Gary's Top Personal Top 100 Foreign Language Films
Rank | Title | Director | Year | Comment |
1 | In the Mood For Love | Wong Kar-Wai | 2000 | I feared I was becoming obsessed watching it sooo many times… I love everything about this film… the heavily stylization, the acting, the music, the noodles… etc. |
2 | Mirror | Tarkovsky | 1975 | Short comments cannot convey…. So I won't bother. |
3 | Rosetta | Dardenne | 1999 | Some of the most gut wrenching personal scenes ever filmed… Cinema verite at its height. |
4 | Summer | Rohmer | 1986 | Rohmer captures the essence of a woman… with absolute perfection. |
5 | The Passion of Joan of Arc | Dryer | 1928 | So perfectly made, I have trouble assuming it is not the REAL trial of Jeanne D'arc... |
6 | L'avventura | Antonioni | 1960 | The whole world looked differently after seeing this film. Everything was "profound" and "elegant". |
7 | A Man Escaped | Bresson | 1956 | see L'avventura comment above... |
8 | Bicycle Thief | de Sica | 1948 | What to watch when you need to put your life in perspective. |
9 | Cinema Paradiso | Tornatore | 1989 | The film buffs film… perhaps the greatest ending of a film ever. |
10 | Ordet | Dryer | 1955 | Theological resolve in the face of personal tragedy… |
11 | The Umbrellas of Cherbourg | Demy | 1964 | Unique, color infused… and very, very French. |
12 | Children of Paradise | Carne | 1945 | Absolute masterpiece in every sense of the word… |
13 | Vive L'amour | Tsai | 1994 | A virtual silent film on urban alienation… |
14 | The Scent of Green Papaya | Tran Anh Hung | 1993 | The perfect Cinderella tale… some of the best tracking shots that I can remember. |
15 | Beau Pere | Blier | 1981 | Morality vs. desire from an everyday man… loved the slow pans. |
16 | Irma Vep | Assayas | 1996 | The "coolest" film ever made ? |
17 | The Lovers on the Bridge | Carax | 1991 | Been a while since I have seen it, so could be too high… or too low. Anyway, I loved just about everything about this film… although perhaps the ending was rushed… |
18 | Nights of Cabiria | Fellini | 1957 | Best facial expression conveying depth of emotion since Passion of Joan or Arc… Masina alone is worth this ranking… |
19 | Autumn Sonata | Bergman | 1978 | Most unforgettable modern soliloquy's in cinema history. |
20 | Red | Kieslowski | 1994 | To DVD some day ? Chilled to the heart. |
21 | The Cranes are Flying | Kalatozishvili | 1957 | Variety and never over-used camera techniques support a wonderful and touching story… |
22 | Chung King Express | Wong Kar-Wai | 1994 | I found this so fun… and happy... and mysterious. "Cool" would be the best description… |
23 | Chloe in the Afternoon | Rohmer | 1970 | Morality dealt with as a true life human drama… nothing like it, except other Rohmer films. |
24 | Andrei Rublev | Tarkovsky | 1969 | The most classic mediation on art and the artist ever put on film… |
25 | Diary of a Country Priest | Bresson | 1950 | My first Bresson and so far my most memorable. |
26 | A Tale of Winter | Rohmer | 1992 | Does life always come down to a few missed/or made chances ? |
27 | Pickpocket | Bresson | 1959 | A sleazy subject matter raised to the level of artistic poetry... |
28 | L'Appartement | Mimouni | 1996 | A most intricate puzzle pieced together whilst honoring Hitchcock… one of the best French films of the 90's… |
29 | The Woman Next Door | Truffaut | 1981 | Eerie jealous passion… caught in Truffaut's own unique way… |
30 | Il Grido | Antonioni | 1957 | Excellent portrayal of modern alienation ( see Vive L'Amour ) |
31 | The 400 Blows | Truffaut | 1959 | Truffauts most personal film… unforgettable final scene. |
32 | The Aviator's Wife | Rohmer | 1980 | If I could articulate why Rohmer's films are so enjoyable for myself, perhaps I wouldn't like them as much… |
33 | Not One Less | Zhang | 1999 | For those who doubt the meaning of commitment and resolve… |
34 | High and Low | Kurosawa | 1963 | A lesson in "framing" for the budding director/cinematographer… |
35 | The Vertical Ray of the Sun | Tran Anh Hung | 2000 | Some of the most beautiful images I have ever seen in a film, expressed with familial bindings. |
36 | Decalogue | Kieslowski | 1987 | Why can't all direction be this good ? |
37 | Woman in the Dunes | Teshigahara | 1964 | Underrated film… strangely compelling with a consistent flow. |
38 | El | Buñuel | 1952 | My favorite Buñuel… stabs at sex, the rich, death and religion. |
39 | L'Humanite | Dumont | 1999 | Stop and smell the roses… |
40 | Tokyo Story | Ozu | 1952 | Classic film embodies Asian family philosophy vs. modern values. |
41 | Solaris | Tarkovsky | 1972 | Confrontation of ones own desires… |
42 | Mouchette | Bresson | 1967 | Artistic, real, heartfelt… all wrapped up perfectly… |
43 | Taste of Cherry | Kiarostami | 1997 | Suicidal philosophy at its most sincere. |
44 | Seventh Seal | Bergman | 1957 | My favorite opening scene ever… chess with Death! |
45 | Day of Wrath | Dryer | 1943 | Dryer classic… 'nuff said. |
46 | Mother and Son | Sokurov | 1997 | Chilling in its intimacy |
47 | The Eel | Immamura | 1997 | Communication dealt with on multiple levels… |
48 | King of Masks | Wu Tian-Ming | 1996 | Great film for adults and children alike… shame the DVD is P+S! |
49 | Jean de Florette | Berri | 1986 | "Mans inhumanity to man" is a prevalent theme regardless of time period or location... |
50 | The Hole | Tsai | 1998 | Weird and wonderful… from start to finish. |
51 | 8 1/2 | Fellini | 1963 | Unique and pristine… stylish indulgent masterpiece… |
52 | Stalker | Tarkovsky | 1979 | Haunting journey into one's own desires... |
53 | The 47 Ronin | Mizoguchi | 1941 | As powerful as it is subtle… |
54 | Under the Sand | Ozon | 2000 | Modern classic… Tour-de-force performance from Rampling. |
55 | School of Flesh | Jacquot | 1998 | Eroticism dealt with gentle delicacy… Huppert is so good… |
56 | Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud | Sautet | 1995 | Rare modern excellence with one of the screen's most desirable sirens… and above all a very French film. |
57 | Small Change | Truffaut | 1976 | Makes one appreciate the miracle of children… |
58 | The Earrings of Madame De… | Ophüls | 1953 | Elaborate camerawork backed with grace and dignity... |
59 | Vagabond | Varda | 1985 | Gut wrenching realism… |
60 | Manon des Sources | Berri | 1987 | Emmanuelle Béart's bare bum… need I say more ? |
61 | My Night at Mauds | Rohmer | 1969 | Makes you just want to curl up with this film like it was a good book.. |
62 | Un coeur en Hiver | Sautet | 1993 | Haunting portrayal of self-imposed loneliness… extremely well made film. |
63 | Pauline at the Beach | Rohmer | 1983 | A typical Rohmer… beautiful women filmed simply and directly without overuse of cinematography adaptations… |
64 | Night and Fog | Resnais | 1955 | The practical tracking shots and mono-tone narration only heighten the human realism… shots we can never forget. |
65 | Los Olvidados | Buñuel | 1950 | Shocking imagery of hopeless poverty-stricken youths… sad. |
66 | Days of Being Wild | Wong Kar-Wai | 1991 | Undeveloped passion in a quite elegant film… repressed emotion. |
67 | Babette's Feast | Axel | 1987 | Wonderful Scandinavian film which tends to make me hungry… |
68 | Battleship Potemkin | Eisenstein | 1925 | Montage cinema by its inventive innovative master.. |
69 | Mississippi Mermaid | Truffaut | 1964 | What price love ? |
70 | The Double Life of Veronique | Kieslowski | 1991 | Life as a parable of duality… |
71 | A Good Marriage | Rohmer | 1982 | Strong desire, even for a sexy beautiful woman, doesn't always get you what you want in life… |
72 | The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz | Buñuel | 1955 | Humor, elegance, satire, suspenseful… all rolled into one. |
73 | Double Suicide | Shinoda | 1969 | Pristine and poetic all at once… |
74 | Rebels of the Neon God | Tsai | 1992 | Tsai captures suppressed emotion as well as anyone in cinema… |
75 | Cyclo | Tran Anh Hung | 1995 | Graphic and heartfelt…. |
76 | L'ennui | Khan | 1998 | Fascinating dissertation on "jealousy" and "obsession'… |
77 | Boyfriends and Girlfriends | Rohmer | 1987 | Rohmer realism with real people in real relationship quandaries |
78 | Insomnia | Skjoldbjærg | 1997 | Modern day "Crime and Punishment"… |
79 | White | Kieslowski | 1994 | |
80 | An Affair of Love | Donteyne | 1999 | VERY modern themes of urban alienation... |
81 | My Life to Live | Godard | 1962 | Best I have seen from Godard… but I'm still learning. |
82 | That Obscure Object of Desire | Buñuel | 1977 | The game of love, filled with more psychological pathologies than can fit in this little box… |
83 | La Collectionneuse | Rohmer | 1967 | Rohmer embodies French spirit/attitude so well… |
84 | Ikiru | Kurosawa | 1952 | Must see again… quite sure will rise in my estimation upon rewatching. |
85 | Blood of Poet | Cocteau | 1930 | Touches on the potential of the "then" new medium... |
86 | Confidentially Yours | Truffaut | 1983 | Fun gangster spoof that hold great re-watchabaility… |
87 | L'Enfer | Chabrol | 1994 | Expert build on a mediation of insane jealousy… |
88 | The Sacrifice | Tarkovsky | 1985 | Faith and immortality are but a few of this masterpieces subtle contexts… |
89 | A Single Girl | Jacquot | 1995 | Modern cinema verite capturing and holding your attention… |
90 | M | Lang | 1931 | The most "ahead of its time" film I can think of ? |
91 | Children of Heaven | Majidi | 1997 | Compelling Iranian cinema that puts values in perspective… |
92 | Where is My Friends Home | Kiarostami | 1987 | See "Children of Heaven" above… |
93 | Mauvais Sang | Carax | 1986 | Fun French flic in a kind of "Diva" way ( Hey where's "Diva" then ? ) |
94 | Il Bidone | Fellini | 1955 | Touching neglected classic starting Fellini's greatest 10 year span |
95 | Live Flesh | Almodóvar | 1997 | Original, sexy, humorous… |
96 | After Life | Koreeda | 1998 | If this doesn't spark a philosophical discussion, what will ? |
97 | Tampopo | Itami | 1986 | Noodles in soup anyone ? |
98 | The Vanishing | Sluizer | 1988 | A film can be too horrifyingly real and uncomfortable… and this is as close as I wanna get. |
99 | Thesis | Amenabar | 1996 | Death and violence winning a number of Goyas for its constant level of suspense… |
100 | Deep Red | Argento | 1975 | Impressive and unexpected camera angles… so much better than I had anticipated. A lot of Argento's work is slop compared to this one… |