My Favorite Foreign Language Films

First, let me begin by saying that my native tongue is English, although some of my severest critics may raise doubts about that. I may know enough Italian, French and Spanish to get myself into trouble and probably the same German, Chinese and Japanese catch-phrases that most Americans know, just by osmosis. I bring all this up just to clarify that this will be an article on my favorite films in languages other than English.

As I do with most of the lists I make up for my favorites in the arts and entertainment field, I do not claim to have seen all there is to see of a given category. That is certainly true in this case. No doubt, after you have digested this essay, you will feel compelled to excoriate me for omitting those favorites of yours that are probably excellent films, but which, for whatever reason, I have not yet seen. Feel free to do so. With comments as with publicity, there is no such thing as bad.

Finally, you can rejoice in the fact that, unlike those times where the constraints of the assignment require the author to list ten items, my list will not be nearly so long, since, in this instance, I am under no such constraint. The resultant time I will have saved you will undoubtedly be immense. You are most welcome.

I have decided to group these films chronologically and alphabetically by nation. In most (but not all) cases, the nation of origin will reflect the language predominantly spoken in the film.

France

Le Roi de Coeur, 1966

For the uninitiated, the English version of the title is The King of Hearts, although it has little to do with the playing card of that name. Like my next film on the list, it is set in the First World War, and, also like that next film, it is a comedy. We may think it odd that such a traumatic event (in which nearly a million and a half French soldiers lost their lives) is fuel for farce, but, how better to highlight the tragic imbecility of the politicians and generals (from many nations) who allowed and caused it to happen.

Since the plot of the film involves British and German soldiers, operating in a French town, all three languages are spoken throughout the story.

As I have said in my many past essays, I do not care much for spoilage, so I will not go into great detail about the plot, except to say that the retreating Germans (This is toward the end of the war.) have booby-trapped the town they are leaving to go up in one tremendous explosion after they depart. The opposing British army learns of this and sends one of their bomb disposers (a Scotsman, played by Alan Bates) to defuse the device. The "regular" townspeople, who know of the trap, have all fled the village, but they forgot about the inmates of an insane asylum, whom they have left behind.

When the Germans find out about Bates' character and his mission, they attempt to capture him, but he escapes by falling in with the lunatics. Does he defuse the bomb? Ah, you'll have to rent the movie to find out.

Black and White in Color, 1976

This very droll film won the 1976 Oscar for Best Foreign Film, and rightly so. Unlike the previous film I listed, this one was something new in French cinema, in that it ridiculed the French far more than their German counterparts.

The story is set around the area of the African Ivory Coast in the year 1915. The French colonists and their cordial neighbors, the German colonists, seem blissfully unaware of events taking place in their home continent.

It is only when one of the French colonists gets a package from home that they become aware of the awful truth. The goods are wrapped in newspaper, and, from the wrapping, the recipient makes the startling discovery.

"Nous sommes á guerre!" he proclaims. We are at war.

An old lady in the room pipes up with something like, "Is it the British? Oh, I do hope it's the British!"

The young man reads on and then tells them, no, it's the Germans.

"Quel domage!" the old lady sighs. What a pity!

Of course it does require a very willful suspension of disbelief to buy into this premise. The Europeans in Africa knew perfectly good and well there was a war going on. In fact, French and British troops (the latter considerably aided by their former Afrikaner foes from the Boer War) were, even then, working assiduously to close out the German stake in that continent.

For the most part, they succeeded, and pretty quickly, at least when compared to the horrible slog of the Western Front. (I find it interesting that in The African Queen, Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn are fleeing from the big, bad German bullies in Africa during that war, when, in point of fact, the actual Germans there were mostly running for their lives). Yet, in this movie (Black and White in Color), the two colonial outposts feel duty-bound to set up opposing trenches and battle their former neighbors to the bitter end, just as their home countries are doing further north.

This is a short movie of only 90 minutes, so, aside from the rental fee, you will not be investing much of yourself to see it. For such a small investment, you may well get a handsome return.

Coup de Torchon, 1981

If this title sounds familiar to my constant readers, it is because I had occasion to mention it in my recent essay, The Killer Inside Me, regarding the coming adaptation of a Jim Thompson novel.

I mentioned that, aside from the relocation of the action from an American hick town to a French African colony, the story is remarkably faithful to the book, Pop. 1280, also by Jim Thompson.

I am not sure how to classify this story. The film, like the book, contained elements of laugh-til-your-sides-ache hilarity, but the central character is as dangerous a psychopath as you will ever meet.

If you are more comfortable getting your dialogue straight, with no subtitles, then see if you can find Thompson's book, Pop. 1280. If you want to see a morbidly (but tremendously) funny movie, though, this is the one for you. In either case it is a compelling story.

Before I leave the Frenchies, let me mention one other excellent movie, which should have made the list, but I had to throw a penalty flag for technical reasons.

The movie is Les Enfants de Paradise (The Children of Paradise). At the time I saw it, I knew enough French to figure out the story, but the film was so over-lighted against a largely white background that the white subtitles were essentially useless. If you do not understand French, you will find this otherwise excellent film too frustrating to bother with.

By the way, this is not the only instance where lighting queered the deal for me in a foreign film. When I saw the 1922 German film Nosferatu (a variation of the Dracula story), I could not get over the "midnight" scenes taking place in broad daylight. Granted, the technology did not exist to film night scenes at the time, but I won't give the filmmakers a pass for that reason. If it can't be done, then don't do it until it can. I think it's a shame that some poor German had to part with three or four billion marks to see such a travesty.

Germany

Das Boot, 1981

Who would have thought that a movie about footwear could be so compelling? No, I'm just kidding. Das Boot is German for "The Boat," and it refers to a submarine (U-96) during World War II.

As with almost any war movie, this is an action film, to an extent, but it is superbly scripted and acted for those very long moments between the action. The main dynamic pits the enthusiasm of the ship's newcomers against the cynicism of the tired veterans. The cinematography is excellent.

Despite the boat's dastardly deeds, the film unwinds in such a way that you find yourself somewhat hoping the crew will escape from their many scrapes with death.

When they arrive safely at their home port, you may be momentarily relieved, until you see the gloating pompous reception they receive from their countrymen. It is at that point you are suddenly brought back to the reality: hey, these are Nazis!

Have no fear, though, such ambiguity gets neatly disposed of as the ceremonies become a bit more bombastic than the German hosts had counted on.

Italy

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, 1963

This wonderful film-largely, but not entirely, a comedy-consists of three vignettes starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni, the two best-known Italian movie stars of the time.

Ms. Loren plays, in order of appearance, a Neapolitan housewife, operating just outside the law, a Milanese mistress and a Roman prostitute (modern Rome, not the Empire). In all three segments, Mastroianni ends up-SURPRISE! SURPRISE!-as her lover.

No, seriously, this is a very witty film well-acted by the principals and their supporting cast members throughout. Well worth a look if you have not seen it.

Amarcord, 1973

Okay, here's the deal: I hate Fellini. I hate his movies and I hate the musical (Nine) that was made about his life. I only went to this Fellini film because my brother dragged me to it, kicking and screaming (translation: he paid for the ticket).

Still, it sometimes transpires that, in the world of the performing arts, an untalented hack will occasionally get it right. Generally speaking, for example, if you are tired of having me listen to your radio station, all you have to do is put on a Tom Jones tune, and I'm gone. That said, his version of the moving country music song, "The Green Green Grass of Home" is the best of many that I've heard.

The same principal applies to Signor Fellini's Amarcord. Unlike the unlikable musical, Nine (And, yes, I know I am in the disgruntled minority on this one.), this movie is a moving and very, very funny look into the artist's youth.

Of the many vignettes the movie covers, my absolute favorite is the priest who is convinced that all the boys in his parish masturbate, all the time. If they do not come out and say so in the confessional, he browbeats them until they do. When he finally encounters a refusal to admit to his favorite sin, he throws a first-class conniption.

The film also takes a frightening look at the oppression by the Fascisti, who ruled the country for many years before the Second World War. Still, if you see this movie, I think you will be delighted that you did.

Japan

Kagemusha, 1980

I consider this film the best from an excellent body of work by the director Akira Kurosawa. It is so fascinating, you do not realize how long it is: just a minute short of three hours.

The premise of the film, which is set in Feudal Japan, is that the members of one successful clan have discovered a dead-ringer for their brilliant leader, Shingen (pronounced with a hard "g").

The doppelganger turns out to have been a thief, on the short list for execution. At some point, early on, Shingen himself becomes the dead ringer when he is picked off by a sniper. He does not die instantly, so he is able to instruct his lieutenants to keep his wound a secret, lest it embolden their enemies.

When the warrior does die from his wound (in a tremendously moving scene), the remaining leaders get the idea to have the kagemusha (the shadow warrior) impersonate the dead leader.

The dynamics of that impersonation are fantastic and take up much of the film. When the duplicity finally becomes apparent to the clan's chief rival, Odo Nobunaga-a particularly sinister-looking fellow-his reaction is nothing short of spellbinding.

The resultant final battle is spectacular without being gruesomely gory and leads the title character to make his final, most important decision.

A few paragraphs back, I had occasion to praise the cinematography of Das Boot. Well, the cinematography in this movie makes the German film seem like Steamboat Willie by comparison.

By all means, rent this fine film, but, by all means, take a bathroom break before you slip it into the old DVD.

The Soviet Union

Alexander Nevsky, 1938

Russian director Sergei Eisenstein is best noted for two films: Battleship Potemkin and this one. The former came out in 1925 and, as a result, was a silent movie. Both are excellent films, but I like this one a little better than the other.

The story is based on the life or legend of a Russian hero from medieval times, who beat back the incursion of Teutonic crusaders. He does not do so without considerable difficulty and tragedy for the Russian people. The Teutonic knights' massacre of the people of Pskov, a village they conquer early on, is as horrifying as anything you will see in today's "slasher" cinema, even though it is in black-and-white.

The timing of the film's release was quite interesting. When it came out, the Soviet government and the Russian people harbored an intense mistrust of the Germans. Forget that the Germans lost the First World War, they still conquered Russia, and very brutally at that (though nothing at all like what was to follow in a few years).

Then, all of a sudden came the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, ensuring cooperation and good relations between the two nations. All of a sudden, Eisenstein was seen as a major troublemaker. While he was not exiled to Siberia or the afterlife, Alexander Nevsky disappeared in a big hurry.

Apparently, Mr. Hitler could not bear to see such a work of cinematic art suppressed, so he, very surprisingly, released the Soviets from their treaty obligations in the summer of 1941.

Well, Hitler has been dead for almost as long as I have been alive (I was just a few weeks old at the time of his suicide and, understandably, oblivious to the event), but Alexander Nevsky lives on. Rent it and don't worry about that SOB Joe Stalin pocketing any of the royalty. He's long gone too.

The U.S. of A.

The what S of what? I hear you ask. Hello, Mr. Narrator, newsflash: English is the language of the United States, in case you were not aware. Point taken. Now let me tell you about this wonderful American movie filmed almost entirely in Japanese.

Letters from Iwo Jima, 2006

This film, directed by Clint Eastwood, is the companion piece to his earlier film, Flags of Our Fathers. While that movie portrays the taking of Iwo Jima in the Second World War from the American viewpoint, Letters from Iwo Jima covers the same event from the Japanese side, hence the Japanese nature of the dialogue.

Despite babbling on in a foreign tongue, the second film is, far and away, the better of the two movies. The earlier one was less about the battle and more about the struggles of Ira Hayes, the Pima Indian who survived the bloody ordeal of the battle, but not the life that was to have gone on afterward. To be sure, his is a compelling story, but the viewer was probably expecting to see more of the battle than the movie treats with.

The excellent Japanese actor, Ken Watanabe, stars as the Japanese commander whose tragic task it is to defend against hopeless odds which, unlike the fare in so many movies, really turn out to be hopeless.

You already know the outcome. The Americans won; the Japanese lost. Eastwood's treatment, as portrayed by the excellent Japanese cast, tells the story in a very compelling way.

While your video resource may not "carry" Alexander Nevsky or a few of the other fine films I have listed here, if it does not have this one, you should feel perfectly entitled to burn it to the ground.

Speaking of American-made foreign-language film, there is one that I thought about including in this article, except it is only a small segment of a longer English-language movie. I am referring to the Italian flashbacks in The Godfather, Part II.

I found it remarkable, but very fitting that Robert De Niro won an Oscar for a role in which he hardly spoke any English at all. Except for when he tells his young cronies, Tessio and Clemenza, "I make him an offa he don't refuse" (regarding the payment of shakedown money demanded by the Black Hand boss, Fanucci), all his dialogue is in Italian or, rather, Sicilian, which Florentines would probably maintain is not the same language.

There you have my very abbreviated list of excellent foreign-language films. If there are some in the bunch you have not seen, this is me telling you, you're missing a bet. Capishe?

Sources

Wikipedia

The Movies themselves