The following list represents all of the films from overseas that we’ve received in the last 30 days – we hope it will help you catch up on whatever you may have missed! Our recommendations are marked with a red star:
France/Belgium:
The Girl on the Train (La fille du RER) (2009) – A Parisian woman captures the attention of her country when she claims she’s been the target of a hate crime. (France) – [imdb] – Click here to read our review!
Germany:
The Red Baron (Der rote Baron) (2008) - The true story of one of World War One’s deadliest air aces. Starring Joseph Fiennes and Lena Headey, and shot in both German- and English-language versions, with the same cast appearing in both. (Germany) – [imdb]
Voyager (Homo Faber) (1991) – Volker Schlondorff‘s powerful story of a monumental love affair that spanned two generations and six continents. Starring Sam Shepard and Julie Delpy. (Germany/France/UK) – [imdb]
Yesterday Girl (Abschied von gestern) (1966) - Anita flees her home in East Germany for its democratic cousin to the west. But life on the other side proves as challenging as it was in the Communist Republic–and often just as oppressive. Released in 1966, the darkly comic Yesterday Girl was a groundbreaking film in postwar German cinema, winning a Special Jury Prize at the 1966 Venice Film Festival. (West Germany) – [imdb]
Northern Europe:
Words of Advice: William S. Burroughs On the Road (2007) – Inspired by recently discovered footage of Beat generation icon William S. Burroughs and Danish writer Dan Turèll, filmmakers Lars Movin and Steen Møller Rasmussen trace Burroughs’ journeys through Denmark in the early 1980’s. – [allmovie]
Eastern Europe/Russia:
The Sun (Sointse) (2005) – Alexander Sokurov’s fascinating and compelling film chronicles the events leading up to Hirohito’s momentous speech, the historic renunciation of his divine status and his meetings with General Douglas MacArthur, the commander-in-chief of the occupying American forces, who advises his own President not to declare the Japanese leader a war criminal. (Russia/Italy/Switzerland/France) – [imdb] – Click here to read our review!
Sunrise/Sunset (2008) – 24 hours spent inside the residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from the beginning of his day which starts at 3 am till sunset when the Buddhist leader goes to bed. – [imdb]
UK/Ireland:
The Disappeared (2008) – Still haunted by the disappearance of his younger brother many years ago, a troubled teen returns to live with his father in London and embarks on a chilling journey to discover what grim fate truly befell his long-missing sibling. (UK) – [imdb]
A Waste of Shame: The Mystery of Shakespeare and his Sonnets (2005-TV) – With his personal life in shambles, celebrated author William Shakespeare (Rupert Graves) accepts a commission to pen 17 new sonnets, which leads him into a troublesome love triangle. (UK) – [imdb]
Middle East:
Defamation (Hashmatsa) (2009) – Israeli director Yoav Shamir embarks on a provocative and at times irreverent quest to answer the question, “What is anti-Semitism today?” (Israel/Denmark/USA/Austria) – [imdb]
South America:
Tony Manero (2008) – A serial killer is obsessed with John Travolta‘s disco dancing character from Saturday Night Fever. (Chile/Brazil) – [imdb]
Asia:
20th Century Boys 3: Redemption (20-seiki shônen: Saishû-shô – Bokura no hata) (2009) - The third installment of the hit franchise, a big-budget, live-action adaptation of the manga classic by Naoki Urasawa. (Japan) – [imdb]
The Most Distant Course (Zui yao yuan de ju li) (2007) – A quest for sound becomes a journey of the mind when a young recording engineer traveling eastward encounters a girl engaged in an affair with her married boss and a psychiatrist whose unorthodox methods are unusually effective. (Taiwan) – [imdb]
Oshima’s Outlaw Sixties (Pleasures of the Flesh/Violence at Noon/Sing a Song of Sex/Japanese Summer: Double Suicide/Three Resurrected Drunkards) (2008) – Often called the Godard of the East, Japanese director Nagisa Oshima was one of the most provocative film artists of the twentieth century, and his works challenged and shocked the cinematic world for decades. (Japan) – [imdb]
Owl & the Sparrow (2007) - In modern-day Saigon, three lonely strangers form a unique family as a ten-year old orphan plays matchmaker to a zookeeper and a beautiful flight attendant. (Vietnam/USA) – [imdb]
Africa:
The World Unseen (2007) - A drama centered on two women who engage in a dangerous relationship during South Africa’s apartheid era. (South Africa) – [imdb]
(Thanks to Imdb, RottenTomatoes, AllMovie and MetaCritic for help with these synopses)