When it comes to foreign movies many people are
apprehensive. It could be the culture
differences or even the subtitles that scare people away. Foreign films have come up with some of the
most original and clever material around.
Still, many feel that only artsy types watch foreign movies. Here are a few great movies from around the
world that you can watch to broaden your horizons.
10. Haute Tension – France
Haute Tension, or High Tension as it was called in the
United States, tells the story of two girls on a trip to visit their family. A killer arrives and brutally murders the
entire family; it becomes a game of survival for the two remaining girls. It is a strange and dark story that does not
skimp on violence and gore. While it is not the most critically acclaimed movie,
it has a certain sense of style that should not be overlooked and certainly is underrated. The twist is wildly outlandish but probably
not the worst you’ll see. If goofy twists were banned then 90% of the movies in
Hollywood would never get made.
9. Kung Fu Hustle –
Hong Kong
Take a Kung Fu movie and mix it with Looney Tunes style
humor and that is what you will get out of Kung Fu Hustle. In the 1930’s a Shanghai gang called the Axe
Gang are terrorizing a tenement building.
A local low-life finds himself entangled in the gang and eventually must
figure out a way to fight them off. It
is a fun, action filled movie that is very enjoyable. The characters are wild
and cartoonish and steal every moment they are on screen.
8. Dead Snow - Norway
A group of youths are enjoying some time vacationing in a
cabin when they awaken Nazi Zombies that are after their gold. Yes, it’s as silly as it seems. The action is over the top and the movie is
very aware of how ridiculous it is. The music continually plays along with the
humor of film. For example, In the Hall of
the Mountain King is played during a chase scene. As outrageous as this movie is, there are a
lot of great moments that make it a very worthwhile movie experience.
7. Suspiria - Italy
A dance school is the scene of some grisly murders. It turns
out that the school houses a secret coven of witches. It’s an eerie tale that is colorful and
almost nightmarish in it’s content. The
effects are good and there are plenty of shocking and wince worthy moments. For
example, a girl crawls into a window and falls directly into a huge pile of
barbed wire and becomes stuck in it. Grit your teeth and give it a watch.
6. District 9 – South Africa
A group of aliens that landed in Johannesburg in 1982 are
living in slums called District 9. A man
comes to relocate them and is sprayed by a mysterious chemical that makes him
start turning into one of the aliens.
Now a weapons manufacturer and groups of gangs are all out to get a
piece of him. The acting, the effects, and
the story for this movie are fantastic.
Anyone who is a fan of sci-fi should give this a watch. It is a great
movie that will impress any that see it.
It will certainly lead to some interesting conversations once the
credits start to roll.
5. Ginger Snaps - Canada
Two teenage sisters are moping about their suburban lives
when a werewolf attacks. Slowly, she
becomes more promiscuous and more of a wild child while the other tries to find
a way to stop the transformation. It’s a
unique take on a girl’s coming of age story.
The effects make the film a really fun movie to watch. The girls are both decent actors and they
have a real chemistry that makes them seem related. It had two sequels as well in case you wanted
to further the story after this movie.
4. [REC] - Spain
[REC] is the story about the host of a late night reality show
following firefighters for the evening.
The movie is shot from the point of view from the cameraman. The firefighters go into an apartment
building and become trapped there as it becomes quarantined. Rage zombies attack them and the survivors
must do what they can to survive. The
movie has decent acting, likable characters, and an interesting story. You
really grow to care for the character of Angela and you want her to live
through this ordeal. It ended up getting two sequels with a third on the way.
It was also the original of an American remake called Quarantine and an unrelated Quarantine
2.
3. Battle Royale - Japan
Classes of school children are picked at random to be taken
to a small island. They are given random
weapons and then told to kill each other within a certain amount of time or
they will be killed. The kids must fight
for survival, make amends with one another, try to fight the system and in some
cases kill themselves. It is a very
interesting character story as well as wildly entertaining to think about what
you would do in this Lord of the Flies style situation. The film is violent and actually pretty
emotional at times. The kids are interesting and all have unique plans to
survive the truly awful experience.
2. Let the Right One In - Sweden
A young boy befriends a young girl in his apartment
building. She helps him deal with being
bullied and he discovers that she is a vampire.
Can their friendship last? It’s beautiful movie that is really one of
the best vampire stories I’ve ever seen.
It has great acting, amazing atmosphere, and is dark in all the ways
that you expect a vampire movie to be. It
has an ending that is both incredibly lovely and incredibly bittersweet. It was remade in the United States starring
Chloe Grace Moretz.
1. Old Boy - South Korea
A man is kidnapped and trapped in a room for fifteen years. There he has nothing to do but exercise and
plan out his revenge- should he ever get out.
One day he wakes up and he is free. Naturally, he goes out on a violent
vengeance streak. The movie is brutal
and wonderfully filmed. It has the
brilliance of a plot put together by the Count of Monte Cristo. With every action it shows raw emotion ad
great intensity. The finale is so raw
and well done. There is an American
remake that will be coming out soon starring Josh Brolin.
There are millions of movies all over the world. If you are
willing to give some a try you might find a true diamond in the rough. No matter what the genre you can find
something new and impressive. Let go of your sheltered sensibilities and use
your passport to the world in films. You might just like what you find in your
travels. If you don’t enjoy the film, the worst you have done is waste a couple
hours of your life; you have nothing to lose.
