Let’s face it – sometimes when we say we have a great group of films for you this month, it’s purely conjecture. But in this case, we have the stats to back it up — there’s not a single Foreign Film on this list with less than a 60% approval rating from RottenTomatoes.com (or IMDB). So although we’ve highlighted a few of our favorites, we can safely say that it’s really hard to go wrong with any of these…
Spain:
Fermat’s Room (La habitación de Fermat) (2007) - Four mathematicians are locked in a room by a mysterious stranger and given a series of logic puzzles that must be solved, or they may die. (Spain) – [imdb]
Italy:
Gomorrah (2008) - A dense, sprawling expose of the corruption plaguing the communities of Naples and Caserta in modern-day Italy. (Italy) – [imdb]
Northern Europe:
Everlasting Moments (Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick) (2008) - A struggling housewife and mother in 1907 Sweden finds a new life through photography. (Sweden/Finland) – [imdb]
O’Horten (2007) - When train driver Odd Horten retires, he realizes that the path ahead is a journey without printed timetables and well-known stations. (Norway) – [imdb] – click here to read our review!
Princess (2006) - A man plots to avenge his late porn-star sister’s death by destroying all the pornographic material she appeard in, kicking off a string of violence. (Denmark/Germany) – [imdb]
White Night Wedding (Bruoguminn) (2008) - A professor must make his way through a number of unexpected obstacles in the 24 hours prior to his wedding ceremony, in this dark comedy. (Iceland) – [imdb]
Eastern Europe/Russia:
Sügisball (2007) - Residents of a local housing complex try to find themselves and face their outwardly bleak futures. (Estonia) – [imdb]
Tulpan (2008) - A young naval officer, returning home to a new career as a shepherd, tries to win the hand of his mysterious neighbor Tulpan. (Kazakhstan/Russia) – [imdb]
UK/Ireland:
Hunger (2008) - The events surrounding a hunger strike staged by a group of IRA prisoners during their 1981 incarceration in Britain’s Prison Maze. Directed by acclaimed visual artist Steve McQueen. (UK/Ireland) – [imdb]
That Hamilton Woman (1941) - Tragic love story from legendary producer-director Alexander Korda, set against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars of the late eighteenth century, and starring Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier. (UK) – [imdb]
North America:
Before Tomorrow (Le jour avant le lendemain) (2008) - An Inuit grandmother and her grandson unexpectedly find themselves fighting for their lives on an isolated, harsh tundra island. (Canada) – [imdb]
Fugitive Pieces (2007) - A harrowing and haunting tale of Holocaust survival and personal awakening, adapted from Anne Michael’s acclaimed prose-poem novel. (Canada/Greece) – [imdb]
Silent Light (Stellet licht) (2007) - The head of a family in a Mennonite community in Northern Mexico falls in love with another woman, and although he is honest with his wife about the affair, his actions create conflict in their otherwise serene and tranquil existence. (Mexico) – [imdb] – click here to read our review!
India:
Bombay (1995) - Hindu-Muslim racial tensions are explored here when a south Indian Hindu man marries a Muslim woman, and the couple soon bears twin boys and moves to Bombay. (India) – [imdb]
Mr. and Mrs. Iyer (2002) - A woman is forced to confront her own prejudices against Muslims when she finds herself trapped on a bus travelling to Calcutta. (India) – [imdb]
Asia:
Chinese Odyssey 2002 (Tian xia wu shuang) (2002) - A unique martial arts comedy-romance that sends up Shakespeare, the Shaw Brothers, Beijing Opera high-wire thrills, and even producer Wong Kar-Wai’s signature stylistic excess. (Hong Kong) - [imdb]
The Human Condition (Ningen no jôken) (1959-1961) - Masaki Kobayashi’s mammoth humanist drama, originally filmed and released in three parts, tells of the journey of the well-intentioned yet naive Kaji from labor camp supervisor to Imperial Army soldier to Soviet POW. (Japan) – [imdb] – Criterion Collection!
Kabei – Our Mother (Kâbê) (2008) - The peaceful life of the Nogami Family suddenly changes when the father is arrested and accused of being a Communist, and his wife has to work frantically to maintain the household, bring up her two daughters and keep her cheerful determination. (Japan) - [imdb]
Treeless Mountain (2008) - In Seoul, Korea, two sisters must look after one another when their mother leaves them to search for their estranged father. (South Korea) - [imdb]
Triangle (Tie saam gok) (2007) - Three friends hunt for a mysterious buried treasure – told in three 30-minute segments directed by three different filmmakers – Ringo Lam, Tsui Hark, and Johnny To. (China/Hong Kong) - [imdb]
(Thanks to Imdb, RottenTomatoes, AllMovie and MetaCritic for help with these synopses)