Culture
Foreign Exchange: Modern Movie Masterpieces
Foreign movies openerWe present a selection of the best foreign language films of the new millennium, proving that whatever your tastes, there are magnificent movies offering an alternative to the Hollywood mainstream.
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Foreign Exchange: Modern Movie Masterpieces.
HeroHERO [China] – THE EPIC CHOICE: Zhang Yimou’s epic tale of Jet Li’s nameless character taking on and defeating a series of enemies. After years of smaller arthouse successes, Zhang proved with Hero that he could make movies on the grandest of scales. Martin Scorsese was clearly onto something when he once described Zhang as the world’s greatest living director. Hero offers visceral action, jaw-dropping spectacle and gripping drama. What more could you want? amazon.co.uk
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Foreign Exchange: Modern Movie Masterpieces.
Chico & RitaCHICO & RITA [Spain] – THE MUSICAL CHOICE: Animated films are for kids, right? Sure, the modern Pixar classics have a few in-jokes for the adults, but they’re still for kids, yes? Chico & Rita is a film that will entirely redefine your idea of what an animated film is and can achieve. The tale of jazz pianist Chico and singer Rita, set in 1940s/1950s Cuba, is an atmospheric story that will charm and surprise you. The magnificent soundtrack is another bonus. amazon.co.uk
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Foreign Exchange: Modern Movie Masterpieces.
Tell no oneTELL NO ONE [France] – THE THRILLING CHOICE: You might assume that a film adaptation of bestselling author Harlan Coben’s latest thriller would be mainstream Hollywood fare – maybe helmed by Michael Bay and complete with the requisite number of explosions and chase scenes? Think again. Surprisingly (and fortunately, some might say), this is a French production and all the more original for it. This account of a paediatrician who receives an email from his murdered wife 10 years after her death grips the viewer from start to finish. amazon.co.uk
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Foreign Exchange: Modern Movie Masterpieces.
Maria Full of GraceMARIA FULL OF GRACE [Colombia] – THE SHOCKING CHOICE: This movie was famously tagged as being ‘Based on a 1000 true stories’. That dramatic statement is possibly even a conservative estimate. Written and directed by American Joshua Marston, the film presents the tale of a 17-year-old Colombian woman trapped in grinding poverty, who is tempted by an offer to work as a drug mule. The ensuing drama and the astonishing lead performance from Catalina Sandino Moreno elevate this low-budget picture to classic status. amazon.co.uk
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Foreign Exchange: Modern Movie Masterpieces.
Consequences of loveTHE CONSEQUENCES OF LOVE [Italy] – THE OFFBEAT CHOICE: Stylish and suspenseful, The Consequences Of Love is an Italian film that beguiles and mystifies in equal measure. The film presents the mysterious middle-aged Titta, played by Toni Servillo, who has led a bizarrely empty existence at a Swiss luxury hotel for countless years. The story takes a sinister turn as we learn that Titta keeps a gun in his room and receives a suitcase of cash each week, before it builds to a shocking and genuinely unforgettable climax. amazon.co.uk
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Foreign Exchange: Modern Movie Masterpieces.
Howl's moving castleHOWL’S MOVING CASTLE [Japan] – THE MAGICAL CHOICE: Any film from the legendary Hayao Miyazaki, the figurehead of Japan’s famous Studio Ghibli, is worth watching. That immutable fact can be taken on trust alone. In today’s world of computer animation, it is a rare joy to find an animated movie of such remarkable quality. Miyazaki came out of retirement (once again) to direct this enchanting story based on British author Diana Wynne Jones’s wizardly novel. amazon.co.uk
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Foreign Exchange: Modern Movie Masterpieces.
Good Bye LeninGOOD BYE LENIN! [Germany] – THE SURPRISE CHOICE: The Lives of Others might have stimulated the mind with its depiction of pre-unification life in East Berlin, but it was Wolfgang Becker’s surprise hit Good Bye Lenin! that warmed the heart. The premise of an East German mother who has a heart attack and goes into a coma on the eve of the Berlin Wall falling is given a simple but inspired twist with the idea that her family decide to hide the news to avoid shocking her when she wakes up. The film succeeds in commenting on political dogma and family tensions with exactly the same gentle warmth and charm. amazon.co.uk
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Culture
Foreign Exchange: Modern Movie Masterpieces.
Belleville Rendez-vousBELLEVILLE RENDEZ–VOUS/THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE [France] – THE MEMORABLE CHOICE: We return to animation again with Sylvain Chomet’s extraordinary and near indescribable Belleville Rendez-vous (released as The Triplets of Belleville in the United States). This is an odd, at times slightly surreal story of an elderly woman, Madame Souza, who embarks on an adventure to rescue her cyclist grandson Champion from the clutches of gangsters assisted by three similarly elderly jazz-singing sisters – the triplets of Belleville. This is a hard film to dislike, but an easy one to love. amazon.co.uk
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Foreign Exchange: Modern Movie Masterpieces.
VolverVOLVER [Spain] – THE EMOTIONAL CHOICE: In some people’s minds, Pedro Almodóvar probably is the Spanish film industry – and they wouldn’t be far wrong. His prodigious cinematic output has symbolised a new era in Spanish filmmaking. Volver is one of his greatest works, and while some will have other favourites, it is probably his most representative film combining recurring Almodóvar themes of family drama, melodrama, farce and tragedy. The luminous Penélope Cruz shines in full-on Sophia Loren mode in this story of murder, mothers and redemption. amazon.co.uk
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Foreign Exchange: Modern Movie Masterpieces.
VictoriaVICTORIA [Germany] – THE UNIQUE CHOICE: Victoria is a gritty account of one devastatingly dramatic night in the life of the titular Victoria, a young Spanish woman who has moved to Berlin in search of work and a better life. Leaving a club in the early hours, she gets chatting with a group of young men and makes a connection with one of them, ‘Sonne’. The action is full of surprising twists and turns, but what makes the film so extraordinary is that the entire film – all 138 minutes of it – is shot in one continuous take. Unique. amazon.co.uk
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Foreign Exchange: Modern Movie Masterpieces.
In the mood for loveIN THE MOOD FOR LOVE [Hong Kong] – THE ROMANTIC CHOICE: Crime films such as the Infernal Affairs saga and Oldboy have been standard-bearers for Asian film over the past 20 years. Our tip, however, is Wong Kar-wai’s achingly beautiful In the Mood for Love. Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung play a married man and woman who discover their respective partners are having an affair, before an intense attraction develops between them, too. The haunting soundtrack is the perfect backdrop to this tale of unrequited love. amazon.co.uk
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Foreign Exchange: Modern Movie Masterpieces.
City of godCITY OF GOD [Brazil] – THE DRAMATIC CHOICE: Electrifying, incendiary, provocative are just some of the words you will find in a typical review of City of God, co-directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund. All of these words and more hold true. At a basic level, this is the story of two boys being caught up in gang culture of Rio’s favelas. The film tells its tale with incredible bravura – albeit a brutal one. It is as if Scorsese’s Goodfellas had been reimagined with child mobsters on Rio’s most poverty-struck backstreets. amazon.co.uk
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Foreign Exchange: Modern Movie Masterpieces.
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