If You Like [American Film], Try [Foreign Film]!
Watching foreign films has always been relevant and culturally enriching, but now in 2020, between the South Korean thriller Parasite taking home best picture at the Oscars -- the first international film ever to snag top prize -- and everyone clamoring for their next quarantine binge-watch or movie night, there’s never been a better time to get into some non-American films. To get started in expanding your horizons when it comes to film, I’d suggest taking a chance on one of the following films to start! ☺️
If you liked director Guillermo del Toro’s visionary work in The Shape of Water, try Pan’s Labyrinth!
Original title: El laberinto del fauno
Country: Spanish-Mexican co-production
Rated: R
Where to watch: Amazon, iTunes, Vudu
Hailed as “Alice in Wonderland for adults”, there’s no doubt you’ve at least heard of Pan’s Labyrinth, or at the very least seen pictures of (and possibly had nightmares about) the Pale Man -- but so long as we’re on the topic of Oscar-winning foreign directors, mentioning one of del Toro’s most imaginative and well-constructed films is a must! The movie seamlessly blends fantasy and horror to create a truly one-of-a-kind experience.
If you’re a fan of old-school sci-fi franchises like the original Star Wars trilogy, try the original Godzilla films!
Original title (first film, 1954): ゴジラ
Country: Japan
Rated: NR
Where to watch: Criterion Channel, HBO Max
Whatever your opinion on the new Abrams/Johnson Star Wars trilogy, the general consensus on the films is that they do not in the least surpass Lucas’s original trilogy. There’s just such a vintage charm to the classics, with their bad special effects and their Ewok puppets that’s lost when CGI is introduced. The original Godzilla movies, as well as the rest of the early days of the kaiju genre of Japanese film, are chock full of horrible special effects and endless charm. If you want a creeping sense of dread and black & white horror, watch any of director Ishiro Honda’s Godzilla films. If you want colorful campy fun, watch any of Jun Fukuda’s Godzilla films.
If you’re a fan of children’s animated movies like Paddington, try Ernest & Celestine dir. Benjamin Renner, Vincent Patar, and Stéphanie Aubier!
Original title: Ernest et Célestine
Country: France
Rated: PG
Where to watch: Amazon Prime
If you’re anything like me, you love a good animated bear. Nothing will ever beat the sheer perfection, the sheer goodness, of a sweet, round, fluffy, animated bear. That is unmistakable and indisputable. But what if I told you that with Ernest and Celestine, it gets even better? What if I told you that this film includes not just a big huggable animated bear… but a tiny little animated mouse. It’s almost too good to be true -- “almost” in the sense that it is that good and still it is true. Treat yourself. Watch the cute French animated animals.
If you like goofy ghost stories like Ghostbusters, try Pee Mak dir. Banjong Pisathanakun!
Original tile: พี่มาก..พระโขนง
Country: Thailand
Rated: PG-13
Where to watch: Netflix
Some horror movies just work better with comedy -- just take a look at the IT reboot and Blumhouse Productions’ recent hits. In Pee Mak, Thailand’s highest grossing film of all time, horror and comedy mesh together in a perfectly goofy way -- almost like watching a live-action Scooby Doo infused with Thai folklore. Chronicling the attempts of a group of friends to tell their friend Mak that his wife is a ghost, The film features many funny sequences and visual gags, but it’s also quite emotionally charged at times. Great for Halloween movie night!
If you like heartwarming LGBT-themed stories like Love, Simon, try Rafiki dir. Wanuri Kahiu!
Country: Kenya
Rated: PG
Where to watch: Kanopy
Now, I should clarify here that I’m not recommending this movie purely on the basis that both Love, Simon and Rafiki (Swahili for “friend”, though the bulk of the film is in English) feature gay romances; it would definitely be shallow (and crappy!) of me to equate the two films based on that metric. I compare them here because of the shared fun, joyful, vibrant tone and aesthetic of both films, which is so rarely something we see in films that feature heavy LGBT themes. Particularly, in a movie from Kenya, wherein homosexuality is illegal, seeing a lesbian couple be happy on-screen in spite of everything is revolutionary. A very heartfelt flick!
BONUS: If you were let down by Disney’s new live-action Mulan film, try Mulan: Rise of a Warrior dir. Jingle Ma!
Original title: 花木兰
Country: China
Rated: NR
Where to watch: Amazon, Funimation
There are a lot of reasons why you might not want to watch Disney’s new live-action Mulan. It could be that you’re upset at the exclusion of Mushu, Li-Shang, and the iconic songs of the original 1998 animated film. It could be that you’re participating in the boycott of the film because of lead actress Liu Yifei’s support of the Hong Kong police. Or it could just be that you don’t want to spend another $30 in addition to a Disney+ subscription for a movie whose reviews are lukewarm at best. Regardless of reason, if you’ve any interest in a film adaptation of the same story from which Disney’s original Mulan is based, Rise of a Warrior is the film for you. It’s by no means a perfect movie, and it too doesn’t feature “I’ll Make a Man Out of You”, but I promise it’s a better use of $30.