What is your favorite foreign (non-US) film?

[thylasos]

As in every thead where I'm asked about my opinion on film, I'll have to advocate that everyone spares two hours of their lives for watching "Russian Ark" (Русский Ковче&#1075, by Alexander Sokurov.

The Marquis de Custine leads a ghost around various time periods in the history of the Winter Palace and Hermitage, a tremendously historic building in its own right, as well as one of the world's great art galleries.

First person. One shot. An hour and a half of melancholy beauty.

 

[Colour Scientist]

Amélie of course!

I'm surprised no one else has mentioned it yet.

Spoiler

Thank you France!

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0211915/

This. Also 'a Very Long Engagement'', by the same director, Jean Pierre-Jeneut, and Audrey stars in it. Amazing film.

 

[Blow_Pop]

The Monty Python films
Studio Ghibli films
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - (which if I recall correctly) Sweeden

 

[SneeringCanuck]

Stalingrad- German.

Bit cheesy to start off, but I'll be damned if it doesn't show one of the most depressing, dark and hellish versions of the eastern front as it goes on.

 

[Stravant]

Stalingrad- German.

Bit cheesy to start off, but I'll be damned if it doesn't show one of the most depressing, dark and hellish versions of the eastern front as it goes on.

I was going to put that movie as well, and for the same reasons.

 

[Quantum Star]

Pan's Labyrinth, for sure. Spirited Away too.

 

[Sebass]

Battle Royal

Oldboy

Spirited Away

Pan's Labyrinth

The Protector

Ichi the Killer

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Amélie

Snatch

All of these are great.

Cidade de Deus

Out of this entire thread, this one is my absolute favorite. I encourage everyone to watch this one.

 

[Dopi]

Død Snø (Dead Snow) - Norway

Who doesn't love a bunch of nobodies getting munched by zombie nazis!? It's HILARIOOUS

 

[n00beffect]

Well, it's a Bulgarian movie called 'Letter to America'. It's beautiful... The story's about a guy who just bought a camera for the first time, and he's asked by his friend, who escaped the country years ago and lives in America, to shoot a couple of things in his village where he grew-up, and if possible to find his mother, who he hasn't seen in years. So he goes on this journey, to this village in the mountains, and along the way he shoots alot of stuff, akin to Bulgaria and the Bulgarian culture in general, all the while reminscening about they're past relationship and how things went really wrong between them, on account of the fact that they both loved the same woman, and that's kind of cliche but it fits really well. Later he finds out that his mom is dead, and that his freand suffers from cancer, so he goes to see him personally in America. It's a great story, and it's told really well, too.

 

[Shock and Awe]

Downfall, a damn good depiction of the last days of the Third Reich. It actually makes the viewer sympathize with the people who really deserve no blame but are in danger by simply doing their clerical jobs for the Fuhrer. At the same time it makes you utterly despise other characters such as Joseph Goebbels who is frankly despicable in every respect.

 

[superdevildude85]

Shaun of the dead was british made, right? If so, then that's it. If not, then I'd have to say the monty python films.

"He's not the messiah, he's a VERY NAUGHTY BOY!" -still kills me.

 

[tsb247]

I rather enjoy Nightwatch and Daywatch (Russia).

 

[Fingerprint]

Once Were Warriors: New Zealand's favourite rom-com;
Withnail & I: One of my all time favourite films;
You can't go far wrong with Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels... and
Pan's Labyrinth

 

[KingHodor]

As in every thead where I'm asked about my opinion on film, I'll have to advocate that everyone spares two hours of their lives for watching "Russian Ark" (Русский Ковче&#1075, by Alexander Sokurov.

The Marquis de Custine leads a ghost around various time periods in the history of the Winter Palace and Hermitage, a tremendously historic building in its own right, as well as one of the world's great art galleries.

First person. One shot. An hour and a half of melancholy beauty.

Either that or an hour and a half of unspeakable torment as you watch le Marquis constantly make an ass out of himself, constantly giving new meaning to the word "douche chill". This guy is right up there on my list of most detestable movie characters with the ladies from "Baise Moi".

Anyway, back on topic, I really liked the Israeli movie "Waltz with Bashir". A great observation on the nature of war and evil, and how easy it is to become an accomplice in an act of genocide by looking the other way. Completely cheated out of the Oscar it deserved, IMO.

 

[cannot_aim]

Lord of the Rings trilogy
District 9
Everything Monty Python

 

[putowtin]

Battle Royale
Ichi the Killer
Monty Python films

there's more but these are the first that come to mind

 

[Shoqiyqa]

Crouching tiger hidden dragon

Chinese people are unhappy. Most of them die.

Leon The Professional, France

I approve this recommendation.

Chinese- Shaolin Soccer

I'm not sure I'd list this as a favourite, but I did like it a lot. I didn't like the next one, Kung-fu Hustle, at all, though.

Stalingrad- German.

I posted Das Boot and specified the 5-hour version. I've got Stalingrad too, but I didn't like it as much. I got the impression from watching it that the whole Russian campaign took place in a grid square of city with a chemical factory and a grid square of farmland at the far end of a hundred-kilometre railway over the course of two weeks. I think they really needed the mini-series length and something to convey scale better. Enemy At The Gates had an intro history lesson that I didn't much like that did give an idea of the overall situation and put the fighting into context. Maybe they'd both be better as mini-series. I first saw Das Boot in half-hour pieces at one-week intervals and it always broke off at a tense moment, so I spent summer wanting to know whether they'd make it. Stalingrad had too many repetitions of Assloch for my liking, too. Can't you call him a di____ad instead, just once?

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

Christ, there are too many to choose from! Some of my favourites:

Dog Soldiers
28 Days/weeks later
Snatch/Lock Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels
4 Lions
St Trinians (Softcore porn and a fun storyline! Whats not to like!)
The Importance of Being Ernest

Yep, they are some of my favourites!

 

[razor343]

Gonna go with what a few people have already said and that's Oldboy. Has to be my hands down favorite 'foreign' film.