7 Foreign Films To Look Out For In 2014
You might have bought the Werner Herzog box-set when it was on offer; you might watch subtitled films with a mid-range whiskey to impress your friends and you may well snub the Oscars, suggesting the futility of ranking art doesn’t interest you at all. Or, you might genuinely like world cinema. Either way, this list of foreign films should envelop ten minutes of your life, easily.
2014 will see the billion-dollar club swell with the likes of X-Men: Days of Future Past being unleashed, but where are the 90-second shots of a decomposing log being eaten by a nondescript bug while a young couple fornicate on a broken down Ferris Wheel in a remote district of rural Prussia? I mean, where is that?
It’s in none of the films we’re about to list, but what we can guarantee is some of the best foreign cinema you’ll be able to find in 2014. Grab a strong coffee and one of those ‘NICE’ biscuits.
Wetlands
‘Wetlands’ doesn’t care if you like it or not. And while that might be an entirely vacuous way to talk about something that has no feelings and is directed by someone who probably does want you to like it, it’s the most roundabout way to say it’s weird, disconcerting and brutally honest about the human form, which so happens to be the species’ biggest hang-up. Probably due to the media or something. I talked about humans in the third person because I’m an Internet writer.
Coming to you from the hard-to-figure-out-how-to-pronounce-his-name David Wnendt, Wetlands depicts life from Helen Memel’s point of view. She’s an eccentric, explorative and explosive when it comes to sex, and follows the pragmatic route to both orgasms and oral hygiene, which, by the looks of the trailer, is conducive to laughter when she meets a straight-laced doctor.
Throw in some oddball parents, and this beautiful looking comedy/exploration of our human program has all the ingredients (sorry, cliché – its mise on place is assembled accordingly) to become favourite amongst world cinema buffs. Featuring Carla Juri, Christoph Letkowski, Meret Becker, Axel Milberg, Marlen Kruse, Edgar Selge, it will enjoy its North American Premiere at Sundance 2014.
Next page: To Kill a Man
To Kill a Man
With two feature credits to his name - Huacho (2009) and Lo que trae la lluvia (2007) - director Alejandro Fernández Almendras has an impressive if not small stock coming into Sundance 2014. His film, To Kill a Man – which just sounds like a world cinema title – sees an unassuming, working-class man confronted by thugs and violence in his once-peaceful neighbourhood. With enough to take care of himself and his family, Jorge’s existence is comparatively luxurious, making him the target of the area’s new troublemakers.
Forced into action and unaided by the bureaucracy and apathy of his country’s legal system, our middle-of-the-road protagonist Jorge must take matter into own hands to – as the synopsis puts it – ‘defend what is his’. To Kill a Man stars Daniel Candia, Daniel Antivilo, Alejandra Yañez and Ariel Mateluna.
The Raid 2
It can’t all be obscure filmmakers and delightfully/terrifyingly outlandish plots; there’s room for mainstream foreign cinema, too – you large snob. The Raid: Redemption was one of 2011’s biggest world movie hits with its tightly choreographed fight sequences and no nonsense plot (I think we get a maximum of five shots outside of that building, and one of Rama’s family).
The Raid 2 promises more of that, and kicks off just two hours after the first movie ends. The plot is unknown, but from the trailer we can surmise that Rama is in jail, and has revenge in his thoughts. The plot was secondary to the blistering pace of traditional Indonesian martial art pencak silat; we’d expect Berandal to be the same.
Next page: Mr. X/Mr Leos CaraX
Mr. X/ Mr Leos CaraX
Lars Von Trier has become almost as entertaining as his back catalogue of films. And given that the first volume of Nymphomaniac stars the ‘recently retired from public life’ Shia LaBeouf, who plagiarized an apology when apologizing for plagiarizing, it’s doubtful you’re reading about it for the first time, five films into a world cinema preview article.
It’s the gossip of the world cinema zeitgeist, and rightly so. Von Trier is a good filmmaker, and – even though people argue the nudity and ‘real sex’ is simply there for attention – Nymphomiac has the potential to be a brutal character development piece exploring sexual addiction. A bit like Shame but without Michael Fassbender’s impressive wang. Nymphomaniac hits cinemas on February 22nd in the UK and March 21st in the U.S, on a limited basis.
Liar's Dice
Despite calls from her friends and family to stay put, Kamala decides to go and search for her husband, whom she hasn’t seen or heard of for five months. A disappearance like this isn’t unheard of while the men are out working in the dangerous, corrupt sites in urban areas; in Himachal Pradesh, India, men are known to have started other families without contacting those they left behind.
The journey is undertaken with her young daughter, Manya, and is poorly planned. It isn’t until the enigmatic Nawasuddin enters the party, acting as a reluctant guard for reasons yet unknown, and protecting the two vulnerable travellers. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Geetanjali Thapa, Manya Gupta all star, and you can catch it at Sundance if you’re lucky enough to be there.
Next page: Sepideh: Reaching for the Stars
Sepideh – Reaching for the Stars
Without the blight of pollution, the stars shine bright in the rural village, far away from Tehran, Iran. It is there that teenager Sepideh has the unlikely dream of becoming a renowned astronomer, inspired by Anousheh Ansari, the first Iranian in space.
So she hauls her telescope, which is as tall if not taller than herself, to a peak and stargazes the night away. Her religion doesn’t lend itself to female astronomers, and her uncle threatens against this ‘unladylike’ ideal, while her widowed mother warns that her dream will be difficult to realise due to financial difficulties.
Aimer, Boire et Chanter (Life of Reilly)
French director Alain Resnais (Hiroshima, mon amour andL’année dernière à Marienbad) has adapted Alan Ayckbourn’s 2010 play, Life Of Riley in this stripped back, emotive drama. The synopsis reads: “In the English countryside, the lives of three couples are upset by a character we hear constantly talk, but we never see the enigmatic George Riley.”
This is the filmmaker’s third adaptation of Ayckbourn’s work, which includes Smoking/No Smoking and Coeurs – two films that won the Silver Bear and Silver Lion awards respectively. “With Alain every film is very different,” said Jean-Louis Livi, who is producing. “You Haven’t Seen Anything Yet’ deals with life, love, death and the hereafter, while ‘Chanter’ will be an uplifting comedy with some acid moments.”