way, way too many to list, but this one ranks in my top 10 of my favorite films of all time:

"Experience Preferred, but not Essential"

saw it almost 30 years ago at an "arthouse" theater, and it stuck with me all these years later.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083911/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

it's in English, but set in Wales. . so it's a foreign film, even if they are speaking English






Very good film about a girl called Annie (Elizabeth Edmonds) finding love with a cook at a small Welsh hotel in 1962. Her relative happiness is contrasted with everyone else's desperate search for love. Excellent early 1960s period sets, costumes and music make this film a joy for nostalgia buffs. It is the second of a series of three from the talented British producers, all of them dealing with youthful romance. Originally produced for British television, this is a picture not to be missed.


Can't find the trailer available anywhere online, but here's the first few moments of the film (as found on youtube) that gives you the basic "feel" of the film:

[bert]

and no love for Spirited Away in this thread?

[michealdark]

I'm going to have to add the original Gojira, which is a classic. My second favourite Godzilla flick is Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla.

Definitely the two best. Funny how in one Godzilla is the for sure bad guy, an unstoppable force of nature, wrathful, out for revenge against a humanity that has harnessed the most powerful forces of nature for horrific and selfish ends that are detrimental not just to ourselves but the the environment, but in the other Godzilla is a superhero defending us from an alien threat.

[ZimMan2]

Definitely the two best. Funny how in one Godzilla is the for sure bad guy, an unstoppable force of nature, wrathful, out for revenge against a humanity that has harnessed the most powerful forces of nature for horrific and selfish ends that are detrimental not just to ourselves but the the environment, but in the other Godzilla is a superhero defending us from an alien threat.

That's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974).

Godzilla Against Mechgodzilla (2002) is part one of a two-part continuity reboot that deals with a Mechagodzilla built by the Japanese self-defense forces called "Kiryu" using the bones of the first Godzilla. It's got this plot that deals with the idea that the robot might have a soul or something and seemed kinda weird when I watched it. That was years ago, though. The second part, which I have even less memory of, is Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., which throws Mothra into the mix.

There was also Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993), also about a good Mechagodzilla, but that takes place in a separate continuity from the 74 or 02 versions.

And there's also Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975), a direct sequel to the original MG film which is also the very last of the original Showa series.

Do not mess with me on the matters of useless Godzilla trivia.

Also, for my money, the two best Godzilla films besides the original are Mothra vs. Godzilla from 1964 and Godzilla, Mothra, and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack from 2001. Very different takes on the character, both portray him as a villain, and both have the best effects of their respective eras. Mothra is a lot of fun, with more intentional gags than most Godzilla films, but a nice dose of Honda's humanism added in. GMK is visually dazzling and has a lot of neat stuff going on thematically, even if it's not explored to the best extent.

[michealdark]

Ah, sorry, I got Vs. and Against confused. I love Vs. I need to rewatch Against.

And i liked the Mothra solo films myself.

[ZimMan2]

Ah, sorry, I got Vs. and Against confused. I love Vs. I need to rewatch Against.

And i liked the Mothra solo films myself.

It's been eons since I've watched any of the solo Mothra films. I really need to go back and revisit them sometime.

[Mogo]

If animation counts then it's Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind. In the realm of live-action it would have to be Battle Royale.

Honorable mention? Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Ran, Miike's Ichi The Killer and Thirteen Assassins, Woo's Hard Boiled and The Killer, Neon Genesis Evangelion theatrical rebuilds 1 and 2, Ninja Scroll, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, The Host, Amelie, Akira, Ninja Scroll, and Oldboy

[Mogo]

My favourite foreign language movie is the classic French action drama, Nikita.

Nikita is an amazing movie about a drug addled young woman who kills a cop after a bungled raid on a drug store and ends up becoming a state trained assassin.

The movie manages to be funny, exciting, a little sad at times but also uplifting at other points.

The evolution of the main character from a drugged up criminal with a vacant look and a filthy and trashy appearance to an attractive agent is also a huge part of the movie.

This -990 Luc Besson movie is excellent and totally kicks the ass of The Assassin (US name - Point of No Return, starring Briget Fonda and a remake of the original French movie) plus the two TV shows based on the movie, Le Femme Nikita (also the name of the French movie in the US) and Nikita.

This is a great movie; I am also a big lover of Besson's Leon: The Professional

[Morrison_Lad]

This is a great movie; I am also a big lover of Besson's Leon: The Professional

"Leon: The Professional" is absolutely brilliant on so many levels. And Portman was just amazing.