'The Body' .. If you like convoluted twisting plots .. Spanish language mystery detective thriller .. was on BBC last weekend and might still be available on iPlayer
Every now and then a film blows you away. Untouchable is one such film. I had been meaning to see this for some time and finally got round to watching it tonight and oh what a delight this was. Fantastic performances from Omar Sy and François Cluzet that would put most Hollywood actors to shame. If you are ever in any doubt about watching a foreign language film , then watch this as you wont get a movie as good as this at your local multiplex.
A thriller about a drugs ring operated through the Gibralter Straits by El Niño, a small-time trafficker, together with an altogether much bigger operation, in which the local and international drug barons may, or may not, have the benefit of a tip-offs from a police collaborator.
There are some strong lead performances, interesting plot strands (riddled with intrigue and betrayal) and good action sequences. Ian McShane pops up as a white suited ‘El Ingles’ but doesn’t have to utter a single word throughout the film (nice work if you can get it). It was perhaps a little too long at 2 hours 16 minutes but, overall, I thought this was a good thriller - 7/10.
A Girl at My Door (South Korea)
Transferred from her post in Seoul following a personal scandal (and, one suspects, for excessive drinking), a young female police officer is assigned the role of police chief in a quiet, remote coastal village, only to find that it is occupied, almost to a man, by a community of total drunkards. She seeks to maintain a low profile but feels compelled to protect a young girl who is habitually beaten by her brutish, drunken stepfather, only for this to lead to unwelcome complications.
I found this an intelligent and interesting film, if a little enigmatic. It is slow moving but powerful and is certainly unflinching in dealing with the issues it tackles. I thought it was good and it may do well on the art house circuit - 7/10.
Güeros (Mexico)
A young teenager, Tomas, who is a little out of control, is sent by his mother to stay with his older brother, a student in Mexico City. The university is closed as a result of a month long strike, as a result of which, Tomas’ brother and his fellow student flatmate are in a kind of limbo - “on strike from the strike”, as they put it. The three embark on a kind of road trip (although they never actually get out of the city) in search of Tomas’ hero, a fabled Mexican folk-rock, Epigmenio Cruz, who they have heard is critically ill. Along the way, they encounter dangerous slum areas, protesters on the university campus and the more glitzy nightlife of downtown Mexico City.
The film - which is in black and white - is humorous in parts, well scripted and certainly visually interesting and atmospheric. It won the best debut film award at the 2014 Berlinale but I was left with the feeling that there had perhaps been just a little too much emphasis on style at the expense of substance. Enjoyable nonetheless - 7/10.
Wild Life (France)
A couple resolve to live a nomadic existence on the land, raising their children in nature and eschewing the consumer society and formal schooling. Some years down the line, the mother decides to rejoin conventional French society and the film opens with her secretly taking the children to her parents to begin their reintegration. In the event, the father removes his two sons and, thereafter, they spend ten years (effectively) on the run from the police. The film is based on a real-life story.
I found this film a little too grim. I also became irritated by the father’s complete self-absorption, which doubtless influenced my view of it - 4/10.
The Elite Squad films from Brazil mentioned earlier up in the thread are two of the best films I've ever seen (though I do have an unhealthy interest in Brazil post World Cup) and they are a bit political so it helps to have an understanding of the Brazilian political situation. Still great action films though even if you don't.
I'll also throw A Hijacking from Denmark into the mix. Made by the same people as Borgen and The Killing (I haven't actually seen either but I'm told that if you love those, you'd love it), it's like a psychological version of Captain Phillips. They even used a real hostage negotiator ad-libbing and the crew of a formerly hijacked ship for extra realism. I'd really recommend it.
By the way these kind of 'extra curricular' threads are what makes CL great for me. Try showing this thread to those who scoff at football fans for not being cultured and sophisticated!
'The Body' .. If you like convoluted twisting plots .. Spanish language mystery detective thriller .. was on BBC last weekend and might still be available on iPlayer
An outstanding and incredibly funny black comedy/drama, comprising six unrelated stories, all revolving around the theme of vengeance. It was written and directed by a guy called Damián Szifrón (who I hadn’t heard of before), co-produced by the Almodóvar brothers and features an ensemble cast, including Ricardo Darín (‘The Secret in Their Eyes’).
This is a tremendous film and I guarantee you will not have seen anything quite like it before. It’s certainly one of the best I’ve seen in the last couple of years - 9/10
Timbuktu (Mauritania)
This is a dramatisation of the temporary occupation of northern Timbuktu in Mali by militant Islamic Jihadists in 2012. The film opens with the arrival in town of rifle toting extremists, who announce that radical Sharia law will now be imposed and that everyday activities like singing and football are illegal. It then charts the impact of the new regime upon a number of locals and their silent struggle against the brutality and humiliations inflicted upon by zealots, who reject the traditions of a tolerant and benevolent Islam.
The director was inspired to make the film by seeing an unmarried coupled buried up to their necks and stoned to death and his film is a stark warning against intolerance and extremism. It is also a poignant and touching human story, which is told with great sensitivity - 8/10.
Set in the remote wilderness of north western Russia, near the border with Finland, Kolya owns a modest self-built property and workshop on a prime piece of real estate. His problem is that it is coveted by the local mayor for redevelopment, who invokes the equivalent of a compulsory purchase order in return for derisory compensation. What follows is a tale of corruption and intimidation in contemporary Russia on the part of the state and local government, in which the legal system, the police and the church are fully complicit.
The film has a simple but powerful narrative, with several excellent performances, particularly from the central character and the overtly corrupt mayor. It is also a ballsy piece of work and no one is spared, not even that renowned Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Vladimir Putin, whose picture hangs above the mayor's desk - something of an irony, given that the Russia Ministry of Culture provided 35 percent of the funding for the film. Nice one.
Leviathan won the Best Sceenplay award at Cannes and Best Film at the London Film Festival. I don't think it justifies the 'masterpiece' label that some critics have given it but it is a very fine film and well worth seeing - 8/10.
Winter Sleep (Turkey)
The central character, Aydin, a former actor, runs a small boutique hotel in remote Cappadocia, with his attractive young wife and his embittered and recently divorced sister. He devotes most if his energies to writing a column for a small local newspaper that few read and adopts a passive aggressive approach towards his wife in order to try and undermine her at every turn.
It is a very literary film in terms of its dialogue and could easily have been written for the stage. Whilst it is beautifully filmed against the stunning backcloth of Cappadocia in central Anatolia, the director, Ceylan, creates a claustrophobic environment within the hotel as the winter closes in and the characters' animosities are intensified.
Winter Sleep won the Palm d'Or at Cannes and has been widely acclaimed. It is certainly a very accomplished and interesting film but I confess that I was slightly disappointed with it, given the level of expectation - 7/10.
P.S. Warning: at 3 hours and 16 minutes long, this is, in some respects, less a cinematic experience than an exercise in bladder control (not least for males in their mid-50s).
White God (Hungary)
A difficult young teen has to stay with her father whilst her divorced mother is abroad and he is unable or unwilling to look after her dog, Hagan. In a fit of pique, he leaves it by the side of the road, setting in train a sequence of events, which sees Hagan abused and trained as a fighting dog, become a pack leader and eventually lead a full scale canine revolt.
A difficult film to classify - it is humorous in parts and there is almost a Disney-like feel to the way in which Hagan leads the dogs around the streets of Budapest; on the other hand, there are several scenes of disturbing dog abuse and of canine revenge horror. It is certainly interesting and unusual and won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes - 7/!0.
The New Girlfriend (France)
A woman is devastated by the death of her best friend and makes a promise to watch over her husband and newborn child. An unscheduled visit to the widower’s home leads to a startling discovery.
The film, a mix of comedy and melodrama, did not really work for me and it felt a little self-consciously subversive from the director, Francois Ozon. It also felt longer than its 107 minutes and was disappointing for a film in ‘Official Competition’ - 5/10
Sunday Ball (Brazil)
This 71 minute documentary covers the final of a flavelas cup competition in Rio. There are some interesting parts, notably, the team talks, the fans on the pitch during penalty shoot outs and the winning captain parading the cup through the local favela (rather like Don Welsh in 1947, but on foot, rather than on a bus). I would certainly not like to be a referee in this competition. Against that, the film was a little 'over-arty' in places, as these type of football documentary often are and I was just a little disappointed, given the inherently interesting subject matter - 6/10.
Enjoying The Legacy currently being shown on Sky Arts on Thursday evenings.
Also I have recently got NetFlix for 6 months on my Virgin Media package. Any foreign films on there that anyone would recommend. I follow this thread so recently saw The Secret in their Eyes and agree a magnificent film. Seen Life is Beautiful and other main ones mentioned on this thread. Not been able to locate Violette or Untouchables anywhere sadly. Thanks in advance.
Shortly before taking her vows, Anna, a novice nun, who had been abandoned as a baby and brought up in the convent, is ordered by the Mother Superior to meet her aunt Wanda before submitting to the church. When they meet, Wanda tells her about their family's Jewish faith. Anna and the hard-drinking and dissolute Wanda then embark upon a road trip through the bleak Polish countryside to find out what happened to Anna’s parents during the German occupation nearly twenty years earlier.
Set in an austere early 60s Poland, Ida is shot in black and white and is beautifully filmed. It won the Best Film Award at the 2013 London Film Festival and has also been shortlisted for the 2014 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Recommended.
Series 5 of French serial Spiral started on BBC4 on Saturday. If anyone likes Braquo, The Bridge, The Killing etc then this is must see tv. Excellent acting, characters and storyline.
Am a great lover of French movies - always seem to have a bit of mystique about them. Must admit, agree with some people re City of God - was disappointed , thought it was a bit weak.
This is a dramatisation of the temporary occupation of northern Timbuktu in Mali by militant Islamic Jihadists in 2012. The film opens with the arrival in town of rifle toting extremists, who announce that radical Sharia law will now be imposed and that everyday activities like singing and football are illegal. It then charts the impact of the new regime upon a number of locals and their silent struggle against the brutality and humiliations inflicted upon by zealots, who reject the traditions of a tolerant and benevolent Islam.
The director was inspired to make the film by seeing an unmarried coupled buried up to their necks and stoned to death and his film is a stark warning against intolerance and extremism. It is also a poignant and touching human story, which is told with great sensitivity - 8/10.
Just found your review Mr Blucher.
Saw this film just before Christmas at the cinema. Definitely endorse your post, a film very much worth seeing.
I got directed over here by bolloxbolder, thanks mate. Too bad I missed the chance to catch Trollhunter. Anyway he mentioned he'd not heard of Spiral. It's a French crime series, and also features a complex female character lead. The last series ran immediately after the Killing on BBC4 and it was interesting to contrast French and Danish society and how police forces and justice systems differ. The French police come across as pretty rough and inclined to cut corners. The lead is very sexy but in that department is absolutely eclipsed by the red headed bent lawyer woman. Not sure if another series in the works but all the past ones are gripping.
Series 5 of French serial Spiral started on BBC4 on Saturday. If anyone likes Braquo, The Bridge, The Killing etc then this is must see tv. Excellent acting, characters and storyline.
Audrey Fleurot has been my screensaver for years. Peter McKay in The Mail today rightly described her as the most beautiful woman on television. I did a "whose rack" ages ago but it bombed.
Series 5 of French serial Spiral started on BBC4 on Saturday. If anyone likes Braquo, The Bridge, The Killing etc then this is must see tv. Excellent acting, characters and storyline.
Spirals the best thing on the tele by miles for me. Audrey Fleurot is the second best thing...
Series 5 of French serial Spiral started on BBC4 on Saturday. If anyone likes Braquo, The Bridge, The Killing etc then this is must see tv. Excellent acting, characters and storyline.
Spirals the best thing on the tele by miles for me. Audrey Fleurot is the second best thing...
Thanks to this thread I watched the first 2 episodes of Spiral series 5. Really enjoyed it, thank you for the recommendation.
Jean De floret and the sequel, Manon Des Source (must watch in sequence!). Powerfully simple story brilliantly filmed and superbly acted.
both, great tales, astonishingly beautiful and deeply moving. in that same vein, colonel chabert.
These are two of my all time favourite films. Would love to have on blu ray but not available with english subtitles. Looks like I'll need to learn french!
Rififi (French) Best crime movie I've ever seen robbery takes 20 mins with no dialogue but holds you spell bound. Can't remember who has already posted about it but Sex Mission (Polish) is really funny sci-fi.
Jean De floret and the sequel, Manon Des Source (must watch in sequence!). Powerfully simple story brilliantly filmed and superbly acted.
both, great tales, astonishingly beautiful and deeply moving. in that same vein, colonel chabert.
These are two of my all time favourite films. Would love to have on blu ray but not available with english subtitles. Looks like I'll need to learn french!
Just bought series 1-3 of Spiral cannot wait to catch up on previous episodes.
I don't think it's 100% essential but you will get a lot more out of it by watching each series in order due to the character development that flows through from series to series. Also helps to set the French judicial system in context which is massively different to ours. Enjoy!
Just bought series 1-3 of Spiral cannot wait to catch up on previous episodes.
I don't think it's 100% essential but you will get a lot more out of it by watching each series in order due to the character development that flows through from series to series. Also helps to set the French judicial system in context which is massively different to ours. Enjoy!
Cheers BA. I should add before Saturday nights showing I had the week before watched series 4 on Netflix. Curiously series 1-3 are not available there or on BBC iplayer. Have you watched Braquo? I think it is very nearly on a par with Spiral.
Just bought series 1-3 of Spiral cannot wait to catch up on previous episodes.
I don't think it's 100% essential but you will get a lot more out of it by watching each series in order due to the character development that flows through from series to series. Also helps to set the French judicial system in context which is massively different to ours. Enjoy!
Cheers BA. I should add before Saturday nights showing I had the week before watched series 4 on Netflix. Curiously series 1-3 are not available there or on BBC iplayer. Have you watched Braquo? I think it is very nearly on a par with Spiral.
Santa bought me the box set of Braquo for Christmas so looking forward to getting into that too. Some very good stuff being produced on the continent at the moment.
Comments
El Niño (Spain)
A thriller about a drugs ring operated through the Gibralter Straits by El Niño, a small-time trafficker, together with an altogether much bigger operation, in which the local and international drug barons may, or may not, have the benefit of a tip-offs from a police collaborator.
There are some strong lead performances, interesting plot strands (riddled with intrigue and betrayal) and good action sequences. Ian McShane pops up as a white suited ‘El Ingles’ but doesn’t have to utter a single word throughout the film (nice work if you can get it). It was perhaps a little too long at 2 hours 16 minutes but, overall, I thought this was a good thriller - 7/10.
A Girl at My Door (South Korea)
Transferred from her post in Seoul following a personal scandal (and, one suspects, for excessive drinking), a young female police officer is assigned the role of police chief in a quiet, remote coastal village, only to find that it is occupied, almost to a man, by a community of total drunkards. She seeks to maintain a low profile but feels compelled to protect a young girl who is habitually beaten by her brutish, drunken stepfather, only for this to lead to unwelcome complications.
I found this an intelligent and interesting film, if a little enigmatic. It is slow moving but powerful and is certainly unflinching in dealing with the issues it tackles. I thought it was good and it may do well on the art house circuit - 7/10.
Güeros (Mexico)
A young teenager, Tomas, who is a little out of control, is sent by his mother to stay with his older brother, a student in Mexico City. The university is closed as a result of a month long strike, as a result of which, Tomas’ brother and his fellow student flatmate are in a kind of limbo - “on strike from the strike”, as they put it. The three embark on a kind of road trip (although they never actually get out of the city) in search of Tomas’ hero, a fabled Mexican folk-rock, Epigmenio Cruz, who they have heard is critically ill. Along the way, they encounter dangerous slum areas, protesters on the university campus and the more glitzy nightlife of downtown Mexico City.
The film - which is in black and white - is humorous in parts, well scripted and certainly visually interesting and atmospheric. It won the best debut film award at the 2014 Berlinale but I was left with the feeling that there had perhaps been just a little too much emphasis on style at the expense of substance. Enjoyable nonetheless - 7/10.
Wild Life (France)
A couple resolve to live a nomadic existence on the land, raising their children in nature and eschewing the consumer society and formal schooling. Some years down the line, the mother decides to rejoin conventional French society and the film opens with her secretly taking the children to her parents to begin their reintegration. In the event, the father removes his two sons and, thereafter, they spend ten years (effectively) on the run from the police. The film is based on a real-life story.
I found this film a little too grim. I also became irritated by the father’s complete self-absorption, which doubtless influenced my view of it - 4/10.
I'll also throw A Hijacking from Denmark into the mix. Made by the same people as Borgen and The Killing (I haven't actually seen either but I'm told that if you love those, you'd love it), it's like a psychological version of Captain Phillips. They even used a real hostage negotiator ad-libbing and the crew of a formerly hijacked ship for extra realism. I'd really recommend it.
By the way these kind of 'extra curricular' threads are what makes CL great for me. Try showing this thread to those who scoff at football fans for not being cultured and sophisticated!
An outstanding and incredibly funny black comedy/drama, comprising six unrelated stories, all revolving around the theme of vengeance. It was written and directed by a guy called Damián Szifrón (who I hadn’t heard of before), co-produced by the Almodóvar brothers and features an ensemble cast, including Ricardo Darín (‘The Secret in Their Eyes’).
This is a tremendous film and I guarantee you will not have seen anything quite like it before. It’s certainly one of the best I’ve seen in the last couple of years - 9/10
Timbuktu (Mauritania)
This is a dramatisation of the temporary occupation of northern Timbuktu in Mali by militant Islamic Jihadists in 2012. The film opens with the arrival in town of rifle toting extremists, who announce that radical Sharia law will now be imposed and that everyday activities like singing and football are illegal. It then charts the impact of the new regime upon a number of locals and their silent struggle against the brutality and humiliations inflicted upon by zealots, who reject the traditions of a tolerant and benevolent Islam.
The director was inspired to make the film by seeing an unmarried coupled buried up to their necks and stoned to death and his film is a stark warning against intolerance and extremism. It is also a poignant and touching human story, which is told with great sensitivity - 8/10.
Set in the remote wilderness of north western Russia, near the border with Finland, Kolya owns a modest self-built property and workshop on a prime piece of real estate. His problem is that it is coveted by the local mayor for redevelopment, who invokes the equivalent of a compulsory purchase order in return for derisory compensation. What follows is a tale of corruption and intimidation in contemporary Russia on the part of the state and local government, in which the legal system, the police and the church are fully complicit.
The film has a simple but powerful narrative, with several excellent performances, particularly from the central character and the overtly corrupt mayor. It is also a ballsy piece of work and no one is spared, not even that renowned Nobel Peace Prize nominee, Vladimir Putin, whose picture hangs above the mayor's desk - something of an irony, given that the Russia Ministry of Culture provided 35 percent of the funding for the film. Nice one.
Leviathan won the Best Sceenplay award at Cannes and Best Film at the London Film Festival. I don't think it justifies the 'masterpiece' label that some critics have given it but it is a very fine film and well worth seeing - 8/10.
Winter Sleep (Turkey)
The central character, Aydin, a former actor, runs a small boutique hotel in remote Cappadocia, with his attractive young wife and his embittered and recently divorced sister. He devotes most if his energies to writing a column for a small local newspaper that few read and adopts a passive aggressive approach towards his wife in order to try and undermine her at every turn.
It is a very literary film in terms of its dialogue and could easily have been written for the stage. Whilst it is beautifully filmed against the stunning backcloth of Cappadocia in central Anatolia, the director, Ceylan, creates a claustrophobic environment within the hotel as the winter closes in and the characters' animosities are intensified.
Winter Sleep won the Palm d'Or at Cannes and has been widely acclaimed. It is certainly a very accomplished and interesting film but I confess that I was slightly disappointed with it, given the level of expectation - 7/10.
P.S. Warning: at 3 hours and 16 minutes long, this is, in some respects, less a cinematic experience than an exercise in bladder control (not least for males in their mid-50s).
White God (Hungary)
A difficult young teen has to stay with her father whilst her divorced mother is abroad and he is unable or unwilling to look after her dog, Hagan. In a fit of pique, he leaves it by the side of the road, setting in train a sequence of events, which sees Hagan abused and trained as a fighting dog, become a pack leader and eventually lead a full scale canine revolt.
A difficult film to classify - it is humorous in parts and there is almost a Disney-like feel to the way in which Hagan leads the dogs around the streets of Budapest; on the other hand, there are several scenes of disturbing dog abuse and of canine revenge horror. It is certainly interesting and unusual and won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes - 7/!0.
The New Girlfriend (France)
A woman is devastated by the death of her best friend and makes a promise to watch over her husband and newborn child. An unscheduled visit to the widower’s home leads to a startling discovery.
The film, a mix of comedy and melodrama, did not really work for me and it felt a little self-consciously subversive from the director, Francois Ozon. It also felt longer than its 107 minutes and was disappointing for a film in ‘Official Competition’ - 5/10
Sunday Ball (Brazil)
This 71 minute documentary covers the final of a flavelas cup competition in Rio. There are some interesting parts, notably, the team talks, the fans on the pitch during penalty shoot outs and the winning captain parading the cup through the local favela (rather like Don Welsh in 1947, but on foot, rather than on a bus). I would certainly not like to be a referee in this competition. Against that, the film was a little 'over-arty' in places, as these type of football documentary often are and I was just a little disappointed, given the inherently interesting subject matter - 6/10.
Also I have recently got NetFlix for 6 months on my Virgin Media package. Any foreign films on there that anyone would recommend. I follow this thread so recently saw The Secret in their Eyes and agree a magnificent film. Seen Life is Beautiful and other main ones mentioned on this thread. Not been able to locate Violette or Untouchables anywhere sadly. Thanks in advance.
Shortly before taking her vows, Anna, a novice nun, who had been abandoned as a baby and brought up in the convent, is ordered by the Mother Superior to meet her aunt Wanda before submitting to the church. When they meet, Wanda tells her about their family's Jewish faith. Anna and the hard-drinking and dissolute Wanda then embark upon a road trip through the bleak Polish countryside to find out what happened to Anna’s parents during the German occupation nearly twenty years earlier.
Set in an austere early 60s Poland, Ida is shot in black and white and is beautifully filmed. It won the Best Film Award at the 2013 London Film Festival and has also been shortlisted for the 2014 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Recommended.
Must admit, agree with some people re City of God - was disappointed , thought it was a bit weak.
Saw this film just before Christmas at the cinema.
Definitely endorse your post, a film very much worth seeing.
Except for martial arts films, this is the only genre where is just works!!