The snack is ready, the comfy pants are on, and the moment is right just in a click. Your next challenge: Figuring out exactly which of the great movies available to you is the one you're going to commit to tonight. No matter what you're looking for - comedy, action thriller, romance or even horror - there are certain movies that, if you haven't seen yet, now's the perfect time for. These are modern classics, the best of the best, the movies that millions of people are most likely jealous that you get to see for the first time.
There are a few that might be outside your comfort zone, and a couple that'll introduce you to cultures and environments you know nothing about. So here I am doing a job which you’re going to cherish for the rest of your eternity: Now's the perfect time to catch up on the films that your friends can't believe you haven't seen yet. Here are the 10 foreign language films absolutely everyone should see.
A quick disclaimer, in this segment I will not be focusing on English, Hindi, Tamil and Sinhala movies since we Sri Lankans have watched those movies a lot lately. These movies are not rated in a particular order below.
Bicycle Thieves (Italian: Ladri di biciclette), is director Vittorio De Sica's 1948 story of a poor dad looking through post-World War II Rome for his stolen bike, without which he will lose the employment which was to save his young family.
Adapted for the screen by Cesare Zavattini from a novel by Luigi Bartolini, and featuring Lamberto Maggiorani as the edgy dad and Enzo Staiola as his fearless youthful son, Bicycle Thieves is one of the perfect works of art of Italian movie industry. Bicycle Thieves won an Academy Honorary Award in 1950 and, only four years after its screening, was considered the best film ever by Sight and Sound magazine's survey of filmmakers and pundits; after fifty years a similar survey positioned it 6th among most noteworthy ever films. It is additionally one of the main ten among the British Film Institute's rundown of movies you should see by the age of 14. It’s never too late to enjoy this masterpiece.
Pather Panchali, (English: Song of the Little Road) is a 1955 debut Bengali movie by Satyajit Ray. It depends on Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay's 1929 Bengali literature. It highlights Subir Banerjee, Kanu Banerjee, Karuna Banerjee, Uma Dasgupta and Chunibala Devi in significant characters. The initial film in the Apu trilogy, Pather Panchali portrays the youth of the hero Apu (Subir Banerjee) and his elder sister Durga (Uma Dasgupta), and the discordant village life of their poor family.
A mind-blowing story is proceeded in the two following portions of Ray's Apu trilogy: Aparajito (The Unvanquished, 1956) and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu, 1959). Pather Panchali is portrayed as a defining moment in Indian movie industry, as it was among the movies that spearheaded the Parallel Cinema development, which upheld realness and social authenticity. The first of the trilogy from free India to draw in significant global critical acclamation, it won India's National Film Award for Best Feature Film in 1955, the Best Human Document grant at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, and a few different honors, building up Ray as one of the phenomenal directors of Indian and global cinema. Pather Panchali is a movie to watch, cry, understand and enjoy each moment of the 125m minutes.
The Secret in Their Eyes (Spanish: El secreto de sus ojos) is a 2009 Argentine crime thriller, directed and produced by Juan José Campanella and worded by Eduardo Sacheri and Campanella, adapting on Sacheri's novel La pregunta de sus ojos (The Question in Their Eyes). The film, a joint creation of Argentine and Spanish productions, stars Ricardo Darín and Soledad Villamil.
The story uncovers the secrete romance between a retired legal Judicial and a judge who worked together 25 year earlier. They relate their endeavors on an unsolved 1974 assault and murder that manages to cast a spell not only on them, however on the victim’s significant counterpart and the murderer. The twofold setting outlines the time of Argentina's Dirty War (1976–1983), a brutal time when criminals roamed in plain sight without any punishment.
In 2009, El secreto de sus ojos was both acclaimed in Hollywood and Spanish cinema leading it to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards, and, with 1985's The Official Story, made Argentina the first nation in Latin America to win it twice. Three weeks prior, it had gotten the Spanish proportionate with the Goya Award for Best Spanish Language Foreign Film. As of 2010, it is just outperformed at the Argentine film industry by Leonardo Favio's 1975 exemplary Nazareno Cruz and the Wolf (Nazareno Cruz y el lobo).
Lol Rennt (Rub Lola Run), a 1998 German sci-fi action thriller, written and directed by Tom Tykwer and featuring Franka Potente as Lola and Moritz Bleibtreu as Manni. The story follows a lady who needs to find 100,000 Deutsche Mark in a short time to spare the love of her life. The movie's three situations are suggestive of the 1981 Krzysztof Kieślowski movie Blind Chance; after Kieślowski's demise, Tykwer directed his work ‘Heaven’.
The Separation of Nader from Simin (English: A Seperation) is a 2011 Iranian drama written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, featuring Leila Hatami, Peyman Moaadi, Shahab Hosseini, Sareh Bayat, and Sarina Farhadi. It centers on an Iranian working class couple who discrete, and the contentions that emerge when the spouse recruits a lower-class caretaker for his old dad, who experiences Alzheimer's sickness.
A Separation won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, turning into the first ever Iranian film to win the honor. It got the Golden Bear for Best Film and the Silver Bears for Best Actress and Best Actor at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, turning into the first Iranian film to win the Golden Bear. It likewise won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. The film was designated for the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award, making it the first non-English film in quite a while to accomplish this.
A devastating paragliding accident pushes Philippe to become a quadriplegic. Driss, a young man is hired to be his caretaker turns out to open a new world for Philippe who loses his love and patronage towards life.
Intouchables became the second box office hit of France with a record number of releases, whilst being critically acclaimed by the world cinema. In France, the film was nominated for eight César Awards and earned Omar Sy the César Award for Best Actor. The movie was also recreated in Hollywood as ‘The Upside’ and also in Kollywood as ‘Thozha’.
Der Untergang (English: Downfall) is a 2004 German war film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, depicting the final ten days of Adolf Hitler's reign over Nazi Germany in 1945. As the Allied forces get closer to the Nazi capital, Hitler and his comrades barricade themselves in the Fuhrerbunker. Many vow to stand by Hitler, but Traudl, his personal secretary, tries to escape.
The film was nominated for the best foreign language film during the Academy Awards.
Luck hasn't always been in favor of Arjun, a gifted cricketer in his mid-thirties whose career has failed to take off. With everyone around him insisting that he should give up on his career, will Arjun have the courage of conviction to continue pursuing his dream?
Jersey, depicts the dreams of millions of Indians whose great struggle to prove them on the pitch. An emotional and contradicting 157 mins of sore sports politics, failure and drama gives a great essence to the character on the screen and to the audience in the seat. The movie is commended for the dedication of the lead star Nani for mastering the strokes with the bat within a short span.
Tessa is a graphic artist who runs from home to avoid her marriage. With the help of her friend, she rents a room. Initially, she hates her room which is a complete mess, but then she learns that the room was previously occupied by a carefree vagabond named Charlie. When she starts cleaning up the place, she discovers a photo and a sketchbook of this man. The sketches depict the previous New Year's Eve when a small-time thief tries to rob the man's room. In a turn-of-events, the man joins him, and they both go on the rooftop of a home. There, they are shocked by what they see inside. That was the last page of the sketch, and the story is left unfinished, which piques her curiosity about the rest of the story, as well as the previous occupant of the room.
The movie won several awards in the Kerala State Film Awards, notably for Best Actor, Actress, Director and etc. Charlie till date is considered as Dulqeer Salman’s best portrayal as an actor on screen claiming him as a matured actor in the industry.
Lucia is a 2013 Indian Kannada-language romantic psychological thriller film written, co-edited and directed by Pawan Kumar. It stars Sathish Ninasam and Sruthi Hariharan.
The film's plot is about Nikki, an usher in theatre who has insomnia. After consuming a special pill, he gets entangled in a different kind of dream. Lucia was the first Kannada film to be crowdfunded by the people which created a trend. The film's soundtrack was composed by Poornachandra Tejaswi and cinematography was handled by Siddhartha Nuni.
Lucia premiered at the London Indian Film Festival on 20 July 2013. It won the Best Film Audience Choice award at the festival. It was also among the films shortlisted by the FFI to become India's submission for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for the year 2013. The film was also remade in Tamil as Enakkul Oruvan in 2015.
These are just few of the movies which inspired and entertained me. If you have come across any masterpiece drop your suggestions in the comments below.
Written by:
Rtr. Frank Joseph.
Club Services Director 2019/20.
1) Ladri Di Biciclelle (1948; Drama; IMDB 8.3)
Adapted for the screen by Cesare Zavattini from a novel by Luigi Bartolini, and featuring Lamberto Maggiorani as the edgy dad and Enzo Staiola as his fearless youthful son, Bicycle Thieves is one of the perfect works of art of Italian movie industry. Bicycle Thieves won an Academy Honorary Award in 1950 and, only four years after its screening, was considered the best film ever by Sight and Sound magazine's survey of filmmakers and pundits; after fifty years a similar survey positioned it 6th among most noteworthy ever films. It is additionally one of the main ten among the British Film Institute's rundown of movies you should see by the age of 14. It’s never too late to enjoy this masterpiece.
2) Pather Panchali (1955; Drama; IMDB 8.6)
A mind-blowing story is proceeded in the two following portions of Ray's Apu trilogy: Aparajito (The Unvanquished, 1956) and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu, 1959). Pather Panchali is portrayed as a defining moment in Indian movie industry, as it was among the movies that spearheaded the Parallel Cinema development, which upheld realness and social authenticity. The first of the trilogy from free India to draw in significant global critical acclamation, it won India's National Film Award for Best Feature Film in 1955, the Best Human Document grant at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, and a few different honors, building up Ray as one of the phenomenal directors of Indian and global cinema. Pather Panchali is a movie to watch, cry, understand and enjoy each moment of the 125m minutes.
3) El Secreto De Sus Ojos (2009; Drama,Mystery,Romance; IMDB 8.2)
The story uncovers the secrete romance between a retired legal Judicial and a judge who worked together 25 year earlier. They relate their endeavors on an unsolved 1974 assault and murder that manages to cast a spell not only on them, however on the victim’s significant counterpart and the murderer. The twofold setting outlines the time of Argentina's Dirty War (1976–1983), a brutal time when criminals roamed in plain sight without any punishment.
In 2009, El secreto de sus ojos was both acclaimed in Hollywood and Spanish cinema leading it to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 82nd Academy Awards, and, with 1985's The Official Story, made Argentina the first nation in Latin America to win it twice. Three weeks prior, it had gotten the Spanish proportionate with the Goya Award for Best Spanish Language Foreign Film. As of 2010, it is just outperformed at the Argentine film industry by Leonardo Favio's 1975 exemplary Nazareno Cruz and the Wolf (Nazareno Cruz y el lobo).
4) Lola Rennt (1998; Crime,Thriller; IMDB 7.6)
5) The Separation Of Nader From Simin (2011; Drama; IMDB 8.3)
A Separation won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2012, turning into the first ever Iranian film to win the honor. It got the Golden Bear for Best Film and the Silver Bears for Best Actress and Best Actor at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival, turning into the first Iranian film to win the Golden Bear. It likewise won the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. The film was designated for the Best Original Screenplay Academy Award, making it the first non-English film in quite a while to accomplish this.
6) Intouchables (2011; Biography,Drama,Comedy; IMDB 8.5)
Intouchables became the second box office hit of France with a record number of releases, whilst being critically acclaimed by the world cinema. In France, the film was nominated for eight César Awards and earned Omar Sy the César Award for Best Actor. The movie was also recreated in Hollywood as ‘The Upside’ and also in Kollywood as ‘Thozha’.
7) Der Untergang (2004; Biography,History; IMDB 8.2)
The film was nominated for the best foreign language film during the Academy Awards.
8) Jersey (2019; Sport,Drama; IMDB 8.6)
Jersey, depicts the dreams of millions of Indians whose great struggle to prove them on the pitch. An emotional and contradicting 157 mins of sore sports politics, failure and drama gives a great essence to the character on the screen and to the audience in the seat. The movie is commended for the dedication of the lead star Nani for mastering the strokes with the bat within a short span.
9) Charlie (2015; Romance,Musical; IMDB 7.9)
The movie won several awards in the Kerala State Film Awards, notably for Best Actor, Actress, Director and etc. Charlie till date is considered as Dulqeer Salman’s best portrayal as an actor on screen claiming him as a matured actor in the industry.
10) Lucia (2013; Psychological Thriller; IMDB 8.3)
The film's plot is about Nikki, an usher in theatre who has insomnia. After consuming a special pill, he gets entangled in a different kind of dream. Lucia was the first Kannada film to be crowdfunded by the people which created a trend. The film's soundtrack was composed by Poornachandra Tejaswi and cinematography was handled by Siddhartha Nuni.
Lucia premiered at the London Indian Film Festival on 20 July 2013. It won the Best Film Audience Choice award at the festival. It was also among the films shortlisted by the FFI to become India's submission for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for the year 2013. The film was also remade in Tamil as Enakkul Oruvan in 2015.
These are just few of the movies which inspired and entertained me. If you have come across any masterpiece drop your suggestions in the comments below.
Written by:
Rtr. Frank Joseph.
Club Services Director 2019/20.
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