Foreign movies with and edge

Ron Temple

My wife's out of town helping out her sick and elderly mother, probably for another 3 weeks. In the meantime, I've been watching and ordering foreign films and got quite a few recs from a thread I started at AVS. Thought I'd share and look for anymore suggestions. What I asked for was foreign, edgy, not bothered by other the top violence, but good. As an example, I really enjoyed Let the Right One In, a Swedish vampire flick that was an uncommonly good movie. The recs don't need to be in any one genre, just good movies with low WAF. I'm watching them all with subs, as I hate bad dubbing.

Have watched...
Let the Right One In **** A sweet vampire love story , not exactly Twilight.

Oldboy **** Revenge flick, very well plotted and directed...ultra violent

Mongol **** Story of Genghis Khan, wonderful cinematography, compelling

Sukiaki Cowboy Django *** Japanese spaghetti western with cameos from Quentin Tarantino. Light, violent entertainment. The BD PQ was superb.

Audition *** 1/2 Middle aged Japanese movie producer, nice guy, widower, sets up an fake audition to find a suitable wife. His choice had consequences. A very well done film by Takashi Miike. A likeable cast until things start getting very dark...last 20 minutes not for the squeamish.

Timecrimes *** A low budget Spanish production, but cleverly done about a man caught up in a time paradox. You're caught up into this one immediately and don't have time to disbelieve the concept. It's being remade American.

Machine Girl **1/2 Another revenge flick, but featuring a silly over the top plot about a girl, a Yakuza/ninja family, lots of severed limbs, blood by the gallon, a machine gun arm and a drill bra. What more can you ask for.

I've got these coming...
Visitor Q - another Miike flick
The Isle - Korean
Martyrs - French
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance - Korean I think
Salo - French or Spanish
Irreversible - French or Italian
Imprint - Japanese
Ichi the Killer - Japanese
The Lives of Others - German I think
Thirst - can't remember

I'll update these as I go. If you're like me you might want to go off the reservation and try out new things now and then. Some of these films are just fun, some will stick with you. You've got to love Netflix. You can find most anything you want.

kuntasensei

My friends and I have been using the Netflix Party on the Xbox 360 to watch some of these together. Timecrimes was surprisingly very good, and Machine Girl was just plain crazy fun!

If you liked Machine Girl, check out Tokyo Gore Police. It's the same kind of over-the-top blood and guts. Also, for some decent Korean horror, check out the Pang Brothers' Re-Cycle (and also Forest Of Death, though I didn't like it as much).

lightman1

I own Mongol. One of the most gorgeous movies of all time. A must see, if not for the perfect storyline, but just for the cinematography.

Ron Temple

Ok, I watched Visitor Q tonight, another Miike film. It's indescribable because if I told you what I saw you wouldn't believe me. Let's just say that family matters went places I'd never thought I'd see...ever. For shock value and I've got to say this, entertainment, if you're very twisted (I guess I am), it's not to be missed. For the sick at heart it's *****. For those with sensibilities, you might want to pass. Yes, there's violence, but it's restrained in comparison to the violation of nearly every moral virtue of humanity...it held my interest and I'm slightly ashamed, but laughing just the same.

I loved Mongol it's great cinema

iskandam

I was so impressed with Visitor Q and its treatment of social taboos that I wrote a couple of papers on it for a couple of film classes in college If you liked Old Boy, you're definitely gonna enjoy Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. Salo and Irreversible are tough movies to sit through. The Lives of Others is a fantastic piece of filmmaking.

Also check out the new German flick Baader Meinhof Complex. Highly recommended

Knucklehead

I know we have all seen lots of films about **** Germany but I thought "Downfall" was absolutley brilliant. Best foreign fim Ive ever seen.

zombie boy 2000

Ichi the Killer and Oldboy are two of my all-time favorite flicks. You would be jealous of this video store they have in Louisville...

It's called Wild and Woolly Video and specializes in cult films and whacked out genres. They have a whole section just for zombie flicks. And a whole section for J-horror. And a whole section for apocalyptic biker movies. Grindhouse features... 50's Anti-Communist Sci-fi... Nunsploitation.... Freaknik... Thai Cinema. They even organize by such odd-ball directors as Fulci, Argento and Waters.

I love that place.

Ron Temple

iskandam wrote: »

I was so impressed with Visitor Q and its treatment of social taboos that I wrote a couple of papers on it for a couple of film classes in college If you liked Old Boy, you're definitely gonna enjoy Sympathy for Lady Vengeance. Salo and Irreversible are tough movies to sit through. The Lives of Others is a fantastic piece of filmmaking.

Also check out the new German flick Baader Meinhof Complex. Highly recommended

It would be easy to write off Visitor Q as just shock cinema, but there was an underlying intelligence and sensitivity to the piece that's pure genius. Takashi Miike is a talented film maker. Park is as well, I've got a couple more of his coming. Ichi the Killer is on my saved list, not available yet, with quite a few others. Not sure when NF will get these films.

Barefoot

Amores Perros

R/T - 92% http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/amores_perros/

Trailer - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5HTBYR7m0o

Ron Temple

Watched The Isle tonight. Think houseboats for munchkins on a lake, fishing, whores, a very beautiful but mute hostess that runs the establishment and turns tricks now and then and a suicidal cop with a past. It was interesting, but ultimately rundown and slightly depressing though the mute girl was gorgeous and strangely compelling. The symbolism at the end left you with a surreal feeling...as did the whole film. There's a disconnect behind my western viewpoint and Korean culture somewhere, but maybe that was just the surrealism. **1/2 stars

kevhed72

Swimming Pool...I believe it was produced by a French production co. - Canal Plus(?). Worth a rental and you may have to watch a couple times, which is a good thing on several levels for this movie...

The Election...in Chinese with sub-titles, was on IFC the other night. Very interesting story; newer movie I beleive; not everly edgey but very well made.

Sami

Ron Temple wrote: »

The Lives of Others - German I think

Excellent movie, also available in BD. Post WWII DDR (East Germany), big brother watching...

Danny Tse

kevhed72 wrote: »

The Election...in Chinese with sub-titles, was on IFC the other night. Very interesting story; newer movie I beleive; not everly edgey but very well made.

Wow....Simon Yam. Been watching him since I was a kid in the 70s.

Ron Temple

Did a double header tonight...

Salo - 1975 - Pasolini ...what a pile of ****...literally. When I asked for edgy recs at AVS several suggested this one. A group of libertine Fascists back in Mussolini's Italy for some reason kidnap a bunch of boys and girls to play out their insane sadistic fantasies on. I guess it had some message regarding facism and aristocracy, but it was a pretty boring rendition of their disgusting habits...negative 1 *.

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance *** a well done and fairly complex film about a woman falsely imprisoned for a kidnapping, sort of, who spends 13 years in prison plotting revenge...and of course she gets it. Nice performance, some slower parts, but there's some pathos along with interesting developments on the journey. The same guy that did Oldboy did this one.

kingtut

kevhed72 wrote: »

... The Election...in Chinese with sub-titles, was on IFC the other night. Very interesting story; newer movie I beleive; not everly edgey but very well made.

If you liked Election, you need to watch Election II. It' even more violent.

danz1906

Check this out: City of God

http://www.netflix.com/Movie/City_of_God/60026106?lnkctr=srchrd-sr&strkid=1967093055_0_0&strackid=773320ae3bef07d0_0_srl

MrNightly

I loved Banlieue 13. It was an awesome French flick. One of the best rides a couple years ago, that i had ever seen.

If you haven't rented it before, check it out.

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi446824729/

Billm57

pretty much anything by Takashi Miike

Ron Temple

MrNightly wrote: »

I loved Banlieue 13. It was an awesome French flick. One of the best rides a couple years ago, that i had ever seen.

If you haven't rented it before, check it out.

http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi446824729/

I'd seen that trailer before...is it good? Looks like a Jason Statham clone movie...over the top action, martial arts, ala Transporter franchise. Not that it's bad, pretty good light entertainment.

MrNightly

Ron Temple wrote: »

I'd seen that trailer before...is it good? Looks like a Jason Statham clone movie...over the top action, martial arts, ala Transporter franchise. Not that it's bad, pretty good light entertainment.

Dude,

It was the best movie of 2004 I thought. I absolutely loved it. It really wasn't over the top at all. The stunts at first I thought were crazy stupid, then I watched the making of it... not a single stunt person was used for the main guys. They did all of their own jumps and everything. Flat out slick as hell.

If you haven't seen it, go pick it up now! You will come away smiling... I know I did... multiple times! (Get your mind out of the gutter sicko's.. hah hah... )

Ron Temple

Caligula...** ...a historical epic with a great script that was totally trashed and turned into semi-**** (actual hardcore footage was edited in) by Penthouse producer Bob Guccione. Malcolm McDowell, though ridiculously dressed put in a very good performance. A young and very hot Helen Mirren also starred...wowser.

Masters of Horror: Imprint by Takashi Miike...***...this was done as a part of a Showtime collection. A 19th Century American journalist is seeking a lost love/prostitute on a pleasure island. He listens to a strange tale from a Shaharizade type hooker that's autobiographical and explains the fate of his love. This is a short film, about an hour, but interesting, done in english and features some pretty graphic stuff. Not great, but I enjoyed it.

Martyrs...(***)...a French horror film about a pair of young women seeking revenge for one of them's captivity and torture as a child, for no apparent reason, by an unknown family or group. They don't stay unknown and the mayhem continues, spiralling into very dark places as a conspiracy gets revealed. I put the stars in parentheses because this one is very disturbing. There's no question it's a well made, suspensful and horrifying film, but the level of brutality and cringe worthiness is hard to take. There's no humor in this one. It's relentless, shocking and chock full of WTF moments. In the extras, the director did a short introduction thanking his backers for the money and freedom to go places most won't want to experience...then he apologized to the audience for what he did...I have to agree with him.

My wife will be home in a week and I'm ready to get back to romantic comedies and chick flicks after watching this one.

mark090852

After The Wedding

Very emotional. Wife and I added it to our collection. We both loved it.

Ron Temple

Irreversible...**1/2 French...this is a revenge flick that starts chaoticly, the camera is spinning and swirling...it's the artsy trick of the movie...soon you realize that the scenes are coming in reverse, so that each cutaway takes you earlier in the story. Monica Belluci is brutally raped and her ex and current boyfriend seek revenge. It's a pretty simple story, but well acted. Monica get's naked which gave it half a star. The swirling camera work which is very distracting and makes it hard to focus, slows down as the story get's less and less chaotic. This film has developed kind of a cult. It's interesting, but ultimately, for me, just middling.

Surveillance...***...not foreign...directed by David Lynch's daughter Jennifer and she's just as twisted as her old man. Serial killers are doing bad things in a small SWtern town. A pair of FBI agents arrive shortly after a spree to take charge as they've been on the case for months. Bill Pullman and Julia Ormond give excellent performances in the darky, with some very black humor. I liked it.

Norm Apter

For those looking for something a bit different than typical Hollywood or even mainstream Hong Kong fare, I would strongly suggest several directed by Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai. Most of Wong's movies are set in the underbelly of the city (most often Hong Kong) and are populated by an array of marginalized figures who struggle to get by, there: smugglers, cops on the beat, prostitutes, professional killers, street stall workers, etc. You'll find some violence and sexual situations, but unlike most Hong Kong films, no kung fu. I can't recall a single martial arts scene from any of his 5 or 6 films. Wong simply is if anything not governed by convention.

There aren't really any central plot ideas and certainly no Hollywood-style resolutions at the end, but there are definately interesting themes (most frequently centered on the meanings and complexities of human relationships). These are not necessarily easy to watch -- they're a little offbeat with irreverant humor -- but if you give them time and patience, there is definately a payoff. Here are a few titles that I might suggest in the following order, adding that one of Wong's strengths aside from non-conventional cinematography is the soundtrack he adds -- you'll find everything from the songs California Dreamin and Happy Together to Portuguese ballads to Canto-pop in his films:

Chungking Express
In the Mood for Love
Fallen Angels
Happy Together
2046
Tears Gone By
Blueberry Nights*

* This is the only film of Wong's that I know of that is set in the West and stars Western actors and actresses: Jude Law and Nora Jones.

zombie boy 2000

Ron... anything else to add? I thought this thread had potential.

Ron Temple

Nah, it was a phase that I could only explore when the wife was away. We really haven't watched that many movies in the last few months. Ichi the Killer did show up eventually and I watched it not long ago. Meh...hanging folks from hooks through their skin must be a favorite personal fetish of Miike. This one didn't resonate with me.

polkfarmboy

A bloody aria asian great .. just like tarintino movie

John30_30

German film 2008- Anonyma, Ein frau in Berlin- A Woman in Berlin. Very powerful, autobiographical take on the Soviet occupation of Berlin prior to the end of WW II, Europe.
Gives a portrait of the Soviets we never got growing up, that their grunts and officers were basically the same as Americans; and a candid look at their interaction with the German civilian population of Berlin as the **** empire was crumbling.

Argentine Oscar winner Best Foreign Film 2009- El Secreto de sus Ojos. Man, oh man. The Oscars got this one right.

French- Un Proph