Two Great, Recent, Hitchcockian Foreign Thrillers - Both Now on DVD

Who can resist an hour or two buried in the surreal, twisting landscape of suspense, ambiguous identity and justice that only a Hitchcockian thriller can deliver? But thrillers are a dime a dozen, many times overladen with and reliant on cheesy overblown special effects, and formulaic, predictable plots. Thankfully, the psychological thriller is alive and well. Below are my picks for two of the best recent foreign thrillers-all injected with a large dose of Hitchcock flair. Both films have generally received outstanding critical reviews, and have received various film festival awards. Both are available for sale and rent at online venues like Blockbuster and Netflix, and Amazon.com.

13 Tzameti

A young, struggling Georgian immigrant Sebastien living if France overhears a conversation about a money-making scheme while working. When his employer Godon dies from a morphine overdose, Sebastien steals an envelope with the intent on impersonating Godon to take part in the lucrative scheme. This film starts out with an almost conventional premise, and one expects a kind 'drug' movie, or a 'chase' movie to ensue. But the weirdly cryptic clues Sebastien must follow in this covert scheme quickly reveal a bizarre otherworld of men in which nothing is certain or familiar--which is not a reach to consider the similar dynamics involved in Sebastien and his family's social despondency. 13 Tzameti is stark, a bit disturbing, and beautifully shot in black and white. It won the 2006 World Cinema Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and two awards at the Venice Film Festival.

The Page Turner

The title somewhat embodies the duality present in this film. Literally, it is the occupation and fate of the main character, and figuratively, refers to its own high suspense and tension. Aspiring young pianist Melanie is spurned and offended by a moderately famous pianist-star and panel judge Ariane Fouchecourt during an audition when she signs an autograph, breaking Melanie's concentration, and dashing her hopes forever. This film is a study not only of the obvious theme of revenge, but of Melanie's almost unfathomable, unknowable character. The events and circumstances that lead to her station as a nanny in Ariane's perfect countryside-mansion a few years after the audition seem too convenient to be coincidence as they are portrayed-it must have taken years of brilliant exacting and extraordinary plotting to exist as it does. This dark strength of will belies Melanie's apparent youth, beauty, and meek disposition.

There are other, unstated circumstances and questions that are quite revealing. The assumption that Ariane actually did end Melanie's future as a pianist with the autograph can be easily called into question. Was that small gesture really so offensive and distracting, and aren't countless auditions and opportunities just part of the program for any aspiring artist? Does the logic that comes with being an adult matter when you're twelve and profoundly and irreversibly burned to the core as Melanie is? That the film doesn't pose these obvious questions is a powerful device of narrative-and lets us tag along from Melanie's damaged viewpoint effectively.

What ensues with Ariane's household, and the dynamics of loyalty and betrayal between Melanie and all its members prove to be some of the most tense and suspenseful moments I have experienced in a film in recent years. The Page Turner was part of the programme Un certain regard at the 2006 Cannes Film festival, and was also selected for the Telluride Film Festival.