May 6, 2015 I've never seen the director's previous work and the only thing coloring my expectations was the trailer. I thought it would have more bro moments of untethered violence and Russian corruption. What I got was something dense and emotional. I enjoyed it, but for reasons I did not foresee.
May 6, 2015 City of God (Brazil) Cache (France) Abre los Ojos (Spain) Run Lola Run (Germany) 21 Grams (Mexico) The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (France) (actually I'm kind of confused as to whether or not this is legitimately a "French film" due to some production company fuckery, but it's in French?)
May 6, 2015 There were a lot of references to Russian corruption throughout the whole movie but I understand where are you coming from. It is probably a lot of more difficult for all the people outside of Eastern Europe to catch all the nuances just like it is, for instance for me, to understand all the cultural/political aspects of American movies. Titular Leviathan was a metaphor for the whole Russian political system, including pervasive corruption and other social pathologies. The every decision they've made, every slug of vodka they've drunk was pretty much influenced by it. Over and above, the place where they shot this movie indicates how much Russia is isolated from the rest of the world. There is absolutely no hope, there's no future for the people who live there. People's lives are as colorless as the landscapes captured in this movie. On the one hand it's beautiful, but on the other hand it's very depressing just like you said in the previous post. Objectively speaking, I think it should've have won the Oscar for the fact alone that it was financially supported by the Russian ministry of culture where in fact the message of this movie says "f--- the government". f---ing brilliant lol EDIT: You probably know about everything what i've written, because you're one of the smartest guys on this site, but I really had a need to type it. lol
May 22, 2015 Director Andrzej Żuławski's breakup resulted in a dense, genre bending masterpiece. Fifteen minutes in, I realized that the protagonist was Alan Grant from Jurassic Park. I remember growing up I had mistaken him as Harrison Ford and later realized I hadn't seen him in much else. Well him and Isabelel Adjani are stellar when playing off each other in this. Albeit over-the-top, convincingly so performances in a challenging film. I'm going to have to see this again to straighten out the plot, but I'm looking forward to it. Also wondering if Lars von Trier considering Antichrist's similarities. I'd read conjecture that it contains more personal traumas with relationships than he ever lead on. The first film in Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy. It's odd how much of this film and Dirty Harry I already knew prior to watching either of them. It's a rather simple film with some iconic moments and Clint Eastwood was casted perfectly. I'm interested in where the trilogy goes from here. Also can't wait to hear the other scores by Ennio Morricone.
Feb 11, 2017 Glad to see other users on here enjoy foreign cinema too. Anyway, here are some of my favorites: Spoiler: Films Luck Key (South Korea) I just watched this one today actually. Commitment (South Korea) Lost in Thailand (China) This was actually the first foreign film I watched. Very few films make me laugh out loud, but d--- this one had me laughing my a--- off. The film stars and was directed by Xu Zheng (dude in the middle of the movie poster), and all of his other films that I have watched, whether he is just acting, or directing also, have been great films imo. Also, Xu Zheng and Huang Bo make a great on-screen pairing. Lost in Hong Kong (China) Another great film starring and directed by Xu Zheng. It isn't a sequel to Lost in Thailand, but it was does have some similarities. This film is a lot more serious and tells a great, yet tragic love story. Breakup Buddies (China) Once again, Xu Zheng and Huang Bo make a great on-screen pairing. The Great Hypnotist (China) This movie is a great psycho-thriller and one of the best thrillers that I have ever seen. Despite normally being in comedic roles, Xu Zheng shows his ability to be a dramatic actor also. Dearest (China) This is one of the saddest movies I've seen in a minute. This s--- had me tearing up. The Defender (Hong Kong) This is by far my favorite Jet Li movie, but it is also perhaps my favorite action movie. Based on what I've seen, this has the best choreographed fight scenes imo. The Enforcer (Hong Kong) My Beloved Bodyguard (China)
