Foreign Cinema

I like foreign films. When I was in college I took a french film class, which got me really into watching foreign films for a while. Some favorites I can recall were Godard's Breathless, The Dreamlife of Angels, Truffaut's 400 Blows, Wim Wender's Wings of Desire, and Run Lola Run. There's many more, but that's all I can think about at the moment. Foreign films make you think a bit more, since you have to read and view the scene at the same time. You have to be hyper aware to achieve this, which I believe makes you more engrossed. The tone of foreign films seem more complelling to me, they don't jump right into plots points like most American cinema does. They take there time and analyze every aspect. Most regular movie watcher's think this type a analyical structure is boring and pointless and would rather a film get right to the meat of the story. I rather respect and enjoy thinking films. I like the challenge of watching something with many layers.

I was once obsessed with French New Wave, wikipedia discribes it as "a fresh look to cinema with improvised dialogue, rapid changes of scene, and shots that go beyond the common 180º axis. The camera was used not to mesmerize the audience with elaborate narrative and illusory images, but to play with and break past the common expectations of cinema. The techniques used to shock the audience out of submission and awe were so bold and direct that Jean-Luc Godard has been accused of having contempt for his audience. His stylistic approach can be seen as a desperate struggle against the mainstream cinema of the time, or a degrading attack on the viewer's naivete. Either way, the challenging awareness represented by this movement remains in cinema today. Effects that now seem either trite or commonplace, such as a character stepping out of her role in order to address the audience directly, were radically innovative at the time."

I really respect new cinematic approaches, and we rarely get shocked anymore by out of the box thinking, I guess it's because we've seen about all there is to see. I do believe there's some styles not explored and I can't wait to see the next filmic discovery.

Challenge yourself and watch a foreign film you might be pleasantly surprise. Jason and I watched the Swedish horror film "Let the Right One In" yesterday. It was a great vampire coming of age story, I really recommend it.