Get some culture: Watch a foreign movie

Thursday, September 17, 2009

If you’re tired of Hollywood movies and want to watch something else besides Michael Bay blowing up buildings, why not give some foreign flicks a try? The subtitles may be a bit daunting, but if you’re willing to just give it a shot, the experience of watching a foreign film can be rewarding.

Patrick de Olivera

Overseas enjoyment: Pick up a foreign film and you can pick up a lot of cultural subtext, as well as possible previews to upcoming Hollywood trends.

Brendan Costello, a 2007 film graduate who now works at Liberty Hall, says foreign films are often a step ahead of Hollywood in terms of creativity. That’s because the makers of foreign films aren’t under as many restrictions as movies done under big production companies, and can try risky performances — essentially, they’re free from the Hollywood machine.

Foreign films are full of cultural subtext, which may help broaden your understanding of a certain region. That subtext is lost in remakes, though, so watching The Ring and watching Ringu (its Japanese counterpart) are two very different experiences.

There is no specific country you should start with. “Each country has its little charm,” Costello says. But when it comes to new releases he has two recommendations: Let the Right One In, a 2008 Swedish romantic vampire movie, and The Class, a 2008 semi-biographical French film about a teacher’s challenges in an inner city school.

A night with either of them would be well worth the time.

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