Interesting foreign movies

[MyLittlePonyTales]

So, here's a topic for foreign and/or underrated animated films. What counts as foreign? Well, I'm not talking about Anime here! What's a film that you somehow came across that you had never heard of, but that was pretty good, original created in another country, and possibly only available in another language?

Take Yobi, the Five Tailed Fox. It's some Korean film I came across (don't remember how), that I decided to watch (don't remember where). It was a pretty good movie, I guess comparable to Studio Ghibli films in a way. Anyway, there was never an English version so I had to watch it all with subs. This is an example of a foreign film. Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa is not a good example of a foreign film (in this case) (it was based on an Anime based on a Manga; a film in a series and not singular).

The Secret of Kells was also a great foreign film, but it was translated to English. This counts as well. Also, you should watch it. It's on Netflix. Borrow someone else's account if you have to. This is like an animation masterpiece. Seeing as it's only a few years old and it was made by a company that at the time had only created a few other productions, I can understand why it's not as popular as it should be. But seriously, 91% on Rotten Tomatoes? What kind of movie gets that?!

So ya, go!

[sarcatsic]

LOOOOOVE those movies, dude. I don't really dig on what Rotten Tomatoes says, but they're at least okay to see what people think if you don't really care.

But some of my favorite foreign movies outside of the US are:

You Are Umasou: A Japanese movie based on a children's book of the same name. This is the only dinosaur movie I personally find good since The Land Before Time. It's about a young Tyrannosaurus, who was adopted by a mother Maiasaur and raised as a plant eater. He's lived most of his life malnourished, being able only to eat berries, that is until he discovers that he is a meat eater. For a child, this is beyond frightening, you can imagine. But later on, he himself adopts a young Ankylosaurus and names him Umasou, which is Japanese for "Delicious." The movie has a very simple style, similar to that of the books, but is animated incredibly well.

Jungledryet Hugo and Hugo the Movie Star: A Danish film about an unusual animal who natives call Hugo. He's a mischievous bear/primate type of animal, very cunning and playful. Since he's the only animal of his kind, he gets abducted by humans. He escapes onto a banana boat and finds himself in the city, where he meets an equally spunky fox named Rita. It's a story about true friends and what lengths Rita goes through to make sure her best friend gets on the banana boat back to his homeland. Hugo the movie Star has a similar plot, but expands on their relationship, and shows how Hugo would really function in a forest. Again, movies with great fluid animation. I prefer the Danish version to the English version. The singing is better, and more scenes are left in silence and leaves a really big impact on the mood.

Leafie, A Hen Into The Wild: A Korean movie about a hen who escapes her barnyard and lives in the wild. Well, it goes way deeper than that. She meets a duck warrior, wards off a fearsome one-eyed weasel, and adopts a duckling as her own. It sounds very simple, but this movie has a way of yanking at your heartstrings when they've just been tugged. It's a beautiful combination of 2D and 3D, with amazing characters, designs, acting, with stunning visuals. It hadn't been translated into English yet tho.

Felidae: A German 2D animated movie, FOR ADULTS. I want to make that quite clear for those interested. It has a Disney-esque plot, about a cat named Francis who tries to solve a murder mystery. Sounds cute right? Yeah, about that. This movie is not cute. The first line in the story told by Francis himself is "I have a story to tell you, and it's not going to be pretty." And that's your fair warning. It's a frightening movie that hardly spoonfeeds it's audience, and really makes you think about more than the case our hero is trying to crack. I prefer the English version to the German version.

Summer Wars: A Japanese film about a young boy who goes to meet his girlfriend's family during the summer. Being quite computer savvy, he solves a mysterious riddle he received through email, and that sets lose the Apocalypse of all viruses called Love Machine. In this world, everything is run by one company who goes by the name of Oz, and Love Machine brings fourth unfathomable chaos to the world. It deals with the scary concept of everything being digitally run, and important family issues that I think everyone should learn. It's animated by the same people who animated The Digimon Movie and has similar concepts, only directed towards a teen/adult audience.

Since animated movies are my movies of choice, I only listed animated movies xD I recommend them to anyone tho. Well, I don't recommend cat lovers, or the easily disturbed folks to check out Felidae. I really don't.

[tacobob]

I love me some Asian horror movies. The original "The Eye" (Not the remake) was very cool. And I cannot recommend 'House' (1977) any further. I WAS going to post the trailer, but it's not suitable for this board. Just Youtube it. It's weird, bloody and downright crazy. Watch it!

[MyLittlePonyTales]

I think I would have liked Felidae more if it was a kids movie, but that just me. Animation wasn't terrible and story was interesting, I guess. I didn't know what to expect upon first watching it, and I thought it was a kids movie because hey, animated cats! D:

Also, summary of Summer Wars:

It was a good movie, but had kind of a 'what?' factor throughout. Japan, you so crazy.

[sarcatsic]

I think I would have liked Felidae more if it was a kids movie, but that just me. Animation wasn't terrible and story was interesting, I guess. I didn't know what to expect upon first watching it, and I thought it was a kids movie because hey, animated cats! D:

Also, summary of Summer Wars:

It was a good movie, but had kind of a 'what?' factor throughout. Japan, you so crazy.

Well, you have to admit, Francis did warn you LOL And considering what the movie's about, it would hardly work as a kid's movie.

[Tenkan]

Well, I remember watching a German war movie once called Stalingrad. Although it came out in the early nineties, the effects were pretty decent and the story telling was still great and it actually told quite a tragic tale about how the soldiers of the battlefield were forgotten.

Such a story can be implimented in all unjustified wars that have passed through history.

Plus, the music was pretty awesome and watching it always makes me wanna play the first Call of Duty game.

[weesh]

[Edit]

I seem to have misread your first post tales.

So, here's a topic for foreign and/or underrated animated films.

Does that mean:

Foreign animated films or underrated animated films

OR

Foreign films or underrated animated films

?

I read it as the second one and none of these are animated...

[/Edit]

Wow, so far I haven't heard of any of movies you guys have mentioned.

Well, I've got to start with the Italian "Life is Beautiful" which is my number one spot for all movies, not just the foreign category. It is about a jewish man who shelters his son from the horrors of the holocaust. It is touching, romantic, tragic, funny, and incredibly redemptive. I've seen it ten times and I always cry.

"Run Lola Run" is definitely interesting. A German movie that tells the same story three times. It is quite thought provoking, and yanks you around the emotion block.

"Shall we Dance" is my favorite Japanese movie, edging out "Seven Samurai" "Yojimbo" and "Letters from Iwo Jima". It is a fascinating story of a man who falls in love with Ballroom dancing. And I could never do it justice in a paragraph.

However, the craziest, strangest and funniest foreign film on my list is "Waterboys" which is also Japanese. It features the startup of a male synchronized swimming team. It is hard to find a legal copy unfortunately, so on the off chance that any of you are interested, you are probably out of luck. The rest of you have been spared.

"The Dish" is a movie I would recommend to almost anyone. It is based on the true story of the Australian antenna that kept track of the Apollo mission rockets as they traveled to and from the moon when the earth was facing the wrong direction for the American antenna. Cute, silly, cultural, historical, and lots of fun. (96% on rotten tomatoes!)

And I will conclude with a 1980 Jackie Chan film: "Young Master". This is the best of his movies (the second ever that he wrote, the second ever that he directed, and he is the star). The action is phenomenal, the humor is mostly visual and it translates wonderfully. The weapons used range from a war fan to a bench to a long fragile pipe to a dress. While not artsy or beautiful like "Crouching Tiger", "Fearless" or "Hero" it nevertheless has a firmer grasp of my heart.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

[Edit]

I seem to have misread your first post tales.

Does that mean:

Foreign animated films or underrated animated films

OR

Foreign films or underrated animated films

?

I read it as the second one and none of these are animated...

[/Edit]

ALL animated, foreign or underrated (or both), although underrated tends to equal foreign anyway. Oh well, leave 'em up anyway.

"Run Lola Run" is definitely interesting. A German movie that tells the same story three times. It is quite thought provoking, and yanks you around the emotion block.

I watched this for a Cinema class. It is quite interesting and fun to maybe analyze/speculate about, and there isn't a lot of speaking so you aren't even distracted by subs!

[SilverSwirl]

The Triplets of Belleville- It's a French animated film about saxophone playing triplets, the French mafia , and a little boy. It's a visual knockout.

[carameldelight]

Sophie's Revenge- A Chinese film about a comic book artist trying to get revenge on an ex-boyfriend. You can watch it on Netflix with subtitles ^ ^

Azumi- a Japanese action film about a female assassin raised in the country with 9 other orphans to kill evil warlords, classic shogun film.

[Tempest Rime]

Wouldn't the European folks on the forum consider any Hollywood films foreign?

I liked Pontypool, but that was Canadian, so it's not really that foreign, though there are a few bits in french. It's a very atmospheric horror film.

I haven't seen the American remakes, but Let The Right One In and the original The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo were excellent.

If you want something weird, there's always French films, like Dark Portals: The Chronicles of Vidocq.

And of course, if you like kung fu movies, you can't go wrong with the first three Once Upon A Time in China films. Some of Jet Li's finest right there.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Wouldn't the European folks on the forum consider any Hollywood films foreign?

(╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻

Well... considering we the forum is strictly English... Meh, I assume most of the people on here are American, but you're welcome to mention things from your own country if you're outside of the US.

[Ginger Mint]

hi hi

I have to admit that Pinkie Pie reminds me an awful lot of Guido from Life is Beautiful, and Run Lola Run is still one of my favorite movies.

Rashomon isn't underrated, but it is foreign and definitely worth a watch.

Out of all the movies I watched back when I was learning German, Metropolis and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, were two of my favorites. I really want to see the recently discovered, previously lost footage from Metropolis, but I haven't had a chance yet.

There's probably more that I'm just not thinking of at the moment... I'm always bad at remembering these things until I'm reminded of them by something.

[weesh]

I have to admit that Pinkie Pie reminds me an awful lot of Guido from Life is Beautiful

Wow I can see a lot of parallels. The greetings, the playful attitude, the outlook on life, the desire to make others happy, making the most of depressing situations, etc. That rock farm was severely depressing too, which I hate to compare to Guido's situation, but I can't get it out of my mind.

Also, I finally thought of a foreign animated movie! From France comes "Persopolis" which is about growing up in Iran during the revolution. It is a roller coaster ride, and the ending is very sad. However, I found it completely fascinating, and the main character is wonderful. It was so easy to empathize with her. To feel her pain, and to want her to find her way. It is a very well done film, in an very aesthetic style.

[carameldelight]

Wow I can see a lot of parallels. The greetings, the playful attitude, the outlook on life, the desire to make others happy, making the most of depressing situations, etc. That rock farm was severely depressing too, which I hate to compare to Guido's situation, but I can't get it out of my mind.

Also, I finally thought of a foreign animated movie! From France comes "Persopolis" which is about growing up in Iran during the revolution. It is a roller coaster ride, and the ending is very sad. However, I found it completely fascinating, and the main character is wonderful. It was so easy to empathize with her. To feel her pain, and to want her to find her way. It is a very well done film, in an very aesthetic style.

Persepolis is based on the comic books of the same name, the comics are excellent. ^__^

[Lux]

I liked Rasomon and The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari.

Others I like are Crouchng Tiger Hidden Dragon, Spirited Away, and The Illusionist

[weesh]

Persepolis is based on the comic books of the same name, the comics are excellent. ^__^

I actually picked up the comic from a bookshelf once, and started browsing. The art was identical, and many lines were verbatim with the movie so I decided that the returns on reading it would be very low. If I had never seen the movie, I am sure that I would have eaten it up.

[Kirby Krackle]

Japan is easy. Let's talk about Italy. Life is Beautiful. My personal favorite. Manly tears, WWII and all that.

[tacobob]

Let’s not forget about Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s “Sweet Home”, which became an NES video game, and then sort of remade as the video game series, ‘Resident Evil.”

[Karnaloth]

DeadSnow is amazing, its basically about a Finnish group of friends going on a snow vacation where they have this shack in the middle of nowhere, at one night some old man appears and tells them that the area has a history. During WWII greedy and devilish Germans had tortured everyone there, taking all their jewels and other neaties. however, they are SO greedy that when somebody would steal any of their 'treasure' they'd come back from the dead to reclaim what they think is theirs.

Its rated thriller with a combination of mild humour, though I'd consider it a funny movie rather then a scary one.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

The Plague Dogs was a good one. Although it was made in the UK and therefore always in English, it could still technically be called foreign because it wasn't made in the US.

I'm not sure how I found this movie or where I watched it (perhaps YouTube), but it was a pretty good and interesting movie from what I recall.

Note that this movie is PG-13, so while it's a cartoon... it's a cartoon in the same way that Watership Down is a cartoon. Not for kids!

Speaking of which, Watership Down is another UK movie that many people will probably tell you is worth a watch. Again, not for kids. D: I made the mistake of watching it not knowing what it was. 'Hey, a cartoon about rabbits I've never heard of.' There was also a series made from it, which I don't think was as good but was made for kids. Had 3 seasons, if I remember right. Started to go down hill with the last one though.

Anyway, check out the Wiki page(s) and see if they pique your interest.