Die Welt durch andere Augen! (World)

Member Name: mancsoulsister

Product:	World
Date:	17/10/00 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A new perspective on life

Disadvantages: subtitles - if you can call that a disadvantage!!!

(The world through different eyes!)
Foreign films offer a unique perspective of life in the various countries and are often completely different from the mass-produced slick Hollyood films. I really got into foreign films (particularly European ones) during the time I lived in Germany. As I feel it is a genre that is often neglected I thought I would aspire to give a complete list of my favourites. The films vary in age and content. A lot of them are available at your local video shops or through some of the online shops. So give them a go and you might be surprised at the world you discover:

Central Station (Brazil)
This Oscar nominated classic tells the poignant tale of a miserable old woman and a young orphaned boy as they make their way through Brazil to find the boys long lost father. (For more information read my review of the film). The film is beautiful and mixes realism with magic while avoiding cloying sentimentality. It also gives an insight into life in Brazil's big cities and small towns.

Betty Blue (France)
This film is an amazing piece of cinema photography and a great portrayal of Phillipe Dijan's novel of the same name. The film is a kind of modern day Romeo and Juliet and tells of a writer and his tragic girlfriend Betty. It is a classic story of love and disappointment with a tragic ending.

Raising the Red Lantern (China)
A stunning film about life as a concubine. The film tells the life of a young woman who goes to live at the house of a rich man as his concubine. There are other concubines living there and every evening the man chooses a woman for the night. The film tells of their lives and fate at the house. Beautiful film!

Run Lola Run (Germany)
The two stars of this film Franka Potente (Lola) and Moritz Bleibetreu (Manni) are household names in Germany. The film is a fast-paced look at the way small changes can affect lives. In the space of 20 minutes Manni and Lola must come up
with 100,000 deutsche marks to pay back a seedy gangster, who will be less than forgiving when he finds out that Manni incompetently lost his cash to an opportunistic vagrant. The film takes us through 3 possible endings. It is an excellent film set in Berlin.

Der Bewegte Mann (Germany)
I think the English title of this film is 'The Moved Man'. The film is a comedy set in Cologne. An unfaithful boyfriend Axel (played by the gorgeous Til Schweiger) is kicked out by his girlfriend Doro (Katja Riemann) and by chance ends up living with a friendly gay man Norbert (Joachim Król). Axel's life now takes some funny twists and turns. The film is funny (yes the Germans do have a sense of humour) and is well worth seking out.

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Spain)
This film doesn't really have what could be called a plot - it is more a series of events. Two lovers who dub films for a living are having a relationship until the man suddenly finishes with her. She is so shocked that she tries everything to find him. This film also stars a young Antonio Banderas before his move to Hollywood!

Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources (France)
I have put these two films where they belong together. Both films take a close look at peasant life in Southern France and the petty rivalrys that develop. The photography is fantastic and both the films are classic. Watch Jean de Florette first.

Buena Vista Social Club (Cuba)
Ry Cooder entered a studio in Cuba and discovered some musical relics in the shape of some geriatric musicians. The films tells of their lives and their music. The film is worth watching for the music alone but the people theselves are fascinating.

Babette's Feast (Denmark)
I loved this film because it started out so bleak and ended up so opimistic. French Babette goes to a dour protestant Denmark in the 1870s to work as a cook for 2 local ladies. As it turns out Babette was a
professional chef in France. She unexpectedly wins the lottery and sets about making a splendid banquet for the local Danish villagers. A wonderful film.

Venus in Furs (Italy)
A very adult film! This is the film version of the book by the Swiss author Sacher Masoch (the man who gave his name to the subject matter covered in the book - Masochism!). It is excellent - Severin finds himself bewitched by a beautiful woman and soon becomes enslaved by her. Quite raunchy but good all the same!!!

Gosh ten really isn't enough. For those interested I would also recommend:
Muriel's Wedding (Australia) - great feel-good film which is like living an Abba song!
Danton (France) - Gerard Depardieu is the French Revolutionary.
Aimée und Jaguar (Germany) - Two women a Jewess and a German fall in love during the Second World war
Das Boot (Germany) - The German version of the Second World war set in the claustrophobic confines of a German U-Boot

Beg, steal or borrow copies of all these films and I promise you won't be disappointed!!!

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