Obscure, Independant, and foreign films [Archive]

Rad

08-08-2008, 07:14 AM

Poisonedv

08-08-2008, 08:04 AM

IN AFTER SPOILERS
it is a good movie though

Muz

08-08-2008, 10:49 AM

I'd rather watch foreign films than local ones. All the films created in my country suck. Except very few rare romance/historic ones.

rhystuck

08-08-2008, 05:00 PM

Whenever I see the DVD cover for Pan's Labyrinth I think the girl is walking through a giant vagina.

etnlIcarus

08-08-2008, 10:44 PM

Pan's Labrynth is excellent. Granted it's probably the most mainstream foreign film I know of if you haven't seen it you should really take a look. Contrary to what the previews show its not really a fantasy movie. The child instead uses fantasy as a mean to escape the horrors of the Spanish civil war going on around her.

Pan's Labyrinth is terribly overrated. It relied on the vague and awkward combination of fantasy and a post-civil-war Spain in turmoil and the script never really used this juxtaposition to any real metaphorical or narrative effect. The end result, while pretty, is a disjointed and somewhat superficial film with nothing much to say about it's own themes and a befuddled director/writer, who himself is at odds to explain his own film beyond it's influences.

As for other films which fit the title criteria, the only foreign films I've seen recently were Sex and Lucia and the live-action Death Note adaptations.

The former is gratuitous but has some rather interesting non-linear storytelling, plays on a lot of classic tragedy and (a regularly naked) Paz Vega makes for a very visually appealing title character.

The latter is worse than it's animated counterpart. Some bizarre choices were made in the production of this rather cheap and celluloid film and the conclusion portrays a certain level of cowardice on the part of it's writers; with an unwillingness to maintain the film's moral and character ambiguity into the closing credits.

Poisonedv

08-09-2008, 12:03 AM

So, yeah, pans labyrinth is pretty cool huh?

etnlIcarus

08-09-2008, 12:07 AM

I'd rather watch Death Note again. At least it's mildly intelligent.

Poisonedv

08-09-2008, 12:09 AM

Yeah, pans labyrinth sure is great.

etnlIcarus

08-09-2008, 12:11 AM

Hmm, perhaps that was a bit of an overstatement.

Poisonedv

08-09-2008, 12:15 AM

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/3073/405pxteethposterbh3.jpg
VAGINA DENTATA

It's a horror/black comedy, but you won't be laughing at that, you'll be laughing at the hilarious feminist bullshit

etnlIcarus

08-09-2008, 12:42 AM

Where the Boys Aren't is about as feminist as I like my films. Think I'll pass.

Poisonedv

08-09-2008, 12:43 AM

feminism is lame

etnlIcarus

08-09-2008, 12:52 AM

Oh I'm sure feminism is a great concept. It's just that feminists tend to disapprove of my opinions

...and history of rape.

Rad

08-09-2008, 12:42 PM

Death Note pissed me off, but maybe that is more of a discussion for the anime thread...

I've always wanted to see teeth, maybe I'll get the chance to someday

Trace

08-09-2008, 11:35 PM

http://www.filmcatcher.com/uploads/img/product/924244Shaolin-Soccer-Posters.jpg

Shaolin Soccer. Funny if you can understand Cantonese; lame if you're relying on English subtitles.

Rad

08-10-2008, 12:26 AM

I remember seeing previews for that but completely forgot about it! That also just reminded me, go see Kung Fu Hustle. It was done by the same guy and is completely awesome.

Captain Awful

08-10-2008, 06:28 AM

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/3073/405pxteethposterbh3.jpg
VAGINA DENTATA

It's a horror/black comedy, but you won't be laughing at that, you'll be laughing at the hilarious feminist bullshit

Teeth was the SHIT. It's a movie you should watch with a bunch of people over, preferably drunk, because it feeds you ammo for jokes and one-liners.

chuanoplast

08-10-2008, 01:46 PM

Shaolin Soccer. Funny if you can understand Cantonese; lame if you're relying on English subtitles.

The version where everyone starts dancing is the best.

Patrick Alexander

08-10-2008, 06:41 PM

Every film is a foreign film. Just wanted to point that out.

Soyvoyage

08-10-2008, 07:18 PM

I remember seeing previews for that but completely forgot about it! That also just reminded me, go see Kung Fu Hustle. It was done by the same guy and is completely awesome.

I never understood Kung Fu hustle. I got it as an action movie, with some interesting characters and blowing a hole through a building at the end, but I never identified where the humour was. The Lollypop? Bullies pissing on him?
It's possible that its the kind of movie where its just sending up all the others of its genre, which I have never seen.

Is it that they keep losing? Is that it? That happened in Nacho Libres, which I didn't understand either.

Captain Awful

08-10-2008, 08:00 PM

Every film is a foreign film. Just wanted to point that out.

Even obscure is in the eye of the beholder. I'd suggest independant films, but Teeth wasn't independant. Perhaps than just "Films you thought were interesting enough to share".

Trace

08-10-2008, 08:19 PM

I never understood Kung Fu hustle. I got it as an action movie, with some interesting characters and blowing a hole through a building at the end, but I never identified where the humour was. The Lollypop? Bullies pissing on him?
It's possible that its the kind of movie where its just sending up all the others of its genre, which I have never seen.

Is it that they keep losing? Is that it? That happened in Nacho Libres, which I didn't understand either.

I didn't understand Kung Fu Hustle either. I think Stephen Chow gets a bit too zany sometimes.

Muz

08-10-2008, 10:56 PM

Kung Fu hustle was a parody of typical kung fu Chinese movies, I think. Like all parodies, you don't really get the joke till you see the originals. I remember one moment where my chinese uncle was laughing at the sign "chinese medicine", but I didn't get it.

Rad

08-11-2008, 12:27 AM

I thought the humour was just the inherent fact that the fighting was completely outrageous. There were a few other jokes here and there but I think the fighting was the main source of humour. At least it's better than Kung Pow.

Farvana

08-11-2008, 01:31 PM

At least it's better than Kung Pow.

Plan 9 From Outer Space was better than Kung Pow.

Patrick Alexander

08-11-2008, 01:59 PM

Kung Pow was great. What is wrong with you guys.

Farvana

08-11-2008, 02:49 PM

8 siblings watching it 20 times in two weeks.

I guess a mormon upbringing is what's wrong with me? I wouldn't disagree if that was the case.

Trace

08-11-2008, 10:51 PM

Kung Pow is AWESOME.

As for Kung Fu Hustle being a parody of the old kung fu movies... I've seen the old films and I still don't get the joke(s).

Muz

08-11-2008, 10:56 PM

It's a parody of all the outrageous fighting.. I think. Now you got me confused.

Patrick Alexander

08-11-2008, 11:33 PM

Kung Fu Hustle isn't a parody -- it just has a great sense of humour. It's a really earnest movie, and fucking spectacular. I love it!

Rad

08-12-2008, 07:38 AM

I don't think it's a parody.

Also P. Alexander, care to elaborate on your claims?

chuanoplast

08-13-2008, 12:21 PM

I love Babette's Feast. It's a slow movie, but so charming. The visuals are wonderful (especially towards the end) as well.

If you love feeling depressed, watch Osama, which is actually about a girl in Afghanistan.

Gina

08-15-2008, 09:27 AM

Kung Pow was my first exposure to comedies that make martial arts movies hilarious.

It's amazing.

Meanwhile, not exactly obscure, but Curse of the Golden Flower is so amazingly elaborate and exaggerated that its both really entertaining, and quite funny to watch. Little Chinese assassins flying in in slow motion on strings from nowhere is just hilarious to me.

Otherwise, I'd watch it just for the costume design.

(( Oh god, Osama, is so depressing, I nearly cried. But if anyone can suggest a movie to me that makes me cry more than A.I.; bonus points. ))

Rad

08-15-2008, 08:29 PM

make .
(( Oh god, [I]Osama, is so depressing, I nearly cried. But if anyone can suggest a movie to me that makes me cry more than A.I.; bonus points. ))

Grave of the Fireflies, and oh yeah, it's foreign

etnlIcarus

08-15-2008, 09:04 PM

Grave of the Fireflies is another horribly overrated film. You shouldn't want to smack the shit out of the protagonist by a film's end.

Farvana

08-16-2008, 03:35 AM

Grave of the Fireflies is another horribly overrated film. You shouldn't want to smack the shit out of the protagonist by a film's end.

He was a kid who didn't know how to handle everything that happened to him. War does horrible things to everybody, is the point.

matte_k

08-16-2008, 10:48 AM

etnlIcarus

08-16-2008, 12:24 PM

He was a kid who didn't know how to handle everything that happened to him. War does horrible things to everybody, is the point.
He was responsible for his sister and he let his pride get her killed. It really is that simple.

Gina

08-16-2008, 12:53 PM

Grave of the Fireflies is another horribly overrated film. You shouldn't want to smack the shit out of the protagonist by a film's end.

NO IT WAS BEAUTIFUL D:

Well actually it was quite good. In the horrible, heart-wrenching way.

But it did not make me cry. I might have teared up a bit. Still doesn't beat A.I.

Zeuter

08-16-2008, 01:07 PM

Survive Style 5+ (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430651/)

A guy who tries to kill his girlfriend, who comes back from the dead with new superpowers all the time, and 4 other stories that are almost as equally inane that intertwine.

Oh god I love this movie.

Rad

08-16-2008, 11:19 PM

He was responsible for his sister and he let his pride get her killed. It really is that simple.

He's like 8, what the hell do you think 8-year olds are obsessed with? THEMSELVES. The fact that he truly doesn't grasp the concept of his love for his sister is even more depressing.

etnlIcarus

08-17-2008, 12:07 AM

He's like 8, what the hell do you think 8-year olds are obsessed with? THEMSELVES. The fact that he truly doesn't grasp the concept of his love for his sister is even more depressing.

'8-year-olds are/can be selfish little brats' in no way excuses it - nor does it make the character likeable and illicit any empathy for him when he kills his sister. And that last sentence confounds me.

Dan

08-17-2008, 01:15 AM

'8-year-olds are/can be selfish little brats' in no way excuses it - nor does it make the character likeable and illicit any empathy for him when he kills his sister.

Yes, a little boy who made a terrible mistake in trying circumstances is clearly completely culpable for his behaviour, and therefore undeserving of compassion. In a just world, he would have been hanged along with the rest of the Japanese war criminals.

On an unrelated note, how's being a fucking robot working out for you?

Reasonableman

08-17-2008, 01:23 AM

Fucking robots would probably have quite a bit of work these days, what with prostitution being illegal and all.

etnlIcarus

08-17-2008, 02:05 AM

Yes, a little boy who made a terrible mistake in trying circumstances is clearly completely culpable for his behaviour, and therefore undeserving of compassion. In a just world, he would have been hanged along with the rest of the Japanese war criminals.

On an unrelated note, how's being a fucking robot working out for you?

Try: a little boy makes a bad decision. It quickly becomes apparent that it was a bad decision. Now, as he and his sister's condition deteriorates, he opts not change his mind; swallow his pride or do anything which could redeem the character and instead uses this opportunity to turn to theft and behave like an animal.

Granted, I understand that the character was an outlet for the author's guilt over very similar childhood traumas but it mystifies me as to how anyone can feel anything for a purely negative and destructive character, metaphor or not.

This insistence that both children were merely a victim of circumstance has led to these elaborate rationalisations, where people have taken a very introspective film and turned it into a 'great anti-war film'.

chuanoplast

08-17-2008, 11:18 AM

Trace

08-17-2008, 11:54 AM

I couldn't stomach Ichi The Killer.

Rad

08-17-2008, 02:14 PM

On an unrelated note, how's being a fucking robot working out for you?

robots are not to be trusted

etnlIcarus

08-17-2008, 02:36 PM

Don't watch Nobody Knows then; you'll just condemn children for behaving like children during circumstances beyond their control. A purely negative and destructive character would be more like Patrick Bateman.

Was this really necessary?

robots are not to be trusted Not true. As far a overlords go, robots are the most trustworthy.

Rad

08-17-2008, 11:53 PM

do you mean least trustworthy or did you misread my post?

etnlIcarus

08-18-2008, 12:44 AM

robots are not to be trusted

Not sure what there is to misread.

Rad

08-18-2008, 03:07 AM

sorry, I reread your post and realized the part I was missing. my mistake

GreatTeacherJoE

10-01-2008, 03:12 AM

Foreign flicks? Anyone heard of 'The Avenging Fist'? It's the Hong Kong film industry making 'Tekken' into a game, but not wanting to pay the rights for it. It's an ASS AWFUL movie!

etnlIcarus

10-14-2008, 07:10 PM

And I'm guessing you are, too, friend!

annie

10-27-2008, 06:03 PM

Has anyone seen - I don't know if you'll know this one, a bit obscure - "Amelie"? (IT'S NOT IN ENGLISH)
I'm done.

Trace

10-27-2008, 08:07 PM

Has anyone seen - I don't know if you'll know this one, a bit obscure - "Amelie"? (IT'S NOT IN ENGLISH)
I'm done.

I don't think it's obscure at all! It's the movie that shot Audrey Tautou to fame.

Anyway, I think it's a beautiful, beautiful film. The only thing I didn't like was that I had to rely on the subtitles, but that's my fault for not understanding French.

annie

10-27-2008, 08:25 PM

Oh dear. My first attempt at a joke on eegra has FAILED.

...unless you are ADDING to the joke, in which case I have double failed... oh double dear.

etnlIcarus

10-27-2008, 09:18 PM

If it's any consolation, annie, I got your little joke there. It's why I chuckled to myself and chose not to abuse you.

munroe

12-12-2008, 06:37 AM

I didn't read all six pages(I'm new around here), but Let the Right One In, and 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days were both incredible films.

Let the Right One In is a lot easier to digest, it's a friendship story between a 12 year misfit, and a vampire that moves in next door that also appears to be around 12. Swedish flick with excellent cinematography, and a few of my favourite scenes in any movies recently. Fuck Twilight, this movie has a "real" vampire.

4 Months is a raw movie going experience. Around the halfway point you realize you're watching the final 10 minutes of Requiem for a Dream stretched out to an entire movie. There's a 10 minute uncut shot of a dinner scene that is probably the most difficult scene in any movie ever to sit through. I love it anyway though, highly recommended if you're into slow movies.

Daisy Chubb

12-12-2008, 12:11 PM

Belleville Rendezvous. Watched it yesterday, and laughed my ass off. Hardly any dialogue, just some excellent expressive animation.

Also, Takeshi Kitano's version of Zatoichi.

Ichi The Killer, Oldboy, Night Watch, Stalker and Ong Bak.

But seriously, Zatoichi. It's fucking great.

Zatoichi for sure, and The Triplets of Belleville (en francais) are two movies I must also 100% agree with! Ong Bak is kick ass. Tony Jaa owns me. And Oldboy is korean right? I think I've seen it and was impressed...

I must also sell Stephen Chow [Chow Sing-Chi] to everyone, and say that his movies are rarely parodies, and Kung Fu Hustle is not a parody. That's chinese humour. That's all.
To see more Stephen Chow in his brilliance, with much of the same humour, try King of Comedy, Sixty Million Dollar Man or Flirting Scholar. Classic Chow.

@Munroe - I've really wanted to see both of those movies for a long time, and now you've sold them even more. I'm offically on hunt.

munroe

12-12-2008, 11:19 PM

@Munroe - I've really wanted to see both of those movies for a long time, and now you've sold them even more. I'm offically on hunt.[/COLOR]

I've seen both movies available online, but you should only find 4 months in the movie stores right now. I believe Let the Right One In just came out in theaters(but there's a DVD screener floating around)

Daisy Chubb

12-13-2008, 07:18 AM

Awesome,
thanks, fellow Canadian.

munroe

12-13-2008, 07:26 AM

Awesome,
thanks, fellow Canadian.

No worries, other Canadian. Where do you live exactly, in the great white north?

Zeno

12-14-2008, 01:56 AM

All my favorite martial arts films are from Thailand. Ong Bak, Tom-Yum-Goong, Chocolate. There's an Ong Bak 2 on the way, which somehow manages to look even more badass than the first.

Also, I'm a Cyborg, But That's Okay is a pretty funny Korean film.

Jake Steel

12-14-2008, 04:41 PM

I have not seen enough Kung Fu/ crazy Korean action movies, cause I don't have a single idea of what's happening.

To the point, I saw City of Lost Children just a few hours ago. Wow. It's definitely a movie that you like to think about more than actually watching. It's one of the few movies I have actually felt uncomfortable watching. But it was good, in a really strange way.