Saturday, June 13, 2009

Top Foreign Films of the Decade

Foreign films have become increasingly more interesting to me over the years. They tend to convey more realistic, captivating stories than the typical box-office blockbusters. Living in Atlanta, I love stopping by Tara every month or so to catch a good independent/foreign film. I recommend doing the same.

Paste Magazine recently weighed in on their top 25 favorite foreign films of the decade. I've only seen three on this list, including #3 The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, #12 Amelie, and #16 The Class. I highly recommend The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. You can watch the trailer here:



What on this list have you seen? Any recommendations?

4 comments:

  1. I really hated "Diving Bell". I watch a lot of french movies.

    When my mom died, it was a slow process. Perhaps watching another person die slowly was too much, despite his accomplishment.

    ReplyDelete
  2. David,

    To prove myself a true cinephile, I’ll admit that I have seen all but five of the films listed here.

    There are some true gems in this list. I think you would enjoy “The Lives of Others” and “Paradise Now” tremendously. Scratch that. What am I thinking? All of the movies in this list are worth seeing.

    You should rent or buy them all. The ones I haven’t seen will be added to my queue today.

    Here are a few other titles that aren’t on the list but worth the rent. I tried to keep it diverse.

    After the Wedding – one of my top 5 favorite films
    Blue, White and Red Trilogy by Krzysztof Kieslowski
    The Bothersome Man
    This is England
    Waltz with Bashir
    The Orphanage
    Brothers
    Before Night Falls - A Julian Schnabel film. It features a great cameo by Johnny Depp
    Tell No One – a fun “Hitchcockian” thriller from France

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks Bailey! I'll check into those movies.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous1:51 PM

    I have seen a lot of the movies on that list, it's pretty good. I would like to suggest two films: Divine Intervention and Tokyo Sonata. The fomrer is an abstract look at the Palestinian/Isreali relationship from a Palestinian Director.

    Also, @Stephen, the list was a best of the decade and Kieslowski died in 1996. But I do love the three color trilogy.

    Cheers.

    Harless?

    ReplyDelete