Foreign Language Hall of Fame

I'll download the hell out of Samsara =]
Didn't like the youtube quality.

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"This Would Sharpen You Up And Make You Ready For A Bit Of The Old Ultra-Violence."

Really liked the nominated films!

The Sword of Doom is one of my favorite films! Thanks Cricket

Already watched: The Sword of Doom, Benny's Video, Millennium Actress, Pan's Labyrinth, Assassination, The Age of Shadows, Thelma and of course The Leopard. I will rewatch all of them!

I thought you probably saw it but I wasn't sure.

I used to use the cover of this film as a banner in my profile.

I'd appreciate a link if you have one, cheers

Assassination

ZERO Spoilers

About a year ago, in the space of a month I had seen a number of Resistance Fighter films set around the time of WWII. Several of them were Scandinavian along with this little South Korean gem that mixes espionage and action with moments of laughter, tension, and heartbreak. The blend of which, for me, is pretty flawless.
The Director/Screenplay Writer is a fan of stories involving cons, double dealings and twists, and he plays these aspects as a virtuoso. Which, if not prepared, or paying close attention, one can easily get lost in them on a first watch. But, trust me, it is truly worth it.

Set in Seoul and Shanghai during the 30's, Korea is under Japan's rule and an assassination is conceived for 3 enemies of Korea, including one of those who "sold out' Korea to Japan. A small group is selected to carry it out.
And things get . . . complicated.

All of which is done with the technical brilliance of a symphony. The actors, having worked together with one another as well as the Director in previous films, seem to slip right into their roles and, with one another, with familiar ease as things escalate and alliances seem to bounce back and forth. The intricate dance growing more dangerous upon the razor's blade.

Shot with the usual poetic symmetry that I have come to truly love when it comes to Asian films, Assassination is a beautiful whirlwind of style, action and fast-paced story telling.

Enjoy!
I did.

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For some reason, I absolutely love this "no spoilers" warning.

THANK YOU

Loved the Thelma review. Quite a few films I know nothing about in this HoF that have an intriguing feel and premise to them, and this is definitely one of them. And, as is usual after reading one of your insightful reviews, even more so.
VERY nicely done!

STUNNING! That's the first thing that comes to my mind, when thinking about this beautiful piece of film. Visually, it's truly remarkable, due to all of the noticeable (not in a boastful way) effort and details that went into its making. This is Satoshi Kon after all, so of course I will yet again praise his excellent decisions in editing, and his splendid manner of integrating fitting music with a scene, aiding its atmosphere. One could say that the entire film is an extended chase sequence, and in a way it is. Every time our main character is running her animated butt off, I was either thinking of how perfectly the accompanying music fitted, or how great of a gif this would be, especially as an avatar.

While I do think, visually, "Millennium Actress" confidently trumps "Perfect Blue" (the only other Satoshi Kon film I've had the pleasure of seeing so far), story and substance wise though, this movie is a bit lacking. Regardless, it still has brilliant sources of comedy (the documentary makers) who are genuinely funny, along with enough heart warming moments for an 80 minutes long feature. I am 2 - 0 so far with this phenomenal director, and I can't wait to up the score with his other two films.

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"A film has to be a dialogue, not a monologue — a dialogue to provoke in the viewer his own thoughts, his own feelings. And if a film is a dialogue, then it’s a good film; if it’s not a dialogue, it’s a bad film."

- Michael "Gloomy Old Fart" Haneke

Nicely done, @Okay. I'm pretty confident I'll be enjoying this film, having enjoyed this Director previously

What else have you seen by him?

"Thelma" is another film I'm interested in seeing. From what you've said, I think I will at the very least respect it. It's also from the director of "Oslo, August 31st", which I heard great things about, so I'm excited to get to it.

Of the 17 nominated, I've only seen four so far so I have a bit of researching to do for the next few months.


The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg: I watched this due to La La Land's success as I suppose many people did. I liked it enough, but wouldn't rate it a classic. It's a sweet, effective love story with the French magic sprinkled in, but lacks at certain points. The ending though is spectacularly powerful.

La Haine: I watched this film in my media studies class at college and found it a fascinating if at times dragging affair. Vincent Cassel is absolutely superb in this film and an actor that will go down as a legend in French cinema.

Pan's Labyrinth: Hard not to love this film as it is GDT's masterwork in many ways. A simple yet tragic fairy tale with dark twisted elements attached. Lovely film and up there as one of the best in recent memory.

La Famille Belier: The reason I submitted this for nomination because it's the second film ever in my lifetime to make me cry. It's a sweet and endearing story about family, and the choices made about yourself or your roots. Louane Emera is wonderful in this and the last ten minutes are beautiful and heartwarming. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as I dear, but it's okay if it's not for you. It's not to everyone's taste, but looking at the choices on this list, it's something a little different and more upbeat compared to everything else.

Can't wait to watch the rest. This will be fun.

Thank you! Hopefully your expectations don't get set too high though haha.

I didn't go too much into detail in my post since I'm waiting for some other people to see it first. I think it's one of those films that could be a little divisive, so I'm interested in seeing how other people feel about it.

I haven't seen Oslo, but I might check it out later if I get the chance.

You guys have no idea how many times I've misspelt "millennium" since this started.

Maybe by the time this HoF is over, I'll get it right on the first try haha.

What was the first?

Seen Perfect Blue a number of times, have seen numerous parts of both Paprika and Tokyo Godfathers and REALLY need the entirety of both.

Completely agree about Pan's Labyrinth and a huge fan of Vincent Cassel and so glad to finally have the opportunity to check out La Haine, Umbrellas should be quite lovely and, as I thought, Famille Belier will be endearing and now that I read a little snippet on why you chose it, it looks like it'll be a wonderful additive to this HoF.

Yes, yes, the expectation is outrageously high and its ALL ON YOU, Cosmic!!

But seriously, Thelma should be an intriguing watch.
THANK the Technical Powers To Be for spell check!!
Hell, it saved my @ss just in this sentence ALONE

One thing I should of mentioned in my earlier post, is how ****ing well the director blends reality with fiction. It's all done so smoothly, and I bet this gift of his will still have a presence in "Paprika" and "Tokyo Godfathers"