What are some of your favorite foreign films?

Question

I'm looking for some recommendations for foreign films from the Mediterranean area like Spain and Italy. If you know of any good ones let me know.

Answer 1

Favorite Answer

Roma

8 1/2

La Dolce Vita

Malena

A Pure Formality (Awesome movie seriously)

Cell 211

Los Abrazos Rotos

Talk To Her

Pan's Labyrinth

Rec

The Devil's Backbone

Answer 2

If you want Italian films, watch some Fellini films like 8 1/2 and Amarcord. And La Dolce Vita is supposed to be an excellent movie as well, but I have yet to see it.

Also, Bernardo Bertolucci is great. His debut, The Grim Reaper, is quite interesting, as is Last Tango in Paris (it's in English though). I've also heard great things about 1900, but I can't get a hold of a copy :(

Also, Michelangelo Antonioni is pretty impressive. He came to Hollywood in the mid-60s and made Blow-Up, which is a classic. In '75 he made The Passenger with Jack Nicholson, which is a great movie. I think his first film was L'Aventura (The Adventure), which is an interesting mystery/romance film.

And even earlier there was Ladri di Biciclete (1948 I think) or Bicycle Thieves (sometimes translated as Bicycle Thief) a film by Vittorio De Sica.

I think my absolute favorite foreign film is Truffaut's Tirez Sur Le Pianiste (Shoot The Piano Player), it's an excellent film with a good bit of comedy. Truffaut's most well known film, The 400 Blows is worth a watch as well.

However, I don't really know anything about Spanish cinema, sorry.

Answer 3

'Time Crimes' (or 'Los cronocrímenes' being the original title in Spanish)

is pretty good - if slightly unnerving time travel tales are your thing:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480669/