Five Good Foreign Films

I’m always a little hesitant to write movie reviews on this site. Because of some foible, they’re always a much more serious undertaking than most other posts. I’m not sure why, but I don’t like to dash off a quick post about a movie I saw. It’s either all in or not at all.

That said, I’ve been meaning to mention a number of good foreign films that I’ve seen over the past couple of months. In 50 words or less:

Turtles Can Fly: The heartbreaking story of Kurdish orphans in Iraq It was the first film made in Iraq since the American invasion, and barely qualifies as a work of fiction. Technically speaking, it’s not great, but its story and setting are extraordinary [more].

Walk on Water: An Israeli film, sort of Sword of Gideon meets Midnight Run. An international drama with thriller elements. Nothing fancy, but a straight-ahead plot and decent acting makes for an entertaining film.

3-Iron: A quirky, nearly speech-free film from South Korea. It tells the story of a young drifter who breaks into people’s houses and gets up to some peculiar activities. Original, charming and probably the best foreign film I’ve seen this year.

2046: It’s a Chinese Barton Fink with a THX-1138 chaser. A bit hard to describe, but it involves a writer and his meditations on love. I found it rather slow-going, but I appreciated the naturalistic acting and brave cinematography.

March of the Penguins: Foreign because the protagonists only speak penguin, it’s shot in Antarctica and it was made by a French crew. It’s a beautiful film, and a technical achievement. It’s a tres francais documentary, heavy on style and story and very light on facts. I prefer a more David Attenborough school of documentaries. It also reminded me of my favourite IMAX film.

These were the first foreign films I’d seen from Iraq, South Korea and Israel. That got me wondering which countries I’d actually seen films from. Thanks to World 66, I made myself a map: