It’s our December Foreign Film Feature, and we’ve rounded up the latest releases from around the world just for you – don’t miss our recommendations, marked with the red star!
France/Belgium:
A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noël) (2008) - In Arnaud Desplechin’s beguiling A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noël), Catherine Deneuve brings her legendary poise to the role of Junon, matriarch of the troubled Vuillard family, who come together at Christmas after she learns she needs a bone marrow transplant from a blood relative. (France) – [imdb]
Food Beware: The French Organic Revolution (Nous enfants nos accuseront) (2008) - Food Beware follows an experiment in a small village in the mountains of France, where – in opposition to powerful economic interests – the town’s mayor has decided to make the school lunch menu organic, with much of it grown locally. (France) – [imdb]
Toi et Moi (2006) - As two love-struck sisters (Marion Cotillard and Julie Depardieu) search for Mr. Right, they find their dream mates are miles away from the commitment-phobic men that live in their reality. (France) – [imdb]
Italy:
Gomorrah (2008) – A stark, shocking vision of contemporary gangsterdom, and one of cinema’s most authentic depictions of organized crime. (Italy) – [imdb]
UK/Ireland:
Franklyn (2008) - Four souls bound by fate, romance and tragedy collide in the parallel worlds of London and the futuristic Meanwhile City, where a single bullet will alter the course of their lives forever. Starring Eva Green, Sam Riley, and Ryan Phillippe. (UK/France) – [imdb]
Is Anybody There? (2008) – Ten-year-old Edward leads an increasingly lonely existence until he strikes up an unlikely friendship with Clarence (Michael Caine), a retired magician and grieving widower, who refuses to give in gracefully to old age. (UK) – [imdb]
Luxury Car (Jiang cheng xia fi) (2006) – Fast-paced and suspenseful, Luxury Car illustrates the painful reality of parents who have lost contact with their children through rural exodus and political upheaval in China. (UK) – [imdb]
Somers Town (2008) – Two teenagers, both newcomers to London, forge an unlikely friendship over the course of a hot summer. (UK) – [imdb]
South America:
Lion’s Den (Leonera) (2008) - An incarcerated woman struggles to raise her son from prison. (Argentina/South Korea/Brazil) – [imdb]
Middle East:
Superstar (2009) - A famous actor and ladies’ man is forced to deal with his past, and his future, when a young woman shows up on set claiming to be his daughter. (Iran) – [imdb]
Three Monkeys (Üç maymun) (2009) – A twisty, noirish tale in which an ambitious politician, fleeing a hit-and-run accident, pays off his chauffeur Eyüp to take the rap for him. (Turkey/France/Italy) – [imdb]
Asia:
25 Films of Akira Kurosawa (1943-1993) - Twenty-five of the films Kurosawa made over the course of his fifty years in movies—from samurai epics to postwar noirs to Shakespeare adaptations—this is the most complete set of his works ever released in this country, and includes four rare films that have never been available on DVD. Available as separate rentals! (Japan) - [imdb]
Bootleg Film (1999) - Darkly comic tale of an alcoholic gangster and a cop, who attend a friend’s funeral together, from modern master Masahiro Kobayashi. (Japan) – [imdb]
Island Etude (Lian xi qu) (2006) – A young man with a bike sets out on a once-in-a-lifetime trip in this road movie from Taiwanese filmmaker Chen Huai-en. (Taiwan) – [imdb]
The Rebirth (Ai no yokan) (2007) – The mother of a killer forms a close bond with the father of her child’s murdered classmate in director Masahiro Kobayashi’s emotionally muted drama. (Japan) – [imdb]
Screwed (Neji-shiki) (1998) – The ultimate Japanese cult film from director Teruo Ishii. (Japan) – [imdb]
Thirst (Bakjwi) (2009) – A blood transfusion saves the life of a priest, but also transforms him into a vampire. He struggles to control his insatiable thirst for blood until a love affair unleashes his darkest desires in deadly new ways. (South Korea) – [imdb]
(Thanks to Imdb, RottenTomatoes, AllMovie and MetaCritic for help with these synopses)