This might be our biggest Foreign Film Feature yet, with 28 films from overseas in this month’s roundup. Take a look through the list below, there’s a lot worth checking out!
France/Belgium:
God’s Offices (Le Bureaux de Dieu) (2008) – A group of women struggling with their sexuality speak openly with the female counselors who wonder if such a thing as “sexual freedom” is truly possible in this tale of the incredible hidden in mundane, everyday events. (France/Belgium) – [imdb]
Home (2008) – A family’s peaceful existence is threatened when a busy highway is opened only meters away from their isolated house in the middle of nowhere. – (Switzerland/France/Belgium) – [imdb]
A Prophet (Un prophete) (2009) – A young Arab man is sent to a French prison where he becomes a mafia kingpin. (France) – [imdb] – click here to read our review!
The Secret of the Grain (La graine et le mulet) (2007) - A stirring drama about the daily joys and struggles of a bustling French-Arab family. (France) – [imdb] – Criterion Collection!
The Thorn in the Heart (L’epine dans le coeur) (2009) - Director Michel Gondry chronicles the life of Gondry family matriarch, his aunt Suzette Gondry, and her relationship with her son, Jean-Yves. (France) – [imdb]
Towards Zero (L’heure zéro) (2007) - Guillaume, his ex-wife Aude, and his current wife Caroline head to his Aunt Camilla’s rambling country home in Brittany and right into an explosive mix or murder, twists, and turns. When Camilla is found dead in her bed, Inspector Bataille is left to determine what happened. (France) – [imdb]
A Town Called Panic (2009) – During one of their adventures, Cowboy, Indian and Horse discover a strange and fascinating underwater world. While there, a conflict with the habitants is solved with the physical and geographical distribution of the two worlds. (Belgium/Luxembourg/France) – [imdb]
Germany/Austria:
Vivere (2007) - On Christmas Eve, Francesca sets out for Rotterdam in order to find her little sister, who has run off with her musician boyfriend. On the way, she picks up Gerlinde, a heartbroken older woman at the end of her rope. (Germany/Netherlands) – [imdb]
Italy:
The Girl by the Lake (La ragazza del lago) (2007) – The body of a young woman is found in a small and quiet town in North Italy. A detective from the nearby main city is called to solve the mystery. (Italy) – [imdb]
Vincere (2009) – The story of Mussolini’s secret lover, Ida Dalser, and their son Albino. (Italy/France) – [imdb] – click here to read our review!
Spain:
Diary of a Nymphomaniac (2008) – A chronicle of the life of a middle-class French girl’s sexual adventures, her then fall into prostitution, and her ultimate redemption. (Spain) – [imdb]
Missing Lynx (El lince perdido) (2008) - The adventures of a group of animals in their quest to escape from being kidnapped by an unscrupulous hunter, hired by a benevolent millionaire to start a new Noah’s ark. The animals will have to spoil the hunter’s plan and liberate their peers from his hands. (Spain) – [imdb]
Northern Europe:
Terribly Happy (2008) – A thriller about a Copenhagen cop who moves to a small town after having a nervous breakdown. (Denmark) – [imdb]
Eastern Europe/Russia:
Zift (2007) – Shortly before the Bulgarian Communist coup of 1944, the Moth was thrown into jail under a false conviction for murder. Finally freed from the confines of his unjust prison sentence, he finds himself in a strange and intimidating new place: totalitarian Sofia of the ’60s. (Bulgaria) – [imdb]
UK/Ireland:
Black Narcissus (1947) – Deborah Kerr and Kathleen Byron play the head nuns at an Anglican hospital/school high in the Himalayas. The nuns’ well-ordered existence is disturbed by the presence of a handsome British government agent (David Farrar), whose attractiveness gives certain sisters the wrong ideas. (UK) – [imdb] – Criterion Collection!
The Red Shoes (1948) – A young ballerina (Moira Shearer) is torn between two forces: the composer who loves her (Marius Goring), and the impresario determined to fashion her into a great dancer (Anton Walbrook). (UK) – [imdb] – Criterion Collection!
Triage (2009) - After a traumatic, near death experience in Kurdistan, Mark, a battle-scarred war photographer, returns home without his friend and colleague Colin. As Mark struggles to recover, he reveals the shocking truth behind Colin’s disappearance. Starring Colin Farrell, Christopher Lee, Kelly Reilly and Paz Vega. (Ireland/Spain/Belgium/France) – [imdb]
North America:
Amor, letra por letra (2008) – The beautiful Hanna is stuck in a rut, babysitting her best friend’s son while keeping an eye out for a new job. But she may finally find love in the most unexpected of places after weathering a cavalcade of awful bachelors. (Mexico) – [imdb]
India:
My Name is Khan (2010) - “My Name is Khan” examines the life of a Muslim man from India, living in San Francisco, who embarks on a remarkable journey across the United States, inspiring people while inviting debate and creating an accidental revolution. (India) – [imdb]
Asia:
Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) - An idle part-time college lecturer is annoyed by the yapping sound of a nearby dog, and he decides to take drastic action. (South Korea) – [imdb]
Ip Man (2008) – A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. (Hong Kong) – [imdb]
May 18 (Hwaryeohan hyuga) (2007) – The story of events leading up to the 1980 Gwangju massacre in South Korea when thousands of students and protesters were killed by armed troops during an anti-government demonstration. (South Korea) – [imdb]
Mother (Madeo) (2009) - A mother desperately searches for the killer that framed her son for their horrific murder. (South Korea) – [imdb] – click here to read our review!
The Only Son (Hitori musuko) (1936) – Yasujiro Ozu’s first sound film, made during a time of intense economic crisis. A mother sacrifices her own happiness for her son’s education. (Japan) – [imdb] – Criterion Collection!
There Was a Father (Chichi ariki) (1942) – Shuhei Horikawa, a poor schoolteacher, struggles to raise his son Ryohei by himself, despite neither money nor prospects. (Japan) – [imdb] – Criterion Collection!
Australia:
2:37 (2006) - A contemporary, ensemble drama telling the complex tale of six high school students whose lives are interwoven with situations that so many of today’s youth are faced with. (Australia) – [imdb]
Hey Hey It’s Esther Blueburger (2008) – A coming-of-age story about a 13-year-old girl trying to fit into both a posh private school and an ordinary public school. (Australia) – [imdb]
My Year Without Sex (2009) - A tender story from Australia highlights the realistic ups and downs of an Australian family in the year following a parent’s emergency medical procedure. (Australia) – [imdb]
(Thanks to Imdb, RottenTomatoes, AllMovie and MetaCritic for help with these synopses)