Martelli.PA@XEROX.ARPA (07/17/84)
Has anyone seen any good foreign films lately??? Karen
Saund.es@XEROX.ARPA (07/17/84)
These might be running in your part of the town. Three movies I saw recently were outstanding! All the movies have subtitles. Erendira - Spanish - The story is an excerpt from Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Days of Solitude". The screenplay is written by Marquez. Gabriella - Spanish - Features Marcello Matrionni. Reminds me of Fellini's Amarcord. The Hidden Fortress - Japanese - If you are a Kurusawa freak, this is a must. The advt. said that this movie was an inspiration for Star Wars. I can see why. Directed by Akira Kurusawa featuring none other than Toshiro Mifune. --Saund
Birving.es@XEROX.ARPA (07/17/84)
Yes. The pasty white film covering Natasha Kinski's teeth was great in Cat People. Blake
RAcosta.ES@XEROX.ARPA (07/18/84)
It's not entirely foreign -Spanish w/subtitles- so I'm not sure it counts as such, but one worth mentioning is "El Norte -the North." It's a truly touching story of a sister and brother who make their way north -to the U.S.- from Guatemala. An insightful look at the lives of so called "illegal aliens", and some indictment of the U.S.-supported, facist dictatorship that drives them from home. The photography, especially of the Guatemalan jungles, is superb. The story is a bit saccharine, but believable. It is currently playing here in LA at the Town and Country in Encino. /Rod.
Nuyens.pa@XEROX.ARPA (07/18/84)
Yeah, Last week the UC theatre in Berkeley showed two Herzog films that were wonderful. One was "the Enigma of Kaspar Hauser", the other title was excessively German for me to remember. Kaspar Hauser is an enchanting film about the education of an adult foundling in a small German village. There are a number of memorable scenes, not the least of which is a Philosophy prof coming to determine whether or not Kaspar is capable of "logical" thought. Not to be missed. The other film (still unnamed) depicts the difficulties of some German immigrants to the United States. I went with a friend from Germany who had not seen the film since before coming to the U.S. some three years ago. Her perceptions of the U.S. had been based largely on this film, so it was very telling to see her reactions to the film now. Both these films are worth the trip. Greg
riddle@ut-sally.UUCP (Prentiss Riddle) (07/20/84)
>> The story is a bit saccharine, but believable.
One reason the story may seem "saccharine" to many moviegoers is that
the directors were trying to film the movie as much as possible from
the point of view of the Indians who are its main characters. For
instance, sex and sexual interest are almost entirely absent from the
film; the two leading figures are beautiful young people who love each
other very much, but they are brother and sister and come from a
culture where such platonic love between siblings is not repressed or
linked to sex. (Such is the assertion of the directors, anyway; I
guess each person who seems the movie has to decide for him/herself
whether it is plausible.)
Beyond that, the movie is very straightforward and takes place in three
segments showing the problems our heroes face in their native
Guatemala, as they flee through Mexico, and in their final refuge, the
U.S. Although some readers of this newsgroup might attack it for being
didactic, it is not a movie that requires you to think a lot (gasp!
shudder!) unless you really want to.
I thought that the film was beautiful, gripping and did a good job of
presenting a real situation through a pair of fictional characters.
When you consider that it was made on a shoestring budget and under
adverse, even dangerous circumstances on location in southern Mexico,
its success is almost miraculous. The directors are people to watch.
I wish I could remember the whole story; they are a team of two who
went through (?) UCLA film school together and have collaborated before
on two professional films. His name escapes me, but she is Anna
Thomas, multi-talented author of "The Vegetarian Epicure," my favorite
cookbook. (How much more politically correct can you get?! :-))
--- Prentiss Riddle ("Aprendiz de todo, maestro de nada.")
--- {ihnp4,harvard,seismo,gatech,ctvax}!ut-sally!riddlelund@ucla-cs.UUCP (08/01/84)
El Norte was pretty good. It is a documentary about the journey of
a central american brother and sister through Mexico into L.A. where they
are illegal aliens. It has some humor in it such as the situation where
the sister is confronted by having to use one of thoose modern washing
machines. It also invokes sympathy for them. All together it does
give one a good perspective of the life of an illegal alien and a good
contrast between life in the US and life in an under developed.
....Laurence
UCLA CS Dept.
UUCP: {ihnp4,sdcrdcf,ucbvax}!ucla-cs!lund
ARPA: lund@ucla-cs.arpa
ponce@tty3b.UUCP (2-8-84"Lorenzo D 97750) (08/03/84)
To: ltuxa!mgnetp!ihnp4!zehntel!dual!amd!decwrl!decvax!ittvax!dcdwest!sdcsvax!bmcg!cepu!ucla-cs!lund Subject: Re: Foreign Flicks In-reply-to: your article <629@ucla-cs.ARPA> <..............> I agree that "El Notre" was a good movie but it really wasn't factual enough to be a documentary. Sadly enough, it showed a very rosy picture of illegal aliens. The housing, the ease of finding employment, and the relatively easy assimilation into American culture falsely conveyed the plight of the illegal aliens. The director has admitted to this and stated that he only wished to make a movie that was emotional honest. That emotional honesty is what makes "El Norte" a good if not great movie. Lorenzo De Leon
denise@sdcsvax.UUCP (Denise Neufer) (08/07/84)
I saw the movie The 4th Man recently. It is an excellent film. It is Dutch with english subtitles. It may be a bit to explicit for some, especially children. It is a sort of a spine tingling type of film with *alot* of energy. Android is another that is very good. I am not sure but I think I think it is canadian. It is in english. It is a comedy. Denise Neufer uucp: ucbvax!sdcsvax!denise arpa: denise@nosc