Foreign film variety: mid 1980s through 1990sFeb 26 '01 (Updated Dec 20 '03) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line Films from the 80s and 90s, from many different counties, with male and female leads, treating universal aspects of the human condition.
Here are some of my favorite foreign films. They're not necessarily the "best" films ever made, nor the ones with the most awards. I chose these because they represent various countries and genres, have both female and male leading roles, eschew special effects and other types of Hollywood manipulation, and treat universal aspects of the human condition. The order has nothing to do with my assessment of relative quality. They're also taken from the 1980s and 1990s, which tends to make them fit a bit better with modern tastes Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring (French, both 1987). One farmer's desire to grow carnations leads to the untimely deaths of four men, the near ruination of an entire village and the shocking revelation of a long kept secret. In the first film, Yves Montand is riveting as an amoral farmer who dupes his hunchback neighbor, Jean de Florette, played by Gerard Depardieu. Daniel Auteuil is simultaneously disgusting and tragic as the dimwitted carnation farmer. The second film takes up several years after the end of the first. It is a story of revenge, unrequited love, and ultimate triumph for Manon, the daughter of Jean de Florette, played by the strikingly beautiful Emmanuelle Beart. Both films are visual masterpieces, filmed lovingly in the villages, farms, vineyards and estates of rural Provence. In a completely different vein, La Femme Nikita (French, 1991) is Luc Besson's stylish, intelligent, high-energy thriller about a sociopathic drug addicted murderer transformed into a government assassin. This is the real thing, the original, not the scene-for-scene American remake, Point of No Return, or the insipid television series. Anne Parillaud's Nikita is like a punch to the solar plexus: aggressive, sexy, feral. Her desire to go straight tugs at the heart. Try to avoid the dubbed English version of this film. It's terrible. Even better, learn French. Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's (mostly) French language trilogy, Trois coleurs: Bleu, Blanc, Rouge (1993, 1994, 1994) is a true cinematic masterpiece, although the quality of the three films differs. The colors are those of the French flag, with their symbolic meanings of liberty, equality and brotherhood. In the first (and in my opinion, best) film, Julie (Juliette Binoche in a cold, somber performance), who has just lost her husband and daughter, desires anonymity but is drawn into the unfinished business of her former life. The classical music score is breathtaking. Blanc is the story of a hapless Pole, who divorced by his French wife, ships himself by air freight back to Warsaw, where he undergoes a rags to riches transformation. At times, the plot loses coherence, and the ending is a bit mysterious and unsatisfying. However, for the sake of fully enjoying the third film, it's worth seeing this one. Red completes the trilogy by examining the cautious relationship between a young fashion model and a cynical retired judge who eavesdrops on his neighbors' telephone calls. The film hints at odd mystical interconnections between people but makes no conclusion about whether they involve parallel lives, fate, or pure coincidence. The final scene ties the three films together in a mind blowing coincidence. Como Agua Para Chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate) (Mexico, 1993) is difficult to categorize. It combines elements of a love story, fantasy, comedy and drama with a heavy dose of magical realism. Because of a family tradition upheld by her selfish mother, youngest daughter Tita (played fetchingly by Lumi Cavazos) may never marry, but must take care of her mother in her old age. Her childhood sweetheart settles for marriage to her sister in order to remain close to Tita who sublimates her continuing passion by cooking elaborate dishes which have magical emotional effects on those who eat them. This film has a magical and sensual aura throughout. The language in this film is beautiful. I spent two years learning Spanish just so I could watch it without reading the subtitles. Eat Drink Man Woman (Taiwan, 1994) is a warm hearted comedy with food and sexuality at its core. Mr. Chu, a widower and master chef who has lost his sense of taste, lives with his three thoroughly modern daughters. Their ritual Sunday dinners, for which Chu spends days cooking elaborate dishes, are a forum for tattered emotions, stormy relationships and surprise announcements as all four of them negotiate the subtleties of family life, independence, male-female relationships, and good food. The scenes of cooking and eating are mouthwatering, and the ending is a very pleasant surprise. Raise the Red Lantern (China 1991) is the beautifully filmed chronicle of the life of a young woman (played by the ubiquitous and beautiful Gong Li) who becomes "Fourth Mistress" to a powerful (and almost never seen) lord. She enters a household with strict and inflexible social traditions where being in the master's favor means everything. Each mistress has her own "house" within the master's compound, and red lanterns are ceremonially hung in front of the house whose mistress he will favor that night. While maintaining a superficial sisterhood, the mistresses secretly plot to gain favor for themselves and create disfavor of the others. Shall We Dance (Japan 1996) is a warm comedy drama about a repressed and drab middle aged businessman, bound by a dull job, a mortgage and Japanese social norms to bottle up his malaise, who finds an outlet for self-expression in ballroom dancing (a pursuit which is considered rather perverse, as the film makes clear on several occasions). Attracted at first by a beautiful woman he sees through the window of a dance studio, he eventually discovers that he enjoys the challenge of becoming a good dancer. Of course, he has to hide his pursuit from his wife and daughter. As we follow him, we also get to meet a host of interesting characters, including the hilarious Mr. Aoki. The film provides an interesting glimpse into Japanese family life, especially the way husband-wife relationships differ from American norms. Ran (Japan 1985) is a visual masterpiece from Akira Kurosawa. It's more or less Shakespeare's King Lear transformed into the tragedy of a sixteenth century Japanese warlord. This is one of the most visually stunning films I've ever seen, so watch it at least once on the largest screen possible without reading the subtitles. The acting is stylishly formal and "in your face," and the battle scenes are fast and harrowing. For my individual reviews of several foreign films, check out: Jean de Florette & Manon of the Spring Trois Coleurs: Bleu (Blue) Trois Coleurs: Rouge (Red) Saura's Carmen Amores Perros  |
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