Last month’s new arrivals include classics from Godard, Ophuls and Kurosawa, as well as soon-to-be classics from Austria’s Götz Spielmann, Japan’s Hayao Miyazaki and Iran’s Majid Majidi. Keep reading to find out more about all the latest foreign film releases:
France/Belgium:
The Beaches of Agnes (Les plages d’Agnés) (2008) – Autobiographical documentary about the life of director Agnes Varda. (France) – [imdb]
Coco Before Chanel (Coco avant Chanel) (2009) – The story of Coco Chanel’s rise from obscure beginnings to the heights of the fashion world. (France) – [imdb] – click here to read our review!
Contempt (Le mépris) (1963) – A screenwriter is torn between the demands of a proud European director, a crude and arrogant American producer and his disillusioned wife as he attempts to doctor the script for a new film version of The Odyssey. From director Jean-Luc Godard. (France) [imdb] – Criterion Collection Blu-Ray!
Lola Montés (1955) – The life of the notorious courtesan and showgirl, directed by Max Ophuls. (France/Germany) – [imdb] – Criterion Collection!
Nathalie Granger (1972) – Acclaimed French author Marguerite Duras (Hiroshima Mon Amour) directs renowned French star Jeanne Moreau in this elliptical, elusory story about the world of women in which dull domestic ritual masks an undercurrent of lurking violence. (France) – [imdb]
Italy:
Scent of a Woman (Profumo di Donna) (1974) – A naive army private is assigned to assist a blinded, embittered ex-army captain on his journey from Turin to Naples. (Italy) – [imdb]
Spain:
Amanecer de un sueño (2008) – A grandson finds in his grandfather the person who drives him into a world of fantasy. (Spain) – [imdb]
The Wedding Song (Le chant de mariées) (2008) – The Nazi occupation of Tunisia strains the bonds of friendship between a Muslim woman and a Sephardic Jewess who are both preparing for their marriages. (France/Tunisia) – [imdb]
Germany/Austria:
Revanche (2008) - A gripping thriller and a tragic drama of nearly Greek proportions, from Austrian filmmaker Götz Spielmann. (Austria) – [imdb] – click here to read our review!
Northern Europe:
Flame & Citron (Flammen & Citronen) (2008) – A drama centered on two fighters in the Holger Danske World War II resistance group. (Denmark/Czech Repblic/Germany) – [imdb]
Dead Snow (Død snø) (2009) - A ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies. (Norway) – [imdb]
UK/Ireland:
Bronson (2008) – A young man who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending 30 years in solitary confinement. Based on the true story of Mickey Peterson, “Britain’s Most Violent Prisoner”. (UK) – [imdb] – click here to read our review!
The Damned United (2009) - The story of Brian Clough (Michael Sheen), the manager of a low-rung football team who brought his team to the top rank, only to self-destruct. (UK) [imdb] – click here to read our review!
An Englishman In New York (2009) – John Hurt plays celebrated, iconic gay author-artist Quentin Crisp in this pseudo biopic that chronicles Crisp’s high-profile move from London to New York’s Bowery in the 1980s. (UK) – [imdb]
Hunger (2008) - The last six weeks of the life of the Irish republican hunger striker Bobby Sands. (UK/Ireland) – [imdb] – Criterion Collection!
I Can’t Think Straight (2008) - While preparing for her wedding, Tala meets Leyla and the attraction is immediate, but Tala must decide whether to stay true to her culture or to her heart. (UK) – [imdb]
Australia:
The Road from Coorain (2002-TV) - An extraordinary coming-of-age story set in the vast Australian outback. (Australia) – [imdb]
Middle East:
Bliss (Mutluluk) (2007) - An unconventional road movie in which the executioner of an honor killing and his victim go on a journey of self-discovery. (Turkey/Greece) – [imdb]
The Song of Sparrows (Avaze gonjeshk-ha) (2008) - After Karim loses his job, he leaves his pastoral town and travels to Tehran where he finds work as a motorcycle taxi driver. Soon Karim becomes entangled in a world of hustle and greed and it’s up to his family to restore the values he once cherished. From acclaimed director Majid Majidi. (Iran) – [imdb]
Asia:
Bushido: The Cruel Code of the Samurai (1956) - This epic film spans several generations of a typical samurai family, and illustrates the intricate system of loyalty, honor and sacrifice which bound the samurai in ages past, and which, in many ways, persists to this very day. (Japan) – [imdb]
For Fun (Zhao Le) (1993) – A charming story of a group of senior citizens who set up a Peking Opera club in hopes of finding revitalization through singing and dancing. (China) – [imdb]
May Story (2009) - A young woman strikes up a romance with a handsome fellow, until she realizes their developing relationship eerily reflects that of her parent’s decades ago. (South Korea) – [imdb]
Ponyo (2008) - An animated adventure centered on a 5-year-old boy and his relationship with a goldfish princess who longs to become human. From writer/director Hayao Miyazaki. (Japan) [imdb] – click here to read our review!
Ran (1985) - Akira Kurosawa’s brilliantly conceived retelling of Shakespeare’s King Lear magically mixes Japanese history, Shakespeare’s plot and Kurosawa’s own feelings about loyalty. (Japan) [imdb] – Criterion Collection Blu-Ray!
Service (Serbis) (2008) - The Pineda family operates and lives in a run-down adult movie house. Preoccupied with their own personal demons, the family is unmindful that inside their movie theater, their customers are engaging in another kind of business. (Philippines/France) – [imdb]
(Thanks to Imdb, RottenTomatoes, AllMovie and MetaCritic for help with these synopses)