Gettin' My Foreign Film On

Recently, I've been making a solid effort to watch more foreign films. I mean, the U.S. can't be the only one who makes good films right? Does the U.S. even make good films? Just kidding. Some of my recent views include Ladri Di Biciclette, Paris Je T'aime, Outpost, Amelie and Russian Dolls. I also revisited some favorites like L'Auberge Espagnole, Let the Right One In, and Haute Tension.

Fortunately, Netflix is making it easy to feed this habit. Many of the popular foreign films are on instant watch. Most of them show the Criterion Collection insignia on the cover art. Netflix must have some sort of deal with Criterion because they have so many. I just keep finding more that I know I need to see. It's frustrating to know that there are so many good films out there that I haven't seen yet!

Must sees that I need to tackle ASAP include: The Virgin Spring, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Amorres Perros, Le Samourai, Roshomon, Seven Samurai, Band of Outsiders, The 400 Blows, The Seventh Seal, Cinema Paradiso and the list goes on and on and on.

I don't really know why I have a penchant for these films. I think, for the most part, foreign films are about people's lives and American films are about ending them. This is a generality of course. The Virgin Spring and Haute Tension aren't exactly uplifting. I just think these films focus on the right things. There are American films that do this. Some that come to mind include High Fidelity, Away We Go, 500 Days of Summer, etc. Maybe I'm just trying to expand my tastes.

Heard the following track in Paris Je T'aime and really liked it...