Thursday, September 12, 2019

Thursday Movie Picks-Non-English Language Movies


Stress!  So I am dizzy, exhausted and can't concentrate well. My blood pressure is great, my heart is excellent-went for a stress test. Iron and sugar are all great but I did have an issue which gives my doctor pause for concern so I went for an ultrasound and that turned out normal. He now wants me to go for a biopsy of my uterus so I am waiting for that appointment. My hubby is going for day surgery on his right shoulder tomorrow to scrape out and repair the calcium deposit and his tendons. This is the time that I miss my mom which is why I am boring you with my life. Oh and stuff is happening at work which, hopefully, will work out aok...the next few months will let me know.

This is the reason I have been off in commenting on blogs I love following. My eyes go funny along with my head. Please be patient with me:) OK, to make my head go screwy just a bit more, it is all about non-English language movies. I have chosen 3 I think you will like to hear about. Check out Wandering Through The Shelves to find out what other movies have been chosen. Here are my 3....

1. LA BELLE ET LA BETTE-1946


I picked this film before but it is one of my all time favourite films since I love fairy tales and this is the best rendition of Beauty and the Beast. Jean Cocteau directed this masterpiece which starred his lover, Jean Marais, as the beast as well as the narcissistic wanna be lover of Beauty. You know the story...a father, now almost bankrupt, seeks shelter in a castle. Remembering his youngest daughter's request for a rose, he picks one and meets up with the beast who demands that Beauty must come live with him or daddy will lose his head, not to mention his guts, liver and heart. Daddy comes home, explains what happened and Beauty goes to the castle. I love the atmospheric moodiness and other-worldly look of this film. It is shot in black and white which just lends to the beauty of this exquisite film which is a must see in my humble opinion.

2. LA CASSEL/THE BURGLARS-1971


This film is typically seen in French but there is an English speaking version out there too. I was in Graz, in 1982, and watched this French film dubbed into German! I had a hard time following it but I loved it nevertheless. It stars Jean Paul Belmondo as one of the robbers of emeralds while in Athens. They must stash the emeralds in a safe spot because a corrupt policeman, played by Omar Sharif, is trying to get to those rocks himself. There is an amazing car chase through the streets of Athens that rivals any famous car chase scenes we all know and love. I got a kick out of the film and enjoyed it. Nothing says fun than watching something in German....HA!

3.  KOLYA-1996


I would love to see this film again because it is so sweet, funny and does a tug at the heart strings. This Czech film is about a down and out classical musician who drinks too much and loves women too much. With help from a friend, he decides to marry a Russian bride who immediately take off to Germany to be with her boyfriend but not before leaving her child with this man. This kid is great and can out act anyone on screen. The 2 actors share some great scenes together as the man finds out more about himself as he falls more deeply in love with the young boy. This film won best foreign film Oscar and I don't mind that one bit.

Thank you for listening to my bitchfest  and, hopefully, not throwing up your eyes to the whine o clock...that's me:) Now which films would you choose?

54 comments:

  1. I am so sorry to hear you are not feeling 100%. I sure hope they discover what is wrong.
    Haven't seen any of these movies, but I do enjoy foreign films. Brain dead right now and can't even think of one, lol.
    Take care of your self and bitch all you want. It's your blog.

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    1. I hope so too. I bet you can think of one given time

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    2. i am ERIC BRUNT by name. Greetings to every one that is reading this testimony. I have been rejected by my wife after three(3) years of marriage just because another Man had a spell on her and she left me and the kid to suffer. one day when i was reading through the web, i saw a post on how this spell caster on this address AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com have help a woman to get back her husband and i gave him a reply to his address and he told me that a man had a spell on my wife and he told me that he will help me and after 3 days that i will have my wife back. i believed him and today i am glad to let you all know that this spell caster have the power to bring lovers back. because i am now happy with my wife. Thanks for helping me Dr Akhere contact him on email: AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com
      or
      call/whatsapp:+2349057261346










      i am ERIC BRUNT by name. Greetings to every one that is reading this testimony. I have been rejected by my wife after three(3) years of marriage just because another Man had a spell on her and she left me and the kid to suffer. one day when i was reading through the web, i saw a post on how this spell caster on this address AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com have help a woman to get back her husband and i gave him a reply to his address and he told me that a man had a spell on my wife and he told me that he will help me and after 3 days that i will have my wife back. i believed him and today i am glad to let you all know that this spell caster have the power to bring lovers back. because i am now happy with my wife. Thanks for helping me Dr Akhere contact him on email: AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com
      or
      call/whatsapp:+2349057261346

      Delete
  2. You're not boring us - you're sharing your life and struggles. Pray they find something simple to correct and you feel better soon.
    One of my favorites will always be Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

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    1. Thanks Alex and much appreciated. That is a great film! I wish I would have thought of that

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  3. I feel you on the stress levels. I hope your husband's surgery goes okay.

    I haven't seen any of these, but Kolya sounds like something I'd like and I don't think I've seen a Czech film before.

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    1. It went well but there was more issues so he was in surgery for 3 hours in stead of 1 1/2 hrs. Kolya is great

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  4. Hoping the doctors get to the root of your health issues soon so you'll start feeling better! Haven't seen too many foreign films so definitely have not seen these.

    betty

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    1. I hope they do find the problem but now my hubby can’t drive me...ughhhh. He is aok but in a lot of pain and months of rehab

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  5. Sorry you're going through a rough patch, miss your comments. Hope all gets straightened out soon!

    I've seen the first two. This Beauty and the Beast is my favored version as well. Not the most technically proficient but hypnotic and swoonily romantic.

    I wasn't as crazy about The Burglars but saw the English language version so that might have taken away from it. Still it was a decent enough film.

    I've heard of Kolya I'll have to seek it out.

    When I was pulling my three together I was so surprised to discover I hadn't used my first for one theme or another but I hadn't. It's a great one though. My other two were new to me this year.

    The Wages of Fear (1953)-As a fire rages in an oil field in the South American jungle the parent company hires four men desperate enough to accept the challenge of delivering two trucks of nitroglycerine over rugged terrain where the slightest jolt can result in death to extinguish the blaze. As they cautiously proceed a rivalry develops between the two sets of drivers. A masterwork of tension from director Henri-Georges Clouzot.

    High and Low (1963)-A wealthy industrialist (Toshiro Mifune) who is facing a business disaster becomes the target of a kidnapper, but it turns out that the child snatched is his chauffer’s not his. With money temporarily very tight he is faced with a crisis of conscious as to how to proceed. Akira Kurosawa's take on film noir, based on Ed McBain's novel "King's Ransom", is something different from him. Crafted with his usual care it’s a taut and constantly involving film.

    Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)-Set in Hiroshima after the end of World War II a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) and a French actress (Emmanuelle Riva), lovers turned friends, recall through many hours of conversation previous romances and the life experiences that have brought them to this point. Intertwined with those memories they ponder the devastation wrought by the atomic bomb dropped on the city. Simple and gripping with exquisite work by Riva and Okada.

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    1. Believe me I did read your comments but my dizziness gets in the way my eyes go blurry from this. I love when you comment and I love that we seem to have similar tastes. Glad you love Beauty as much as I do. I was laughing because Burglars was dubbed into German from the French version and it was funny to listen to. I have missed seeing your Fira pick which I want to see. I don’t know your second pick but I know the third and would love to see this too.

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  6. It sounds like you're on the mend, anyway, and that your doctor knows what he's doing. Good thoughts for your husband as he gets his shoulder cleaned out.

    Anyway, a couple of my favorites: a Chinese movie called "Bath House" (at least that's what I think it's called), about a young man who comes back from the big city to help his aging father and mentally-challenged brother run the father's bath house. You get to know the regular customers and see how they all make up kind of a family. It was a very sweet movie, kind of hard to explain.

    Before we were married, Mary and I went to see the movie "Cousin, Cousine," where a couple of distant cousins meet at a wedding and become close friends, much to the chagrin of their spouses. It was remade as "Cousins" with Ted Danson and Isabella Rosselini a few years later, and the remake was good, too.

    Finally, I saw the Swedish movie adaptation of "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo," and actually liked it better than the book, because it had a better ending: it incorporated some of the early part of the second book, "The Girl Who Played With Fire," and tied together some of the loose ends better than the first book did. I've seen the other two movies in the series ("The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest") as well as the English adaptation of the first book starring Daniel Craig, and they're all good as well.

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    1. Yes, my dr is great and I am glad about this. My hubby was in surgery for 3 hrs because there was more complications but he is home but in pain..obviously. I don’t know Bath House but I do like Cousin/Cousine but I only saw the English remake. I have seen Dragon Tattoo but only the one with Daniel Craig but I would like to see the Swedish version. Thanks for your caring which I truly thank you for this.

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  7. I am so sorry. It sucks when everything like that hits at once. I hope things clear up, and it turns out to be a health scare and not an actual issue.

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  8. Sorry you are both still having a hard time - hope things improve. I have probably recommended this before, but The Lives of Others is a great German language film about a writer and a Stasi agent who is watching him - and what happens after the wall comes down.

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    1. Thank you so much. I have seen this film and I love it! I have to use this film when the right theme comes up. It’s a great film.

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  9. Hello there Birgit, I am so sorry to hear that you are finding life a struggle just now, your hubby too. I hope the doctor can get to the bottom of your health complaint and that it's treatable. Awful when thing at work aren't going well, I know that kind of thing and was off for 6 months because of it and on anti depressants, I hope everything sorts it'self out soon.
    Not seen any of these film, so can't comment, take care, hugs Kate x

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words and that is very much appreciated. It sounds like you have been through the ringer but feeling better

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  10. I've not seen any of your picks. Gosh! So many films to choose from in this theme that I've likely not seen many even though I've seen a lot of foreign films.

    My favorite director is Federico Fellini and since his films mostly non-English other than occasional snippets in the dialogue in some films then any of those would qualify and likely never be attempted to be remade as an English version. Some of my favorites of those are Roma, The Ship Sailed On, or any other.

    I also liked a Spanish time travel film from 2007 called Los Cronocrimenes. I thought they were going to do an English version, but I've yet to see anything come of that. But the Spanish version is excellent.

    Life Is Beautiful is another favorite of mine.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. I have seen 8 1/2 by Fellini which is different but I do want to see other films from him. I love Life is Beautiful which is quite funny and very heartbreaking all in one

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  11. La belle et la bête - This was such a disappointment for me. I found the acting terrible and the transitions between scenes were also bad if I remember correctly. And the reason why the prince was turned into beast is one of the worst in the Beauty and the Beast retellings I thought. The only thing I like about it was the cinematography. There was I think a scene where the camera moves through the corridor with the light sconces and into the dining room...that was a beautiful shot.

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    1. Oh my goodness! I love this film but it just shows how each person can like or dislike a film and it is personal.

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  12. By the way, don't worry that you're boring us--likely not. I hate it when a condition arises and the doctors can't pinpoint what's behind it. I've had similar things come upon me in the past--some resolved, while others just seem to go away or maybe I just don't notice them anymore. Hope you get it all figured out.

    Arlee Bird
    Tossing It Out

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    1. Yes, this is concerning and thank you for your words as they mean a lot. I hope I will find out and that all is “normal”...hahahaaa. I have been in your shoes as well where I am not feeling well but nothing can be found.

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  13. I am saddened to read about your recent health issues. Like Arlee said, you're not boring us. Feel free to unload any time you feel like it.

    Needless to say, I've not seen a single one of these films, nor have I even HEARD of any of them.

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    1. I think you might like Kolya but I could be wrong. Thank you so much about your kind words. I am happy that so many are sweet

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  14. Sorry about your health issues! And your husband’s. Life sucks sometimes! ��

    I’ve heard of Kolya and Beauty And The Beast, but only seen snippets. I wonder if it’s somewhere on YouTube?
    A foreign language film I’m rather fond of is Israeli film ”Ushpizim”. It’s a sweet and funny film set in the Ultra Orthodox community in Jerusalem. The hero is a former crook, now settled in that community with his wife. They get a visit from two former criminal buddies of the husband and, though the men are driving them nuts, feel they should be good hosts. A lot more to it than that, but a lovely film.

    Another fave is another Israeli film, “The Big Dig”, based on a short story by Ephraim Kishon - hilarious! A lunatic escapes from an asylum and steals a drill, which he uses to dig up a Main Street in Tel Aviv. Nobody knows what’s going on, but all the bureaucrats assume someone else must have ordered it and co-operate with the digger, who eventually reaches the sea, turning the street into a canal...

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    1. Thank you for your well wishes. These 2 films sound funny and I would love to see them. Maybe they are on YouTube too.

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  15. I'm so sorry to hear about your health issues. I hope it'll turn out to be nothing serious. And by the way, you are not boring us with your life.

    La belle et la beste is the only I've seen, on your suggestion, and I really liked it. And it has so much more magic than the modern remakes.

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    1. Thank you so much and glad I’m not boring you:). I hope all tests will be normal and it is just bad ears or something. I love La Belle

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  16. BIRGIT ~
    I hope all is well for you very soon. Every single person I know is going through rough problems right now. This is a strange time.

    Yeah, I like 'Life Is Beautiful', and I enjoyed 'Two Women', which I saw decades ago. But foreign movies don't normally appeal to me very much.

    ~ D-FensDogG (aka Stephen T. McCarthy)

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    1. Yes, I hope they figure things out. I’m tired of it to be honest. I still need to see Two Women and it’s one I have wanted to see for years. I love Life is Beautiful..wonderful movie

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  17. I am so sorry to hear you and the hubster are dealing with such intense health issues. I trust you both are soon the picture of health.
    Thinking of you.
    Hugs

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    1. Thank you Sandra..I a, tired of feeling this way to be honest and I miss my mom so much right now in a very selfish way. Michael got through his surgery but it took longer than the dr thought as there was complications. He is recuperating now. He is sleeping a lot and that is aok.

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    2. Sending positive energy and a huge hug.

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  18. Sure struck out on these three. Not sure what I'd even pick.

    Hopefully the health issues and job stuff works itself out in a positive way. Gotta love it when they can't find what's wrong, ugg.

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    1. It has to work out in a positive way but just takes time which is frustrating, Hubby is doing ok but it took longer than the dr thought. He is resting a lot now which I am glad about.

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  19. I'd rather watch foreign films in THEIR language (with English subtitles, of course). Once I get used to reading, I thoroughly enjoy them. I watched "Das Boot" and liked it MUCH more than the dubbed "The Boat."

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    1. I agree and always prefer subtitles but hate it when it is printed in white and the background is white. It is always amusing to watch an American TV show or movie dubbed in German. I still laugh at Bonanza dubbed into German. When i saw Benny Hill do a sketch about this exact situation i laughed right off my chair.

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  20. Hey Birgit,

    That's worrying. I hope you're okay. Did they test your B12 levels? A B12 deficiency can cause all sorts of crazy symptoms.

    As for foreign films, one of my favorites is Life is Beautiful. Incredibly powerful movie. I also like Cold Prey (Norwegian), and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Sweden).

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    1. They checked my B12 and my iron but I am taking 5,000 mg of B12 and am eating molasses which is full of iron. I go for my biopsy this Friday because i had my period and it has been 2 years so that is the worrying part. Let's hope nothing shows. I love Life is Beautiful. I haven't seen Cold Prey and still need to see the original Tattoo movie but I love the English version

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  21. Interesting the one burglar movie with Omar Shariff whose a crooked cop involved in a jewel heist, well I think he went bust playing bridge which is a cruel fact. He bet his house and lost it, poor chap.

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    1. I know..usually Omar plays the good guy. I knew he played bridge but I didn't know that! Wowzers!!

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  22. Don't worry about visiting, Birgit. And, you don't bore me at all with what's happening to your body. It's scary. I know I feel less freaked out when I write about my woes. Big hugs, Girl!

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  23. I love any Beauty and The Beast film.
    Thinking of you.
    Hugs

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    1. It is a great story. Thank you! So dizzy at the moment and I need to find someone to drive me to my appointment this Friday since my poor hubby can't. A friend offered but now backed out because she brings her dog at that time to an old age home...I should know better than to rely on her

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  24. All of your health adventures sound stressful, indeed. Please take care.

    Oh, so many movies...

    Of yours, I only know the first. It's one of my wife's favorites.

    For me...

    Italian: Cinema Paradiso
    Japanese: Tampopo
    Spanish: Like Water for Chocolate
    Chinese: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
    French: Amelie

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    1. It is stressful and tiring. I have Cinema Paradiso on my list to see along with Amelie. I love Like Water for Chocolate and Crouching Tiger. I think Michelle Yeoh is a great actress and a kick ass Bond woman.

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  25. Oh man. I hope you'll be feeling better soon and they figure out what's going on.

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  26. i am ERIC BRUNT by name. Greetings to every one that is reading this testimony. I have been rejected by my wife after three(3) years of marriage just because another Man had a spell on her and she left me and the kid to suffer. one day when i was reading through the web, i saw a post on how this spell caster on this address AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com have help a woman to get back her husband and i gave him a reply to his address and he told me that a man had a spell on my wife and he told me that he will help me and after 3 days that i will have my wife back. i believed him and today i am glad to let you all know that this spell caster have the power to bring lovers back. because i am now happy with my wife. Thanks for helping me Dr Akhere contact him on email: AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com
    or
    call/whatsapp:+2349057261346










    i am ERIC BRUNT by name. Greetings to every one that is reading this testimony. I have been rejected by my wife after three(3) years of marriage just because another Man had a spell on her and she left me and the kid to suffer. one day when i was reading through the web, i saw a post on how this spell caster on this address AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com have help a woman to get back her husband and i gave him a reply to his address and he told me that a man had a spell on my wife and he told me that he will help me and after 3 days that i will have my wife back. i believed him and today i am glad to let you all know that this spell caster have the power to bring lovers back. because i am now happy with my wife. Thanks for helping me Dr Akhere contact him on email: AKHERETEMPLE@gmail.com
    or
    call/whatsapp:+2349057261346

    ReplyDelete