Howl's Moving Castle

Language: Japanese                                             Year: 2004

Japan has earned itself a reputation for creating some of the best animation in the world, and deservedly so. One animation studio in particular, studio Ghibli, has become synonymous with this quality, garnering numerous awards- including an Oscar- along the way.

Based on a book by Welsh author Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's moving castle tells the story of a young girl called Sophie who becomes intrigued by a mysterious wizard named 'Howl', resulting in an evil witch curses her, turning her into a ninety year old woman. As Sophie tries to free herself from the curse, she is lead to Howl's moving castle. From here, the real beauty of the film becomes apparent. 

No matter how surreal the story gets, the emotion in the characters is always easy to identify with. This is largely due to the exquisite animation. Some people will be put off by the fact it's a cartoon but Howl's moving castle isn't a film where the story is inhibited by this. Director Hayao Miyazaki uses it to it's advantage, creating fantasy landscapes that could only ever be realised by Studio Ghibli's animation.

Being a cartoon it would be tempting to watch it dubbed, not least because the voice cast is excellent with the likes of Christian Bale and Lauren Bacall but there is something lost in the translation. Watching the film as it was intended provides a more genuine experience and one that is completely unforgettable.

All About My Mother

Language: Spanish                                               Year: 1999

It was only a matter of time before I mention a film by spanish cineaste Pedro Almodóvar. This, in my opinion is his best and a great example of a film that merges a number of genres seemlessly.

After Manuela (Cecilia Roth) loses her Son in a tragic accident, she heads off to Barcelona to find and tell the father of the child. Once in Barcelona, Manuela ends up rekindling friendships with some incredible characters from her checkered past .

Winning the 'best Foreign Language film' at the 2000 Oscars is one of many accolades showered on this film and for good reason. This film shares much with 1950's 'All About Eve' (not least a chunk of the title!). Both films are in their own ways homages to women and there are clear deliberate similarities in the plot.

This film also sees Penélope Cruz steal her scenes as the terminally ill Sister Rosa. Almodóvar and Cruz are one of the great parings of modern cinema rivalling the likes of Depp and Burton or Scorsese and De Niro. 

If ever you needed a reason to venture into 'foreign films', This is a perfect example of accessible, enjoyable and moving cinema.

Tzameti (13)

Language: French                                                 Year: 2006

With a remake of this film due soon and the lead being played by Jason Statham, I figured it was my duty to direct people to the fantastic French original. 

The premise of this film is quite simple. After young man Sébastien (Georges Babluani) sees an opportunity to make money, he follows instructions meant for someone else, not knowing where it will lead and finds himself part of a murderous game of Russian Roulette. From here on in, the film plays out like a treatise on tension, properly gripping and genuinely unnerving.

Babluani does tension like Hitchcock does suspense, filming in Monochrome for added uneasiness and littering the film with macabre characters that look like they wouldn't be out of place in a Hammer production.

The film is directed with precision by newcomer Géla Babluani who also happens to be the son of a legendary Georgian filmmaker and based on this effort, he has inherited his fathers skills.

A Bittersweet Life

Language: Korean                                             Year: 2005

Asian extreme cinema is a personal favourite and a real indulgence for me. There are many films from this genre that I would have happily championed but this is one that really stood out for me.

Kim Sun-woo is the manager of a hotel owned by Kang, not only Sun-woo's boss but also a well connected gangster. Sun-woo has the absolute trust of his boss, and when he is asked to follow his bosses girlfriend for him, he does so without question. After making a surprising decision, seriously upsetting his boss, Sun-woo is mercilessly persued by just about every henchman going, resulting in some inredible fight scenes; often brutal but superbly executed.

Lee Byung-hun is a huge standout as Sun-woo, giving heart to his role and making the character seemingly grounded, even through the violence.

Written and directed by Ji-woon Kim, his previous venture being K-horror 'A tale of two sisters' gives you some idea of the extreme violence on show. This is a superb movie, often graphic in the violence it depicts but wildly entertaining.

The Orphanage

Language: Spanish                                              Year: 2007

The Spanish do 'horror' very well, particularly under the direction of Guillermo Del Toro. Juan Antonio Bayona enlists suport from Del Toro as producer on his directorial debut 'The Orphanage'.

This film neatly tells the story of Laura (brilliantly played by Belén Rueda) who buys an orphanage she lived in as a child, and attempts to fix it up and open it once again. As the story unfolds we discover that unfortunatley for her and her family, there would appear to be others in the house who may cause her a few problems. 

The film builds tension slowly and effectively with excellent character development and some terrifying scenes; in particular when a psychic is asked to investigate the house and we follow her encounters through night vision.

Unlike many horror's, this film has a very rich story. It has the ability to combine proper scares with real emotion and has characters you actually care about.

This is a film that is genuinely scary but also perfectly realised. Not one for the faint hearted but if you can brave it, you will be heavily rewarded.

The Counterfeiters

Language: Austrian                                                 Year: 2007

There are many films set during the second world war depicting the horrors and violence of front line fighting but few tell the story of the goings on behind the scenes to advance the war effort. Based on the book 'The Devil’s Workshop' by Adolf Burger this film tells a very different story. After renound counterfeiter Salomon "Sally" Sorowitsch (played by Karl Markovics) is arrested, he is placed in a Nazi concentration camp and forced to assist in a counterfeit operation. He is tasked with  creating fake currency in an attempt by the Nazi's to weaken the economy of the enemies.

 

Alhough technically a crime thriller this film has an awful lot more to offer. As those involved in the operation are spared from the true torture of the concentration camp, the abhorent sufferings of others are often heard but rarely seen; a torturous reminder of the fate that awaits them when they are no longer of any use to the germans.

The weight of the moral dilemma is enormous as the protagonist must decide whether to jeopardise the operation at the risk of  the lives of all involved or continue working for something that could ultimately win the war for the Germans.

Let The Right One In

Language: Swedish                                                Year: 2008

Set in the early 80's, this film tells the story of a young boy Oskar who's life starts to change as he begins a relationship with Eli a young girl who moves into his tower block. After enduring years of bullying and loneliness, Oskar finds that his friendship with Eli is more beneficial than he thought. As their relationship progresses, we realise that this isn't a straight forward horror flick but a love story. We witness the children fall in love over the course of the film through late night conversations in the freezing snow to more disturbing scenes as they show the lengths they would go to protect each other. For all intents and purposes this is a vampire movie but it is certainly not conventional. This is a fresh take on the genre and and one that challenged my views on what a horror film should be.

both of the lead characters are played by newcomers that completely excel in their roles and John Ajvide Lindqvist, who wrote both the original novel and the screenplay and director Tomas Alfredson have created an absolutely beautiful film that is genuinely scary but also incredibly moving.

A remake is due out later this year starring Chloe Moretz ( Kick-Ass) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Road) in the title roles and is to be directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield). You never know...

Delicatessen

Language: French                                  Year: 1991

Before Jean-Pierre Jeunet made his cinematic masterpiece with ‘Amelie’, he made a surreal comedy with Marc Caro about the dark goings on in a futuristic French town.

As Delicatessen opens we meet Louison, a new arrival  to the eerie town (superbly played by Dominique Pinon a stalwart of French cinema and a Jeunet regular). We quickly learn that a local butcher is in charge of the block of flats where Louison is keen to lodge and that he has more planned for the newcomer than some small repair jobs. As Louison strikes up a friendship with the butchers daughter, the tension unfolds and the depths of the tenants’ madness starts to reveal itself.  The only way Louison can seemingly save himself and his new love from the murderous butcher is with assistance from an underground group known as the troglodytes.

This film is unusual to say the least. All the characters in the housing block are caricatures with unusual quirks; one stand out being a man who has flooded his basement flat to create the perfect environment for his snail farm.

Jeunet cleverly merges normally disturbing themes such as murder and cannibalism into very funny, often skilfully constructed scenes including a wonderful set piece where all the tenants are performing mundane tasks to the same rhythm.

This is a film that is visually remarkable and a great example of creative filmmaking.

The Secret In Their Eyes

Language: Argentinian                                Year: 2010

For me, this was the the film that finally pushed me to do this blog. This is a certified, modern day classic and the thought of people not getting to experience this piece of cinema bothered me.

Having watched the oscars in early March, I was backing either 'A Prophet' or 'The White Ribbon' to scoop the best foreign language film award and was shocked to see a relatively unknown film walk away with it. When it was finally released in cinema's a few weeks ago, I smugly set out to prove the Oscar's panel wrong. However, what I found was something quite remarkable.

The film is Argentinian and is one of many successful films coming out of South America in the 'Latin American New Wave'. It tells the story of  lawyer Banjamin Esposito played by Ricardo Darin (also in the brilliant XXY) and how since his retirement he has been plagued by one particular case from 1974. This is one of those films that works on so many levels. On one hand it is a gripping thriller with some seriously tense scenes and graphic flashbacks (the 18 certificate is well deserved) and on the other it is a heart wrenching love story with one man's battle at losing a loved one and another of living in regret at never acting on his feelings when he had the chance.

This film works because it is told so well. It would have been easy to tell this story as a straight forward cop thriller but director Campanella adapts the story with a real humanity and tells it beautifully.