Here at Rach’s Media Opinions we have an event. It’s huge. Massive, even. On Tuesday night, my best mate is going away with her folks for 4 weeks . Granted I’d give the left testicle of God to go with her (Mauritius *sob*), but I can’t, so instead I’m house-sitting their 2 (that’s right, TWO) flat-screen televisions.
Consolation prize, yes, but I’m making the most of it. How am I going to spend my magical 4 weeks of magical TV alone time? I’m havin a foreign movie marathon, that’s how!
See, the thing with watching a subtitled movie is that you can’t really walk around or do too much else. That makes it difficult to watch them in a share house where people keep asking you to do shit. I’ve had a number of foreign films in my collection waiting for a moment where I could dedicate my uninterrupted attention, and I’m finally getting the chance!
Currently in my collection:
- Thirst
- JSA
- Nosferatu (technically silent, but you still have to pay attention)
- Audition
- Dead or Alive
- Fudoh
- Les Diaboliques
Already on my list (but don’t own):
- Let The Right One In
- The Chaser
- The Returner
- Inside
- Salo
- Full Metal Yakuza
- I’m a Cyborg but that’s OK
- Battle Royale
- Versus
- Cure
- Memories of Murder
I need more. That’s only 18. I NEED MOOOOOOOORE!!!!
I want 28 that I can get hold of. 1 a day (though that’s not necessarily how they’ll be watched). So I need a massive bunch of suggestions just in case my rental stores don’t have copies (stoopid Perth).
HELP!!!!
Del Toro's Cronos. The Saragossa Manuscript. Franju's Judex & Eyes Without A Face. The Beast. The Horrors of Malformed Men. Sweet Movie.
ReplyDeleteWell, since some of my recommendations might be kinda tricky to find at your local rental store, I'll just list a few more than you need so you can have backups:
ReplyDeleteA Band of Outsiders - Jean Luc-Godard's "cool" sixties vibe was never better personified than in this feature. Most prefer Breathless from what I've seen, but I like the jazzy cool vibe of this flick more.
Blue Spring - AMAZING film from Japanese filmmaker Toshiaki Toyoda. It details a school literally run by gangs and a falling out between two students who are also best friends.
My Sassy Girl - The original South Korean film is the one to see here, not the Hollywood remake. This is how ALL romantic comedies should be. You'll be ashamed at how much fun you have with this movie. I certainly was!
Shark Skin Man & Peach Hip Girl - The definition of hipster cinema! Featuring Tadanobu Asano from Ichi the Killer, it's a cross country love story with lots of guns, fun and quirky characters.
The Bird People in China - This is a very reserved Takashi Miike and one of his most touching and heart warming films.
Man Bites Dog - A French faux-documentary about a serial killer! Pretty morbid stuff but also quite funny, in a disturbing sort of way!
Sonatine - If you've never seen anything from Takeshi Kitano, you can't find a better place to start than Sonatine. A beautiful film. However, anything pre-Dolls from him is recommended. Including Brother, which I know you'll find at the video store. However, Brother is an American prodution and thus features a lot of English.
Tetsuo - Shinya Tsukamoto's first film divides audiences, since it's so amazingly strange, but believe me it is an experience. Absolutely a must see if for no other reason than to say you have.
City on Fire - Ringo Lam's first crime flick, and certainly one of the best. Exciting and gritty, it laid the foundation for a lot of Hong Kong cinema.
Fulltime Killer - Johnny To's amazing cat & mouse crime film is a perfect introduction to his work. It mixes all the things he as great at with some truly brilliant set-pieces.
Gonin - A story focusing on five criminals who pull of a heist, but will pay with their lives. It's a foreboding piece of work, but really amazing to sit through and one of the most underappreciated Japanese films I know of.
Hard Boiled - You could go with The Killer if you wanted to, but I figure why not start at the peak and then travel down the mountain? John Woo's hard boiled is THE most insane action film ever made. Explosions and squibs galore while Chow Yun-Fat and Tony Leung blow up a hospital with their handguns!
Kamikaze Girls is a really fun Japanese comedy about two unlikely friends who get up in a lady gang war.
ReplyDeleteI see you already have Memories of Murder, but The Host (also from Bong Joon-ho) is a quite excellent monster movie.
If you're ready for some real weirdness, there's Little Otik or Alice from Czech director/stop-motion animator Jan Svankmajer.
District B13 is a really rad action movie from Luc Besson and Pierre Morel, starring the dude who basically invented parkour.
Chocolate is an interesting action film from Prachya Pinkaew (the guy who made Ong-bak).
Timecrimes is a really well-made Spanish time travel drama.
M from Fritz Lang is one of the most gripping crime dramas I've ever seen.
I hope that was helpful! Good luck with the house-sitting and movie viewing!