Foreign Language Tally

So I'm doing languages instead of nationality of filmmakers or where its released because that can get kind of complicated (see: Spaghetti Westerns, etc). Also I'm counting silent as its own category. Pretty much anything besides your standard English. Anyway, I'll keep the tally updated as I go along.


German: 4
The Lives of Others
Das Boot
Downfall
M

French: 28

Amer

Innocence

Bad Blood

Playtime

Cold Cuts

Le Samourai

Mon Oncle

La Bete Humaine

Cleo From 5 to 7

A Town Called Panic

Daybreak

Le Corbeau

Grand Illusion

Freedom For Us

Night at the Crossroads
The Rules of the Game
Irreversible
Pickpocket
Les Diaboliques
Au Revoir Les Enfants
La Haine
Shoot the Piano Player
Cache
[Battle of Algiers]
A Christmas Tale
Elevator to the Gallows
Paris, je t'aime
[The Wages of Fear]

Swedish: 3
Wild Strawberries
Persona
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Korean: 5
Memories of Murder
Thirst
Shiri
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance

Arabic: 1
[Battle of Algiers]

Italian: 10
Amarcord
8 1/2
The Bicycle Thieves
La Strada
Umberto D.
Nights of Cabiria
Juliet of the Spirits
La Dolce Vita
La Notte
Life is Beautiful

Indian: 2
Sarkar
The Adversary

Spanish: 8

[Finisterrae]
The Secret in Their Eyes
The Spirit of the Beehive
All About My Mother
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Talk to Her
Broken Embraces
[The Wages of Fear]

Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese): 5
Infernal Affairs
Come Drink With Me
Shaolin Temple
Swordsman 2
Election

Thai: 1
Chocolate

Japanese: 12

Samurai Fiction

Red Beard

Ikiru
Gojira
Ran
Throne of Blood
Samurai I: Mushashi Miyamoto
Tokyo!
Grave of the Fireflies
Tokyo Story
The Twilight Samurai
Stray Dog

Silent: 7
Metropolis
Sunrise: A Tale of Two Humans
Strike
Menilmontant
City Lights
Modern Times
The Passion of Joan of Arc

Romanian: 1
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and Two Days

Russian: 4

[Finisterrae]

Andrei Rublev
Solaris

Stalker

Election

Election (2005)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0434008/]

The Gist:
Right before I started this project I watched my first Johnny To film, Exiled, and vowed to watch from the director. This is my second film I've watched by the man, and in some ways this movie delivers once more on the tight narrative style of the former movie and in some ways it leaves me a little disappointed. This is basically a gangster film, you can feel the American influence on the way the story is told but I will say that it is its own creature. For one thing, the violence is so weirdly subdued, you never see a gun once in this film. It's all pretty much bludgeoning and slashing, and even those moments are rare. I will say that there is a big fight in the middle with machetes that is fucking awesome. In the end I loved this film up to the last fifteen minutes, then it become every other gangster film I've ever watched where we must show how "being a gangster" will corrupt your soul and make you betray those around you etc. (see: Godfather, Gomorrah, Scarface, Godfellas, and every single other gangster film ever made) I've never really liked this particular genre convention. Well sometimes I do, the first Godfather manages to do this without bugging me (note the second one does this and does bug me). However, it often feels like we trade some of the intensity of the film for a moral standard that was implemented largely because of the Hays Code and the old school gangster films of the late 20s, early 30s or whenever that was. I understand that often it gives the film more depth, but this film is so sleek and stylized that I would have rather it continued with its momentum rather than get bogged down in the closing moments. All in all great film though, I'm sure I'll forgive its ending eventually.

Das Boot

Das Boot (1981)
IMDB #66 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0082096/]

The Gist:
Alright I don't feel like writing a bunch for this one except for to say a few things. One, this film is awesome. Two, this may be the first time I have watched something wanting Nazis to live. Three, the film is three and a half hours long and it manages to keep a thread of constant tension throughout the whole film! (save for exposition in the beginning and a really bizarre and kind of perfect second climax) Do you know how impressive that is? Very, it's insane just thinking about keeping someone in a state of anxiety for like three hours. I mean, damn. Four, this film has brought me to a conclusion that Hollywood is the source of all evil. I had been resisting the fact but this affirms it, that after this film got big the director came to work in Hollywood and put out the following films: Air Force One, Perfect Storm, Troy, Poseidon. Seriously, you go from making one of the best films ever made to making that trite horrid shit? What the fuck?

Tokyo!

Tokyo! (2008)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0976060/]

The Gist:
Okay so hard to talk about this film as a whole. It's made up of three short films, and even they work as a collective they're all so unique that you can't really lump them together. To start with, Gondry's film was pretty excellent, really abstract, but for me he ruined it a bit in the ending (not to spoil anything but he has the girl narrating a letter that sort of tries to tie things together neatly and just feels forced). Other than that small issue though, his film was fantastic. The second film, which everyone who's seen this seems to like the best, didn't hit me quite the same. It's kind of a strange retelling of the monster film, giving the monster more of a humanistic aspect and I might like it more with repeat viewings but right now felt too distant and lacking tonal depth. The third film, by Bong Joon-Ho (badass Korean filmmaker who made "The Host") was easily my favorite. In fact, it followed a similar pattern as Gondry's film, where you have light moments of surrealism that at a pivotal moment in the film becomes full on surreal. Also the ending feels just a tiny bit forced again, but not nearly as much as Gondry's and it ends on a quiet note that makes it up for me for some reason. As a whole, this is an amazing collection of films and it makes me sad that this sort of thing isn't done more often. I feel like I would like to see films of all lenghts, because some stories are wonderful and are just not feature length stories. It happens. Why can't I see those in my theater, why do I have to be forced to see features just because its more reasonable for mass consumption? ....I need to have access to more film festivals, I need good short films.

Swordsman 2

Swordsman 2 (1992)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103295/]

The Gist:
This film is amazing, I would just like to state that outright. While other recently watched martial arts films have had borderline ridiculous plots, this film's plot just seems right. It strikes the perfect balance of over the top wuxia and comedic nonchalance and while I was a little disappointed in the mild tonal shift toward the second half of the film I still felt it was delivered with great skill. What I like most is this a likely forefather of the gloriously ridiculous anime and manga and several more recent martial arts flicks that have crazed names for different techniques that they shout out at odd intervals (see: "he's using the flying mountain sword technique!" or something like that), where serious themes of love, life, death, betrayal, grief, and so on are mixed with copious comedic relief. Basically this is the first wuxia film that feels truly connected to one of the first genres that got me into to film.

On Another Note:
I think I might be able to watch any kind of old school kung fu or old school wuxia film. Bizarre plots and bad english subs often only add to its charm. That's some genre film that I'm pretty safe with.

Week Twelve

I am so proud of my little project. With the exception of some minor changes throughout I've stayed pretty steadfast, and I do notice a stark difference in my film knowledge already. I've been thinking that I might change something either at the halfway mark or with a new year of the project where I have a slot for re-viewings of important films, since its often so important to get a second impression of a film and because many films require multiple viewings to fully get across their meaning. Anyway, my new queue for the week:

Swordsman 2 (1992) - check
Das Boot (1981) - check
Tokyo! (2008) - check
Election (2005) - check

Yes I know I have Gojira's picture as my profile pic (and my facebook pic too) and I haven't seen it before but sometimes you know you love a movie before you see it. I can guarantee you I love Gojira. Don't ask me how, me and the movie must just have a spiritual connection or something. Also "Gojira!" is really fun to say. And I also had a similar feeling to the original King Kong and that totally lived up to it. So yeah.

Goodbye Solo

Goodbye Solo (2008)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1095442/]

The Gist:
This film is made by a director who has made a little niche career in the festival circuit. That being the case, I'm wondering why this feels like a film made by a first time director. That's not to say the film is bad, it's quite good really. However, there are abrupt moments like a frame that is out of focus until the focus point comes into frame and you're sitting there for a couple seconds thinking "why am I looking at something out of focus?" or a really abrupt handheld shift in an important moment of the film that does not feel very natural, or a few stray of awkwardly delivered lines. It's not that it makes it an unenjoyable film to watch, just curious since I would think it would be directed with more of a sure hand. However, where the film does succeed is the character of Solo, a beautiful human being that radiates loves and yet is not perfect, who pries in others' lives trying to help them. The character is very well acted, feels intensely real, and stands as the greatest achievement of the film. In terms of the plot, it's a slice of life kind of film that you get the scope of within the first minute. Like many neorealist inspired efforts, the beauty is in the detail.

Shaolin Temple

Shaolin Temple (1982)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079891/]

The Gist:
I'm noticing a trend: the more nonsense the story is, the stronger the kung fu. This doesn't make much sense, but is at least pretty accurate when considering Shaolin Temple and Chocolate. For this one, we see a really loose revenge plot, some Buddhist monks that don't even act close to being Buddhist, kind of like: "It is against our religion to kill... Oh what the heck". And then there's a rather disturbing bit where Jet Li accidentally kills this girl's dog, then tries to bury it, then decides to dig it up and roast it on a spit and eats it with a bunch of monks (who are not supposed to eat it because it's a sin, but once again they decide "fuck it"). Anyway, way to go old school kung fu movie for reinforcing bad Asian stereotypes. Oh and then there was a gratuitous shot of a bad guy strangling a sheep which is just weird. Anyway, the bad guys attack the temple, the buddhist monks kick some Shaolin ass and all is right with the world. And in terms of ass kicking, this movie is pretty incredible. This was Jet Li's first feature, and he is in top form here. However, he often doesn't steal the show, because his supporting cast is so damn good and the film thankfully focuses on their fights just as much as the young protagonist. Anyway, the story is thin but its one of those films that can get by on pure action alone which is rare. Besides the fact, with these old movies some aspect of their campy style actually seems to add to the experience...only the dog part still bugs me.

Paths of Glory

Paths of Glory (1957)
IMDB #50 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050825/]

The Gist:
Okay, I'm going to have to amend my statement in terms of Stanley Kubrick. He is apparently hit or miss for me. I honestly felt this was one of the best war films I'd ever seen, and it was so succinct almost to the point of putting me off but not quite. To see a Kubrick film that isn't self indulgent was weird (don't get me wrong I often like self-indulgence in films when it serves the story well, which it often does). Anyway, this started out in World War I with a foolish General trying to take a hill that is impossible to take, then trying to fire artillery on his own men who are refusing to leave the trenches since everyone is getting mowed down, then having to make an example of three privates chosen more or less at random, then a badass colonel played by Kirk Douglas defending them to no avail, they get sentenced to death, and it goes on from there. In my mind, at the end of this film there is the single best moment in any war film ever (maybe...at least top three). Anyway, near the end of the film Douglas is clearly losing his faith in humanity and he passes by a bar. Inside, there's a bunch of drunk riled up men in some bar where an entertainer of sorts pulls up a German woman who doesn't know a word of english. They all jeer at her, whistle at her, rudely objectify her, and someone shouts "learn a civilized language!". This is the sort of debasement that happens to make your enemy someone you can kill, to make them somehow less human then you are. Anyway the performer says that she hasn't much talent but she does have a "golden voice" and the crowd yells for her to sing in a brutish sort of way. She starts singing, but the men are so loud she can be heard, they yell "louder, louder". She sings louder. The crowd becomes quiet. Then its just her singing, and it seems to be a song they know. The men, gradually subdued, begin humming along with her singing the German words. All at once you see the illusions that the men have clung to distance themselves from the Germans dissolve and break away. The Colonel, seeing this, seems to find some small hint of hope to be had. Even writing this part out here gives me goose bumps, which makes me think it might be one of my favorite scenes of any movie.

Come Drink With Me

Come Drink With Me (1966)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059079/]

The Gist:
This is one of the first projects by King Hu that starts the tonal style shift of old school marital arts wuxia films. Instead of the more outlandish over the top style we begin to see a subtlety more reminiscent of Japanese samurai films and a dance like quality to the fight scenes, gaining a rhythm and a stop-go-stop flow. These choices are responsible for a host of badass film incarnations following King Hu's "Come Drink With Me", films that surpass the original in many ways. However, watching this film and its horrible subtitles and its somewhat cheesy action, you still get the feeling of a beautiful set of motion taking place. The film works well on its own, even in context to those that would follow. It also gets points for a plot that isn't completely ridiculous (as we saw in Chocolate and as we'll see again in Shaolin Temple), a story that is simple, well written, and with endearing protagonists. Drunken Cat, in particular, is a badass characterization for a kung fu master (playing on the by now cliche character persona, where he appears to be a fuck up but is really a zen badass). Anyway, this was a great film, but the years and the poor translation were not kind to it.

Week Eleven

Okay, I'm a little tired so the last couple of sum ups for last week were a bit a lazy. But whatever, my project I can be lazy if I want to and for whatever reason I couldn't think of what to say about the Samurai film other than that I liked it and it had a fable like quality to it that I found very engaging.

New queue:
Goodbye Solo (2008) - check
Shaolin Temple (1982) - check
Come Drink With Me (1966) - check
Paths of Glory (1957) - check

2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
IMDB #76 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/]

The Gist:
Well, it's a pretty weird movie. But it's very beautiful and for the most part it moves very well and I suppose I'll be thinking about what I make of the more abstract, transformative ending for a little while. I've actually seen the ending before in a film class and wondered what meaning it would take on in the context of the rest of the film. When I think about it, the meaning of the Star Child isn't too obscuring which is good because it allows the smaller details of the film to be studied in its relation rather than being too hung up on some "what does it mean?" obstruction. Also I really enjoyed its meditative quality, but I still think I might have cut down ten or fifteen minutes because I honestly think you could have gotten across the same feeling without isolating some of your audience. But then again, in retrospect, the longer the film goes on the more you dwell on the meaning of its silence so its hard to say if cutting it would be the best choice after all. Anyway, I've never been a huge Kubrick fan but this film and Dr. Strangelove are justifiably great films

On Another Note:
In regard to my feelings on Kubrick, I feel that The Shining, Eyes Wide Shut, and to a lesser extent Clockwork, are overrated.

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047444/]

The Gist:
The first part of a trilogy which uniquely serves the almost exclusive purpose of establishing its characters. There is action here and there, but it is primarily to offer definition to Takezo's struggle to overcome his wildness and become a composed and noble man worthy of the title "Samurai". Most interesting is the role of the wise Priest, who with a steady hand and an ineffable wisdom, guides Takezo through this transformation. The film elegantly passes through the Japanese country side, and becomes an understated symbol of the beauty and grace its people are capable of. It's a fascinating film, which draws us into a delicate struggle of freedom, love, and identity which should set up the following acts of the story well.

Chocolate

Chocolate (2008)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183252/]

The Gist:
Did you know that autistic Thai people can become devastating martial arts instruments of death just by watching Tony Jaa on the television? No? Neither did I, but as implausible as that narrative set up may be it is the framework for a pretty badass kung fu film. However, watching the opening of this film I just had to wonder, what the fuck is up with this movie? It's not like it takes its thin premise to quickly set up what will eventually be an increasing climax of gratuitous action that has little connection with character or plot. If so, it would have to have been pretty fascinating kung fu to make me forget my principles (ie that action without a connection to character or setting or plot is by its nature weak filmmaking and less effective due to a lack of connection to "person and place" and thereby a lack of the audience's sense of vulnerability and concern for harm that can make action films so exhilarating in the first place)... Anyway, that's not exactly the case for Chocalate because it actually has a pretty lengthy set up. But while I was watching it I wondered, really? You're going to take all this time and this is what you set up? There's a lot of weak story telling here, lingering too long on moments that can be condensed and not taking that extra time to extend the story further, etc. However, because the film takes its time you do get a connection to the weird story here, and I personally developed a sort of fascination with the oddities of some stray details. Anyway, once the story is set up the action is slow to get going but once it gets a full head of steam is as good as anything out there. In particular, the ending fight on the side of the building was inspired. Also a Thai chick kicking ass is just hot. I don't know why.

La Notte

La Notte (1961)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054130/]

The Gist:
After exhausting much of Fellini's canon, I have decided to watch my first Antonioni film. He is a filmmaker often mentioned in the same breath as Fellini, though he doesn't quite share Fellini's prominence or popularity. I even heard him referred to as more "cerebral" than Fellini and maybe that has something to do with it because this film does have a rather cold embrace to it whereas Fellini's films are often filled with warmth (contrasting Fellini's darker themes). However, it would be a disservice to the film if I did not say that it is on the same level of what I consider to be Fellini's best (La Dolce Vita) and was actually made around the same time as La Dolce Vita and explores many of the same themes as La Dolce Vita and has the same actor as the protagonist as La Dolce Vita and now you see why I'm referencing Fellini so much in another man's film. However, the most fascinating elements in the film are the distinctions from its rather similar contemporary. Antonioni has a knack for compositions but sacrifices a lot of the film's coherent fluidity for the sake of a beautiful frame. He also takes great pleasure in these beautiful moments of silence; he has a huge chunk of film time dedicated to Lydia wondering the streets in an old part of town where she and her husband used to live. Also I find the Valentina character one of the most fascinating I have seen on film. And for what it's worth, the ending in this film was far more effective than La Dolce Vita, capturing a desperation for Giovanni to hold on to a love that has long since left him. With all that said, it is a bit inconsistent when compared to the staggering genius of Fellini's counterpart.

Week Ten

Ten weeks, as many weeks as I have fingers, for whatever faux significance that has. Anyway, a new queue:

La Notte (1961) - check
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954) - check
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - check
Chocolate (2008) - check

(I know I'm using up my allotted two slots for recent films early but Chocolate seems way too badass not to watch immediately)

(Edit: I've actually changed the rule, now I can watch Ballast next week.)

To Have and Have Not

To Have and Have Not (1944)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0037382/]

The Gist:
This film originates more or less as a Casablanca nostalgia piece (if a film made two years later can be called that). However, it thankfully has a life beyond that film that almost comes from the spirit of Hemingway's writing if not explicitly from the book itself that they supposedly have based the film on. Basically they took the names and gave it a Casablana vibe, Vischy France, French Resistance, piano bar, Humphrey being a badass, and so on. The film works very well as a romance, in fact may be Humphrey's best noir romance I've seen. Him and Becall have this fascinating antagonism going on, the dialogue is very crisp, but why is everyone smoking? Ever seen that part in Thank You for Smoking where they talk about this film? Yeah, with reason. People are lighting up cigarettes left in right, it literally becomes an established motif. It's odd. Anyway, the film is pretty badass, my only complaint is that the end is kind of light and nonchalant and felt tacked on they way a lot of hollywood endings tack on. For a film that tries to capture the nostalgia and atmosphere of Casablanca and yet deviate in important ways to create its identity, and for a film that largely succeeds in doing so, the ending is a little disappointing. Oh and also Eddie is a huge drunk cliche that exists in many cases for comedic relief and nothing else which is fine I guess, especially because when he is used as a way to show the extent of Harry Morgan's friendship I'm very glad that Eddie is in the film and am willing to forgive his stereotypical nature.

Infernal Affairs

Infernal Affairs (2002)
IMDB #249 [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338564/]

The Gist:
Have you ever seen Martin Scorcese's "The Departed"? Then you've seen this film and seen it better. Yes, all I could do while watching this film was think of how good Departed was. Which I don't think was the "proper" response. Everything that happens in this film happens in Departed, its shorter than Departed and feels a little clipped at times, and it has some moments of really cheesy music and flashbacks. Other than that, it's a pretty badass film and I should give it credit for that since it is the original. And the best part of that? There are two more! Even if it is a poor man's foreign language Departed, it's still awesome and I'll have three of them! That's really all I have to say about it.

Away We Go

Away We Go (2009)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1176740/]

The Gist:
This is what I would call a comedy, even though its kind of not and I don't want to call it a dramedy either. It's about a couple who gets pregnant (the woman does anyway) and goes on a road trip of sorts to find the right home for them to live as a family. It's a film that succeeds on the likability and genuine quality of its main characters. However, these characters often seem to interact with more two dimensional characters throughout moments of the film and the narrative often falls into a false kind of comedy that contrasts with the humorous moments that come naturally from the couple's interaction. In particular, the couple's first few interactions with other couples pits them against caricatures that don't particularly feel fleshed out (the parents, the friends in Arizona, and a really annoying character played by Maggie Gyllenhaal). This bothered me a bit up until this scene with Maggie Gyllenhaal where Krasinski gets his kid to go in a stroller which I know doesn't make sense without context but it was hilarious and it oddly took a scene that felt highly abstract and made it feel real with the couple's growing indignation. From there I never had another issue with the film, and even through these moments Krasinski and Randolph are always real, always somewhere to ground yourself. By the end of the film I felt fairly impressed, the story was simple and sweet, I really liked the look of the film. As it happened, my complaints were not major, but they did keep the movie from becoming something better in my mind.

La Dolce Vita

La Dolce Vita (1960)
[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053779/]

The Gist:
Yes I have watched yet another Fellini film, and I am burdened with the knowledge that it won't get any better than this. This, for me, is by far is most potent work. It's nearly three hours of pure genius. It's filled with moments that astonish me they were ever filmed. It's about a man working for a sort of tabloid, searching for meaning, disappointed with the path that his life has taken. He wonders through Rome with one woman or another, never satisfied, passing his time with vacant amusements of the wealthy. And yet this is such richness to so much of this film. The protagonist played by Marcello Mastrianni, who also played the lead in 8 1/2, has an incredible amount of charm and charisma throughout the film. He carries the film with such levity, all while Fellini takes his themes to lower and lower depths. I think the most amazing part of the film is that each segment could stand alone as a work of art, and yet the episodic nature of the film is tied together very strongly by the lead's performance. My only complaint is that in terms of endings, Nights of Cabiria was much more succinct and powerful (thought that's not to say La Dolce's ending is bad, it's just not quite as good in comparison). However, this is a small complaint because the ending is still rather beautiful, and the film overshadows his other work in nearly ever way for me. It's really quite phenomenal...and now I've nearly exhausted all his earlier work and will thus transition into what I've heard called as his "circus films".

The Rules

I have now completed two months of the projects and it has become apparent that I need to set up some guidelines. They are as follows:

1. There will be a limit of four films a month that have been made roughly within the last three years (2006-2010 to allow for the new year). Also they cannot be in the same week.

2. Throughout the course of the year, there will be four weeks for every month and any extra days will be absorbed into those four weeks (ie October has 31 days, 4 weeks is 28 days, the three days are absorbed and do not carry over)

3. There will be the allowance of a series of short films viewed counting as one film entry. (see: Experimental Film Day)

4. Films in a movie theater do not count if they are part of a film's initial distribution cycle. However, a re-release of a film would count (ie 2001: Space Odysessy or Rocky Horror Picture Show)

5. At least one film a week should satisfy a sub-goal of this project, which is to watch the entirety of the imdb top 250 films. Due to the changing nature of this list, any and all films that have appeared on it from the start of this project will be included. A list of the films remaining that I have not yet seen, dated 9/2/09, can be found here.

6. At least one film a week should be a foreign language film. Click here for the current tally.

7. If for some reason I feel like scaling back the project at some point, I will keep track of how many films I need to make up to keep the integrity of the project intact.

8. I reserve the right to ignore any of these rules if I feel like it.

Two Months

Today marks the second full month of the project. The top five films of the month are:

1. All That Jazz
2. Nights of Cabiria
3. Anatomy of a Murder
4. All About My Mother
5. Network

Honerable Mention: Cache, The Birds, The Grapes of Wrath and Umberto D.

(That was a good month)

Week 9

Because of the new rules of my project which I will post at some point soon, I am now back on track with my schedule (doing four weeks to a month, extra days will be absorbed into said four weeks). Anyway, a new week, a new queue:

La Dolce Vita (1960) - check
Infernal Affairs (2002) - check
Away We Go (2009) - check
To Have and Have Not (1944) - check