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My wife grew up speaking Italian as a second language, and I took German in high school and college. But we haven't heard the language in so long that we've just about forgotten them.
Does anyone here happen to know of any good movies we could add to our Netflix queue that were filmed in either German or Italian and subtitled in English? We've already got Lola Rennt and La Vita e Bella, but aside from that the field is pretty well open.
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You might consider Gegen die Wand or Das Leben der Anderen. Haven't a clue as to what Italian films might be good.
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Der Untergang is the only German movie I've ever seen, and it left me stunned, amazed and a little disturbed.
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I was also going to recommend Il Postino. Another favorite Italian movie is Una Pura Formalita, although I can't vouch for Gerard Depardieu's accent (not being a native Italian speaker, or an Italian speaker at all for that matter). If you like classics, you might also check out Ladri di Biciclette.
As for German, I really like the two films Der Himmel uber Berlin and In weiter Ferne, so Nah!, but they should be watched in conjunction. Also, they are a little esoteric, so don't rent them expecting a Lola Rennt type experience.
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If it hasn't already been mentioned, what about that German flick that won best foreign film at the Oscars, robbing the Pan's Labyrinth,
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"Il postino" is not only my favorite foreign film, it may be my favorite movie of all time. "Mediterraneo" and "Il mostro" (with Roberto Benigni) are pretty amusing comedies.
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The Lives of Others is a fantastic German movie. It won the Oscar over Pan's Labyrinth last year. I don't know if that was just, but it's such a good movie that it's concievable.
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JonHecht may be thinking of "Into Great Silence," a documentary of sorts on a Carthusian monastery. If it isn't, I still recommend it. It is fabulous.
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I like Werner Herzog. Try Fitzcarraldo, and as companions pieces the documentaries Burden of Dreams and/or Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski (My Best Fiend). Fiend is not a typo for friend--Kinski and Herzog have a bizarre love/hate relationship.
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I was thinking of "The Lives of Others". Thanks, Javert for making up for me being too lazy to google it.
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Here is a list of the most "important" German films from the German wikipedia - you should find something to tickle your fancy. I might be nipping off to amazon.de myself...
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*ahem* Broken Lizard is a Canadian comedy troup, therefor I consider Beerfest to be a foreign film. Posts: 2596 | Registered: Jan 2006
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Wow, lots of great additions to my Netflix queue today. Thanks a lot everyone. I showed my wife The Bicycle Thief once, and she cried for hours. But I'll let you know what I think of the rest of them when they come.
Does anyone else watch foreign-language films to brush up their mad skillz? How does it work? Any non-German/Italian favorites?
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How about comedy, like Johnny Stecchino with Roberto Benigni? It's the only Italian movie I remember watching, and I found it mildly entertaining. Grented, that was a long time ago and I was an easily amused youth, but still.
*EDIT* As for other films, the only others I remember watching are Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (which I loved) and Mujeres Al Borde De Un Ataque de Nervios (which wasn't my style, but a decent movie nonetheless. Nominated for an Oscar and, for you ladies, has Antonia Banderas speaking Spanish).
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I actually found watching Pan's Labyrinth to be helpful in brushing up on my Spanish. It was fun to pick out the differences between the way things were actually worded and the way the subtitles were written.
I'd recommend some Asian movies, but don't know how you feel about "over the top" John Woo violence and gunplay with movies like The Killer, Hard Boiled and others.
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There are so many good German movies! I second Goodbye Lenin, and you should also try The Edukators , The Harmonists, and Sophie Scholl: The Final Days.
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quote:Originally posted by Speed: Any non-German/Italian favorites?
Most of my favorite foreign movies are French. Particular favorites are Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources, Ponette, Les Parapluies de Cherbourg. I've got it on good authority that I will love Au Revoir, Les Enfants as soon as it gets to the top of my recommendation stack.
I'm also a big fan of Babette's Feast (Danish), Eat, Drink, Man, Woman (Chinese/Mandarin), Raise the Red Lantern (Chinese/Mandarin).
I'm sure I'll think of some more soon.
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quote:Originally posted by Nighthawk: Mujeres Al Borde De Un Ataque de Nervios (which wasn't my style, but a decent movie nonetheless. Nominated for an Oscar and, for you ladies, has Antonia Banderas speaking Spanish).
My 10th grade Spanish teacher showed it to us in class. We were a little wierded out. My teacher said she wouldn't have shown it to us if she had watched it first. It was a rather strange movie to watch in school.
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I really enjoyed the Italian L'ultimo baccio. It was remade by Zack Braff into "The Last Kiss," but the original is smart and funny.
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quote:Originally posted by Eduardo St. Elmo: You might consider Gegen die Wand or Das Leben der Anderen. Haven't a clue as to what Italian films might be good.
Seconded here, though he may be more likely to find it if he knew it by its English title..."The Lives of Others."
I saw the film two nights ago and totally adored it. It deserved that Oscar!
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I second (or third) "The Lives of Others" and "Der Untergang" (The Downfall.)
Morbo: "Fitzcarraldo" was actually filmed in English. Herzog said he preffered the dubbed German version though.
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For Spanish viewers, try "El milagro de P. Tinto". It's one of my favourite films, and well worth and airing.
"Sin noticias de Dios" is another good one, to see Ms. P. Cruz acting in her native tongue.
I agree with Ph about Pan's Labyrinth. It's a good film, but I needed the subtitles.
Frecnh cinema has a wide and varied selection, but for my money you can't beat the "Three Colours" trilogy or "Amelie". Bon chance!
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Oh, and if you want the "English as a Foriegn Language" experience, you could always try "Sir Henry at Rawlinson's End" a classic, and mostly forgotten. You might find it on *cough*eMule*cough* or somethng similar as it's no longer available in the shops.
quote:Originally posted by Nighthawk: Mujeres Al Borde De Un Ataque de Nervios (which wasn't my style, but a decent movie nonetheless. Nominated for an Oscar and, for you ladies, has Antonia Banderas speaking Spanish).
My 10th grade Spanish teacher showed it to us in class. We were a little wierded out. My teacher said she wouldn't have shown it to us if she had watched it first. It was a rather strange movie to watch in school.
Well, we watched Eyes Wide Shut in school... It was in junior high and we had this teacher who had real problems in keeping discipline and saying no to students.
Anyway, non-American films:
Au revoir les enfants is the best film ever made, and highly recommended. Other good French films about childhood (because let's be honest, the French make the best films about childhood in the world) include at least The 400 Blows and La classe de neige.
Les parapluies de Cherbourg - my favourite musical of all time even if other people than me usually find it unbearably cheesy.
Children of Paradise - considered to be the French "Gone with the Wind", an epic love story between a mime and the woman he loves in 1828 Paris. The movie was filmed during the Nazi occupation under downright impossible conditions, it's a wonder it got finished at all. Many of the film's extras were Resistance members who used the film as a cover in getting in touch with each other.
And if you want to see a newer French film, the 2004 film version of Arsène Lupin was quite fun even if the plot makes no sense. It did offer quite a beautiful steampunk world and a great performance by Kristin Scott Thomas as the main villain.
When it comes to Italian cinema, Battle of Algiers is definitely worth viewing since it's the best war movie ever made. Other good Italian films include The Gospel According to St. Matthew, The Trilogy of Life (actually that's three different films: Decamerone, Canterbury Tales and Arabian Nights) and the Don Camillo series. (Plus of course the italowesterns with Clint Eastwood...)
Spanish cinema: I'd recommend The Devil's Backbone by Guillermo del Toro which I enjoyed much more than his later, overrated Pan's Labyrinth.
A great German film not yet mentioned (I think) is Requiem about a girl who thinks she is possessed by demons. Based on a true story that also inspired the absolutely idiotic American film Excorcism of Emily Rose.
Farewell My Concubine - this film tells the story of China's history in the 20th Century through three people involved in the Beijing Opera. Very epic, and clearly establishes Gong Li as the best actress in the world. The film was banned in China due to its portrayal of the Cultural Revolution and of homosexuality.
Happy Together - the story of the rather destructive relationship of two gay guys from Hong Kong who are stranded in Buenos Aires.
If you want animation the Russian versions of Snow Queen and Jungle Book are a must see, as is Shakespeare: The Animated Tales, a collection of 12 short films made by the Russian masters for BBC.
Hmm... ok, that's just scratching the surface, I guess, but I don't have time for more right now. Hope this helps.
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Gong Li as the best actress in the world? Sounds far-fetched. I'll freely admit that the only thing I've seen her in is "Memoirs of a Geisha". Perhaps not the best example.
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I just finished watching The Lives of Others, and I had to come on here and say thank you to everyone who recommended it. I got it from Netflix, and as soon as the movie ended I ordered it from Amazon. I've never done that before, but that was one of the best movies I've ever seen in my life.
Usually when movies last more than 2 hours, even when they're good, I'm checking the clock by the end. But this movie was so well paced, the script was so tightly written, and it was so convincingly acted and directed, that I didn't even notice. Every plot point was necessary, logical, and totally gripping. One of the rare movies of its length that didn't have a single extraneous moment.
I could write an essay explaining everything I loved about that movie. But I'll just sum it up by saying that my wife and I both cried, and I'm sure I'll be pondering what I just saw for days. Thanks again, Hatrack gurus, for the stellar recommendation.
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quote: Farewell My Concubine - this film tells the story of China's history in the 20th Century through three people involved in the Beijing Opera. Very epic, and clearly establishes Gong Li as the best actress in the world. The film was banned in China due to its portrayal of the Cultural Revolution and of homosexuality.
Happy Together - the story of the rather destructive relationship of two gay guys from Hong Kong who are stranded in Buenos Aires.
Awesome movies. Two of the best ever. I can't even watch them again because it's so sad about Leslie Cheung.
I love Akira Kurasawa. He rules. And the Japanese version of Shall We Dance, it has this guy in it with pretty eyes, and a movie called Shower, I forgot the name of this Norwegian movie about 2 developemental disabled guys outside of an institution trying to live on their owns. Then there's 1900, that movie was cool. There's a lot more movies I like, but I can't think of them right now.
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