Back in 1999 when I was working at BNY Mellon, I was browsing the "World Wide Web" one day (during my lunch hour, of course) and came across a website that said "Why go to the video store to rent movies when you can do it from home?" and boasted they had over 500 movies on DVD. It was Netflix of course, and the idea of a movie arriving in a postage paid envelope (to watch and ship back) sounded pretty clever to me.
When I showed it to my coworker Mike, he said "Sounds like a gimmick, just go to Blockbuster!" But I was intrigued as I looked at their catalog and saw many were foreign films--most of which I'd never heard of, let alone seen for rent anywhere.
So I signed up, and the very first dvd I got in the mail was Run Lola Run, a 1998 German thriller that blew my socks off. It was brilliant, never saw anything like it before.
Eventually I began renting Hollywood movies in the mail too as Netflix grew, but I always looked for foreign (subtitled) releases first.
Anyway, the other night I was on Tubi (a free streaming service) and was surprised to see several foreign films I once enjoyed greatly and gave my highest "A" grades to. I thought I'd share a few of my reviews here.
These are all available to watch for free on Tubi.
The Cakemaker (2018) Thomas, a baker in Berlin is in love with Oren, a businessman from Jerusalem who visits once a month. But when Oren goes missing, Thomas will travel there—and learn Oren died in a car crash, leaving behind a wife & son. Not revealing who he is, Thomas will ask Oren’s wife for a job in her kosher cafe—
why? A wary family will soon warm to him in this gentle wonder of how we love & grieve. (German-Hebrew-English)
My grade: A PlusBecoming Astrid (2018) Red haired and feisty, she grew up in the 1900s on a farm in the Swedish countryside. Her writings will land her a job with the local paper at the age of 16, but life will soon take a dramatic turn. A single mom now, she’ll spin tales to her little boy, and someday to all children when she creates Pippi Longstocking. It’s a brief glimpse at Astrid Lindgren’s life, but beautifully told. It just couldn’t be more special
. (Swedish)
My grade: A PlusThe Broken Circle Breakdown (2012) Dieder is a kind hearted Belgian who loves American Bluegrass music. Elise is the woman he falls for, devout in her Christianity as he is in atheiesm. And now as their 6 year old daughter Maybelle lies dying of cancer in a hospital, their beliefs (or lack of) are scrutinized by the other, leaving us trembling in their wake. Extraordinary. (Belgian)
My grade: A Plus
I’m Your Man (2021) Desperate for funds, Alma agrees to allow Tom, a male robot to live with her for his final testing. His sole purpose is to provide love and happiness. Barely containing her revulsion, she’ll spurn his efforts, leaving him confused about his life's purpose. Will Alma come around? Will Tom? I am misty-eyed, what a smart, dear & thought-provoking story. Perfect casting makes this a winner. (German)
My grade: A
The Nun (2013) In 1760 France, Suzanne is forced to enter a convent when her mother reveals she was the product of an illicit affair. Suzanne yearns to be a free woman, but loves her Mother Superior; until she dies and Suzanne learns the religious life forced on her is the least of her problems. Exquisite to watch, she wears her sorrow well, like a young Ingrid Bergman. (French)
My grade: AThe Silence (2010) A 13 year old girl is missing, and her bike is found in the same spot in the countryside where a young girl disappeared 23 years before. Why? The answers are there in this masterfully told story that almost thrums like a high tension wire. Still, this is a story of awful crime, and anguish. Steel yourself. (German) My grade: A
A Royal Affair (2012) In 1766, Princess Caroline of Britain is betrothed to the young, insane King of Denmark; despondent, she bonds with the King's personal physician (Mads Mikkelsen) and adopts his ideas for reform and change. Is Denmark ready for such revolutionary ideas? Yes and no, in this tragic yet royal retelling of it's darkest days. Hope springs eternal. (Danish)
My grade: A
I almost forgot to mention--Run Lola Run can be seen for free on the Roku Channel. You won't be sorry. 😊
I’m Your Man (2021) Desperate for funds, Alma agrees to allow Tom, a male robot to live with her for his final testing. His sole purpose is to provide love and happiness. Barely containing her revulsion, she’ll spurn his efforts, leaving him confused about his life's purpose. Will Alma come around? Will Tom? I am misty-eyed, what a smart, dear & thought-provoking story. Perfect casting makes this a winner. (German) My grade: A
You have some great films here have you given Italian movies a try? You have to read fast though the subtitles I mean.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tom, yes if you look at my Movie Reviews page I've enjoyed Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Greek, etc. I was only listing here A rated pics currently available on Tubi. 🙂
DeleteThank you, Doug! I can’t wait to try these! Great idea for a post.
ReplyDeleteThanks Don, much appreciated! :^)
DeleteUh oh. Just found out Tubi is a Fox streaming service. Nope. No way. Nothing Fox related for me. I'll try to see if any of these are available any other way.
DeleteI didn't know that Don--well, the top one is on the Roku Channel. Damn!
DeleteI was a total Tubi fan when we got our Roku. So many old television series and offerings from other countries. But now our tubi station has recruitment ads for ice. I just can't.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that Miss Merry.
DeleteI loved this. I'm going to watch the one about Astrid Lindgren today. Thank you Doug. --Cindy
ReplyDeleteThanks Cindy! You won't be disappointed, it's a wonderful movie of her life story. I think I'm going to rewatch it on Thanksgiving. 🙂👍
DeleteThese look outstanding! I've found most foreign films more thought provoking and better acted than many American ones. They don't depend on special effects, car chases and violence. Unfortunately, I don't watch as many as I used to; I'm not even sure why.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Margaret, well said. 🙂 I just told my friend Diana last night about this post and how much I enjoyed foreign films, I said they don't rely on tons of CGI, violence and big celebrity names like most Hollywood pictures.
DeleteI haven’t seen any of those films, but I’ll make a note of them for future perusal.
ReplyDeleteI used to watch foreign films a lot more when I was young, especially French films back when I was semi-proficient in French thanks to my 6 years of school boy French.
The topic reminded me of something, and if I might go off on a tangent (well, why should today be any different?), the topic of visually beautiful films sprang to mind, because the first two are also foreign films.
The first on the list I saw when it was released in a cinema; it was subtitled. The copy I have now isn’t, so it’s fortunate that I know the gist of the story.
These are my recommendations…
Dersu Uzala directed by Akira Kurosawa
Raise the Red Lantern directed by Yimou Zhang
Midnight in Paris directed by Woody Allen
Days of Heaven directed by Terrence Malick
The Searchers directed by John Ford (terrible story, but visually stunning)
Peter my friend, thanks for reading and your excellent feedback. Well I was going to say this is a topic on foreign films, but seeing that you're Australian and not American I guess the ones you mentioned would be all foreign to you 🙂. While I never saw the first one you listed, I did see the next four and yes they're wonderful films. Agreed about the last one, but it's still a classic.
DeleteI guess by foreign films, we both meant foreign language films.
DeleteAs you said, American films are foreign to me, and, of course, Australian films are foreign to you.
Peter, I actually thought of you when I was writing this. It's why I specified subtitled at the top of my post. I've seen my share of Australian and British films too, but didn't really consider them as foreign as they were in English. I'm a big fan of a cry in the dark and Muriel's Wedding!
DeleteThere’s no stopping him (me, that is).
DeleteCheck out (if you can find them)…
The Dish
The Year of Living Dangerously
Malcolm
Breaker Morant
Man of Flowers
Newsfront
Rabbit-Proof Fence
…just for starters.
I've seen 3-4 of these (Rabbit Proof Fence--excellent), Breaker Morant, The Dish, Year of Living Dangerously. Never heard of Man of Flowers, but it sounds interesting.
DeleteWhat a perfectly timed post...I just got our television hooked up at the new house!
ReplyDeleteReally? Thanks Debby :^)
DeleteHi Dug! I'm late with my comment... but haven't seen any of these and I do watch Tubi. I'll definitely check these out. DH however doesn't like the ones in foreign languages... I have to do closed caption, so they don't bother me. You mentioned you don't necessarily like the ones with car chases and violence. I don't either. Usually PBS has good substantial shows...
ReplyDeleteHi Rian, I was just thinking about you a few minutes ago, hoping you were doing okay. Thanks for your nice comment here, I really think you would like the first two movies on here. And thank you for the reminder, I recently downloaded the PBS app to my Roku, I need to check that out. 🙂
DeleteWe watched Becoming Astrid tonight. I was Intrigued because I adored Pippi Longstocking as a child. The movie was beautiful. I would not have known about it.
ReplyDeleteDebby, thank you so much for sharing that! I was just telling a friend tonight that maybe I'd watch it again on Thanksgiving. Now I know I will. :^)
DeleteAnd we also enjoyed Teddy Bear. You can be our own online movie reviewer.
ReplyDeleteThank you Debby, you're very kind--Happy Thanksgiving :^)
DeleteInteresting selection of movies. I'll admit I'm too antsy to sit and watch an entire movie at one time, but streaming lets me pause and take a break. Some of these sound very good.
ReplyDeleteHappy Thanksgiving!
Oh Maebeme, this is why I don't go to theaters anymore--with all my getting up and down, it can take me 4 hours to get thru a movie. :^) Thanks my friend, and Happy Belated Canadian Thanksgiving to you too.
Delete