For Your Consideration... Filmmaking Nations

As part of this blog, not only do I want to include movies of critical acclaim and international merit, but I also want to mention some others just for fun, as well as just provide some general information on film around the world. In between my main blog posts with film titles and their corresponding countries, there will be two other types of posts... For Your Consideration (which you are reading now) and the shorter post, If You Like --- , You Will Love... 

As I've started watching a lot of these movies, I've realized that I have a pretty big list of films coming from France, Germany, and India that I've really enjoyed, which makes it really tough to pick one film to represent an entire country. But a lot of the reason for this is that these countries have some of the biggest film industries out there. I was surprised to learn that not only India's Bollywood is the largest producer of films worldwide, but in 2009, Nigeria became the second largest film-producing country, beating Hollywood for that second spot. Films from Nigeria are part of the Nollywood film industry, the largest in Africa. And then halfway across the world, South Korea is large film producer as well, although many of their films have an easier time flourishing since there are quotas in place to keep too many foreign films from flooding in. And on top of that, Hong Kong is one of the world's largest film exporters, just below the United States. It seems like so far, the majority of nations have a film industry in place... it's just a matter of the types and sizes of audiences they can reach to be recognized world-wide.

Film is not only a great medium for telling a story, but it also allows a country to forge a national identity and build community amongst its people. When you watch movies from a different nation or time period, pay attention to the differences from the movies you are used to seeing. If you watch a film about World War II that was produced in the United States, it will most likely be very different from one produced in Germany due to historical and national sentiments. But one of the biggest differences across film borders is humor... what someone finds funny in Italy might not be funny in South Africa. With the next post, we'll try and put that claim to the test...

Amores Perros

Directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu

(2001) - Mexico

Amores Perros is a great play on words… the title somewhat figuratively translates to “Love is a Bitch” (at least that is the title they use in the States for the movie). But it also translates to something along the lines of "love dogs”. And not only does the movie focus on love being a bitch, but also ties together three separate storylines through canines. 

This film, a former Oscar nominee, was one of those movies of the intertwined storyline era. It follows three separate characters; a homeless man, a celebrity, and a younger brother who watches a tough relationship unfold before him, all in a pretty rough urban area of Mexico. Within the first few minutes of the opening credits, we see a pretty grave car crash, a very injured dog, and a murdered man. I can’t talk too much more about the storyline without giving some major spoilers away, but it shows the lengths and distances people will go, and the turmoil people will endure all in the name of love. The movie is very real and doesn’t hold much back in terms of censorship, and it shows the nitty gritty of the real México and not just the beaches of Cancun.

One of the things I found interesting that is that one of the main characters, Octavio, talks about “getting away” to Ciudad Juarez throughout his storyline. Every time he said this, I kept thinking to myself how Ciudad Juarez is anything but a paradise. This city has consistently been ranked in the top ten most dangerous cities in the entire world, and has even taken the number one spot. This bordertown city that sits across from El Paso, Texas, is notorious for its gang violence and shares a situation found in many other Mexican cities. Even though this movie can take the viewers into an alternative world for those of us who have never been to places like this, this type of violence happens as a part of everyday life for others. 

If you've started following along, you can now check two new countries off your list of movies... only a few hundred to go!

A Very Long Engagement

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet

(2004) - France

I thought that it couldn’t be more appropriate to kick this blog off with a post featuring a French film. The reason behind this is because France is the official birthplace of film as we know it today (nope, not Hollywood). In the late 1800s, the Lumière Brothers started recording scenes on film and then showing them to audiences. Later on, other filmmakers started putting together narratives to make films with stories and the rest is history…

A Very Long Engagement is one of my top movies of all time and is one of the very few films out there to be set on the stage of World War I (at least from an American lens). It is also great for foreign film beginners since it stars Audrey Tautou (who appears in a few English-speaking roles like The DaVinci Code) and is directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, both of whom are famous for the movie, Amélie. And for those who really get into this movie, there is a book out there too.

The movie not only has a great storyline, but it shows the horrors and atrocities of World War I. The First World War was a war unlike any other… in this war, the military powers of Europe were all eager to test out their new toys, including machine guns, army tanks, and poisonous gases. This was really meant to be the war of the machines, but ended up being one of the biggest conflicts where little territory was gained by either side, but many lives were lost by all. And through the characters in the film, it helps to show their losses, gains, and the effects it had on their return to reality, if there was a return at all.

Mathilde’s (Tautou) fiancé is one of the soldiers who is fighting in the Great War. He and four other soldiers are court-marshaled for harming themselves or another in order to themselves out from behind the battlefield. They are banished to no man’s land where the military thinks they will receive their ultimate punishment of death. Back in Southwestern France, Mathilde receives news that her fiancé has been killed, but she just doesn’t believe it. She goes on a quest to find out what really happened to him and to see if he is still alive, contrary to everything she is told.

This is one of many amazing foreign films, so go check this one out while I travel the world (through film) to find the next great movie to write about… until next week!

Introduction

For my entire life, I’ve been interested in movies. I’ve been able to see all kinds of movies; color to black & white, blockbusters to independent films, actions to comedies, crowd pleasers to Oscar winners, etc, etc, etc. On Netflix, I’ve rated over 2000 titles. Of the American Film Institute’s Top 100 Film Lists, I’ve seen over 95% of the listed movies (I am not a fan of John Wayne movies making the lists a little difficult to finish). There is one other category of movies that I have seen a lot of: foreign movies. I’ve seen a lot of foreign films, especially compared to the average cinephile (over 150 and counting, yes I’ve been keeping track, and no, I did not include the British James Bond films in this count). Yes, I understand, you don’t want to read a movie but watch it. My goal is to talk to you about a different movie from as many countries as possible, encourage you to watch it, and to share some insight behind the film, whether it is about the story, the film's historical significance, or about the nation that the film comes from.

By the end of this blog, I hope to talk about at least one movie per country, giving you insight to at least 200 movies. Of course, there are some countries so new like South Sudan that have a budding film industry, or countries like Wales where their films might clumped together with British films, but I will try my best. On occasion, some countries will have repeats (I love French comedies and European films about WWII) or I might talk about an international film festival. There are many movies made by more than one country, so those will pop up a lot too. And every now and then, I might talk about an American film that has international relevance or tells a story in a unique way. 

Worst case scenario, you’ll actually start watching foreign films with subtitles. And like them.