This being Thursday, it's time for another edition of Thursday Movie Picks, the blogathon run by Wandering Through the Shelves. This week's theme is "Non English-Language movies", which is an easy one since it's so broad. The only thing I'd have to worry about is not using movies I've already picked before. So, with that in mind, here are three interesting foreign films that as far as I know aren't available on DVD in the States:
Schtonk (1992). German farce about one of the great hoaxes of recent decades, the Hitler Diaries forgery. For those who don't remember, in the early 1980s, a con-artist came out and claimed to have made a startling discovery of a bunch of diaries that were written by Adolf Hitler. The German mass-interest magazine Stern serialized them until the hoax was discovered. It actually got nominated for a Foreign Film Oscar, but the only way I got to see it was ages ago when the college's German Department showed a print.
O Quatrilho (1995). Brazilian movie about Italian immigrants at the beginning of the 20th century. One guy is practical and plans to go into the forestry business in the south of the country, but he marries a gorgeous high-maintenance wife. His best friend and business partner is an artist and dreamer who's married a very practical-minded woman. With the four put together in a rural backwater, you can guess that the two dreamers wind up falling in love and eventually running off together, leaving the practical man and practical woman alone together to try to rebuild their lives. Good story with gorgeous cinematography making southern Brazil beautiful.
Louis 19, le roi des ondes (1994). French-Canadian comedy about a boring man who dreams of being on TV and wins a contest that makes him the star of a reality TV show before reality TV was a big thing. Unfortunately, his life makes for a show that would lose in the ratings department, so the producers try to spice up his life. That, needless to say, doesn't make the people around Louis very happy. This one I saw on the old Trio TV channel, which shows how long it's been since it ran anywhere (well, outside Quebec; I have no idea if there are channels showing old French-Canadian movies there).
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3 comments:
These are all new to me and all sound worth catching. I'm particularly interested in the second.
I went with all French films since as far as foreign films go that's my strongest area of knowledge.
A Man Escaped (1956)-Director Robert Bresson tells the tale of Fontaine (François Leterrier), a member of the French Resistance, who is being held by the Nazis at Fort Montluc. Notified that he is scheduled for execution he begins to devise a plan to break out. Things are coming together slowly when he is assigned a new roommate. At first wary but needing to proceed Fontaine grudgingly brings the newcomer into the escape effort relying on crudely made weapons and an intricate knowledge of the prison’s layout to try for his freedom. Tense and involving this is based on fact.
Elevator to the Gallows (1958)-Duplicitous Florence (an extraordinary Jeanne Moreau) married to the wealthy arms dealer Simon Carala (Jean Wall) is carrying on an illicit affair with one of his employees, Julien (an equally fine Maurice Ronet). They make a pact to dispose of Simon so late one night Julien climbs a rope into Simon's office, kills him and leaves unnoticed. Anxious to get away from the site Julien accidentally leaves the rope at the crime scene. After retrieving it he becomes stuck in the building's elevator while Florence desperately waits below. Frantic he soon finds that his bad luck is just beginning. Compelling, nerve jangling noir filmed with enormous style by Louis Malle.
Police Python 357 (1976)-One night while pursuing a crook loner police inspector Marc Ferrot (Yves Montand) meets and is immediately smitten with the alluring Sylvia (Stefania Sandrelli) and they begin an affair. Unknown to Ferrot Sylvia is the mistress of his direct superior Commissaire Ganay (François Périer) who when he discovers the liaison murders Sylvia in a fit of jealousy. Panicked Ganay confesses his crime to his paralyzed wife Thérèse (Simone Signoret) who offers him advice on how to shift the evidence away from himself. Once the death is discovered Ferrot is assigned to investigate and as he wades through the case finds that all evidence points to him. Now he must race the clock to reveal the true culprit. A reworking of the 1948 Charles Laughton/Ray Milland film The Big Clock and rethought again in 1987 as the Kevin Costner/Gene Hackman No Way Out.
I haven't seen any of these but Schtonk in particular sounds like something I'd enjoy.
I know very well about these Hitler Diaries and was hoping they were real but what a hoax. I haven't seen any of these but hope I can find them one day
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