Foreign Film – The Film Ramble

Amores Perros (2000): Available on Amazon Prime

April 12, 2020April 12, 2020Posted in Film, ReviewTagged Amores Perros, Foreign Film, Innaritu, MexicoLeave a comment

While the film was starting, a note came up. However, I didn’t read it as it was in Mexican and I was sorting out my subtitles. The note, it turns out, stated that “No dogs were harmed in the production of this film”. This is a rather big indicator that if you don’t like animal violence, Amores Perros may not be the film for you.For those who can deal with such imagery, Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s debut film (before he went on to win Oscars for Birdman and Revenant), shows a gritty tale about crime in Mexico’s slums with great vigour.

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Review: Portrait Of A Lady On Fire

March 9, 2020March 9, 2020Posted in Film, ReviewTagged Adele Haenel, Foreign Film, French Film, Noemie Merlant, Portrait of a lady on fire1 Comment

International films now have an unintended burden upon them. After Parasite’s rousing success at the Oscars (and of course in my own awards), any foreign film coming out soon will be compared to it. Portrait Of A Lady On Fire was my first foreign cinematic endeavour since Parasite, so with a lot to be compared against, how did it do? Well, quickly put, not badly.

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Review: Parasite

February 4, 2020February 4, 2020Posted in Film, ReviewTagged Bong Joon Ho, Foreign Film, Korean Film, Parasite, Park So Dam, Song Kang Ho4 Comments

Page 1: Full Review, No Spoilers

I went into Parasite blind. Even when there was a trailer on in the cinema, I shut my eyes and this was good enough as I don’t speak Korean. I imagine this is the best way to watch the film and while I will only give away plot elements from the first 15 minutes, if you just want to know whether to watch it, here goes: Go and watch Parasite! It’s really freaking good!!! Sitting at work today, I could not get the film out of my head.

If you just closed the tab and are no longer reading, I don’t blame you. However, if you are still here, then lets begin.

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Twenty Eight Films of Summer

September 6, 2019Posted in Film, Look BackTagged Animation, Anime, Batman, Beyonce, Bollywood, Bradley Cooper, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Chris Pratt, Christian Bale, Christopher Nolan, Citizen Kane, Coen Brothers, Cold War, Cuba Gooding Jr., Danny Boyle, Di Caprio, Donald Glover, Fargo, Foreign Film, Frances McDormand, Green Book, Guardians, Guillemo Del Toro, Inception, Jack Nicholson, John Oliver, John Travolta, Liam Neeson, Lion King, Mahershala Ali, Marvel, Masaan, Matrix, Michael Shannon, Moon, Octavia Spencer, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Orson Wells, Pavel Pawolski, Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino, Regina King, Sally Hawkins, Sam Rockwell, Samuel L. Jackson, Shape of Water, Space Movie, Spiderman into the Spiderverse, Spirited Away, Studio Ghibli, Superhero, The Guilty, Tsotsi, Uma Thurman, Viggo Mortensen, William Macy, YesterdayLeave a comment

While the summer months should be spent outside enjoying the sun and getting a tan, others like watching movies. Anyhow, here is a brief review and ranking of all of the films I have watched this summer. It’s worth noting that such a variety of films are difficult to compare, so this is a blunt instrument. On a different day, they would’ve been ranked differently. Also, most of the films I watched were of high calibre and I’d have no trouble recommending at least the top 20 of them. If your favourite film isn’t near the top of the list, that’s more to the testament of the other films that anything against yours. There are some early summer films that I didn’t add to the list as I only started it in Mid June/ Early July (Sorry Toy Story 4) and some Summer Films I haven’t yet seen (Sorry OUATIH).

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Review: Still Walking

June 1, 2019August 5, 2019Posted in Film, ReviewTagged Foreign Film, Japan, Kore-EdaLeave a comment

Ninties comedy Seinfeld was regularly described as “a show about nothing”, yet it had enduring appeal. “Still Walking” is similar in this regard. The film is not story driven, but is a very human representation of a family dealing with grief and relationships.

Year of Release	2008
Language	Japanese
Director	Hirozaku Kore-Eda
Age Rating	U (Universal)

A friend of mine was considering whether to come along to this film, but decided not to as his reading around the film was that it seemed downbeat. Upon my return home, he asked whether this film about grief was really sad. Much to his disappointment, I replied that it wasn’t and that it made me chuckle quite a bit and that is of full credit to the director and his script. I first heard of Kore-Eda earlier this year when I went to watch the maginificent Shoplifters (Summary here). The characters in that film are likeable and you learn more throughout this journey.

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Review: Woman At War

May 24, 2019August 5, 2019Posted in Film, ReviewTagged Cinema, Foreign Film, Iceland, Woman At WarLeave a comment

In a world with Extinction Rebellion and Greta Thunberg, Woman at War feels very topical. Hanna (Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir) is an Icelandic eco-terrorist ready to take down the corporate world of polluting industry, whether this is through causing electrical faults or blowing up pylons.

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City of God (TFR Selects)

April 30, 2019August 5, 2019Posted in Film, SelectsTagged Brazil, City of God, Foreign FilmLeave a comment

TFR Selects Films are films which are hidden away deep in streaming services (NETFLIX UK OR AMAZON PRIME VIDEO UK). While there are some brilliant films which are great and easy to find, these are the ones which don’t quite garner as much attention, whether they are foreign language or small indy films.

Name	City Of God
Genre	Crime
Language	Brazilian (Portugese)
Available On (As of 30/04/19)	Netflix UK

City of God is a film about the lives of young men in poverty in Brazil’s slums. Starting out in the sixties with the three amigos, Shaggy, Clipper and Goose who commit petty crime for a living, our narrator Rocket takes us through this city building and gang crime escalating in the eighties.

This scene shows Lil ‘Ze trying to control the local area, dealing with young trouble makers.

Rocket himself grows up wanting to be a photographer, however this dream seems unlikely in his current financial situation. He is easily likeable and is one of many memorable characters. You have the relaxed gangster Benny, Carrot, Ned and psychotic antagonist Li’l Dice. While Rocket is our lead, the story rarely focuses around him. However, he gets more involved in events as him dream job takes him that way.

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Review: Foxtrot

March 26, 2019March 26, 2019Posted in Film, ReviewTagged Cinema, Foreign Film, Israel, ReviewLeave a comment

I like to eat marmite toast for breakfast. It has a distinct taste which I gain pleasure from. But if I have marmite every day, then after a few days the marmite gets boring and loses its pizzazz. However, if I have it once every three days and switch between cheerios, shreddies and marmite, then marmite always packs a punch.

Foxtrot is constant misery. Like marmite toast the sadness is always there. Very rarely does it pack a punch as you’re constantly feeling sadness but not really understanding what for.

Review: Border

March 20, 2019March 20, 2019Posted in ReviewTagged Film, Foreign Film, Review, Sweden, Swedish Film3 Comments

Upon walking out of my local cinema, I heard two people discussing the film that I had just watched. “What did you think of that?” said the female in an unsure voice. “I think it was a bit over-baked.” replied the male with equal lack of conviction. “I thought it was under-baked” replied the woman. They chuckled unsure of what to make of this truly strange movie. While not one for such metaphors, I understood their sentiment. When you walk out of a film like Border, you struggle to get your thoughts in order as you have been transported to a far off place. This film is one of the strangest I have seen and will see for a long time.

To understand the tone of this film think about what Guillermo Del Toro does to fairytales in making them more mature. Now think someone does a Del Toro to one of his films and makes in even more so. This is served up in the cinema and is our film for this week.

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Review: Capernaum

February 26, 2019February 27, 2019Posted in ReviewTagged Capernaum, Foreign Film, Nadine Labaki, Zain Al Rafeea4 Comments

It’s not very often that I will cry at a movie. It’s less often that I would do so at a cinema, however Capernuam proved the exception as I will admit I shed a tear.

There will be minor plot spoilers in this review. There are also some major plot spoilers, but I have kept them invisible until you press the “Click Here For Major Plot Spoilers” button, so don’t fear.

The English translation of capernaum is chaos and that is something you feel immediately in this film. Set on the streets of Lebanon, you are immediately grabbed by this wall of noise and overhead shots of the city. Whether its traffic, shouting or children crying, this film is constantly throwing things at you. Even on the roof, or at night, you can hear traffic below or see a child in poverty. You will not give you a moments respite.

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