Top 10 Favorite Foreign Films | Golden Skate

Top 10 Favorite Foreign Films

BronzeisGolden

Medalist
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
I've been on a big foreign film kick lately (well, for the past several years). And, I seem to remember Liz saying she had been as well. What are your ten favorite foreign films?

1. "Like Water For Chocolate"
2. "Three Colors: Red"
3. "Amores Perros"
4. "Delicatessen"
5. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"
6. "Hero"
7. "Indochine"
8. "Amelie"
9. "Princess Mononoke"
10. "Das Boot"
 

Jill

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 17, 2003
Foreign Films

I LOVE to watch foreign films! It gives me a view of life that I would never see otherwise. A few of my favorites, in no particular order are:

1. Life is Beautiful (Italy)
2. Burnt By The Sun (Russia)
3. Like Water For Chocolate (Mexico)
4. Indochine (France)
5. Queen of Hearts (England)
6. Girl on a Bridge (not entirely sure if that's the title, from France, stars Vanessa Paradis-the luckiest woman on the planet because she snagged Johnny Depp)
7. Queen Margot (France)
8. Little Vera (Russia)
9. Wuthering Heights (ancient film from Spain)
10. The Story of Adele H (France)

There is another film from Russia that I really like but can't recall the name. It's about three good friends and how their lives enfold. One woman marries a famous hockey player, one is a single mom who finds love later in life, and I can't remember the other woman's story.

Honorable Mentions:
Belle Epoque (Spain)
Nueva Reinas (Argentina)
 

Ravyn Rant

Totally 80s Dance Party!
Medalist
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
I'm at work, so I'm hurrying. More later if I can, but here's seven, in no particular order:
Japan:
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams
Throne of Blood
Shall We Dance
Spain:
Carlos Saura's Flamenco films, especially Carmen
Mexico:
Like Water for Chocolate (seen it 30 times and it still makes me cry!)
France:
Story of Adele H.
Jean de Florette / Manon of the Spring
Ireland:
The Snapper (okay, I admit it, I've got a 'thing' for Colm Meaney)
Happy Friday everybody!
Rave
 

Longhornliz

Final Flight
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
The Three Colors Trilogy (france)
Amelie (france)
Mostly Martha (germany)
Manon des sources (france)
Hsi Yen (The Wedding Banquet, China)
Yin shi na nu (Eat Drink Man Woman, China)
La Dolce Vita (Italy)
Como auga para chocolate (Mexico)


There are so many more I love!!! But this will do for now.
Honorable Mentions-
My wife is an Actress (france)
Le Ballon Rouge (france)
Life is Beautiful (italy)
Osama (afganistan)
Love me if you dare (france)
 
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Kateri

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 22, 2004
Ummmm....

Princess Mononoke
The City of Lost Children
Amelie
The Happiness of the Katakuris (sp?)
The Eye
Volcano High
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Akira


am sure there's lots more, will have to think harder!

k.
 

STL_Blues_fan

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 24, 2004
Jil, the Russian movie you are thinking of is the Moscow does not believe in tears, which won an Oskar for best foreign film in 1981 (?). The other woman married at the start of the movie, and had a happy middle-classs life and family.

Since I was born in Russia, many of my all time favorite movies are Russian, so I will limit my choice to mostly non-Russian and those Russian that should be available in North America.

1) The Princess and the warrier - Germany
2) Queen Margot - France
3) To Live - China
4) Fonfan the Tulip - really old (black and white) from France
5) East-West - joint French and Russian
6) Belle Dejour (sp?) - France
7) Bosa Nova - Brazil
8) Moscow does not believe in tears - USSR
9) Irony of fate - USSR
10) Can't change the meeting palce - USSR

Honorable mentions:

Trainspotting - UK
Acid house - UK
Run Lola run - Germany
Amelie - France
 

soogar

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 18, 2003
My favorites:
Y Tu Mama Tambien
All About My Mother
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Life is Beautiful
The Chinese film directed by Joan Chen where they sent Chinese youth to live in the country ( I forget the title)
Eat, Man, Drink, Woman
Spirited Away
Run Lola Run
Girl on a Bridge

This isn't a foreign film but since most of it is in subtitles: The Joy Luck Club
 

RoaringMice

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 1, 2003
Tampopo - from Japan, about a woman running a noodle shop. It's very funny.

La Cage Aux Folles - from France, a quirky piece remade as "The Birdcage" in the US. Although La Cage is a better film than The Birdcage, I've watched The Birdcage more times because of Hank Azaria's performance as the "butler" Agador Sparticus. He's wonderful and carries the film.

My Beautiful Laundrette - from England, with a young and beautiful Daniel Day Lewis.

Brigid Jones' Diary - from England and Hollywood. Very cute.

Four Weddings and a Funeral - from England, absolutely wonderful, especially the first 5 minutes.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon - from China.

The Wedding Banquet - from China or Taiwan, very sweet and poignant.

The Snapper - Ireland. It's very funny. The book is better.

Brideshead Revisited - from England. Although this is a tv miniseries, so doesn't really count, it's one of my favorite films of all time. It's better than the book.

And lastly, Jackie Chan movies, out of Hong Kong. I like even bad Jackie Chan movies.
 

Glacierskater

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
I have seen some of these, have some of these, an I am jotting down the rest to get. Thanks for this thread. I found it very interesting!

Oh, and off the top of my head:

Warrior and the Princess
Amelie
Queen Margot
Pride and Prejudice (do British productions count as foreign?)

I saw one that was a Chinese story flashback about a couple that lived in a poor village and he went away to the way, then came back...surprisingly good

Another in Spanish about an orphanage in Mexico in the 1920's or 1930'...supernatural ghost story...again, good

Thanks for the info all....NETLFIX, here I come!
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
My favorite Foreign films include Australian movies:

My Brilliant Career
The Getting of Wisdom
Picnic at Hanging Rock
Breaker Morant
Galipoli
The Whale Rider - more recent
Babe
Moulin Rouge
Walkabout

Also other foreign films:

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Red Firecracker, Green Firecraker
Seven Years in Tibet
Raise the Red Lantern
Last Emperor
The Joy Luck Club

I forgot a couple:

A Passage to India
and of course The Lord of The Rings - outstanding!

More than 10 here!....
 
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Longhornliz

Final Flight
Joined
Apr 1, 2004
I guess when I was making my list of favorites I didnt take into consideration that many of my favorite films are foreign even though they are not foriegn language films. For example, Joy Luck Club is probably on my top 10 fav movies of all time... but I forget that the filmaker is not american.... And I had never stoped to consider how many big hollywood productions are foreign. I love the lord of the rings trilogy, and they are of new zealand, which I guess might make them a foreign picture... but it seems like they shouldnt be on the same list as a french art film.
 
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